Committee Member Volunteering Process Update; Application Date Extended Beyond Tax Season to May 1.

A committee restructuring effort initiated during the summer of 1999 resulted in dramatic changes to the committee environment. The most notable change was a new emphasis on short-term, well-focused task forces in place of some of the standing committees that existed. As a result, 120 committees were reduced to 71.

The reduction in standing committees, however, did not result in a corresponding reduction in the number of volunteers needed since many new task forces and panels were created. Currently, volunteers participate across more than 70 committees, 83 task forces and 17 panels. This shift toward a faster-paced model in which a volunteer group forms quickly, completes a focused task and then disbands has worked well and serves a need to address, in part, the rapid changes and new services the profession is facing.

A second important change relates to the timing of applications. In the past. some members have raised concern that the application deadline for committee service was during the peak of tax season. To avoid any conflict this year, the final date for members applying to committees has been extended to May 1, 2001.

Yet another change to the prior committee environment was the introduction of individual member "skills" into the process through which a member would be appointed to a committee. Previously, a member would select one or more committees for which to apply; however, the particular skill set that a member would have and whether those skills were a good match for the committee was a somewhat informal process.

All applicants for a volunteer group now are required to indicate their skills by logging on to www.skillscape.com/aicpaonline and indicating their set of skills (skill profile) from a predetermined list of skills. Correspondingly, each volunteer group also has a skill profile. The member's skills are then electronically compared to the skill profile of a volunteer group to determine if there is a good match. This matching of members' skills to the skill requirements of a committee serves to support the decision process by which a member gets selected for appointment to a volunteer group.

Further changes to how volunteer groups are managed include a significant effort to streamline and simplify communication with volunteers. These efforts include planned enhancements to the skills Web site as well as content appearing in other Web environments, such as the AICPA's knowledge management software tool, available to members once they are appointed to a volunteer group. To support Web-based communications, one of the prerequisites for appointment to a volunteer group is Internet access and an e-mail account.

Address any inquiries concerning AICPA volunteer groups to [e-mail] or contact David Ray at 212/596-6030.