Which statement is true regarding the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants?

• A. It is the predecessor of the AICPA
• B. It is the current name of the accounting standards board
• C. It stands for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• D. It is the US government accounting standards board

Answer: (C)

The key idea is understanding what AICPA stands for and what that organization is. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional body for CPAs in the United States. It operates as a private organization that sets ethical standards, provides guidance to the profession, and participates in auditing and other professional standard work in conjunction with state boards and NASBA. It is not the predecessor of the organization, not the name of the accounting standards board, nor a government accounting standards board. Those roles belong to other entities such as the standard-setting boards (like FASB/GASB) and governmental bodies. So the acronym represents the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.