The American Institute of CPAs is in the process of being awarded the ".cpa" domain and is currently in a contract talks with the internet's global governing body to administer it, the group announced Monday.

Once finalized, the new domain extension will be available to certified public accountants and their firms. It will signal "a clear connection to the profession," the association said in a statement. A domain is the designation placed at the end of an internet address, such as .com or .org.

"Today, there's a lack of authentication and growing mistrust of online information," said Erik Asgeirsson, CEO of CPA.com, the AICPA's technology subsidiary. "This is why many leading companies and communities, such as Amazon, (global auditing firm) KPMG and the banking industry are moving to restricted top-level domains. We're looking forward to bringing this important new capability to the profession."

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers oversees the creation and designation of new Internet addresses. ICANN has approved more than 1,200 specialized domain extensions, and AICPA expects .cpa will soon be added to that list.

"By overseeing the .cpa domain in collaboration with other global CPA organizations, the AICPA can help promote CPAs' visibility and protect their professional standing online," said Barry Melancon, CEO of AICPA. "We also want the public to have confidence that someone using a .cpa domain address for email or a website is affiliated with the CPA profession." http://bit.ly/2I6Gtev

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