Members say CPA Letter is useful, valuable! (AICPA).

New readership survey shows 91% of respondents give publication high marks

Results from The CPA Letter's sixth readership survey show the newsletter continues to be a valuable communications vehicle serving members' information needs. In fact, 91% of respondents gave the newsletter an overall rating of good, very good or excellent, with 55% rating it very good or excellent.

More than 4,400 members were randomly selected to answer the survey, either through e-mail or a written questionnaire. The survey was conducted during June. Below are 'some of the key findings of this comprehensive research effort.

Overall, members are now reading more of The CPA Letter and getting to it sooner upon receipt. Fully 83% read it within five days (versus 78% in the 1999 survey). Of those, 52% read it within two days, consistent with prior surveys. In addition, 76% read at least half of it--58% did so in 1999.

Furthermore, 88% of respondents said the newsletter adequately identifies important issues affecting the profession and 80% said it addresses those issues with sufficient depth so that readers have a good understanding of them. At the time of the survey, the newsletter was extensively covering the fallout from Enron and other high-profile business failures as well as proposed regulatory and legislative developments.

More than four out of ten (45%) consider the publication about as useful now as it was two years ago, with another 28% saying it is much more or somewhat more useful. Interestingly, younger members (those under 35 years of age) were more likely to say The CPA Letter is more useful to them now than it was two years ago.

Questions assessing usefulness of and interest in certain features and topics were asked as well. While 64% of members in 1999 said the annual "Year in Review" feature was useful, 75% said so this time. Topics...