The
American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) celebrates its 125
th
anniversary in 2012. Founded in 1887, the AICPA is the national professional
organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with
more than 350,000 CPA members in 128 countries in business and industry, public
practice, government and education. It sets ethical standards for the
profession and auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit
organizations, federal, state and local governments. The
AICPA’s founding
established accountancy as a profession distinguished by rigorous educational
requirements, high professional standards, a strict code of professional
ethics, and a commitment to serving the public interest.
According to the
AICPA Insights blog, the history of
the profession includes a long tradition of successfully overcoming challenges.
“Throughout our nearly 125 years, we have been a proactive profession that
seeks out opportunities for growth and improvement. The latest example is
CPA Horizons 2025, a landmark
project that continues the valuable work of the profession’s Vision Process in
the late 1990s and charts a course for the profession over the next 15 years. Among
other key areas,
Horizons 2025 focused on the
increasing impact that technology will have on our world and on our profession.
Since technology can automate so many of the tasks that we perform, it has
allowed us to raise our game and reinforce our roles as trusted business
advisors.”
In celebration of its 125th anniversary, the AICPA will
highlight the CPA profession’s financial literacy expertise in a
consumer-focused
book. The book content will be a collection of personal essays showcasing
the many ways CPAs transform financial lives. In this regard, the AICPA is
looking for real-world saving and spending stories and tales of both money
struggles and triumph to help families get a handle on their finances and teach
good habits to children. The goal is to publish the book in the same style as
the
Chicken Soup for the Soul series
in Fall 2012. That will coincide with the AICPA’s 125th anniversary and take
advantage of the moment to highlight the CPA profession in the public. This
book will be the AICPA’s first consumer publication and the first book
published as part of the “
360
Degrees of Financial Literacy” program.
