Accounting professionals are people who are competent to serve society in more than an ordinary way. They have a responsibility to those they serve, their colleagues, and the public—investors, consumers, and creditors. They are willing to participate in public affairs, especially where their expertise may be most valuable. They maintain an intellectual independence and are aware of their responsibility to the public in performing their engagements or services. CPAs' responsibilities to their profession involve support of programs for improving the theory and application of accounting. CPAs must act with integrity and in accord with the profession's code of ethics. The services of professional accountants derive not only from knowledge and experience, but also from personal qualities of perception, imagination, judgment, and integrity.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Accounting provides the information necessary to determine and evaluate the present and projected economic activities of organizations. It includes financial services to individuals, business entities, not-for-profit organizations, and government at all levels. Professional accountants develop and apply their skills in auditing, taxation, management policy, information systems, computer operations, and many other areas.

Accounting is a leading growth profession throughout the world. Instant communication facilities, rapid international travel, and expanding world trade have enlarged the scope and importance of accounting services. Many CPA firms and their client companies have extensive international operations. Professional accounting careers are open to men and women of all ethnic and social backgrounds. Success requires motivation, a commitment to service, and skill in communication and analysis. Also important are abilities to work well with others, to think abstractly, and to solve problems logically. If you are interested in a challenging and financially rewarding professional career, read on.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
For the protection of the public, CPAs are expected to possess certain professional qualifications that support reliance on their competence to supply data for economic decision-making.

The CPA certificate is evidence of entry-level competence in accounting. Each state or jurisdiction, through its board of accountancy, establishes the education, experience. and character requirements for entry into, and practice of, public accounting. The Uniform CPA Examination, which has been adopted in all states. is administered to candidates who meet state board requirernents. The examination is designed to measure technical competence, which includes not only technical knowledge and its application but also the exercise of good judgment, and understanding of professional responsibility. The examination tests theoretical and practical applications in financial and management accounting, auditing, federal income taxation, and business law. It should be taken as soon as the requirements for candidacy are met.

EDUCATION
CPAs require the broadest kind of education to examine and report upon management activities. They should be equipped to recognize problems and develop solutions to those problems.

PRE-COLLEGE
A college preparatory program should begin your training. Concentrate on building strengths in oral and written communications and in mathematics. If you take introductory accounting, you should understand that initially you will concen trate on fundamentals, not broad concepts. Professional accounting is concerned with (1) designing systems to gather necessary financial and related information, (2) accumulating and summarizing information, and (3) analyzing and interpreting the system's output.

COLLEGE
Preprofessional university-level study should be aimed at a broad general education in the humanities and sciences, including a knowledge and understanding of topics relevant to accounting such as communications, behavioral sciences, quantitative methods, economics, and an introduction to computer science. Professional courses in your program should cover such areas as the organization of the profession; ethics and professional responsibilities; financial, managerial, and governmental accounting; auditing; and taxation. Many colleges and universities offer baccalaureate and masters degree programs in accounting. Some universities have a professional school or program of accounting that sets forth at least two years of preprofessional preparation and three years of progressively more advanced professional-level studies. While most states permit candidates to sit for the CPA examination upon earning a baccalaureate degree, several require college work beyond the baccalaureate degree. The AICPA has recommended that at least 150 semester hours of college study are needed to obtain the common body of knowledge for CPA's. Such an education can be obtained in a variety of institutional settings, such as combining an under-graduate accounting program with postgraduate study in accounting. The AICPA believes the preferable educational track is through a professional accounting school or through a program that leads to a graduate degree in accounting.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
After certification, CPAs must maintain their technical competence. Formal courses and self-study in areas of one's interest are essential. To keep up with new developments and change, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, state CPA societies and their local chapters, accounting firms, and other organizations sponsor programs on a wide range of topics. The boards of accountancy of most states now require specified amounts of continuing education. Such education is a means of learning new theories, requirements, and techniques for solving emerging problems. Upgrading old skills and learning new ones are both a professional challenge and an opportunity.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
The independent certified public accountant examines a company's information system as a basis for determining and performing the audit procedures necessary to express a professional opinion on a company's financial statements.

CPAs may practice as sole practitioners or may associate to form firms of various sizes. Generally, as a firm grows, so does the scope of its services and its geographical operations. It is common to refer to public accounting firms in terms of their geographic service capabilities—local, regional, national, or international. You can expect many opportunities for professional growth, regardless of whether you work as a sole practitioner or as a member of a firm. Your own personalitv, motivation, technical skills, geographical preferences, and professional goals will determine where you belong.

AUDITING
Independent certified public accountants who serve clients represent an important segment of the accounting function. A substantial part of public accounting practice consists of audit services. In this activity, CPAs examine clients' financial statements and express a professional opinion on the presentation. Investors, consumers, creditors, and other interested parties rely on the CPA's opinion in using the audited financial statements for making decisions. This is a unique role for CPAs. Excellence in this activity has encouraged a demand for CPAs' professional opinions on financial statements related to regulatory and legal disclosure requirements. Many CPAs also develop expertise to assist in matters of tax accounting and management operations.

If you work for a firm, you can expect to progress through several positions. Initially, you would be a "staff accountant," assisting those in charge of the audit engagements in conducting the examination. Next, you would serve as an "in-charge'' accountant, having responsibility for planning and conducting audit engagements. The next promotion would be to 'manager,' a position that carries the responsibility for overseeing a number of audit engagements and supervising the in-charge accountants. The final promotion is to "partner ' of the firm, a position with responsibility for managing the firm as well as supervising the work of the managers. Throughout these ranks, salaries are attractive and compare favorably with those of other professions.

COMPILATION AND REVI EW
The accounting profession has recognized that different types of enterprises have different accounting requisites and that not all users of financial statements have the same information needs. Although many small, private companies have annual audits, many more engage CPAs not to perform an audit but to help prepare financial statements and provide operating and financial advice. These smaller, privately owned companies depend on CPAs to assist them by providing accounting services that, in larger companies, are normally provided by their employees.

TAX ADVISORY SERVICES
Taxation is a complex and challenging area of the accounting profession and is now a significant segment of the practices of both large and small CPA firms. Due to the constantly changing tax laws and the growing complexity of businesses, the tax professional is involved with many types of businesses as well as with individuals making personal tax decisions. The responsibilities of CPAs specializing in the tax area are broad. They include tax planning and advice. tax return and supporting document preparation, representation of clients before governmental agencies, and other assistance to clients in complying with the tax laws. The extremely rapid expansion of the scope, complexity, and impact of tax problems has considerably increased the demand for skilled tax professionals. For those who show promise in this growing area of the accounting profession, the rewards have become increasingly satisfying.

• MANAGEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
  Certified public accountants are frequently engaged to provide objective advice on a variety of problems in private firms and in government. These problems involve, among other things, the development of information and control systems and production and marketing systems. CPAs in public practice are familiar with the internal operation of organizations. It is logical, therefore, that management should turn to them for objective advice. Organizations engage independent CPAs for assistance on such matters as
  Devising a reporting system for better control and decision-making
  Installing a cost accounting system or computer operation.
• Implementing a work measurement program for greater efficiency.
• Improving production control procedures.
• Developing an organization plan with definitions of duties and responsibilities.

Govennmental units also engage CPAs for advisory services. These include examinations of the effectiveness of social programs, studies of financing methods for communities, and other services. Management advisory services are now performed by sole practitioner CPAs as well as the largest international firms.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
The reports and analyses of management accountants are essential ingredients of most business decisions. Thus, the management accountant participates in virtually every phase of business problem-solving and decision-making.

A CPA in the role of management accountant is expected to determine the financial effects of projected management actions aimed at achieving organization objectives. The management accountant is responsible for developing, producing, and analyzing data useful for business decisions and for reporting it to interested parties.

A significant percentage of all CPAs are employed in private industry as chief financial officers, controllers, chief accountants, or internal auditors. Because of the importance attributed to the financial management function in attaining an organization's goals, the CPA is a solid member of the top management group and can become chief executive officer of a company.

GOVERNMENTAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTING

Those persons elected or appointed to public offices must determine how well programs are working, if they are achieving their goals, and whether the taxpayers' dollars are being spent efficiently. CPAs provide the data to help make these determinations.

The need for financial measurement, reporting, and control over the activities of government at all levels as well as educational, religious, and charitable institutions is now being recognized. The public sector of our economy has grown greatly in the last quarter century. As noncommercial organizations are more affected by inherent requirements for financial reporting and controls, they need more certified public accountants on their staffs.

The federal government hires CPAs in many of its agencies, such as the Intemal Revenue Service, the General Accounting Office, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The Internal Revenue Service, among other responsibilities, audits individual and company tax returns. The General Accounting Office is the audit arm of the U.S.

Congress, assisting in investigations to determine policy compliance and performing a broad range of other activities. The Defense Contract Audit Agency concentrates on audits of defense contractors and their operations.

ACCOUNTING EDUCATOR

Accounting faculty are at the same time members of two professions, accounting and education. They bear the responsibilities and gain the rewards of both professions.

As accounting educators, CPAs are members of the faculties of community colleges, colleges of business administration, and graduate schools of business. Many universities are now establishing schools of professional accountancy comparable to those of the other professions, such as law, medicine, and architecture. Accounting educators may begin their careers as instructors. After obtaining advanced education and experience, they may eventually be promoted to professors. They are expected to excel in teaching, to contribute to the profession through research and participation in professional activities, and to advance the interests of the community through public service projects. Professional accounting educators participate in professional activities acting as consultants, serving on committees of the professional organizations, and educating students to be technically competent. Like the other branches of the profession, accounting education has a great need for well-trained men and women.

THE CERTIFIED PUBLIC- ACCOUNTANT'S CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY

Together we face the problems of a changing world: poverty, pollution, energy crisis, overpopulation, and interpersonal conflict. But no one faces both the best and the worst possibilities more squarely than the student choosing a lifetime career. Making this choice raises questions about career aptitudes as well as the ability to make basic social adjustments to the world as it is. Certified public accountants are socially and culturally involved. Every significant event in modern society requires assessment of its worth in terms of manpower, materials, and money. This is the CPA's specialty.

Accounting has become a social force, and CPAs are playing a major role in making a better society. The intellectual, economic, and other personal rewards are clearly present, and the opportunity for individuals to contribute to a better world is truly exceptional.