.png)
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional organization representing Certified Public Accountants in the United States, with more than 428,000 members across 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the American Association of Public Accountants, the AICPA sets ethical standards, develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, establishes auditing standards for nonpublic companies and nonprofit organizations, and advocates for the accounting profession before legislative bodies and regulatory agencies. It is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with additional offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Ewing, New Jersey.
The organization traces its roots to 1887, when the American Association of Public Accountants was formed to establish accountancy as a recognized profession with defined educational requirements and ethical obligations. It underwent several name changes: the Institute of Public Accountants in 1916, the American Institute of Accountants in 1917, and received its current name in 1957. From its founding through the 1970s, the AICPA held virtual monopoly authority over accounting standards in the United States. In the 1970s, it transferred responsibility for generally accepted accounting principles to the newly formed Financial Accounting Standards Board, which remains the primary GAAP standard-setter. The AICPA retained standards-setting authority in auditing, ethics, attest services, and firm quality management.
The AICPA performs several distinct functions that collectively shape the CPA profession.
The Uniform CPA Examination is the standardized test that all aspiring CPAs must pass to obtain licensure in any U.S. state or territory. The AICPA develops, administers, and scores the exam in partnership with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). The exam was redesigned in January 2024 under the CPA Evolution model to reflect the changing competency requirements of modern accounting practice. It covers four core discipline areas: Auditing and Attestation, Business Environment and Concepts, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Regulation.
The AICPA's Auditing Standards Board issues Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) and quality management standards for audits of private (nonpublic) companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. For public companies whose securities are registered with the SEC, auditing standards are set by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in response to the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals. The AICPA maintains alignment with International Standards on Auditing where practical.
The AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct establishes the ethical principles that all CPAs are expected to uphold, including integrity, objectivity, independence (where required), and due professional care. The code governs conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, fee arrangements, and advertising. State boards of accountancy adopt and enforce these standards at the licensing level.
In 2012, the AICPA entered a joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), its UK counterpart, to create the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation. The combined body, known as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, represents approximately 689,000 members, students, and professionals globally. The CGMA is designed to recognize expertise in finance, strategy, operations, and management for professionals who work in business and industry rather than public accounting.
CPA licensure is controlled by state boards of accountancy, not the AICPA. However, AICPA membership is widely sought because of the professional development resources, technical guidance publications, peer review programs, and continuing professional education (CPE) offerings it provides. CPE requirements ensure that CPAs maintain current knowledge across evolving regulatory, technological, and practice developments throughout their careers.
With deep roots in traditional finance and the digital asset industry, Acquire.Fi operates as a specialist M&A advisory firm. Coverage spans M&A, secondaries, OTC, and capital markets advisory across digital assets and frontier tech. Our team has decades of combined experience across every stage of the deal lifecycle.
.webp)