By Simon Eskow

NEW YORK—The American Institute of CPAs is evaluating its three “specialty” credential programs, which could ultimately result in dismantling the Personal Financial Specialist, Accredited in Business Valuation, and Certified Information Technology Professional designations.

A 29-page report and analysis authored by the Institute prodded discussion of the future of the designations at the AICPA Regional Council Meeting in New York City on March 27. The report outlines the history of the designations, with criteria—such as brand recognition and membership enrollment—that AICPA committees used to evaluate each program.
Generally, the report paints a picture of the programs as having substance and appeal but lacking resources to attract new members, sometimes in light of stiff competition from other credentialing organizations. The report concludes with five possible recommendations, from disbanding the credentials altogether to beefing them up with resources to make them more viable and appealing to CPAs to join.

Discussion of the credentials elicited a letter from the New York State Society of CPAs President Jo Ann Golden to allow the Council to decide the future of the credentials, as opposed to the AICPA’s Board of Directors. Meanwhile, a straw poll conducted at the regional Council meeting showed broad agreement for discontinuing the credentials, according to one attendee. Lack of enthusiastic support and the relatively small number of CPAs who have taken on any of the designations may presage the fate of the three credentials.

Needs Improvement

The oldest of the three credentials, the PFS, has been around for 16 years, with about 3,000 members, according to Joel Allegretti, a spokesman for the AICPA. The ABV, launched in 1997, has 1,500 members, while the CITP, born just two years ago, has 510 members.

The AICPA report says that, while the PFS credential is “well respected” where it is recognized, it is not nearly as successful as originally anticipated in terms of member participation, especially in light of competing credentials, such as the Certified Financial Planner, which boasts 40,000 members in the U.S. alone. The report states that despite the AICPA’s marketing of the credential, the promotion may have been too little, too late.

The ABV similarly is one of the “most highly regarded business valuation credentials” in the field, the report states. Stringent credential requirements, such as a difficult qualifying exam, have had a double-edged effect in that, on the one hand, credential holders are recognized by courts as having distinctive levels of knowledge and skills, while on the other hand, the number of CPAs capable of or interested in attaining the credential has been limited. The report states that the credential could attract more CPAs if it could strike a balance between strict qualifications and wider appeal, and if there were better promotion of the brand to help members “leverage their credential.”

The CITP credential also has had problems attracting membership, despite the lack of direct competition in the field, the report notes. The credential has suffered from inadequate resources that have failed to market the CITP designation, aggravated by the difficulty of focusing the credential in a diverse information technology marketplace.

The report recommends, with a list of pros and cons, five ways to deal with the credential situation: maintaining the credentials; eliminating them; keeping them through some kind of strategic alliance; improving the credentials through increased branding efforts; or maintaining one of the credentials and eliminating the other two.