LibGuides: Accounting: Licensing and Standards

Standards

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

The AICPA develops standards for audits of private companies and other services by CPAs; provides educational guidance materials to its members; develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination; and monitors and enforces compliance with the profession’s technical and ethical standards.

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
The FASAB serves the public interest by improving federal financial reporting through issuing federal financial accounting standards and providing guidance after considering the needs of external and internal users of federal financial information.
Financial Accounting Standards Board
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting that govern the preparation of financial reports by nongovernmental organizations.
Governmental Accounting Standards Board
The GASB is the independent organization that establishes and improves standards of accounting and financial reporting for U.S. state and local government.

International Accounting Standards Board

The principal objectives of the IFRS Foundation are:
•to develop a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) through its standard-setting body, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB);
•to promote the use and rigorous application of those standards;
•to take account of the financial reporting needs of emerging economies and small and medium-sized entities (SMEs); and
•to promote and facilitate adoption of IFRSs, being the standards and interpretations issued by the IASB, through the convergence of national accounting standards and IFRSs.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of broker-dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection.

Securities and Exchange Commission

The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. It is responsible for implementing regulatory initiatives to achieve these goals.

State Boards of Accountancy
NASBA accomplishes its mission by creating a forum for accounting regulators and practitioners to address issues relevant to the viability of the accounting profession. This website allows access to the state boards of accountancy in all 50 states.
Uniform Accountancy Act
As with other professions, the public accounting profession is built upon a statutory foundation providing for the examination and licensing of members of the profession, and for the regulation of their professional conduct. All CPAs are examined, licensed, and regulated under
state accountancy laws, and there is such a law in every American jurisdiction. This uniform act serves as a model bill to regulate the practice of public accountancy.