It is the policy of the state and the purpose of this chapter to promote the reliability of information that is used for guidance in financial transactions or assessing the financial status or performance of commercial, noncommercial, and governmental enterprises. The public interest requires that
(1) persons professing special competence in accountancy or who offer assurance as to the reliability or fairness of presentation of financial information should demonstrate their qualifications to do so, and that persons who have not demonstrated and maintained adequate qualifications should not be permitted to hold themselves out as having special competence or to offer assurance about their actions;
(2) the professional conduct of persons licensed as having special competence in accountancy should be regulated in all aspects of the practice of public accounting;
(3) a public authority competent to prescribe and assess the qualifications and to regulate the professional conduct of practitioners of public accounting should be established; and
(4) the use of titles relating to the practice of public accounting that are likely to mislead the public as to the status or competence of the persons using these titles should be prohibited.