The AICPA, or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is a non-profit group that represents CPAs across the United States.
Learn more about American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) started out in 1887 as the American Association of Public Accountants. Its main goal was to elevate the accountancy profession and ensure it was practiced by skilled and ethical individuals.
Today, the AICPA supports its 597,000 members across 188 countries and territories by providing them with the tools, information, and leadership they need to deliver top-notch CPA services.
From its founding until the 1970s, the AICPA was the sole organization responsible for establishing widely accepted technical and professional standards for CPAs in various fields.
In the 1970s, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) took over the role of setting generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
Despite this shift, the AICPA still holds the reins when it comes to standards in areas like professional ethics, business valuation, financial statement audits, attestation services, and quality control for CPA firms.
The AICPA plays a crucial role in shaping rules within the CPA profession and acts as a voice for legislative bodies and public interest groups.
Its members come from diverse backgrounds, including business, public practice, government, and education, with offices located in New York City, Washington, D.C., Durham, NC, and Ewing, NJ.
The History
The AICPA may have officially adopted its name in 1957, but its roots go way back to 1887 when the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA) was established.
Over the years, it evolved through several names, including the Institute of Public Accountants in 1916 and the American Institute of Accountants in 1917. In 1921, the American Society of Public Accountants was formed, but it eventually merged with the American Institute of Accountants in 1936, which then decided to limit membership to CPAs only.
Fast forward to 2012, the AICPA teamed up with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to launch the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation.
In 2014, they collaborated again to develop the Global Management Accounting Principles (GMAPs) to set standards for best practices in management accounting.
Then in 2017, they created a new international body, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, aimed at enhancing the accounting profession by blending the expertise of public and management accountants. Even with all these changes, the AICPA and CIMA still offer all the same benefits to their current members.
Conclusion
The AICPA, or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is a non-profit group that stands for CPAs across the U.S. They handle a bunch of important stuff like creating professional standards for ethics, auditing, and quality control, plus they advocate for CPAs and provide support to their members around the world.