Apostrophe problem! Help

Question

I work for a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firm. The acronym is in the company's official name, so when we use it in advertising, business cards, letters, etc., I need to know the correct way to write it out. Should it follow the proper names as CPAS, CPAs, CPA's, or CPA'S?
For example: Smith, Hall & Martin, CPAs
Would it be different in all caps? SMITH, HALL & MARTIN, CPAS

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

CPAs-- I presume that there are several of them. The plural takes no apostrophe.

Davkett · Answer

I advise CPAs. No apostrophe. It is not possessive. A small 's' because it is not part of the acronym.

Davkett · Answer

Hey MrM, we're in sync.

Mister Micawber · Answer

"Great minds, Dave..."

(And I think I answered this one twice.)

Julielai · Answer

Go look at your State Society of CPAs. Note how the word is spelled.

e.g. New York State Society of CPAs

Vamarti113 · Answer

Fabulous!  Thank you!

Matress · Answer

Apostrophe ( ' )

See Possessives for more information.

The apostrophe is used when leaving out a letter or number in a contraction, e.g. can't, wouldn't.
The apostrophe is used for omitted letters, e.g. rock 'n' roll, and for omitted numbers, e.g. the class of '72, the '20s.
The apostrophe is used for plurals of letter abbreviations with periods and single letters, e.g. p's and q's, two A's and four B's. Plurals of multi-letter combinations and plurals of numerals end in s with no apostrophe, e.g. VIPs, 1000s.
The possessive of singular nouns ending in s, including nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh, is formed by adding 's, e.g. witness's affidavit. However, if the next word begins with s, then add only an apostrophe, e.g. witness' story.
The possessive of singular nouns not ending in s is formed by adding 's, e.g. VIP's seat, baby's food.
The apostrophe follows the s of a word with two sibilant sounds, e.g. Kansas', Moses'.
The apostrophe is added for the possessive of a noun that is plural in form but singular in meaning, e.g. mathematics' formulas.
The apostrophe follows the s for the possessive of plural nouns that end in s, e.g. girls' movies. For the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in s, add 's, e.g. women's rights.
For singular proper nouns, add only an apostrophe for the possessive, e.g. Achilles' heel.
No apostrophe is used for personal pronouns like hers, his, its, mine, ours, theirs, whose, your, yours. Indefinite pronouns require an apostrophe, e.g. one's lover. For other pronouns like another and others, follow the rule for singular and plural, e.g. another's and others'.
For joint possession, the 's is added to the word nearest the object of possession, e.g. Francis and Kucera's book.
The apostrophe is not used in names of organizations unless actually part of the legal name. The apostrophe is not used in plurals of numerals or multiple-letter combinations.

Apostrophe problem! Help

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