Barry C. Melancon to be new AICPA president.

The board of directors and the governing council of the American Institute of CPAs have chosen Barry C. Melancon to lead the Institute for a five-year term beginning July 1, 1995. The 37-year-old Melancon has spent 15 years at the forefront of the accounting profession. Robert L. Israeloff, chairman of the board of directors, said, "Barry is a bright, progressive and forward-thinking person who represents an energetic younger generation." Melancon succeeds Philip B. Chenok, 59, who will complete his third five-year term as the Institute's president June 30.

Melancon has been the executive director of the Society of Louisiana CPAs since 1987. During his eight-year tenure he successfully supported many initiatives to pass legislation favorable to CPAs. A visible lobbyist on both the state and national level, Melancon led tort reform efforts in Louisiana, reducing the statute of limitations for CPAs in that state from 10 years to 1 year. Under his leadership, Louisiana became the second state in the country to pass limited liability partnership legislation, and it enacted legislation that reduced the number of years CPAs must maintain work papers.

Melancon has been an active member of many AICPA committees and programs, as well. He has served on the private companies practice executive committee and the special task force on combination of peer review and quality review programs. He was a member of the quality review executive committee and has contribute to a number of AICPA/state society collaborative programs.

A Louisiana native, Melancon graduated from high school in three years, received a BA in accounting from Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, when he was 20 and was offered partnership of Bergeron & Company, a CPA firm in Houma, Louisiana, by the time he was 25. He earned an MBA from his alma mater in 1983, graduating first in his class, and was adjunct professor of accounting at Nicholls State from 1984 to 1987 while continuing to work at Bergeron & Company. In 1987, he moveci to New Orleans to head the Louisiana society.

An advocate for the small firm and industry

Melancon, an outspoken advocate for CPAs in small firms and industry, said he wants to make the AICPA more member-service oriented. "We need to do what is necessary for our rank and file and grassroots members. The AICPA has a public responsibility different from any other association. It is a self-regulator and its role in the standard-setting process is critical, but our members pay dues, and they expect service."

Israeloff said this ideology parallels important Institute, initiatives. "Barry Melancon has a history of helping smaller firms cope with the economic and competitive pressures of today," Israeloff said. "He is intimately familiar with the problems of local firms, and he is willing to roll up his sleeves and get out and learn about members."

Melancon also plans to work very closely with state societies.

"Collaborative planning with state societies is critical," Melancon said. "The AICPA and state societies share a large percentage of members, and we must work together to provide these members with efficient service."

On the front line

In order for the AICPA to be more responsive to its members, Melancon said it must be both flexible and technologically advanced. "We need to be nimble and innovative. We need to see if there are better ways to be organized to be more responsive to members." Melancon intends to involve the staff in this planning process. "The frontline staff, those picking up the phone and dealing with members' requests, can bring a lot to our planning process, both strategically and operationally," said Melancon. "And our senior staff will have more contact in the field with our members." The new president said he will expect staff traveling on business to take the time to visit members' firms and find out what practitioners think is important.

"A staff informed at the grassroots level will ensure better overall performance," Melancon said. "I think our members will be very appreciative of that.

"We cannot forget those members across the country in very small towns who may call the Institute once every four years," Melancon continued. "We better handle that call right then, because it may be our only shot."

Advanced technology

Melancon believes the Institute needs more effective and efficient ways to communicate with its members. "Our members need a new way to handle the massive change and future issues of the accounting profession," Melancon said. "We need to be more innovative with technology. An AICPA multimedia package--CD-ROM, for example--could contain certain baseline information and a discussion of future issues that would be tied to an on-line accountant's forum. The multimedia package could be shared throughout members' offices, providing the Institute with important feedback on strategic issues and the members with the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.

"Better use of technology inside the Institute could help us do a better job of knowing who our members are and what they expect from their organization," said Melancon. "This is database management. In our state society in Louisiana we have 17 separate screens of information on every member. This is the type of information the AICPA needs to better serve its members."

Other focal points 

AICPA legislative activity, including tort reform and workload compression, is very important to Melancon. "I have worked very closely with international firms in Louisiana to pass legislation that would ease the liability burden on large accounting firms, and this will continue to be a priority at the AICPA," Melancon said. He also is very interested in finding out why the Institute is losing so many of its younger members. "People 40 or younger have different expectations from their organization and profession. We need to find out why we lose more younger members for nonpayment than members in any other category, and we need to turn that around."

Melancon's wife Patty and their 11-year-old son, Connor, will relocate the New York metropolitan area. "Connor is a big major league baseball fan," said Melancon. "So he's looking forward to living in an area with two professional teams."