American Arbitration Association Seeks CPA Panelists.

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the AICPA are offering qualified CPAs an opportunity to provide alternative dispute resolution services. Each year the AAA provides administrative services to thousands of business people to resolve disputes with vendors, customers, and employees. In many cases, the parties would benefit if the panel included an arbitrator with accounting and financial knowledge.

The AAA and the AICPA have joined to expand the AAA's roster of neutrals with CPAs who have broad knowledge of a particular industry and have extensive, in-depth experience in providing professional services to it. The AAA has more than 100 industry panels. If you've developed an industry niche, there's a good chance an AAA panel will match your knowledge and experience.

In addition to demonstrating expertise in a particular industry, a good arbitrator candidate must possess sound judgment, high integrity, and a judicial temperament. An arbitrator must have good listening ability, be able to understand the issues discussed, and decide the matter in accordance with the evidence and testimony presented and the parties' contractual agreement. Arbitrators must be impartial in fact and appearance. Previous experience as an arbitrator is not required. The process for applying to be an arbitration panelist includes the following:

* The individual submits a detailed resume to the AICPA by September 1, 2000, for consideration by an evaluation team of volunteer CPA arbitrators. The resume must clearly describe the candidate's history and experience as a CPA and provide in-depth...