Happenings at board of directors' September meeting.

Following are some of the more significant actions and events that took place at the AICPA Board of Directors' meeting Sept. 19-20:

* Leslie Murphy, now former chair, reported on her outreach activities since the July board of directors' meeting. Besides participating in the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Summit meeting, she made presentations at the Beta Alpha Psi Annual Meeting, the Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference, and seven state CPA societies.

* Ads were shown for the upcoming financial literacy public service campaign with the Ad Council, creator of such memorable campaigns as Smokey Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog. Board members were very enthusiastic and supportive of the campaign (see page 1). At press time, 48 state CPA societies had already signed up to participate in the nationwide effort to help young Americans better manage their money and plan for their future.

* Comments received on the joint exposure draft with the Financial Accounting Standards Board on private company financial reporting were discussed. The comment letters showed a significant level of support and are available at www.pcfr.org.

* The Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to help fund the development of XBRL taxonomies for U.S. GAAP was highlighted. XBRL, or "interactive data," has enjoyed considerable support from SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, and XBRL-US has become an independent, not-for-profit organization that should be fully operational in its new form by early next year (see page 3).

* Board members were provided feedback from members and others regarding the profession's move toward greater transparency in the peer review...