June 2001

AICPA Begins Education Campaign on Global Credential

NEW YORK—Nearly a month after AICPA Council voted to push back a member vote on the global credential until further information and education are provided to the membership, the American Institute of CPAs launched a member information and response program on the proposed global, interdisciplinary credential.

“Later this year, you are going to make a decision that will greatly affect you, your fellow CPAs, and future generations,” said AICPA Chair Kathy G. Eddy, in a letter about the global credential, also referred to as “XYZ” or “Cognitor,” that was sent to AICPA members at the end of May. The member information and response program, expected to last six months, will rely on webcasts, videos and presentations in jurisdictions across the country.

Many of the state societies, including the New York State Society of CPAs, are hoping the education campaign will provide CPAs – in some cases for the first time since the AICPA first announced its global credential campaign more than a year ago—with the requisite knowledge to make an informed decision on the proposed credential.

The Institute’s decision to educate the membership before asking them to vote on a new global credential, a designation with which an NYSSCPA poll showed a majority of members are unfamiliar, was made during the AICPA spring Council meeting held in early May.

At the meeting, after extensive discussion and debate, Council members voted not to present the issue of the proposed interdisciplinary credential to the AICPA membership until after the fall Council meeting in October.

The decision of Council was based on a resolution jointly proposed by the delegations from California and Texas on May 2.

A major component of the California/Texas resolution is the requirement that AICPA educate the membership on the global credential. “We need to undertake an extensive education process so that AICPA members can, in addition to learning about the credential, offer us their feedback to improve the concept,” said Donald L Gursey, president of the California Society.

“We think it is critical that a true ‘grassroots informational campaign’ on this matter occur,” said Bob Anderson, the chair of the Texas Society of CPAs, when proposing the education campaign at AICPA Council in May. “On an issue of this magnitude it is vital that we listen to our membership as well as inform them about the proposal.”

New York’s member survey, sent to all NYSSCPA members at the beginning of the year, polled members about their views on a global credential like XYZ.

Approximately 20 percent of Society members responded to the questionnaire. More than 59 percent of members who responded said an additional international credential would not be advantageous to have and more than 77 percent said they would not seek such a credential if available.

Because a majority of members surveyed do not favor the idea of a global credential, the New York delegation at AICPA Council openly opposed continuing development of the credential, submitting a resolution to immediately abandon the interdisciplinary credential. The New York resolution was defeated at Council by a 152:41 vote.

NYSSCPA President Nancy Newman-Limata said at the Society’s annual election meeting that the Society supports educating the members and will vote consistent with member wishes.

The belief that a majority of CPAs either are not aware of or do not understand the global credential was echoed by Eddy in the cover letter sent to AICPA members, which accompanied a video discussing the XYZ initiative.

Eddy, who also spoke at the Society’s annual election dinner, conceded during the meeting that Cognitor was an unpopular designation for the proposed business credential, but said the credential would benefit small CPA firms and sole practitioners.

The credential, according to Eddy, would “validate” the claims of small and large CPAs to possess broad business knowledge.

Discussions revolving around the global credential have, at times, turned into heated debates among practitioners as well as the state societies.

Indiana sole practitioner Jim Carr said the XYZ designation might prove to be “invaluable” to small firms and help break the image of CPAs as bean counters, reported Electronic Accountant.