Question

What is the role of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and their role in advising the FASB?

Answer 1

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 418,000 members.

****Role of the American institute of certified public accountants:

1)Credential & Designation - The AICPA offers credentialing programs in certain subject areas for its members. The credentials are similar to state board certifications for attorneys, which also recognize subject matter-specific expertise. The AICPA offers the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential, the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential, the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credential, the Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP)credential, and the Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations (CEIV) credential.

2) Public interest campaigns - The AICPA also runs extensive public interest programs, most notably the multiple award-winning campaign Feed the pig and the award-winning site 360 degrees of financual literacy. Feed the Pig, a national public service campaign sponsored by the AICPA and the Ad council, encourages Americans aged 25 to 34 to take control of their personal finances by providing free savings tips and resources. 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy is a national volunteer effort of the nation’s CPAs to help Americans understand their personal finances and develop money management skills

3) Government relation programs - The AICPA has a Washington office and a Political action committie. On behalf of its members, the AICPA monitors and advocates on legislative and other matters that affect the accounting profession. Working with state CPA societies and other professional organizations, the AICPA provides information to and educates federal, state and local policymakers regarding key issues.

******Role of AICPA in advising FASB is -

The FASB is the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting for non-governmental entities in the U.S

* professional standard setting - " The AICPA sets generally acceptedprofessional and technical standards for CPAs in multiple areas. Until the 1970s, the AICPA held a virtual monopoly in this field. In the 1970s, however, it transferred its responsibility for setting Generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) to the newly formed Finansial accounting standard board (FASB)