some cpas don\u2019t necessarily support the aicpa or believe it supports them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

by seth fineberg<\/em>
\nat large<\/em><\/p>\n

the accounting profession has long been divided about the usefulness and importance of the aicpa. however, with the first regime change in 30 years, incoming aicpa ceo mark koziel will take the helm and have an opportunity to embrace change and bridge some gaps.<\/p>\n

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\nexclusively for pro members.\u00a0<\/strong>log in here<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a02022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

moreover, it concerns the leadership and direction this industry body can potentially bring. the word “potential” is used because there is potential in this profession, both for the aicpa and accounting in general.<\/p>\n

as we all know, the aicpa primarily represents cpas and has, of course, expanded more globally over the years via cima. as not all accounting professionals are cpas (approximately one-third of practicing accountants are in this country), the institute does not represent them. in fact, many cpas don\u2019t necessarily support the aicpa or believe it supports them.<\/p>\n

for years, this divisive opinion has been that the institute tends to \u201ccater\u201d to mid- to larger-sized firms, which do not comprise the majority of cpa firms in this country. herein lies the first of many opportunities for the incoming leadership.<\/p>\n

koziel has a small-firm background and has regaled those around him with this fact for many years. during his previous tenure at the aicpa, much of his efforts and outreach focused on the comparatively smaller cpa firms, which, again, do make up the majority of the profession. perhaps not aicpa membership, but again, more opportunity for koziel to bridge that gap and change the narrative about where the institute\u2019s attentions (and intentions) lie.<\/p>\n

the profession is at a point of inflection both functionally and culturally. the aicpa\u2019s message to this has also been twofold<\/span>.<\/p>\n

the first has been shouted about for over a decade: \u201cevolve or die,\u201d or, more politely, \u201cadvisory is your future, not compliance.\u201d the other, more recently, has been \u201caccounting needs to tell a better story\u201d to deal with the \u201ctalent crisis.\u201d while there are truths to both narratives, there are also many caveats.<\/p>\n

on the issue of \u201cadvisory,\u201d it is true that there are many benefits to the client and your bottom line to earn more from engagements that involve conversations with intent and planning and services. these conversations are largely based on the data and knowledge you have and can ultimately be of real value to your client when planning and growing their business or household.<\/p>\n

the issue, however, has been the messaging: urging accountants into a service area on the threat of what could happen if they don\u2019t move in that direction. thankfully, much of that conversation is changing, and even pricing methodologies, real-life examples and success stories are coming into focus.<\/p>\n

accountants, by and large, have figured this out on their own or are in the process of doing so. that’s not to say that the aicpa hasn\u2019t helped them on this path. but for many, it was seen as either drinking from a firehose or somewhat disingenuous given the aicpa’s affiliation with \u201cfor profit\u201d efforts from cpa.com (and cpa2biz before it) and the products and services it marketed. this once more has been the perception, and much can be done to help bridge the gap between advising where firms of all sizes can evolve and structure their firms more as businesses than service entities tied to \u201ccharge hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

this brings me to our next point of opportunity for incoming leadership to address, which is the very face of accounting and what being an accountant is about the culture. it\u2019s a big word, and in my view, it means more for the profession’s future than any of the aforementioned.<\/p>\n

firm culture and accounting culture clearly need to change to survive, let alone thrive. however, the message of \u201ctelling a better story\u201d doesn\u2019t quite hit the heart of the issue. this is something koziel and the team can address head-on, which is how the better story is told.<\/p>\n

at its core, accounting is, by and large, the same story it has been for decades, and no narrative shift will fix it. real change will come from actually having a better story to tell.<\/p>\n

cpa firm leadership must institute the changes it needs to put life first in the life-work balance scenario, lean more into what staff wants out of their work, embrace more modern ways of working, and have staff that is truly reflective of the culture they live in. only then may more people want to enter the accounting field and stay.<\/p>\n

this is where koziel and his team have an opportunity, at the very least for the cpa and cima designations, to redefine what the initials, and accounting in general, can mean outside of their literal translations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

some cpas don\u2019t necessarily support the aicpa or believe it supports them.<\/strong>
\n
\nby seth fineberg<\/em>
\nat large<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4792,"featured_media":130892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3002],"tags":[4645,4789],"class_list":["post-136159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outlook","category-special","tag-aicpa","tag-mark-koziel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n