One Size Fits One: Keeping the Profession Strong in the 21st Century

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One Size Fits OneKeeping the Profession Strong
in the 21st Century

• Jimmy Williamson, CPA
• AICPA Chair
• Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop
• June 2, 2007

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Agenda for Today

• CPA Image and Grassroots Outreach
• Supply and Demand Your Opportunity
• Work/Life Issues
• Professional Issues of Interest
• Summary

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A Rising Tide

• CPA Image Ratings
• Continue to Climb

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CPA Image
Are you favorable or unfavorable toward Certified
Public Accountants?
Investors
General BDMs
C-Class
52
47
42
37
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Very Favorable
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Profession Favorability
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The Public View of CPAs
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In the past four years the occupations that have
received the largest increase in the percentage
of U.S. adults who trust that they tell the truth
are accountants (up 13 percentage points from 55
in 2002 to the current 68)
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Top Job for Grads Accounting
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Standing Tall in the Publics Eye

• 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy
• Feed the Pig

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CPAs in the Media
More than 800 media outlets in past six months.
Total reach more than 520 million consumers.

• National Media, including
• ABC World News Tonight
• NBC Nightly News
• CBS Evening News
• Fox News
• MSNBC
• Wall Street Journal

• New York Times
• Financial Times
• Newsweek
• BusinessWeek
• USA Today
• CNNMoney.com

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Ethics and Quality Drive Improved Public Image

• Profession has gotten back to basics
• Much higher regard for internal controls and
  those who understand them
  
• Significant focus on ethics enhancement
• Independence rules have been strengthened
• Technical expertise is more highly rewarded

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Ethics and Quality Drive Improved Public Image
(Cont)

• More integration of IT and Accounting
• Fraud detection and avoidance is better
  understood
  
• Governance systems have improved substantially
• CPAs are seen as part of the solution

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Supply and Demand Your Opportunity

• Attracting and Retaining
• Talented Professionals

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Demand Is High
The need for certified public accountants (CPAs)
in the United States, post-Sarbanes-Oxley, is at
an unprecedented high, resulting in aggressive
competition between firms and companies for their
services.
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Staffing Realities
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But Promising Signs
Enrollment
Graduates
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Supply Hiring By CPA Firms
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(No Transcript)
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The Turnaround Game
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Latest Update in the Catch Me If You Can Series
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Numbers are Moving Up

• More students in early college are declaring
  accounting as their major more high school
  students are planning to declare accounting as
  their major.

2001 Campaign Launch
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(No Transcript)
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Estimated Shortage of Supply to Demand-- New
Accounting PhDs
Demand Supply Met
For 2005-06 352 141 40.0
For 2006-08 590 330
55.9 Percent of Demand Met for 2005-08 49.9
Source AAA Report on Supply Demand
for Accounting PhDs
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Supply of New Ph.D.s across Specialties
Percentage of Expected Demand over Three Academic
Years, 2005-08
91.6
79.0
57.5
27.1
22.8
0.0
1.4
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Work/Life Balance

• Encouraging the Profession to be
• Leaders in Work/Life Policies

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AICPA Research

• Both men and women express high degree of concern
  for work/life effectiveness (between 78 and
  91)
  
• Work/life considerations now rank equal to
  interest in career progression
  
• Four generations of workers are active in the
  workplace creating the need for change
  
• Baby boomers are beginning to retire creating
  even more pressure on resources
  

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Seven Categories of Work/Life Effectiveness

• Workplace Flexibility
• Paid and Unpaid Time Off
• Health and Well-Being
• Caring for Dependents
• Financial Support
• Community Involvement
• Management Involvement/Culture Change
  Interventions
  

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AICPA Research

• Overall, firms have increased the availability of
  alternative work arrangements in the past
  decade.
  

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AICPA Research

• Retention 77
• Value of individual 75
• Morale 73
• Productivity 70
• Mgmt concerns 55
• Mgmt costs 54
• Absenteeism 46
• Recruitment 42

• Retention, morale, productivity and value of
  individuals are reported by firms to be drivers
  of management decisions about work/life policies.

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Resources www.aicpa.org/worklife

• Striking a Balance DVD
• The Facts on Workplace Flexibility
• Promoting Your Talent, book
• Summit 2003, Career and Life in the Balance,
  conference materials
  
• Mentoring Program Guidelines

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Stop the Revolving Door What Employers Need To
Do

• Need to understand generational differences and
  what staff want today
  
• Create a culture that appeals to young
  professionals
  
• Need more role models of successful leaders (men
  and women) who set an example
  
• Establish mentoring programs demonstrating that
  we care about your future
  
• Align rewards with what is important with
  retaining staff
  
• Build flexibility into everything

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Summary

• Profession is more challenging and complex than
  ever before.
  
• The rate of change is accelerating.
• The profession is highly respected.
• Demand for our services is at an all time high
  and will stay there for decades to come.

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Summary (Cont)

• There is a shortage of resources in the
  profession.
  
• Workplaces are slowly adapting to One size fits
  one.
  
• You need to figure out the right work environment
  for you.
  
• THERES NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO JOIN THE
  PROFESSION!

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QUESTIONS?