December 2000

Commentary: The Proposed International Professional Designation

For more than 100 years the CPA designation has existed here in New York. From before the first World War and through the Depression, the New Deal, the baby boom, the junk bond ’80s, and the rise and fall of the new technology era, the CPA has not only survived but also has adapted to the demanding changes in providing the highest level of integrity and well-grounded advice to the business, professional, and consumer communities.

As a government-regulated profession, the CPA answers to a higher authority with regard to rigorous academic training, experience, and continuing education requirements which are significantly better planned than any private organization could demand.

Today, it seems that everyone would like to place letters after their name to demonstrate to the public at large that they have attained a level of proficiency in a designated specialty. In essence, creating something from nothing. Subsequently, hundreds of new private membership organizations have been formed with the common objective of creating a perception of value by promoting a brand and a new class of professional.

Unfortunately, without the official blessing or requirement of a government-issued license to practice their trade, any group can create a new professional brand overnight. For this reason alone the government goes to great lengths to ensure that the public interest is protected by the more than 30 professions (in New York state) that affect everyday life.

If the government sees the need to license, test, and qualify hair stylists, it is easy to understand why the CPA is licensed: He or she has a serious fiduciary responsibility that, if left unchecked, could seriously undermine the economy.

The proposed international designation (also known as XYZ and Cognitor) supported by the AICPA is nothing more than an attempt to create something from nothing. It is backed by no core curriculum at any institution of higher learning. On the other hand, a student can major in management, economics, finance, statistics, physics, engineering, medicine, and, of course, accounting. The accounting profession already has at least a head start over the proposed designation—accounting is a field of study with a broad knowledge base and instant public recognition . The proposed designation has no basis in our educational system, nor does it have governmental recognition. It is a complete fiction.

The management of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) wants to create a new brand and identity. Nowhere do they mention anything about the profession of certified public accounting, nor do they even address any direct benefit to the more than 300,000 existing members with a CPA designation and license.

If the management of the AICPA wants to pursue this new designation, they should resign and create a new organization to promote it. They could easily follow the business model set down by the International Board of Certified Financial Planners (IBCFP). This group created the brand and service mark CFP (certified financial planner)—another complete fiction.

The CPA designation has history, longevity, legitimacy, a proven track record, and instant worldwide recognition by the business, professional, and consumer communities. The goal of the AICPA should be to enhance the existing brand.

In response to AICPA President Barry Melancon’s claim at a recent NYSSCPA chapter meeting that the CPA designation has a stodgy connotation, I challenge the brand and identity experts to turn that around. Let them demonstrate to us their superior understanding of the marketplace by applying the same amount of energy and effort currently fueling the development of the proposed designation to promote a new image of the CPA in the new millennium.

Melancon’s other comment, that the accountant or accounting student of today has a narrow knowledge base, is completely unfounded. In college, each student not only completes the required accounting courses but also is required to take business law, statistics, at least one advanced math class such as calculus, a management class, and the general liberal arts requirements, which most likely include psychology, sociology, a computer class, a science class, and a few esoteric subjects.

Accounting, which, as demonstrated above, provides the basics of business as well as specialized knowledge, thereby creates an individual who is exceptionally well prepared to enter the world of business in any field.