The mission of the California Board of Accountancy is to protect the public welfare, particularly consumers, by ensuring that only qualified persons and firms are licensed to practice public accountancy and that appropriate standards of competency and practice, including ethics, objectivity and independence are established and enforced.

The vision of the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) is to be the premier regulatory agency that provides exemplary consumer protection, fosters high ethical standards, promotes continuous quality improvement in the practice of public accountancy, and operates with maximum efficiency.

Created by statute in 1901, the California Board of Accountancy's legal mandate is to regulate the accounting profession for the public interest by establishing and maintaining entry standards of qualification and conduct within the accounting profession, primarily through its authority to license.

In California, the accounting profession's licensed practitioners are the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the Public Accountant (PA). The CBA currently regulates over 76,000 licensees, the largest group of licensed accounting professionals in the nation, including individuals, partnerships, and corporations.

By authority of the California Accountancy Act, the CBA:

• Qualifies California candidates for the Uniform CPA Examination.
• Certifies, licenses, and renews licenses of individual CPAs and PAs.
• Registers CPA partnerships, PA partnerships, and corporations. Effective January 1, 1998, the Accountancy Act permits minority ownership of public accounting firms by non-licensees.
• Receives and investigates complaints.
• Takes enforcement action against licensees for violation of CBA statutes and regulations.
• Monitors compliance with continuing education requirements.
• Reviews the work products of CPAs, PAs, and CPA firms to ensure adherence to professional standards.

The California Board of Accountancy is unique in its authority to license and discipline not only individuals but also firms.