Task Force Issues Report on Role and Responsibilities of AICPA Council

Task Force Issues Report on Role and Responsibilities of AICPA Council
14 Recommendations Put Forth

The task force appointed in February to study the role and responsibilities of the governing Council of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has sent its report, containing 14 recommendations, to Council, the AICPA announced in September. The Council will consider the recommendations at its fall meeting this month in New Orleans.

The idea for the task force primarily originated from discussions and break-out sessions during the Council’s fall 2002 meeting, in which reforms in the profession and the Institute were the key topics of debate. Helping to lead those discussions, the New York State Society of CPAs submitted a resolution that called for the establishment of an independent “task force to examine the governance and structure of the AICPA to ensure responsiveness and accountability to the membership.”

The Ohio, Nevada and Colorado delegations followed with an alternative resolution that also called for the establishment of a task force. Council voted to postpone both the New York and the alternative resolutions indefinitely, but Institute Chairman Bill Ezzell said during the meeting that he would review and consider the issue.

“Our mission was to evaluate how representatives are elected to Council and how Council conducts its activities,” said Timothy O’Brien of Colorado, who headed the seven-member task force. “We were asked to pay special attention to communications and Council’s relationships with the AICPA’s membership and board of directors.”

As part of the evaluation, the task force studied various facets of the Council process and other organizations’ governance as well as solicited comments from the membership.

The task force’s 14 recommendations are as follows:

Council members should serve as leaders and trustees of the profession; all AICPA Council and board members should sign a Statement of Responsibilities upon accepting their position.
Once Council has been thoroughly briefed and has deliberated and acted as a body, each member should present the endorsed view of Council.
The AICPA Board of Directors should investigate ways to provide Council with more timely and comprehensive information on issues under discussion, including pro and con perspectives.
There should be a mechanism so Council members can be called upon to suggest items for board and Council agendas in advance of meetings.
Council members should receive more extensive training through the New Council Member Orientation program.
Break-out sessions and electronic polling should be regular parts of Council proceedings.
Council’s meeting schedule should change: Rather than two meetings of Council and one set of regional Council meetings, there should be one full meeting of Council and up to three regional meetings.
Council should be permitted to vote by electronic ballot when it is not in session.
Every Council meeting should have a forum open to all AICPA members, so they may have an opportunity to voice their opinions on the Institute and the profession.
Members of Council should receive issues-briefing binders.
Council should adopt a resolution urging the state societies to use a democratic process in electing their Council members, ensuring greater diversity in representation.
To provide an opportunity for more AICPA members to serve, a Council member’s term should be two years, with a maximum of six consecutive years.
New Council members should be elected at the spring meeting and assume their positions on Aug. 1, the first day of the AICPA’s fiscal year.
Attendance at Council meetings should be mandatory, and any member who misses three consecutive meetings should forfeit the seat.

In addition to O’Brien, the task force members were Theodore Flynn of Massachusetts, Lisa Germano of Virginia, Donald Gursey of California, Jeffrey Hoops of New York, Mary Kline-Cueter of Michigan and Scott Nelson of Iowa.