WE DO NOT DEBATE THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE AICPA REPRESENTS THE LOCAL
PRACTITIONER; WE BEGIN WITH THE OVERRIDING PREMISE THAT THEY MUST DO SO!!
A GROUP OF CPA'S IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA WERE SO MOVED BY A SERIES OF RECENT
ACTIONS OF THE AICPA THAT THEY HAVE FORMED THE LOCAL PRACTITIONERS ACTION FORUM.
THE MAJOR GOAL OF THIS NEW ORGANIZATION IS TO PROVIDE A VEHICLE WHEREBY GRASS
ROOTS REPRESENTATION CAN BE SECURED ON THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMITTEES THAT
ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THE DECISIONS BY WHICH WE PRACTICE AND MAINTAIN OUR
LIVELIHOOD. IT IS OUR FEELING THAT REPRESENTATION IS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE
WELLED-UP FRUSTRATIONS OF THE VAST NUMBER OF ANXIOUS, BUSY, YET INTENSELY IN-
TERESTED CPA's.
AT A RECENT MEETING OF LOCAL PRACTITIONERS, CHAIRED BY WALLACE OLSEN, PRESIDENT
OF THE AICPA, A QUESTION WAS POSED RELATING TO THE LACK OF PARTICIPATION BY
LOCALS IN THE MATTER OF RESPONDING TO EXPOSURE DRAFTS, OUR ANSWER IS THAT THOSE
ACCOUNTANTS THAT MR. OLSEN WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND, HAVE SUCH A DEEP-SEATED PRECOG-
NITION THAT IT WON'T MATTER ANYWAY - THAT NO ONE UP THERE LISTENS THAT THEY
ABDICATE THE IR RESPONSIBILITIES WITHOUT ANY SORT OF SHOW. WE DON'T CARE TO FIND
OUT WHO IS TO BLAME - WE ONLY CARE TO FIND A SOLUTION. INVOLVEMENT IS THAT
SOLUTION. COMPLACENCY BEGETS ITS OWN REWARDS A DICTATORIAL POWER FOR THE
ACTIVE.
WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT AN ORGANIZATION AS VAST AS THE AICPA, OR STATE SOCIETIES
AND LOCAL CHAPTERS, FOR THAT MATTER, CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT THE REGIONAL AND
NATIONAL FIRM3. THEY PROVIDE RESOURCES THAT KEEP THE WHEELS MOVING IN HIGH GEAR,
AND THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO EXTRACT A PRICE FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF THOSE RESOURCES.
HOWEVER, THE EXTRACTION MUST DE TEMPERED WITH REASON. THAT REASON IS FOSTERED
BY THEIR NOT HAVING AN OPEN COURSE OF UNBRIDLED DECISION-MAKING POWER AND THE
RE INS ON THAT POWER IS HETTLED IN THE PROPER REPRESENTATION OF THE GENERAL
MEMBERSHIP. IT MUST BE REALIZED THAT PRACTICE UNITS OF FIFTY INSTITUTE MEMBERS
OR LESS CONSTITUTE A MAJORITY OF THE CPA'S IN PUBLIC PRACTICES, IF THERE IS
DOMINATION FROM THE FEW BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER ORGANIZED, THEN THE HANY MUST
ORGANIZE TO BE AS EFFECTIVE.
SECONDARILY, IT IS OUR FEELING THAT THERE IS SUCH A PROLIFERATION OF NEW
MATERIAL POURING OUT OF THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMITTEES THAT THE LOCAL
PRACTITIONER CANNOT KEEP UP WITH IT ALL ADEQUATELY ENOUGH TO EVEN RESPOND TO
IT. WE, THEREFORE, FEEL THAT IT MUST BE DISTILLED, DISSECTED AND DISCUSSED
AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. THIS NEED GAVE RISE TO OUR TABLE OF ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE BASIC LOCAL GROUPS OF TWENTY OR 30. EACH SUCH GROUP SENDS TWO REPRESENTATIVES TO A CENTRAL COUNCIL, WHICH IS MADE UP OF THOSE PEOPLE PLUS FIVE ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO BE DRAWN FROM ANY OF THE LOCAL GROUPS. WE HAVE ALSO CREATED A CENTRAL TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM LOCAL GROUPS TO PROVIDE THE DISTILLATION AND DISSECTION FOR LOCAL DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES DEEMED PERTINENT TO OUR MEMBERS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS LOCAL GROUP AND ITS
LIMITED SIZE IS TO PROVIDE A COMFORTABLE ARENA FOR THE DISCUSSION. EACH GROUP PROVIDES INPUT WHICH IS GATHERED CENTRALLY BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THAT GROUP AND AN OVERALL FORUM POSITION PAPER IS CREATED. THAT WAY, WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO LET THE AICPA, STATE SOCIETIES OR LOCAL CHAPTERS, KNOW HOW WE FEEL. IF NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT, THEN THE POWERS THAT BE WILL KNOW THAT X-NUMBER OF MEMBERS FEEL THIS WAY. THE REPRESENTATIVES ON COMMITTEES THAT WE HOPE TO HAVE WILL ALSO KNOW HOW THEIR "CONSTITUENTS" FEEL.
WE FEEL THAT WE MUST BE HITTING A NERVE OF THE ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY,
FEW MONTHS OF OUR EXISTENCE, WE HAVE AN ENROLLMENT OF SOME 63 PRACTICE UNITS
REPRESENTING SOME 240 CPA's. WE HAVE HAD INQUIRIES REGARDING OUR ORGANIZATION FROM
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRMS AND HAVE A GROUP ORGANIZING IN THE SAN DIEGO AREA, WE
DO NOT KNOW HOW FAR THIS FORUM WILL GROW IN SIZE AND GEOGRAPHICAL AREA - EVENTS
WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD US TO THAT ANSWER. WE ARE VERY FIRM IN ONE CONVICTION,
HOWEVER. WE ARE NOT TRYING TO FORM A NEW AICPA FOR LOCAL PRACTITIONERS.
WE ARE
MERELY INTENT UPON CRYSTALLIZING OUR WANTS AND NEEDS AND TO OFFER OUR MANPOWER
TO AND THROUGH THE EXISTING STRUCTURE SO THAT THEY MAY USE THEM.
OUR AIM IS TO
WORK OURSELVES OUT OF BUSINESS BY STIRRING A REAL AWAKENING WITHIN THE PRESENT
ORGANIZATION SO THAT WE NO LONGER NEED TO BE THEIR CONSCIENCE.
IF THIS APPROACH DOESN'T WORK, WE MUST BE PREPARED TO EXAMINE OTHER ALTERNATIVES AND MOVE IN OTHER DIRECTIONS.
IN MANY OF THE ITEMS SEEN IN THE JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY LATELY, THERE ARE
REFERENCES TO "GROUPS OF FIRMS". PROBABLY, THESE REFER TO GROUPS THAT HAVE
FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY BANDED TOGETHER FOR PRACTICE MANAGEMENT PURPOSES. IT
IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THROUGH THEIR CONBINED ASSETS THEY ARE ABLE TO ATTEND
CONVENTIONS, COMMITTEE MEETINGS, AND GENERALLY HAVE A VOICE IN THE HIGHER ECHELON
AFFAIRS OF THE PROFESSION.
OUR ORGANIZATION PURPORTS TO HAVE THESE SAME
LATTER GOALS, BUT NO OTHER. WE ARE A GROUP OF FIRMS WHOSE ONLY COMMON FIORE IS A DESIRE FOR THE OVERALL BENEFIT OF THE PROFESSION, AND THEREBY OUR OWN.
IN WHAT WE FEEL WAS AN EFFORT ON THE PART OF THE AICPA TO CREATE A CLOSER
BOND WITH THE LOCAL PRACTITIONERS, ADVISORY GROUPS A, B AND C WERE FORMED TO
KEEP THE PARENT ORGANIZATION ABREAST OF THE FEELING OF ITS MEMBERS. GROUP C
IS MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 15 LARGEST FIRMS, GROUP B OF THE NEXT 25,
AND GROUP A OF THE OTHER 16,760 PRACTICE UNITS. GROUP A 15 MADE UP OF 15
MEMBERS, GEOGRAPHICALLY SPREAD. THE GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN PORTRAYS ANOTHER
WEAKNESS OF THE AICPA - ITS APPARENT PROVINCIALISM. TWO OF THESE 15 MEMBERS
ARE FROM WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, SEATTLE AND SAN FRANCISCO, WHILE THERE ARE
FIVE MEMBERS FROM NEW YORK TO VIRGINIA, A SIMILAR DISTANCE. CALIFORNIA IS AN
ELONGATED STATE GEOGRAPHICALLY, BUT LOS ANGELES HAS NO REPRESENTATION, EVEN
THOUGH WE HAVE SOME 5,000 CPA'S IN OUR OWN LOCAL CHAPTER, ONE OF THE LARGEST
CPA GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY. CERTAINLY, THIS IS NOT GOOD QUANTITY REPRESENTATION.
THE FACT THAT ALL 13 WESTERN STATES ARE REPRESENTED BY TWO PEOPLE IS NOT GOOD
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. WE FEEL THAT GROUP A SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE A
MEMBER FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WE ARE PREPARED TO SUPPLY THAT MEMBER AS OUR
FIRST BID FOR REPRESENTATION AND TO HELP THE AICPA GET BETTER UNDERSTANDING AT
THE SAME TIME. FOR BETTER DISTRIBUTION, OTHER WESTERN STATES SHOULD ALSO BE
REPRESENTED MORE VIGOROUSLY.
THESE ARE OUR AIMS, SOME OF OUR REASONS, OUR METHOD OF IMPLEMENTING THEM, AND OUR INITIAL REQUEST FOR REPRESENTATION. WE ARE DETERMINED TO PROVIDE THE WAY FOR LOCAL PRACTITIONERS TO GET INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF AICPA ACTIVITY, AS WELL AS IN THE LOCAL AND STATE ORGANIZATION. LOCAL PRACTITIONERS MUST BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE - AND - THE LOCAL PRACTITIONER MUST BE PREPARED TO RESPOND
TO THE OPPORTUNITY. EVERYONE, LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIONAL PRACTITIONERS ALIKE, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL, MUST BE PREPARED TO DISCARD PROVEN UNWORKABLE METHODS AND TRY NEW ONES, UNTIL WE FIND SOME THAT WORK.
ROBERT A. SATIN
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036 (212) 575-6200
Robert A. Satin, CPA
Zimmerman, Satin & Rogovin
9454 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 700
Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212
As you are aware, Council is composed of 250 members and, because of its size, it is a somewhat unwieldy body when action is required. If all members who attend the annual meeting were allowed to sit in the meeting of Council it would become even more difficult to conduct the business requiring the Council's attention.
There is certainly no desire to be secretive nor to deny full information to the Institute's members. It is simply a matter of logistics and good procedures to allow the Institute's governing body to operate as effectively as possible.
All actions of Council are fully reported in the Institute's publications and I am certain that your Council representatives from California would be happy to discuss with you the issues that come before them.
I am sorry that your attitude is one of disapproval of the organization but in this instance I cannot honestly feel that your reaction is based upon reasonable grounds. In any event, I appreciate your strong interest in the profession's affairs and commend you for taking the time to express your views.
Sincerely,
Welly Olson
Wallace. E. Olson
President
TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU HOW DISAPPOINTED WAS TO
FIND THAT THE COUNCIL MEETINGS OF THE INSTITUTE ARE CLOSED TO
NON-COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I HAD ALWAYS BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT ALL MEETINGS, BE THEY
/NNUAL MEETINGS, COUNCIL MEETINGS, OR COMMITTEE MEETINGS, WERE OPEN
TO ALL HEMERS. IN CONJUNCTION WITH MY TRIP TO THE ANNUAL MEETING,
I WAS TOLD BY
| 1:AD HOPED TO BE ABLE TO COME TO A COUNCIL MEETING.
YOUR OFFICE IN NEW YORK THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.
IT SEEMS THAT THE MORE ONE BECOMES INVOLVED, THE HOPE ORE LEANNS ACOUT
THE ORGANIZATION AND DISAPPROVES,
|