AICPA 2009 Spring Meeting of Council

Beverly R. Nichols, CPA of New Orleans and JPMS COX, PLLC of Little Rock, Arkansas each were awarded the 2008 Public Service Award at the Council meeting. Ms. Nichols received the individual award, while JPMS COX, PLLC, earned the firm recognition award.

Presentation of the 2009 AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award

Ira Solomon, CPA, Ph.D., who heads the Department of Accountancy and holds the R.C. Evans Endowed Chair in Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was awarded the Institute's 2009 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award. This Award is given each year to a full time college accounting educator for distinguished excellence in teaching.

Prominent Speakers from the Media, Including a Senator, Congressmen and Political Analyst Present their Views of a Variety of Issues

An impressive group of speakers from the media and politicians from both sides of the aisle discussed the current regulatory issues, including the new Obama administration's programs and policies, as well as the nation's economic challenges during the recession. Council members and attendants heard David Gergen, Editor-at-Large, U.S. News and World Report; Pat Buchannan, columnist and MSNBC political analyst; Donna Brazile, CNN political contributor and ABC political consultant; Representative Eric Cantor (Republican from Virginia), minority WHIP of the House of Representatives; Representative Lynn Jenkins, CPA (Republican, Kansas), member of the House Financial Services Committee; and Representative Joseph Crowley (Democrat, New York), member of the House Ways and Means Committee. In addition, Senator Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island), Chairman of the Senate Sub-Committee on Securities, Insurance and Investment and Bob Woodward, assistant managing editor of the Washington Post, addressed the AICPA's Political Acton Committee.

CPAs Go to Capitol Hill

Briefings from Mark Peterson, Vice-President-Congressional and Political Affairs; Thomas Ochsenschlager, Vice-President-Taxation provided Council with an overview of the primary issues to be discussed with Congressmen and Senators on Capitol Hill. This process served the Council to provide background on the issues, and to assist all those visiting Capitol Hill to communicate the same primary points important to the profession, business and the public.

The AICPA Federal Key Persons and many of the Council members met with their districts' members of Congress. The talking points focused on the AICPA's, State CPAs Societies' and CPAs' efforts to help businesses, individuals and communities to navigate current economic crisis. The point was to communicate how CPAs are promoting sound money management practices for now and the future. Also, recommendations for financial regulatory reform; continued pursuit of a ban on tax strategy patents; and mobile work force legislation that would impose a uniform national standard on non-resident state taxation for short term workers.

The Alabama delegation did meet with our Congressmen, as well as the Chief of Staff in the Senators' offices to communicate these points as outlined above. We were well received and the attitude in the meetings was "get down to business". It was a very worthwhile part of the overall trip to Washington, D.C.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Moore
Bill Carr

May 7, 2009