New AICPA Chairman Outlines Duties of CPA Profession

Source: accounting.smartpros.com

October 24, 2007

The American Institute of CPAs has elected Randy Fletchall chairman of the board of the directors, who assumed the one-year volunteer position at the fall meeting of the AICPA governing council yesterday in Tampa, Fla.

In his inaugural speech, Fletchall, a partner with Ernst & Young LLP, spoke of the responsibilities of the CPA profession and its contributions to society.

"We are the voice of expertise and common sense in a complex economy," he said. "We bring our employers and our clients - whether corporate or individual, public or private - a level of knowledge and sophistication about financial matters. And it's pretty clear that if more of the public had access to our expertise and our unique insights, they would benefit, too. This is about helping more people adopt the basic financial habits of successful businesses and individuals."

Fletchall addressed the need to recruit more diverse individuals and young people into the profession and, just as important, encourage them to stay once they have entered it.

"The workforce in America is changing, and it's changing at a pace more rapidly than the profession is changing," he said. "All of us as leaders of the profession need to realize that providing a more flexible and diverse workplace is the right answer socially, demographically and economically."

Fletchall touched on the need for CPAs to burnish the profession's reputation for trustworthiness and providing great value to society and the economy by consistently performing excellent work. "This is the one thing that each and every one of us must absolutely do," Fletchall affirmed.

Fletchall also commented on the public interest nature of the profession and the importance of making its voice heard. "We need to engage public policy makers, whether it is an issue discussed around the kitchen table or in the boardrooms of global corporations," Fletchall said.

He went on to enumerate some of these issues, including mobility of CPAs, opposing tax strategy patents, convergence of international and U.S. accounting standards, potential improvements to the current business-reporting model, and financial literacy.

At Ernst & Young, Fletchall serves as vice chair of Americas Assurance & Advisory Business Services (AABS) Professional Practice & Risk Management. In this capacity, he is responsible for National Office accounting, auditing, SEC reporting, quality control, and risk management functions. He is also a member of Ernst & Young’s Americas Executive Board. He serves on the Center for Audit Quality’s Executive Committee and its Professional Practice Executive Committee and is a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group.

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