The designation certified public accountant (CPA) is conferred by a state or jurisdiction to individuals to practice as a licensed certified public accountant. The licensing of CPAs protects the public from incompetent individuals performing substandard accounting work. In the United States, there are fifty-four states or jurisdictions with laws and regulations on the requirements and obligations of licensed CPAs. In 1896, New York State passed the first accountancy law to test the qualifications of public accountants. This led to the issuance of a state license to practice as a certified public accountant and the emergence of accounting as a profession with licensing requirements, professional standards, and a code of professional ethics. Other states followed this lead, and eventually all of the fifty-four states and jurisdictions enacted public accounting legislation. The Boards of Accountancy of each jurisdiction are responsible for licensing candidates and for compliance with the state accountancy laws.

The Boards of Accountancy make licensure decisions based on three factors: (1) the fulfillment of an educational requirement, (2) passing a Uniform CPA Examination and, (3) having a number of years of work experience. The educational and experience requirements vary among the fifty-four jurisdictions. All require at least a bachelor's degree; however, a majority of the jurisdictions require one hundred and fifty semester hours of coursework before a candidate can take the CPA exam, which is typically a bachelor's degree, plus thirty hours of advanced study. The years of experience required vary among the jurisdictions from no experience to two or three years, depending on educational background. As an example, in Texas candidates planning to take the examination need to have one hundred and fifty semester hours of coursework and at least one year of public accountancy experience. In Florida candidates, since 1983, must complete at least one hundred and fifty hours of coursework, but need no experience.

All the jurisdictions in the United States require CPA candidates to pass a Uniform CPA Examination that is prepared by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and graded by its Advisory Grading Service. The objective of the examination is to provide reasonable assurance to Boards of Accountancy that candidates passing the examination possess the level of technical knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to protect the public interest. The current Uniform CPA Examination is a two-day paper and pencil linear examination with questions in a predetermined sequence to be answered manually on paper answer sheets. The examination is offered semi-annually in May and November on a Wednesday and Thursday. The current examination covers four sections: (1) Auditing; (2) Financial Accounting and Reporting; (3) Accounting and Reporting—Taxation, Managerial, and Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations; and (4) Business Law and Professional Responsibilities. Since May 1996, the examination has been nondisclosed, meaning that candidates are no longer allowed to retain or receive their question booklets after the examination or to reveal questions on the examination in any manner. The Board of Examiners of the AICPA maintains overall responsibility of exam preparation and issuance of grades to the state boards. The examination is continually reviewed to maintain its currency and to reflect current practice. Future examinations will be computer based examinations, which would permit the examination to be given more frequently and to test an expanded range of knowledge and skills that closely reflect current practice.

Additional information on the Uniform CPA Examination is available from the AICPA Examinations Team, Harbor side Financial Center, 201 Plaza Three, Jersey City, New Jersey 07311-3881; http://www.aicpa.org. Information on state requirements may be obtained by contacting the state board or the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the organization that co-ordinates the activities of the fifty-four boards of accountancy, located at 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, Tennessee 37219-2417; http://www.nasba.org.