Conference without a room, speaker without a podium.

The American Institute of CPAs held the its first online conference for two hours on June 19; the occasion was an auditing standards board panel discussion on fraud. The more than 80 attendees needed only a computer and a Compuserve account. Anyone who wanted to attend simply entered Compuserve's virtual convention center. Attendees then had two screens: the larger one on top continually scrolled whatever the speaker was "saying" (actually typing a message into his or her computer); the screen's left margin displayed the name of the speaker--much like the printed version of a play script. The smaller screen on the bottom allowed attendees to see whatever they were typing before sending it online to appear on everyone else's big screen.

Thomas Ray, director of AICPA audit and attest standards, moderated the conference. At its start he introduced the panelists: Edmund R. Noonan, ASB chairman; David L. Landsittel, chairman of the ASB fraud task force; Glenn J. Vice, a member of the ASB and fraud task force; and Jane M. Mancino, technical manager, audit and attest standards. Their discussion appeared on the screen; periodically Ray solicited questions: attendees could type them m, and Ray screened and presented them to the audience and the panel members. He also conducted polls; attendees could respond by checking boxes on screen and the results became available in a few moments. At the end he opened the floor for a casual discussion between attendees and panel members.

A good beginning

Noonan was pleased with the way' the conference went and said he would certainly do it again: "I think the AICPA should consider online conferences as a cost-effective way of communicating with members," he said. Noonan suggested some improvements, including more details about the online conference's structure up-front so novices had a clearer picture of what was happening. He also thought a more formal organization for polls and question sessions would be helpful.

Ray, too, was positive about the results of this online experiment and he also had ideas for improving future conferences: remind attendees they can post questions and explain how to do it; and avoid overuse of the polling feature, because it can take up time better used for answering questions.

Some attendees were disappointed there was not a longer question and answer session, but Noonan said he had answered as many of the germane questions as possible. Additionally, some attendees who joined the conference late found they could not scroll backward and see earlier portions; even those who jollied at the beginning could not scroll all the way back. According to AICPA online specialist Bill Borgeson, it is not practical for any computer to hold an entire two-hour conference. However, those who want to see a transcript of the entire conference can download it from the Accountants Forum. (In the library, go to the Audit, Comp & Review section and call up fraudtrn.pdf; Adobe's Acrobat Reader is necessary to download it.)

As a bonus, attendees were eligible for up to two continuing professional education (CPE) credits at no extra charge beyond the standard Compuserve connect time charges.