National CPA News Positions Michigan in the Headlines

John H. Higgins 2004-2005 MACPA Chair of the Board

The high point for the Michigan contingent at the recent AICPA Council meeting in Orlando had to be when “one of our own” was elected AICPA vice chair. A partner at Plante & Moran, Leslie Murphy will become chair of the AICPA next October. (Read our Cover Story on Leslie.) A past MACPA board member, Leslie demonstrates excellence and integrity in all she does. Congratulations to Leslie … and we look forward to welcoming her as a national leader to our upcoming events.

Also at the Council meeting, members were actively engaged in helping to identify top issues facing the profession. A long list was boiled down to these key issues:

• Attracting more people into the profession
• Challenges of private vs. public companies
• Cascade effect of Sarbanes-Oxley
• Emphasizing CPA competency & quality
• Tort reform/liability
• Changing regulatory model
• Serving small firms
• Contributing to the debate on select public policy issues
• Retention – CPAs in the workforce, including work/life issues.

These topics were discussed at length in breakout sessions; and they will continue to be front-burner issues at both the national and state levels.

Another highlight of the Council meeting was the launch of AICPA’s new consumer web site. Resource information is organized by common life stages that trigger financial issues. The web site is the linchpin of a coordinated program, 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy, sponsored by the AICPA, MACPA and other state societies in which CPAs volunteer their time and talents to educate members of their community about life-stage related financial issues. (See related article.)

MACPA is proud of the active role our members have always played in strengthening community awareness of financial issues. Our efforts with Junior Achievement, the Volunteer Accounting Services Team and the media are examples of programs we’ve had in place for a long time.

In conjunction with the national program, we’ve recently developed a new task force. The Financial Literacy Task Force has formed to tackle financial literacy challenges here in Michigan, including a recently developed partnership with Hospice of Michigan (HOM).

As a starting point, our Task Force will develop materials, including checklists, for families to utilize in end-of-life planning for loved ones. HOM has been approached by several organizations to initiate a similar partnership; however, as the largest statewide provider of hospice care in Michigan, HOM has asserted they will only partner with objective business advisers who have the experience and integrity to provide such an invaluable resource. If not CPAs, then who?

Get involved in financial literacy efforts in your community, consider joining this important grassroots effort. I urge you to take a look at a variety of online resources now available to help you maximize your volunteer efforts. This MACPA/AICPA Financial Literacy Resource Center includes advisor content on basic financial issues, toolkits, speaker resources, updates and links to other financial literacy web sites.

Financial literacy is a lifelong matter – and CPAs can help. As Carl George, CEO of Clifton Gunderson and head of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, says, “When CPAs put their heads and hearts together, they can make a tremendous difference in the lives of Americans.”

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