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 Talking with NASBA CEO David Costello
During a recent visit to Detroit, David Costello shared some thoughts with Leaders’ Edge. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. When is it happening, and what are your plans? Costello: My official date of retirement is 12/31/11 and on January 1, 2012 I start “re-firing.” I will devote a significant amount of my volunteer time to NASBA’s Center for the Public Trust and will seek to spread its influence nationally and internationally. I’m looking at some roles I might play in the university setting. I’m also considering how I might be helpful to companies seeking help on their board of directors particularly with the audit committee. But very importantly, I’m not looking for a “job”— I had the best in the world as President of NASBA—but I do want to re-fire. And of course that includes a lot of time for family. Tell us about some of the accomplishments that are most meaningful to you… Costello: I am proud of the relationships that we have built with the AICPA, the state societies, the NSA, SEC, FAF, FASB, PCAOB and international institutes and regulators. Our relationships with the CPA societies and the AICPA have been constructive and very helpful to our boards of accountancy and to the public at large. The Uniform Accountancy Act, the computerized examination and mobility are great examples of the profession, state boards and NASBA working together to achieve monumental benefits for the public. And the NASBA Center for the Public Trust is a flickering light that will continue to grow and spread across the nation and throughout the world because its message is one of optimism, trust and recognizing that the good, honest, and decent will always win out in the long run. What were the toughest challenges during your tenure at NASBA? Costello: The challenge of computerizing the CPA Examination tested AICPA, Prometric and NASBA. The agreement we developed is still unique, singular and the most impressive working document for any high stakes professional examination in the world. But completing it was not easy. All parties worked long hours, debated fiercely, put aside egos and truly worked for the public interest. We came out with a product that benefits the public, the exam candidates, academia, state boards, the profession, state societies, AICPA, Prometric and NASBA. Another significant challenge has been and is to maintain and make more public the relevance and criticality of state boards of accountancy. Because of the tendency of some legislatures and governors to sweep surplus board funds into the general treasury, some boards are left with a shoestring to operate on. We abhor this in NASBA as I know many state societies do. The health of our profession depends on strong state societies, the AICPA, and a relevant, autonomous, well-funded board of accountancy. What do you see as the biggest challenges NASBA will face going forward? Costello: One of the challenges that seems to be ever present with us is keeping and improving the mobility of CPAs throughout each of our jurisdictions. Getting rid of petty rules or practices that inhibit true and effective mobility must ever be part of our focus. We have made great strides in mobility but we must not relax our efforts to make mobility as effective and efficient as it is set forth in the UAA. The international influence is a significant but desirable challenge. It’s not as simple as just resolving the IFRS adoption, convergence, ”condorsement” or whatever. It’s much more complicated than that. What will the IASB look like if we indeed get closer to integrating IFRS in the U.S? State laws make it abundantly clear that boards of accountancy play an authority role in the adoption of not only accounting standards but also over the standard setter. Sovereignty is a big issue to state boards and the current structure of the IASB must be addressed to begin to ease state concerns about this standard setter’s reach into the U.S. And the top challenge facing the accounting profession today? Costello: Unfortunately, the most significant challenge to the profession and even to the regulators is that of TRUST. “Can I trust you? “ is the key question on the hearts and minds of the general public. It doesn’t take many instances of CPAs ignoring rules, laws, professional standards and ethics for the public to paint us all with the same brush of distrust. That’s the reason NASBA created the Center for the Public Trust…to engage the public on behalf of the profession and corporations. The message is “you can trust us and let us show you the examples of trust.” You’re recognized as one of the most influential people in the accounting profession. Who has been most influential in YOUR life? Costello: Sally, my wife, is the most influential. She’s at my side on all matters and is a great partner. She’s bright, one of the best business people I’ve ever known, and she’s beautiful. Others certainly include great chairs of NASBA and tremendous members of NASBA’s board. Share a little about the personal side of David Costello… What are you reading? Colonel Roosevelt, Portrait of A Spy, Killing Lincoln, EntreLeadership, The Bible Any hidden talents? I enjoy doing a few magic illusions. Favorite hobby? I love playing golf and if my love were matched by my ability I’d be playing on Sundays professionally. Favorite place? I have several: Ireland (of course, County Mayo); the mountains; Banff Springs in Alberta Canada; Phoenix (golf); Naples Florida; Newport Beach and of course Music City USA, Nashville. But did I tell you that I love family. Sally and I have five married children, 15 grandchildren and we adore our family. Lots of ball games, recitals, plays, and other stuff keep us busy and lovingly so. Top
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