AICPA releases Social Security study to lawmakers, media.

As reported in the Feb. CPA Letter, the AICPA has updated its 1998 study on Social Security to reflect current issues. The new report, Understanding Social Security Reform: The Issues and Alternatives, was distributed last month to members of Congress and other policymakers, as well as to national and trade media outlets.

The study's goal is to foster informed discussion by providing unbiased facts and analysis of the issues involved in reforming the present-day Social Security system. Privatization is covered in a section that serves as a primer on the potential advantages and disadvantages of such an approach.

A news briefing held on Mar. 8 provided the media with an overview of the report. Presenting the study was...