A CPA is a Certified Public Accountant, which is a license given to individuals who provide accounting services to the public. CPA services include financial audits, income tax preparation, business consulting, estate planning and any number of other accounting services for either corporations or individuals. To become a CPA in the United States, you must pass the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination. Whether or not you qualify to take the Uniform CPA Exam depends on individual states. Many states (including Nebraska) require 150 college credit hours in order to qualify for the exam, which usually means additional education beyond a bachelor's degree in accounting. Nebraska, Montana, Illinois, Florida and Alabama are "two-tier states," which means if you pass the Uniform CPA Exam, you must also qualify for licensing, usually after a certain amount of accounting work experience. Other states have a "one-tier" system, where you become certified and licensed at the same time, when both the Uniform CPA exam is passed and the work experience requirement has been met.