Chair's corner.

• Author: Ezzell, William F.

This month I want to touch briefly on a number of pending issues. First, the Special Committee on State Regulation has been extremely busy working with state societies and other interested parties to respond to legislative initiatives in over 16 states. Many of these Sarbanes-Oxley type legislative initiatives propose to go well beyond addressing services to public companies and would apply many of the provisions of S-O to audits of private companies and other non-SEC registered companies. While some of the provisions may be appropriate in the non-SEC setting, many would not enhance audit quality and would have the unintended consequence of significantly increasing the cost and complexities of obtaining professional services by our nation's many small and growing businesses. We will continue to work closely with state societies and members to address these legislative and regulatory initiatives in order to promote uniformity of state regulation for the profession.

I want say a special thanks to our Tax Executive Committee and its task force that has worked diligently during the past several weeks to address many issues relating to tax consulting services. There has been considerable media attention on tax consulting services which has brought to the surface the continuing struggle by the Internal Revenue Service and others to define tax strategies that may be inappropriate. During this busiest time of the year, many of our CPA tax professionals have been at the forefront of dialogue with the IRS and others on this important issue. The issues that underlie the debate are very complicated and arriving at appropriate guidance that fits all situations remains difficult. As this issue continues to move forward, the profession will remain an active participant.

Our various committees that deal with the public company reporting environment also have been very busy. We have responded to every request from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to provide information and assist as it prepares for its new responsibilities. We are committed to a smooth transition for those programs that will...