AICPA participates in high-level capital markets meetings.

At two meetings in Mar. the AICPA presented members' perspectives on the competitiveness of the capital markets and the accounting profession's role to ensure the markets' effectiveness.

In addition to AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, more than 40 of the nation's top business executives and investor advocates participated in the U.S. Department of the Treasury Conference on U.S. Capital Markets Competitiveness held in Washington, D.C. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr. opened the summit and said, "Throughout the day, the fundamental question we must ask is: Have we struck die right balance between investor protection and market competitiveness?" The three areas on which discussion focused were our regulatory structure, the accounting profession and our legal and corporate governance environment. The AICPA said the discussion at the conference made it clear that America's financial leaders see the need for a balanced regulatory environment that trusts, rather than second guesses, an auditor's judgment. Warren E. Buffet, Charles Schwab, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, former Federal Reserve...