"AICPA membership"

"The CPA designation is granted by individual state boards, not the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Membership in the AICPA is not obligatory for CPAs, although some CPAs do join. To become a full member of AICPA, the applicant must hold a valid CPA certificate or license from at least one of the fifty-five U.S. state/territory boards of accountancy; some additional requirements apply. AICPA members approved a proposed bylaw amendment to make eligible for voting membership individuals who previously held a CPA certificate/license or have met all the requirements for CPA certification in accordance with the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA). The AICPA announced its plan to accept applications from individuals meeting these criteria, beginning no later than January 1, 2011."

Melanie Griffin Certified Public Accountant Prof. Lipuma ENG 352

Certified Public Accountant. (2012, April 1st). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Public_Accountant

Background

We have been asked to propose a formal proposal concerning an article that needs to be revised for quality and reliable sources of its definition or a specific paragraph/section to be revised. The Wikipedia community has to be convinced that the article needs revision and that we can accomplish it. I selected to revise the “Certified Public Accountant” page on Wikipedia. “A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA.(Wikipedia) ” Each state has different legal requirements that one must reach in order to become a CPA. Certified Public Accountants generally make sure information has disclosed correctly and that General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is used in particular situations. There are many areas of practice for a CPA. For example, tax accounting, forensic accounting, auditing, managerial, etc.

Scope of Work & Qualifications

One change I propose would be the section labeled “AICPA membership” because the section doesn’t include the key factors of the AICPA and the significance of it. The section is very small and needs specific expert support from different sources. The AICPA is a private professional association of over 370,000 CPAs in 128 different countries and performs a number of functions that bear directly on the activities of member CPAs (Messier 50). Most importantly, the AICPA is responsible for preparing and grading the Uniform CPA Examination and plays an important role in administering the CPA certification in conjunction with the individual State Boards of Accountancy (Messier 51). While many CPA’s join the AICPA, it is not mandatory to become a part of the AICPA. The AICPA also helps assist people in state licensing boards.

Preparation to Complete Work

1. Bradford, T. (2008, June 09). What is the AICPA?. Retrieved from USER PROTECTED SITE FROM WIKIPEDIA

For this source, the author focuses on the basic concepts of what the AICPA is. Bradford explains the connection between the AICPA and being a CPA, which relates to the authority of this source. The purpose is to give a reader a clear understanding of the characteristics of being a member of the AICPA. The source is very accurate and supports the revisions needed for the specific section. Bradford gives a very good and reliable source for one to use in revising the AICPA membership.

2. Messier, W. (2010). Auditing & Assurance Services. (pp. 50-51). New York, NY:

For this source, the author focuses on the main principles of what auditing is. One section of the article on Wikipedia for “Certified Public Accountant” is “AICPA membership”. The section was thoroughly expressed to the reader to explain its significance to a CPA. The source is good and reliable because auditing is an extension of accounting and is in the same field. The AICIPA and CPAs go hand-in-hand so I thought it would be good to use this source. The support/accuracy of this source is good because this book was written in 2010. This source shows great timeliness due to it being the right time and it is very seasonable.


Argument

I should be able to proceed with my project because this article needs some minor altercations for the reader to fully understand a CPA. The definition needs to be altered and some sections need revision. This Wikipedia page has been messed around with a lot by different readers and it still doesn’t fully state the main points of a Certified Public Accountant. So, I am asking Dr. Lipuma for permission to proceed with the project and to agree with what I have done in my proposal.