During a recent visit to Detroit, David Costello shared some thoughts with Leaders’ Edge.
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David Costello, CPA President & CEO, NASBA |
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.