The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and its technology arm CPA.com have begun an early-phase rollout of .cpa, a restricted Internet domain that will allow CPAs to connect with clients and the public with greater trust, security and verification, the association said in a statement.

Top-level domains are the letters added at the end of internet addresses, such as ".com" and ".org." A few years ago, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers—the nonprofit organization that regulates internet addresses—announced it would greatly expand the number of available top-level domains. The result was a race to acquire top-level domains identifying specific industries and professions.

AICPA was awarded ownership and management of .cpa last year. The association has contracted with Neustar, one of the largest registry service providers in the world, to maintain and secure all .cpa domains. CPA.com will be responsible for managing the outreach of the service to firms in the U.S.

"The digital presence of firms has never been more important.," said Erik Asgeirsson, CEO of CPA.com. "The .cpa domain will reduce risks associated with phishing and spoofing attacks and the growing number of online bad actors. Just as importantly, it will give clients and the public-at-large greater peace of mind they're dealing with legitimate CPA firms."

The initial application phase is designed to ensure domains are issued systematically, AICPA said. After the initial period closes on Oct. 31 and the first batch of domains are awarded, firms can apply for any available .cpa name on a rolling, "first come, first served" basis. In January 2021, the process will open up to include individually licensed CPAs.

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