Accounting as the Production of Financial Data in an Organization Essay

Accounting as the Production of Financial Data in an Organization - Essay Example This paper describes such authoritative sources required in the field of accounting. Among the four source genres, professional associations or credentialing associations often stand out as the most credible and authoritative sources of information on accountancy. This comes as a result of these associations offering membership to several professionals in the accounting field. In addition, these associations set the professional and ethical standards required of all the individuals in the field of accountancy. Professionals associations involve themselves in enlightening members through seminars, conferences and workshops. Moreover, many of these associations produce publications such as scholarly journals and periodicals made available to members of the association and to the general public. Therefore it becomes evident that even though all genres serve as credible sources of information on accounting, professional associations stand out more. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a professional association of Certified Public Accountants. This association stands out as an authoritative source of information on accounting due to various reasons. First, AICPA’s history runs back many years to its founding year in 1887. Therefore, its existence spans 125 years (AICPA website). Having existed for such a long period of time makes the association credible since a record of the association’s activity for all those years prove its authority over other associations whose lifespan is shorter. AIPCA boasts its large membership of around 386,000 Certified Public Accountants. The body gets acclamation as an international body since members of the association consist of individuals from 128 countries around the world. In addition, the members of the association are associates in a  variety of disciplines, among them student affiliates, education, government, public practice, and international associates. This proves that AICPA hosts a very diverse group of associates.