Hernando Beach CPAs can provide you with assistance managing your personal finances or your business finances. But what is a CPA and what kinds of services do they offer?

What is a CPA?

Hernando Beach CPAs are certified public accountants, who are licensed in Florida or another one of the 50 states. In order to become a CPA, you must pass a challenging exam, which is administered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, also known as NASBA.

As is true for individuals who hold a number of other professional licenses and certifications, professional CPAs are typically required to undergo continuing education courses. This is usually a condition that must be fulfilled in order to successfully renew their certification.

Some CPAs have an accounting degree, while in other regions require only college credit. Generally speaking, a majority of the nation’s states require CPAs to have 150 or more college credits in order for an accounting professional to be eligible to take the NASBA CPA exam.

CPAs can handle many different aspects of the accounting process and there are a number of accounting niches, including but not limited to:

  • Accounting
  • Tax planning
  • Financial planning
  • Assurance and business financial audits
  • Financial consulting services
  • Forensic accounting
  • IT accounting
  • International accounting
  • Environmental accounting

Some CPAs specialize in personal finance, while others specialize in commercial finance or accounting for non-profit organizations. A CPA may work with an accounting firm that works with various clients, while others may work for an accounting department at a company, organization, school or municipality.

How Do You Hire a CPA

Hernando Beach residents may wish to consider a number of different points when hiring a CPA. Firstly, you’ll want to enquire about the CPA’s specialty. Some accountants are generalists, while others are specialists, so it’s important that the CPA that you choose can meet your unique needs.

Since accountants deal directly with money, some clients may wish to run a background check prior to hiring a CPA. Hernando Beach clients can find some peace of mind knowing that all CPAs are subject to a background check during the CPA licensing process, as candidates are required to maintain “good moral character.” Of course an individual could be convicted of a crime after this background check is performed, so it’s not unwise to perform a check if your CPA will have access to large sums of money and/or sensitive information.

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Suncoast CPA Group*

Hernando Beach CPAs