Accountant


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to Accountant: chartered accountant

Accountant

A person who has the requisite skill and experience in establishing and maintaining accurate financial records for an individual or a business. The duties of an accountant may include designing and controlling systems of records, auditing books, and preparing financial statements. An accountant may give tax advice and prepare tax returns.

A public accountant renders accounting or auditing services for a number of employees, each of whom pays the accountant a fee for services rendered. He or she does more than just bookkeeping but does not generally have all the qualifications of a certified public accountant.

A certified public accountant is one who has earned a license in his or her state that attests to a high degree of skill, training, and experience. In addition to passing an accounting examination, a candidate must have the proper business experience, education, and moral character in order to qualify for the license. The letters CPA are commonly used and generally recognized to be the abbreviation for the title Certified Public Accountant.

The practice of accounting is a highly skilled and technical profession that affects public welfare. It is entirely appropriate for the state to regulate the profession by means of a licensing system for accountants. Some states do not permit anyone to practice accounting except certified public accountants, but other states use the title to recognize the more distinguished skills of a CPA while permitting others to practice as public accountants. All states limit the use of the title and the initials to those who are licensed as certified public accountants.

All accountants are held to high standards of skill in issuing professional opinions. They can be sued for Malpractice if performance of their duties falls below standards for the profession.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

ACCOUNTANT. This word has several significations: 1. One who is versed in accounts; 2. A person or officer appointed to keep the accounts of a public company; 3. He who renders to another or to a court a just and detailed statement of the administration of property which he holds as trustee, executor, administrator or guardian. Vide 16 Vin. Ab. 155.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
"After developing their careers at the big four, a large number of accountants with more than five years of experience decide to leave the company to open their own firm or transfer to others that offer better salaries.
Big 4 accounting firms losing clout
- Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA), England and Wales, UK
INSTITUTE OF COST AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS OF PAKISTAN - 300A chartered institute established in 1951 and constituted under Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966
If, however, an accountant later prepares tax returns for a client that are ultimately filed with the IRS, any communications related solely to the return preparation will be deemed non-privileged.
The Kovel Privilege: How does it work? Keeping accountant-client communications confidential
The Accountant Toolbox gives full access to Client Data Review, Batch Enter Transactions, Period Copy, Working Trial Balance and Accountant Center in QuickBooks Pro, industry versions of QuickBooks Premier and in Quick Books Enterprise Solutions.
QuickBooks 2015: Intuit changes the software and the way we use it
Most observers would view the Arthur Young Court's characterization of the accountant-client relationship as reflecting a rather outdated (and perhaps naive) notion of the modern accountant's role.
Are courts ready to protect more accountant-client communications? Courts increasingly recognize that the need for confidential communications between accountants and clients is similar to that between attorneys and clients
Once the taxpayer retains an attorney, it is important to clearly establish that the accountant's role is to assist the attorney in providing legal advice to the taxpayer.
CPAs and privileged communications
The accountant signs back: "I don't know what you are talking about."
Missing bucks
"More often than not we are in a beneficial position in terms of being able to involve the accountant, as adviser when structuring facilities.
For advice to bank on, SMEs are turning to accountants
Over the last five years, the number of accountants sitting on audit committees has doubled from 6% to 12%.
More accountants are audit committee chairs
I need to hire an accountant but don't know where to start when it comes to finding a reputable one.
BIZ BUREAU: My blind spot over accounts

Legal browser ?
Full browser ?