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Some Basic Information about Certified Public Accountants and the Services They Render

Any business needs a person who can work on the accounting side of the company, and depending on the size of the company, the owner may hire a regular accountant a certified public accountant or a Missouri Bookkeeper. There are differences to these titles that would depend on the level of education and certification. We are going to discuss here briefly about the certified public accountant or the CPA, a special kind of accountant. In the United States for example, this is the title given to somebody who had passed the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Examination and has met additional state education and experience just to get the certification. The person has to pass the gruelling tests that require special education lasting to around 150 hours.

Sometimes, people tend to use and interchange the terms CPA and accountant. Know that CPA designation has more weight in the financial community and in the accounting society or profession. 

The accounting services provided to a business on a contract basis is called public accounting. In this situation, it is the CPA who can attests and gives assurance that the financial statements of a company are accurate, reasonable and comply to the general accounting principles. They also can attest that the statements are free from "material misstatement" and that the disclosures are reasonable.

A Missouri Certified Public Accountant can also work as an auditor, wherein they are required by the Federal and State Law and by their professional standards to be an independent entity from that of the company they are conducting an audit or review. This condition is often termed as attestation.

 Another work of a CPA is as a consultant, wherein the professional gives advises to the company on what are acceptable business practices and gives recommendations on the financial management side of the company. It is a practice that when a CPA works as a consultant of the company, the person does not work as the auditor of the same company.

For a CPA to have the certification, the person must complete a 40 hour continuing professional education every year in order to keep abreast of the new rules and regulations of the financial, accounting and business world. To have this certification is the proof that one has met the high level of expectations in the accounting profession as a CPA.

Tax laws generally change frequently, and for this reason, a good CPA will have to spend time and effort to keep abreast of these changes. Usually they belong themselves to a state association in order to keep up to date with their accounting community.

Find out more at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6LV5Hd1eSg .

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