Accounting

The AICPA its Mission, Roles, and Current Activities
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a national organization whose main objective is to enrich accountancy as a profession. With certified public accountants constituting its regular membership, AICPA serves as the guiding arm of the professionals in the accounting profession. Starting with a handful of members, the institute has now grown to more than 300,000 members in its different membership categories (Bradford, 2008).

History
The history of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) dates back to 1887 with the establishment of the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA). By 1916, its membership of 1,150 changed the name of the organization to Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). Then another change of name occurred the following year, 1917. This time, the organization took on the name American Institute of Accountants (AIA). Meanwhile, in 1921, a federation of societies of accountants in the different states was organized  the American Society of Certified Public Accountants (ASCPA). When the ASCPA was eventually absorbed by the AIA in 1936, the latter also decided that from thereon, only certified public accountants (CPAs) would be accepted into its membership. The organization kept its name until 1957 when it finally decided to take its current name American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Mission and objectives
As the national organization of certified public accountants in the United States, it has committed itself to the task of serving the interest of its members, in particular, and safeguarding the public interest, in general, by enhancing accounting as a profession. To do this, the organization first equips its members with all the information and resources they need and then provides the leadership so that certified public accountants could serve the public in the most professional manner. Towards this end, AICPA is working closely with the organizations of CPAs in the different states (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).  
In laying down its objectives, AICPA identified the five major areas it considered vital to the accomplishment of its mission, namely advocacy, certification and licensing, communications, recruiting and education, and standards and performance. The first objective of AICPA, therefore, is to provide effective representation to the countrys CPAs. This is deemed important so that the rights and interests of its members vis a vis the different levels of government, regulatory commissions, and other institutions and organizations, could be safeguarded. Secondly, the organization seeks to protect the reputation and credibility of its members by working for the highest standards in licensing and certifying CPAs in the United States. The third AICPA objective is two-fold. It aims to develop and strengthen the trust and confidence of the American public on CPAs by emphasizing the latters integrity, objectivity, competence and professionalism. Then it aims to maintain adequate internal communication so that it is always aware of the requirements and opinions of its members. It is also an objective of AICPA to conduct intensive educational campaigns for the purpose of encouraging promising individuals to join the ranks of CPAs. Likewise, the organization aids educational institutions in developing their academic programs. The last objective of the institute is to work for the establishment of the highest standards for the accounting profession and consequently enjoin its members to adhere to such standards. In this connection, AICPA provides its members with all the help they need so that they could continue to improve their expertise and be able to strive for better performance and act in the most professional manner (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).

Membership
There are currently eight membership categories in AICPA. These are the regular, associate, non-CPA faculty associate, international associate, student affiliate, CPA candidate, non-CPA section associate, and voluntary membership categories. To qualify for a regular membership, one should not only pass a uniform examination for CPAs designated by the institute but should also obtain a certificate to practice as a CPA from a duly constituted United States authority. Applicants are required to pay an enrollment fee of 65 while the membership dues vary with the members industry and his or her status in said industry. If an applicant who has already passed the uniform examination for CPAs but has not yet obtained a certification to practice from his or her state, he or she would be considered for associate membership. The same enrollment fee and membership dues being charged to regular members are applicable to an associate member (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).

The non-CPA faculty associate membership is open to those who have not passed the uniform examination for CPAs but who are teaching accounting in the universities and colleges. Although they have no voting rights, they are required to abide by all the Bylaws of the institute and adhere to its Code of Professional Conduct. To help them in their profession, the institute provides them with the tools, techniques, and resources which would enable them to improve their methods of teaching and keep them updated on developments in the accounting profession. Even if they have no voting rights, the same enrollment fee and membership dues apply to them. Meanwhile, the status of an international associate member is open to members of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in other countries who are either certified public accountants, chartered accountants or their equivalent. To qualify, the organization of the applicant should be a full member of IFAC. Of good moral character, he or she should not possess a United States CPA certificate. Currently, however, the institute is not receiving applications because this category is under reviewed (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).

The student affiliate and CPA candidate membership categories are available for students (even only in their freshman year) to new graduates of accountancy who have yet to take the uniform examination for CPAs. By paying the membership fee of only 35, they could already enjoy many of the benefits available to the regular members of the institute. For instance, they could network with the other members and receive important information and other valuable resources which are only exclusively available to AICPA members. Examples of these materials are tutorials for the CPA examination as well as sample tests. Scholarships and training opportunities are likewise available to them (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).

Subject to AICPA approval, any CPA firm could sponsor any employee for non-CPA section associate membership provided said employee is not a CPA. The requirements for membership include a bachelors degree acquired from a duly-accredited university or college and an agreement to abide by the Bylaws of the institute, besides adhering to its Code of Professional Conduct. The sponsored applicant should also have met the requirements for membership in public accounting. The same enrollment fees and membership dues charged to regular members are applicable to non-CPA section associates. Finally, the voluntary membership category is open to all AICPA members. There are four sections which cater to specialists in four fields, namely Information Technology, Tax, Personal Financial Planning, and Forensic and Valuation Services. The institute has especially designed these voluntary sections in order to help its members who are specializing in these areas (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010).

Activities
AICPA has been very active in producing materials which are valuable to industry practitioners, having been credited with more than 700 publications to date. Among its products, some of the most popular are Audit  Accounting Guides, Audit Risk Alerts, and Checklists  Illustrative Financial Statements. It also holds conferences all year long all over the country, touching on such topics as accounting, audit and attest, business valuation and litigation services, career development, consulting services, economic issues, fair value measurement, financial management, fraud detection and prevention, international accounting, personal financial planning, practice management, and tax. A look at the calendar of the institute shows that between March and October, 2010, a total of 43 conferences have already been scheduled. Two conferences are scheduled for March, eight for May, a total of 17 conferences for June, and ten conferences are scheduled to be held in July. In August, the institute has scheduled two conferences and another three are supposed to be held in September. The last entry in AICPAs calendar of activities is a conference scheduled for October, 2010. The institute makes the conferences attractive by holding them in popular locations like Las Vegas, Orlando, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C. (AICPA, n.d.).  

Conclusion
Membership to AICPA is a must, not only for certified public accountants, but also for other professionals and would-be professionals who intend to work extensively in the accounting profession. AICPA assures their professional success through its various activities and programs of assistance. For instance, the institute is conducting thousands of accounting seminars and more than thirty accounting conferences every year (AICPA Learning, 2010) and provides its members with easy access to very timely and relevant information about the organization and the industry as a whole and  much needed resources like magazines, newsletters, and other publications  a complete AICPA Library could be found at the University of Mississippi (Goliath, 2003).