AICPA Council Renews Support for Global Credential Amidst Parliamentary Chaos

The Council of the American Institute of CPAs passed a resolution supporting the creation of a new global business credential in a meeting characterized by confusion and parliamentary chaos, but paving the way to a membership vote that will decide the fate of the controversial designation.

A ballot taken during the Council’s fall meeting on Oct. 22 resulted in 157 of the 219 members who participated voting to support the credential. The entire Council totals 265 members. A ballot was set to go to the AICPA membership most likely by Oct. 29.

The rare written ballot created odd bedfellows of supporters and opponents of the XYZ credential who favored the resolution in order to precipitate a general AICPA vote at the end of October and resolve the matter permanently.

Before introduction of the resolution, Council members heard a report on three tasks related to the credential that the Council ordered in its May meeting, including a Roper Organization survey. The survey, supervised by a four-person panel—including New York State Society of CPAs President-Elect JoAnn Golden—showed that 56 percent of the 1,001 members questioned either definitely, probably, or possibly would vote for the bylaw change. Merely 10 percent said they definitely would vote for the credential, far short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the initiative.

The Council had also ordered a nationwide membership educational campaign about the credential and XYZ events were held across the country, including 12 sessions for NYSSCPA chapters. Finally, a new name was selected to replace the ill-fated Cognitor moniker and the XYZ “placeholder” name.

Judith R. Trepeck, CPA, the chief operating officer of the Global Credential Steering Committee, announced the new name would be the International Institute of Strategic Business Professionals. Trepeck noted that the name and acronym had been thoroughly researched and, unlike Cognitor, will have secure trademark rights. The credential would be displayed after the holder’s name, Trepeck said, either alone, as IISBP, or Member IISBP.

Following the report, Colorado Council member Cheryl Wenzinger introduced the following motion: “Be it resolved that Council states its support for the proposed by-law change ‘to enable the granting of an interdisciplinary global credential by an affiliated entity to qualified persons who seek to obtain it.’”

Wenzinger said Council should take a position of support for the credential before sending it out to a vote of the membership

The resolution sparked a lengthy discussion amongst Council members, including NYSSCPA President Nancy Newman-Limata, who said Society members attending XYZ forums with AICPA representatives were opposed to the credential.

“Our members listened and then spoke,” Newman-Limata said. “Loudly and clearly, they oppose this credential. They do not believe this will cure the student recruitment problems. They believe the CPA brand can be expanded. They believe the credential will empower their competition and is a misuse of their AICPA dues.”

Other Council members countered that in their states younger CPAs and students are much in favor of the credential and that Council and the AICPA membership must support the credential for the benefit of the next generation of CPAs.

Former NYSSCPA President and AICPA Chairperson Robert Israeloff spoke forcefully against the credential initiative. Israeloff said the credential supposedly arises from the CPA Vision.

“There is nothing in the CPA Vision about creating a new profession,” said Israeloff, after reading parts of the vision to the Council.

Members occasionally spoke of the need to let the membership decide the issue, but support for a membership vote was often confused with the Council’s support for the credential, potentially skewing the final result of the Council vote.

Council members who opposed the credential and wanted the matter resolved conclusively joined credential proponents in favoring a membership vote. But proceeding with a vote was not the question on the floor and Chairman Kathy G. Eddy, the presiding officer, was inconsistent in her handling of the debate, allowing some to address the need for a membership vote and cutting others off.

Some members said they would vote for the resolution in order to proceed to the membership vote, even though they did not personally support the credential, thus possibly tilting the final result in favor of support for IISBP.

Confusion increased after the debate ended when Eddy announced the board of directors had decided to recommend that the membership vote not proceed if the credential failed to garner majority Council support. Believing that Eddy’s announcement was an attempt to influence the final outcome after debate had ceased, New York Council member Jeff Hoops rose to raise a point of order, stressing concern that Eddy had unfairly skewed the vote. Eddy responded by unilaterally reopening the debate.

Following the debate’s second conclusion, the 2000-01 Council members deposited their written ballots in a box at the front of the huge ballroom. The final vote was 157 in favor, 62 opposed. This was the final act of the 2000-01 Council, the term of which ended that day.