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AICPA

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization for CPAs in the United States, operating as the premier standard-setting body since its founding in 1887 to provide a unified response to accounting and auditing challenges. The AICPA supports both the public and private sectors by offering the System and Organization Controls (SOC) suite of services, including the SOC 2 and SOC for Cybersecurity frameworks, to reduce the risk of data mismanagement and to help make the digital economy the safest place to store and process sensitive information. Acting as the country’s primary authority on independent attestation, the AICPA monitors emerging technological risks, issues annually updated Trust Services Criteria (including the 2026 emphasis on continuous risk monitoring), coordinates with global regulatory bodies to ensure audit quality, and serves as the single point of reference for third-party assurance, ensuring a coordinated and resilient national approach to organizational cyber security.