Professional Designations
ABA - Accredited Business Accountant or Accredited Business Advisor
ACAT - Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation
ATA - Accredited Tax Advisor
ATP - Accredited Tax Preparer
ABV - Accredited in Business Valuation
CA - Chartered Accountant
CEP - Certified Estate Planner
CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst
CFC - Certified Financial Consultant
ChFC - Chartered Financial Consultant
CFE - Certified Fraud Examiner
CFP - Certified Financial Planner
CFSA - Certified Financial Service Auditor
CIA - Certified Internal Auditor
CMA - Certified Management Accountant
CPA - Certified Public Accountant
CTP - Certified Tax Preparer
EA - Enrolled Agent
ECS - Elder Care Specialist
LPA - Licensed Public Accountant
PA - Public Accountant
PFS - Personal Financial Specialist
ABA
Accredited in Accountancy – required three years of related work experience
and successful completion of a national exam that test technical proficiency
in financial accounting, compilation services, business consulting services,
taxation, business law, and ethics.
ATA
Accredited Tax Advisor – required five years of experience completion
of coursework, and expertise in handling the sophisticated tax needs of highly
compensated clients and owners of closely held business, including evaluation
qualified retirement plans and recommending advanced estate planning techniques.
ATP
Accredited Tax Preparer – required three years of experience in tax preparation,
completion of course work, and thorough knowledge of the tax code and preparation
of technically accurate individual, corporate and partnership tax returns.
CPA
An abbreviation for certified public accountant. A CPA is a trained accountant
who has been examined and licensed by the state. He or she is permitted to perform
all the tasks of an ordinary accountant in addition to examining the books and
records of various business organizations, such as corporations.
CFP
A qualified investment professional who assists individuals and corporations
meet their long-term financial objectives by analyzing the client's status and
setting a program to achieve these goals. They are specialized in tax planning,
asset allocation, risk management, retirement and/or estate planning.
LPA
Licensed public accountants (LPAs) prepare, analyze, and verify business records
and.
financial reports; prepare profit and loss statements, balance sheets, ..
CFA
A professional designation given by the CFA Institute (formerly AIMR) that measures
the competence and integrity of financial analysts. Candidates are required
to pass three levels of exams covering areas such as accounting, economics,
ethics, money management and security analysis.
EA
An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical
expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S.
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