Certified Public Accountant

A Certified Public Accountant, commonly known as a CPA, offers advice and financial services to individuals and businesses. These services include book keeping, tax advice and preparation, and preparation of financial statements. The “Certified” portion of “Certified Public Accountant” means that you have completed rigorous tests at the federal and state level in order to earn the designation.

As a Certified Public Accountant, your intense schooling educates you about the plethora of laws in this field. With this background, you advise clients on the best ways to handle their money. That means creating financial reports that identify ways to save, spend, invest, or donate money in order to reduce taxes. After all, the less paid to Uncle Sam equals more in the pocket. To keep up with the constant changes in tax and accounting laws, you are required to attend 120 hours of classes every two to three years. If you fall behind, you risk losing your certification, so this is an important part of your job.

You are the wealth of knowledge that your client needs. They look to you to develop financial plans such as saving for the future, trimming costs, implementing an employee benefits plan, or planning for retirement. In addition, a huge part of your job is preparing and filing tax forms. Although this task alone has you working long days from January through April, you continue to file extensions, late filings, and other paperwork throughout the year.