In any profession, there is usually some type of designation of achievement. Accounting has numerous professional designations, two of which are the CMA and CPA.

a. Do you believe that the quality of a person’s work can be determined based solely on whether he or she has obtained one or more professional certifi¬ cations? Why or why not?

b. Do you believe that the attainment of a professional certification is an in¬ dicator of the quality of work a person will perform? Why or why not?

c. Discuss possible reasons for the salary differentials shown in Exhibit 1-9 for certified versus noncertified accountants.

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