January 2003

Communications Conference Highlights Society’s Media Work During Enron
By Lois Whitehead, Public Relations Manager

Communications professionals from corporations, educational institutions and government agencies across the country learned how to successfully manage communications during a corporate crisis, at a conference in Chicago last October.

New York State Society of CPAs Director of Communications Joanne S. Barry was among a host of speakers at the conference, sponsored by the corporate communications firm Ragan Communications, Inc. Barry discussed strategies the Society developed to manage the flood of media inquiries as Enron and other corporate scandals became front-page stories.

“The challenge was to segregate all CPAs from those caught up in the scandal,” Barry said. “Our leadership spent a lot of time talking with reporters about the role of the auditor and other players involved in such scenarios, including the audit committee of a company, the board of directors, banks and other lenders, and investment bankers.”

Other speakers focused on how the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks challenged their organizations to preserve their image and relationship with the public. Representatives of the United States Postal Service talked about rebuilding consumer confidence after the anthrax scare, and communications executives from the American Red Cross discussed restoring their organization’s good name after criticism over the distribution of Sept. 11 charity funds.

The accounting scandals posed a similar challenge to the profession. Barry focused on how the Society and its leadership responded to a probing national media, a skeptical and concerned public, and the intense scrutiny of regulatory agencies.

“We took a strong position with the media that we could not respond to any allegations regarding Andersen,” Barry said. “We also had to balance the concerns of different segments of our membership, and to communicate positions, sometimes at odds with the AICPA (American Institute of CPAs).”

The Society’s state and chapter leaders participated in more than 200 interviews, editorial board meetings and seminars with the press during this time, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Associated Press, the BBC, the Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek, the Albany Times-Union, the Buffalo News, Newsday and others. (For a more comprehensive list, see the September 2002 issue of The Trusted Professional.)

Barry said the Society’s message included taking ownership of any potential deficiencies within the profession. Society leadership acted immediately, proposing legislation to New York state lawmakers that showed a desire to weed out CPAs who break the rules and to elevate the profession’s integrity.

The Society emerged as a leading advisor to news outlets covering financial reporting scandals. Attendance at seminars for journalists on how to read and analyze financial statements tripled as the Society expanded its efforts to educate the press on the role of the CPA in the audit process.