Council votes overwhelmingly to support global credential.

• Position: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants members asked to adopt proposal - Brief Article

Board of Directors Asks AICPA Members to Adopt Proposal

At the governing Council's much-anticipated meeting last month where it could decide to continue or halt efforts on the proposed new global credential, the Council overwhelmingly supported moving ahead with development of the credential and reaffirmed the proposal be brought to the full membership for a vote. Earlier, the AICPA Board of Directors voted unanimously to recommend Institute members approve the proposal.

Specifically, Council accepted a resolution presented by the Colorado Society of CPAs calling for Council to state its support for the global credential initiative and resulting bylaw amendment. After lively discussion and spirited debate on reasons for and against the credential, Council voted 157 to 62 (nearly 72%) in favor of the resolution. Thus, a member referendum has been mailed to members asking them to approve a bylaw change that would explicitly recognize the Institute's authority to create a new, self-funded organization to grant an interdisciplinary global credential in the United States.

Among the many reasons cited for moving forward, the one that resonated most with the vast majority of Council members was that the credential was good for future generations of CPAs. Council also considered the results of a statistically valid member survey, which was conducted in Sept. by an independent research firm under the supervision of the AICPA and three state society representatives. The survey's results show a majority of members would vote to create the credential.

Members' ballots must be received by an independent tabulator by Dec. 28 to be counted. A two-thirds majority of those voting is required for the measure to pass.

Council also heard a presentation on the credential name chosen by the Global Credential Steering Committee, the international consortium developing the proposal. The name, International Institute of Strategic Business Professionals (IISBP) was created through an extensive process with input from many important constituencies and was selected from among hundreds of alternatives. The...