Awni W.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) 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. Individuals who have passed the Exam but have not either accomplished the required on-the-job experience or have previously met it but in the meantime have lapsed their continuing professional education are, in many states, permitted the designation "CPA Inactive" or an equivalent phrase. In most U.S. states only CPAs who are licensed are able to provide to the public attestation (including auditing) opinions on financial statements. The exceptions to this rule are Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, and Michigan where the "CPA" designation and the practice of auditing are not restricted. Many states have (or have had) a lower tier of accountant qualification below that of CPA, usually entitled "Public Accountant" or "Licensed Public Accountant" (with designatory letters "PA" or "LPA"), although other titles have included "Registered Public Accountant" (RPA), "Accounting Practitioner" (AP), and "Registered Accounting Practitioner" (RAP). Such designations were originally intended to license non-certified accountants who were practicing public accounting before a state accountancy law was enacted which would serve to regulate the accounting profession. The majority of states have closed the designation "Public Accountant" (PA) to new entrants, with only six states continuing to offer the designation. Many PAs belong to the National Society of Accountants.