Specialty credentials
Credentialing has always been an essential way for professionals to distinguish themselves and highlight their qualifications in a particular field.
In May 2008, the AICPA approved a new credential: Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), in response to the rising demand for forensic accounting services. This will be the AICPA’s fourth specialty credential:
Forensic Accounting: A Growing Field
The demand for forensic accounting services is growing and the trend is expected to continue as businesses increasingly seek out experts to help them with a broad range of issues such as economic damages, family law, fraud investigations and litigation.
The Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credential combines specialized forensic accounting knowledge and expertise with everything that makes CPAs among the most trusted business advisors. Moreover, it will debut at a time of popularity for forensic accounting as a career choice. The CFF will capitalize on a discipline with which the CPA is naturally associated and help distinguish credential holders as forensic experts.
AICPA research revealed that the increasing demand for forensic accounting services is expected to continue for the next five years and that the market will welcome the combined CPA-CFF credential. Forensic accounting continues to be an area of need for today’s businesses.
To qualify for the credential, individuals must meet the following requirements:
- Hold a CPA license
- Have a minimum of 5 years of experience in the general practice of accounting
- Have a minimum of 1,000 hours of relevant forensic accounting experience
- Have at least 75 hours of forensic accounting continuing education
During the first three years following the launch of the credential, applicants can qualify for the credential based on experience and education. They will also get credit towards qualification for holding other forensic accounting-related credentials. It is anticipated that an exam will be one of the qualification criteria beginning in year four.
The AICPA has established a credential for CPAs who specialize in personal financial planning (PFP). The personal financial specialist (PFS) credential is granted exclusively to CPAs with considerable PFP experience who want to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, and experience by earning this exclusive credential.
The Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential distinguishes CPAs who specialize in personal financial planning. In addition, the PFS credential shows a higher level of skill and knowledge, enhancing your marketing efforts.
This designation can only be acquired by CPAs who:
- Are AICPA members (binding them to the Code of Professional Conduct)
- Have a minimum of 1,400 hours of financial planning business experience in addition to continuing education within the last five years
- Pass a comprehensive and rigorous personal financial planning exam.
Visit the AICPA’s PFS Web page for more details.
The mission of the ABV Credential program is to provide a community of business valuation experts with specialized access to information, education, tools, and support that enhance their ability to make a genuine difference for their clients and employers.
The ABV Credential program allows credential holders to brand or position themselves as CPAs who are premier business valuation service providers. ABV Credential holders differentiate themselves by going beyond the core service of reaching a conclusion of value, by also creating value for clients through the strategic application of this analysis.
Visit the AICPA’s ABV Web page for more details:
A Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) is a CPA recognized for their technology expertise and unique ability to bridge the gap between business and technology. The CITP credential recognizes technical expertise across a wide range of business-technology practice areas.
The CITP credential is predicated on the fact that in today’s complex business environment, technology plays an ever increasing role in how organizations meet their business obligations, and that no single professional has a more comprehensive understanding of those obligations than a CPA.
The CITP credential encourages and recognizes excellence in the delivery of technology-related services by CPA professionals, and provides tools, training, and support to help CPAs expand their IT-related services and provide greater benefit to the business and academic communities they serve.
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LAST UPDATED 6/11/2008