Memo
To: Mary Manyinterests, Manager
From: Jane Doe, CPA
CC: CPAs Forever, Inc.
Date: February 1, 2010
Re: Summary of CPA Responsibilities
On Monday, January 25, 2010, you requested that I provide the external CPAs answers to questions about deferred taxes, accounting changes and error corrections, and establishing the subsidiary as a corporation. The attached brief contains answers to those questions. Additionally, you requested information about my professional responsibilities as a CPA and the difference between a review and an audit.
Professional Responsibilities as a CPA Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) must follow the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct. The code contains six areas dealing with professional behavior including responsibilities; the public interest; integrity; objectivity and independence; due care; and scope and nature of services.
1. Responsibilities – deals with exercising perceptive professional and ethical reasoning in all activities. CPAs have a duty to collaborate amongst themselves to enhance the field of accounting, preserve the public’s trust, and fulfill the profession’s unique duties of self-regulation (Rampulla, 2002).
2. The Public Interest – deals with honoring public trust, serving public interest, and demonstrating commitment to professionalism. A CPA’s public includes clients, creditors, governments, owners, investors, the financial and trade community, and anyone depending on the impartiality and honesty of CPAs to preserve the organized operation of commerce. CPAs must give superior service, make fee arrangements with clients, and provide a variety of services while demonstrating professionalism consistent with the code of conduct