CPA Vision Process Roadmap Planned

By James A. Woehlke, CPA

In fall 1996, the AICPA Council launched the CPA Vision Project, a joint venture with the state societies. The AICPA chose Jeannie Patton, the executive director of the Utah state society, as project director, and hired Virtual Consulting, a firm specializing in "visioning" and strategic planning, to assist Patton and her project staff.

Hundreds of research hours and market analyses of the CPA profession followed in preparation for member forums to be conducted all across the country. Each forum condensed weeks of visioning exercises into a single day.

More than 150 future forums were conducted between August 1997 and January 1998. At each forum, up to 35 members predicted what they felt was in store for CPAs 15 years into the future. What competencies would CPAs bring to bear? What services would CPAs provide? What core values exist in the CPA profession that would not change as we move into the future?

In the end, more than 3,300 CPAs generated mountains of data. Jeannie Patton's and Virtual Consulting's staffs sorted and analyzed all the information in preparation for one more member meeting, a national future forum with representation from all the jurisdictions regulating CPAs. Last January, more than 50 CPAs hammered out a consensus of prior future forums and derived a core purpose; a vision statement; and lists of core competencies, services, and values.

The results of the National Future Forum follow below. The AICPA Council approved the Vision Project's work at its October meeting, and the results now form a road map, laying out pathways the AICPA and state societies will use to satisfy members' needs over the next decade. Even more importantly, if the project's results prove accurate, these words describe the core purpose of the accounting profession and where it will be during the next 15 years.

CPA Core Purpose

CPAs ... Making sense out of a changing and complex world.

CPA Profession's Vision Statement

CPAs are the trusted professionals who enable people and organizations to shape their future. Combining insight with integrity, CPAs deliver value by:

* Communicating the total picture with clarity and objectivity,

* Translating complex information into critical
knowledge,

* Anticipating and creating opportunities, and

* Designing pathways that transform vision into reality.

Core Competencies

* Communication skills

* Strategic and critical thinking skills

* Focus on the client and market

* Interpretation of converging information

* Technologically adept

Core Services

* Assurance

* Technology

* Management consulting

* Financial planning

* International

Core Values

* Continuing education and lifelong learning

* Competence

* Integrity

* Attunement with broad business issues

* Objectivity

Share your opinions--whether positive or negative. Write me at jwoehlke@nysscpa.org, or at the Society's office, or call me at (212) 719-8347 or (800) 633-6320.