Benjamin Franklin is famous for saying, “The only certain things in life are death and taxes.” Historical evidence backs this up — the oldest known example of writing is about taxes. So it is hardly surprising that today taxes reach into every aspect of daily life, and the proliferation of taxes necessitates a staggering array of professionals to help people deal with them. In November 1985, a group of tax and accounting professionals in California recognized the need for an organization encompassing all accounting and tax practitioners.. Thus was formed the California Association of Independent Accountants. Re-christened the California Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals (CSATP) in 1997, it has grown considerably in numbers and influence. CSATP includes professionals from all areas of the field, including:

• Accountants
• Certified Public Accountants
• Public Accountants
• Accredited Business Accountants
• Bookkeepers
• Accounting Educators
• Accounting Students
• Enrolled Agents
• Accredited Tax Advisors
• Accredited Tax Preparers
• Registered Tax Preparers

A rather long list and still incomplete. One of the reasons for the organization is to help individuals, business owners, corporations, and non-profit agencies navigate today's increasingly complex accounting and tax maze.

What We Do

Protecting Our Rights

Most of our members are small, independent practitioners who do not work for large firms. We help these accounting and tax professionals continue to provide quality services to their customers at a fraction of the expense of a CPA firm. Because of this, our top priority is to protect the right of independent accountants to practice. CPA's are very influential in the state legislature, and attempts have been made to restrict the practice of accounting in this state to CPA's only. While this obviously hurts independent accountants, the real losers would be the consumers, who would be forced to pay much higher fees for services that do not require a CPA's expertise. The hot issue right now is the California version of the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), which has yet to be finalized. CSATP has been fighting this for years, and it continues to strive to ensure that the final version of this act will be acceptable to all accounting professionals.

Networking

We also foster the exchange of information and contact networking among professionals in our field. As our members frequently work with many other professionals -- attorneys, bank officers, investment counselors, insurance agents, and financial planners, just to name a few -- CSATP members can provide valuable references to many different professions.

The National Society of Accountants

CSATP is the California state affiliate of the National Society of Accountants (NSA), founded in 1945. NSA has affiliates in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It is a professional organization of more than 30,000 members nationwide who provide auditing, accounting, tax preparation, financial and estate planning, and management services to over 19 million businesses and individuals. Most NSA members are sole practitioners or partners in small or mid-sized firms.

Contact Us!

For more information, please write, call, or email us click here for contact information. To find out how to become a member and to find out some of the benefits of membership, see the Membership Information section of this site. If you are interested in getting in touch with the CSATP members in your area, contact one of our officers or regional governors, or go to our membership directory.  

Mailing info:
CSATP
PMB #217
5714 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95819-4608
Tel: 800-894-8995
info@csatp.org

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