Chair's corner.

After your busy season ends, your state CPA society kicks into high gear to offer the very best continuing education programs available anywhere. The AICPA also begins its conference season in earnest. From my perspective, this also initiates a period in which our dialogue with members can intensify.

This year, members of the Board of Directors and other volunteer leaders have committed themselves to participating in as many opportunities to share information and listen to members as possible. This commitment has led to a very busy travel schedule, as our volunteer leadership has joined many of your state conferences, continuing education programs and annual meetings.

For me, these opportunities are extremely rewarding. With the many changes taking place in the profession and the AICPA moving assertively to restore confidence in all CPAs, there is no shortage of information to disseminate among all segments of our membership. More importantly, these settings provide an opportunity for your board members and other leaders to listen to your concerns and perspectives on the issues we all face. Knowing where our members stand and where their priorities point enables us to achieve a more informed debate at Council and board meetings. And such dialogue ultimately leads to more effective decision making. I hope as many of you as possible will have an opportunity to attend a meeting this year to share your views on the profession.

As I travel around the country, a few themes are emerging. CPAs are genuinely concerned about the potential for unintended consequences from state legislatures extending the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to non-public company audits. To date, many of our members have taken the time to discuss these issues with their state legislators and so far the "Reasoned Approach" advocated by our Special Committee on State Regulation is proving to be an appropriate and persuasive response (www.aicpa.org/statelegis/index.asp).

Another issue members raise with me is the potential for two sets of audit standards to emerge. We are continuing to monitor this situation and are having frequent dialogue with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board as it transitions into its new responsibilities. Should it become necessary to establish a second set of audit standards that appropriately address the needs of small, privately held companies and their auditors, we are prepared to pursue that course of action in accordance with input from our recent Council meetings. Our commitment on this front, as on many others, is to stand up for the interests of the public and the best traditions of this profession.

On my travels, I also have encountered some good news. One exciting development is that the current generation of students seems to better understand the value and attraction of the CPA profession. Clearly, the CPA Student Recruitment Campaign is beginning to deliver tangible results.

Educators across the country are reporting improvement in students in accounting programs in both numbers and quality. Recently, I visited several university campuses and participated with a large group of students in the AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Conference. The depth and quality of the students' questions was equally matched by the positive attitude they expressed about the profession. These exchanges remind me that we need to continue to be forthright and open in our communications on all issues, and that constructive dialogue on difficult issues is essential.

Other emerging issues of interest are addressed in this newsletter as well as through our weekly "AICPA News Update." If you have not provided your email address to receive the weekly updates, I encourage you to do so. The updates are short and provide links to additional information. It is a great way to stay informed.

I look forward to stepped-up, two-way communication during the summer and beyond. This is your Institute and your profession; your voice counts.

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