Navigating the headlines.

• Author: Simko, David A.
• Position: A message FROM THE CHAIR

It is my honor to be stepping up as chair of The Ohio Society's Executive Board. I have enjoyed the process of preparation and am looking forward to my time at the helm.

My commitment is to represent the membership and capitalize on the strengths that comprise our prestigious profession.

Quality

Like one of the Big Three car manufacturers used to say: We need to make quality jobone. CPAs have been valued over the years because of our commitment to getting to the right answer.

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How do we get the right answer? Through:

* Our commitment to lifelong learning, which includes taking responsibility for the quality of our CPE credits and how we apply that knowledge

* Collaboration with peers

* Programs that help us assess and improve the quality of our work, such as peer review

Integrity

Having the right answer is not enough. What makes a CPA a CPA is his or her commitment to doing the right thing, especially when there is no one clear answer.

Integrity is not something you can turn on and off. It is a way of life that CPAs adopt. We need to accept our role as the "moral conscience" of the business world. Whether we want it or not, the business world is already expecting us to fulfill this role.

To be successful, we need to accept the challenge of reinvesting in our knowledge of rules and regulations and sound business ethics--and then to abide by them.

Community

Our commitment to giving back to others has been a key part of our profession for a long time. We demonstrate this in any number of ways: getting involved in our church, schools, not-for-profit organizations--in other words, our community.

The Society's Financial Literacy campaign gives us a great opportunity to give back to our community. If you are interested, please visit the Society's Web site at www.ohioscpa.com or contact Karen West at kwest@ohio-cpa.com or 800.686.2727, ext. 344.

Ripped from the headlines

These traits--quality, integrity and community involvement--are being lived out every day. Two of the hottest topics in the profession get right to the heart of these issues.

Peer review transparency

Peer review speaks to the issues of both quality and integrity. The peer review process strengthens the profession. It gives...