# CPA (Certified Public Accountant)

Canonical URL: https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/cpa-certified-public-accountant
Markdown twin: https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/cpa-certified-public-accountant/llms.txt
Category: Financial Planning & Collaboration (https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/categories/financial-planning-collaboration)
Also known as: CPA, Public accountant
Last updated: 2026-04-18

## Definition

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a state-licensed accounting professional who has passed the Uniform CPA Examination and met experience and continuing-education requirements to provide audit, tax, and advisory services. CPAs are governed by state boards of accountancy and bound by AICPA professional standards.

## Key takeaways

- CPA licensure is granted by individual U.S. states, not by AICPA.
- CPAs can sign audit reports and represent taxpayers before the IRS.
- Many CPAs specialize — small business, high-net-worth tax planning, audit, forensic accounting.
- Confirm a CPA's license status with the state board of accountancy where they practice.

## How Olomon thinks about this

_The following section is Olomon's first-party perspective, informed by our work building a financial system of record. It is intentionally separated from the neutral definitional content above._

CPAs do their best work when they have clean data to work from. Olomon's permissioned collaboration model gives your CPA scoped access to exactly what they need — entity balance sheets, K-1 storage, basis tracking, and document trails — so the relationship spends time on planning, not data wrangling.

## In-depth definition

For households with operating businesses, multiple entities, or significant tax complexity, a CPA is often the most consequential professional relationship in their financial life. The right CPA is more than a tax preparer — they're a year-round advisor on entity choice, compensation, tax timing, and reporting.

## Frequently asked questions

### What's the difference between a CPA and an accountant?

Anyone can call themselves an accountant. Only CPAs have passed the Uniform CPA Exam, met experience requirements, and hold a state license that authorizes audit and certain other services.

## Sources

1. [Requirements to become a CPA — AICPA](https://www.aicpa-cima.com/membership/join/requirements-to-become-a-cpa.html) — American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Cited for: Authoritative source on CPA licensure.

## Related terms

- [Financial advisor](https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/financial-advisor)
- [Certified Financial Planner (CFP)](https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/certified-financial-planner-cfp)
- [Balance sheet](https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/balance-sheet)

## Cite this page

Olomon Editorial Team. (2026). CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Olomon Financial Glossary. https://olomon.com/financial-glossary/cpa-certified-public-accountant

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