May 2001

AICPA Council Defeats NYSSCPA Resolution to Terminate Global Credential
Members Express Thoughts in Opposition to XYZ

Efforts to ratify a New York State Society of CPAs resolution to immediately abandon the American Institute of CPAs’ proposed global, interdisciplinary credential fell short early this month at the spring meeting of the Institute’s governing council.

Council members who gathered in Washington on May 2 defeated the NYSSCPA resolution in a standing vote of 152:41.

The vote came on the heels of three days discussion on the issue as well as a 30-minute debate between members who opposed and supported continuing plans for the controversial designation. Members opposing the credential pointed to the Institute’s own survey, in which the respondents indicated that the more they learned of the designation known as XYZ, the less inclined they were to pursue it.

“They feel that they’ve worked hard to be CPAs. They don’t want to legitimize thousands of people and give them our trusted professional status,” said Andy Guyette, on behalf of the CPAs he represents as Vermont’s CPA society president.

Guyette and fellow Council member Tom Hart, also of Vermont, both voted in favor of the New York resolution, based on the opinions of Vermont society members, the majority of whom Guyette said disapprove of the credential. Consequently, the Vermont members who are also AICPA members are disappointed that their Institute dues are going toward the development of the credential.

In addition to legitimizing outside professionals by bestowing on them the values associated with the CPA, Guyette said Vermont CPA society members—most of whom belong to small firms—believe they are already performing the services the AICPA claims the proposed credential will make available to them.

Though he did not allege any impropriety, Guyette added that the development of the Institute’s CPA2biz portal has muddied the waters surrounding the credential. Specifically, there is the appearance of a lingering question as to whether the credential project is intended to enhance the CPA designation or help fund the portal, he said.

Following the defeat of the New York resolution, Guyette said he and Hart voted for the resolution jointly presented by the California and Texas CPA societies that Council adopted. The resolution calls for continued educational efforts regarding the global credential as well as member feedback, which will be discussed at the Council’s fall meeting in October. The resolution also grants the AICPA permission for a membership referendum on the credential, which the Institute can mail after the fall meeting; however, the governing council did reserve the right to rescind the referendum.

Like Guyette, who said he and Hart voted for the joint resolution because it was the “next best thing,” the Illinois delegation also supported the California–Texas proposal, according to Vincent Villinski.

Villinski, chairman of the board of the Illinois Society of CPAs, which conducted a poll earlier this year indicating widespread member opposition to the credential, said the passed resolution will give AICPA members a chance to voice their opinions to the Institute.

Prior to the passage of the joint resolution, the Illinois delegation stood by its members’ wishes and voted for the NYSSCPA resolution. In addition to concerns regarding competition with non-CPAs, Villinski said his constituency is worried that the credential will hurt student recruitment by encouraging young people to become XYZ professionals instead of CPAs. And they also question the wisdom of a global project that has witnessed a drop off in global partners, he said.

Unlike his counterparts from Illinois and Vermont, Henry Krostich of the New York delegation said he did not vote in support of the California–Texas resolution. Krostich said Council should have decided to either pursue or terminate the credential project at the spring meeting, but voting for the joint proposal did not necessarily indicate support for the credential. Instead, it stemmed from the need to allow AICPA members nationwide to dictate the fate of the proposed designation. Krostich said that many of the Council members he spoke to do not believe their constituents would vote for the credential.

Though the New York resolution failed to pass, NYSSCPA President P. Gerard Sokolski believes the Society accomplished several major objectives at the meeting.