Certified Public Accountant (
CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. In the
United States they will have passed the
Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and will have met additional state education and experience requirements for membership in their respective
professional accounting bodies and certification as a CPA. Individuals who have passed the exam but have not either accomplished the required on-the-job experience or have previously met it and who have lapsed their
continuing professional education or have requested to be converted to inactive status are, in many states, permitted the designation "CPA Inactive" or an equivalent phrase. In most U.S. states, only CPAs who are licensed are able to provide to the public attestation (including auditing) opinions on
financial statements. The exceptions to this rule are
Arizona,
Kansas, and
North Carolina where the "CPA" designation and the practice of auditing are not restricted. Many CPAs are members of the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or their state CPA society.