Professional_Knowledge_and_Abilities

Professional Knowledge and Abilities A few months ago, I became bored with my job and decided to approach some of the executives that I work with to discuss possible careers that I thought I could excel at. After long conversations and assessing my knowledge, skills, and abilities, I decided to return to school to pursue a career as a Financial Controller. Upon researching the requirements of the position, I discovered that, not only is a Masters Degree in Finance or Accounting required, one must also become a CPA. So what is a CPA' A CPA, or Certified Public Accountant, is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA (Wikipedia, 2009). In California, to become a CPA, individuals are required to have 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects; 24 semester units in business-related subjects; 150 semester units of education; pass the Uniform CPA Exam; one year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and pass an ethics course (CalCPA, 2009). The most important factor in becoming a CPA is passing the Uniform CPA Exam, which was created and will be graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The AICPA is the national professional organization for all Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). Its mission is to provide members with the resources, information, and leadership that enable them to provide valuable services in the highest professional manner to benefit the public as well as employers and clients. In fulfilling its mission, the AICPA works with state CPA organizations and gives priority to those areas where public reliance on CPA skills is most significant (AICPA Mission, 2009). The AICPA will prepare me to assume the role as a CPA, no matter where my career takes me, the AICPA is there to provide the training, professional skills, programs, services and publications I need to keep me at the top of my professional life. Membership in the AICPA is an invaluable career investment. By earning a CPA license, I will be telling my employer that I received a broad-based education and that I studied hard to pass all parts of a very difficult exam. A CPA license proves to my employer that I have the knowledge, skills and abilities to be a trusted business adviser, and that I am an ethical individual who can offer an independent point of view.