More than 100 years ago, in 1896, New York appointed the first board of certified public accountant (CPA) examiners. By 1925 all US jurisdictions were administering CPA examinations. Though all states today administer a single Uniform CPA Examination, there are still fifty-four independent boards of accountancy (for all states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico) that issue licenses to accountants. These boards set entry requirements for their licensees; enforce measures to support continuing competence, through both professional education and/or peer review requirements for renewal of individual licenses and firm registrations; and insure that technical and ethical standards are upheld via disciplinary proceedings growing out of a complaint-based system. Board-levied penalties for malpractice range from fines, to additional education requirements, to pre-report issuance reviews, to withdrawal of license.

The average CPA is generally more...