Financial literacy in America--the profession stakes a claim.

Last month's CPA Letter unveiled the profession's new CPA Ambassador Program in which CPAs are being trained to go into their communities and reach out to the media to discuss four critical initiatives of the profession. One of those initiatives is the profession's involvement in financial literacy (the others are recruitment, small business success and restoring confidence).

CPAs are not new to promoting financial literacy. The AICPA and the AICPA Foundation have long been committed to educating Americans about the importance of managing their finances. In the past year alone, the Institute reached out to many audiences--from students to women investors--and provided them with information to make sound tax and financial planning decisions. Following are some examples of our efforts.

Teaching Students and Educators

One way to educate young Americans is to teach them about the CPA profession. Several years ago the AICPA introduced the CPA Information Package, a collection of resources for educators to use to help students understand various aspects of finance.

The AICPA also reached students by educating their teachers about personal finances. Last year the AICPA Foundation provided funding for "Financial Smarts for Teachers," a program the Jump$tart organization in Calif. created to help instructors understand their own finances.

Two new television programs funded by the AICPA Foundation focus on teaching middle and high school students about personal finance and the accounting profession. Having aired the shows on PBS YOU last summer, the Foundation is considering other distribution channels.

Wise Investing

More Americans than ever participate in the capital markets through 401(k) plans and other investment vehicles. To help them understand investing, the AICPA provided technical review for a handbook for CPAs and other financial managers, Prudent Investment Practices, developed by the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies (www.ffstudies.org).

Managing Money

In 2002 and 2003 the AICPA and Money magazine sponsored Women's Financial Health Week, reaching an estimated 80 million consumers through print, television and radio coverage. A special Web site was developed offering online chats with a senior editor of the magazine and a group of CPA Personal Financial Specialists.

For more than 15 years, the AICPA has written articles to help consumers learn how to understand their finances. The Institute distributes its "Money Management" series, along with public service announcements, to state CPA societies for their placement in community and regional newspapers and on local radio stations.

Coping with major losses from disasters is the most difficult time for people to manage their money. To help people recover from such unfortunate events, the AICPA and the National Endowment for Financial Education, with support from the AICPA Foundation, jointly developed a disaster recovery guide. The guide is available free of charge from local American Red Cross chapters.

Financial literacy has become an important project for many states, too. The California Society of CPAs last year launched several community-based financial literacy programs that have steadily been gaining momentum with Californians. Similarly, the Michigan Association of CPAs continues to run its annual "Accounting Blitz," a Junior Achievement program that teaches basic financial concepts to students.

With financial literacy such an important topic these days, and the special skills and interest that CPAs bring to it (see sidebar on page 1), the AICPA is exploring opportunities to expand the program. For additional information on financial literacy efforts, members should see the Dec. 2003 issue of the Journal of Accountancy.