Happenings at Board of Directors' December meeting.

Here are some of the more significant actions and events that took place at the AICPA Board of Directors meeting Dec. 7-8, 2006:

* President and CEO Barry Melancon reported on international developments, including the recent World Congress of Accountants held in Turkey, establishment of XBRL-US and related events, and activity in Washington, D.C., surrounding Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Other items discussed include strategic planning for the AICPA, feedback on the revised exposure draft on business valuation standards and the Uniform CPA Exam.

* As part of the AICPA's ongoing effort to improve diversity in the profession, the board heard from the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting highlighting the enormous progress that organization has made over the past decade. With a mission to become the largest and best Hispanic professional organization in the world, the association now has more than 7,000 members.

* Board members received an update on progress related to improving the peer review process. The Peer Review Board is considering a board task force's recommendations to enhance the peer review reporting model, increase transparency of the oversight process, increase the pool of peer reviewers and continue to ensure the high quality of peer reviewers.

* Legislative successes and future plans were highlighted. Among them, passage of the CPA exemption from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act annual privacy notification and the failure to pass Head Start legislation containing required audit firm rotation, which the AICPA opposed. Workload compression, the Fair Housing Act Reauthorization and tax patent concerns remain high legislative priorities.

* Initiatives in other areas were covered: the success of Feed the Pig[TM], the transition to the Durham, N.C., office and the announcement of Judith O'Dell as chair of the new Private Company Financial Reporting Committee.