AICPA definition
/What is the AICPA?
The AICPA is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. It is a professional trade group that represents the interests of certified public accountants (CPAs) in the United States. The AICPA also conducts the CPA examination, creates training materials used for continuing professional education, sets ethical standards to be followed by CPAs, and publishes periodicals dealing with tax and accounting issues.
The AICPA began in 1887 as the American Association of Public Accountants, changed its name to the Institute of Public Accountants in 1916, then the American Institute of Accountants in 1917, then the American Society of Public Accountants in 1921, and took on its current name in 1957.