How does the Tax Section's strategic plan affect tax education?

• Author: Nellen, Annette
• Position: AICPA

In November 2003, the Tax Executive Committee (TEC) approved a strategic plan proposal for the AICPA Tax Section, titled Looking to the Future: Today, tomorrow, and beyond ...; see www.aicpa.org/down load/tax/tax_section_strat.pdf. The document specifies the Tax Section's mission and goals and will guide its future activities. This column discusses the new mission and its objectives, and the implications for tax education.

Internal Assessment

In recent years, the accounting, auditing and tax professions have Faced difficult times. High-profile scandals involving accountants who failed to follow the highest ethical and professional standards have tarnished public perceptions of CPAs' integrity. Federal and state lawmakers and regulators are imposing stringent new rules on the profession. It was this turbulent environment that essentially made the AICPA and the Tax Section assess internal strengths and weakness, as well as external opportunities and threats, and develop a strategic plan.

The Planning Process

A good strategic planning process should be all-inclusive, with input from a wide range of stakeholders. The groups involved in the Tax Section's course were the TEC, Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF) and Strategic Implementation Task Force (SITF). Each task force included representatives from the TEC, AICPA staff and a cross section of Tax Section members. A professional consultant facilitated both task forces' work.

The SPTF began work on the strategic plan in November 2002. One basic question it addressed was: "What does the future hold for the AICPA Tax Section?" Although the future will in part be determined by external factors, over which the Tax Section has minimal control, it still largely depends on the course set and the actions taken in response to a changing environment. After lengthy and insightful discussions, the SPTF revised the Tax Section mission statement and developed seven goal statements. The TEC reviewed and refined the report and approved it in January 2003.

The SITF met in May 2003 to craft strategies for achieving the mission and goals that the SPTF developed. Essentially, it brainstormed to develop action plans for achieving the various goals, the timeframe for executing the plan and assessment or evaluation targets. Next, the task force prioritized the numerous plans and addressed resource issues. The TEC reviewed the SITF's report in August 2003 and further refined and prioritized the goal statements/action plans, before approving the plan in November 2003.

The Tax Section's Mission

The keystone of any strategic plan is a mission statement, which declares an organization's primary purpose and reveals how it wants to be perceived. The participants in the strategic planning process debated at length whether the AICPA (and, particularly, the Tax Section) is (or should be) primarily a trade organization or a professional organization...