AICPA chief scans horizon for perils, opportunities.
Rick Telberg
At Large
Welcome to 2005! It's a year that may bring unparalleled opportunities for the CPA profession...or unprecedented peril. Or both?
In this edition of At Large, we wanted to talk to the person who is perhaps the premier leader of the profession.
It's only fitting, then, that we start with Bob Bunting, chair of the AICPA, and long the driving force and senior partner at Moss Adams, which he built from a local firm in the northwestern United States into an international presence.
To Bunting, the top long-term trend facing the profession is "the demographic dynamic" between the aging boomer generation - those roughly 40 to 60 years old -- and new entrants from university accounting programs.
"The good news," he says, "is the growing upward mobility of women in the profession, which more than doubles our access to great talent."
He knows all too well, however, that the continuing challenge is for public accounting and industry employers to get the work/life balance dilemma sorted out so the profession keeps more of the talent it initially attracts.
The most immediate challenge, nevertheless, is "to get regulators to address the fundamental difference between the public interest need for regulatory and reporting controls of private business and other smaller organizations compared to public companies," according to the chairman.
While many regulators acknowledge the powerful contribution of private enterprise to the nation's social and economic health, they sometimes seem resistant to, in Bunting's words, "addressing the unique needs and issues of this segment when it comes to how they should be regulated."
Too often, Bunting says, "this leads to 'one-size-fits-all' thinking regarding every new regulatory initiative."
Bunting wants to ensure that those who wish to regulate the private and small enterprise segments of the U.S. economy "give appropriate representation to those segments in the deliberative process."
Despite the issues and challenges, Bunting is very optimistic about the profession in both the near and longer term.
"We are making progress in attracting top talent into accounting programs," he notes. "Events of the past three years have reinforced the critical role that CPAs play in the economy in our two principal disciplines, financial reporting and tax services. The demand for CPA services and, therefore, CPAs, has grown and should continue to do so over the next few years. And, the profession has heard and is answering the wake-up call that led to Sarbanes-Oxley. Our members in public practice, industry, government and academia have an enhanced sense of their importance in the economy and society and they are acting on this understanding."
The largest risk to the profession, he avers, is that the public will misinterpret reports of restatements, disclosures or allegations of past misdeeds, as indications that recent regulatory changes have not been productive. In fact, enterprises of all kinds are struggling to cope with the new regulations.
"We need to allow these changes to filter through American business before we can truly assess their impact," he says. "A new round of laws and rule-making would not be helpful or appropriate at this point."
As a member of AICPA leadership, Bunting is a part of a broad-based outreach and communications program. In partnership with state CPA associations, and other interested parties, the AICPA is reaching out to regulators, state and federal legislatures, public interest groups and others.
"Our goal is to have regular, clear and respectful communications with those who have influential opinions about how we carry out our public interest responsibilities," he says. "While surprises are always a possibility, they are less likely if we have frequent and open communications with the groups who have the potential to spring surprises."
The profession has a big stake in seeing Bunting's efforts come to fruition.
