The Proposed Global Credential: Answers to What, Why and How.

Later this fall, members will be asked to vote on the establishment of a new global business credential being developed by an international consortium of accounting organizations that includes the AICPA. New and distinct from any current professional credential, this proposed credential is rooted in strategy and knowledge integration across multiple disciplines. Those who hold this credential, which is designed to complement and extend existing professional credentials, would be facilitators of organizational change, entrepreneurial in nature and globally aware.

This special CPA Letter supplement is intended to help CPAs understand the concept of the credential, its potential benefits for those who would choose to obtain it, and the mechanism for administering the credential in the United States and in other participating countries should it become available. This supplement also provides information on upcoming communications efforts as part of the member education and response campaign mandated by the AICPA governing Council.

To keep up to date on the credential initiative and related information, members are encouraged to visit www. globalcredential.aicpa.org or contact the Global Credential Member Information Center (phone 202/434-9239 or e-mail globalcredential@ aicpa.org). You may also want to pull out and keep this supplement for future reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions that the Global Credential Member Information Center has received from CPAs around the country. A more complete list of questions and answers can be found on the Web site.

Q1. Can the AICPA briefly explain the concept of this new global business credential?

An international consortium of professional accounting organizations, including the AICPA, has been studying the development of a new interdisciplinary business credential characterized by its breadth of knowledge and strategic focus. The concept originated with the AICPA's Strategic Planning Committee and its deliberations on how best to help the profession realize the full potential of the CPA Vision.

Sometimes referred to by the placeholder name "XYZ," the credential would be administered and developed by a new international organization, which would establish global standards of ethics and competency. The responsibilities for supporting and marketing the credential would fall to the global institute. The AICPA would remain focused on its advocacy for the CPA profession.

Credential holders would be broad-based business professionals who help people and organizations achieve their objectives through the strategic use of knowledge. The credential would be accepted and enforced equally in all participating countries. Since it is grounded in the CPA profession and its values, the hurdle to entry would be significant. But so would the potential benefits. Holders of the new credential would have access to a broad-based online learning platform and networking opportunities among an elite group of interdisciplinary professionals working around the globe.

While the global business credential is intended to validate diverse business-analysis competencies and both complement and extend existing professional credentials, there are some who believe it would open up new sources of competition and confuse the marketplace. These issues are part of the grassroots dialogue taking place across the country fight now.

Q2. What is the current status of the proposed credential?

In May 2001, the AICPA governing Council passed a resolution presented by delegates of the California and Texas state societies authorizing a member mail ballot (to be mailed following the Oct. 2001 Council meeting) to decide whether the AICPA should help create a separate, self-funded organization that would develop the infrastructure for the new credential.

The resolution passed by Council also directed the Institute to launch a member information and response program. As a culmination of that effort, Council has also mandated that a statistically valid member survey, with a focus on non-CPA eligibility for the credential, be conducted under the supervision of the leadership of the AICPA and three state societies.

Q3. Have the sponsoring organizations decided on a name for the new credential?

Members may have previously heard the credential referred to by the name "Cognitor." That name did not appeal to members, and was discarded. The current strategy, which was reviewed by the AICPA Council, calls for a descriptive identifier (e.g., "Strategic Business Advisor") and an approach that highlights an individual's affiliation with an international network of elite business professionals. A specific recommendation will be made later this summer and communicated widely. Until a permanent name is decided upon, the credential is being referred to as the global business credential and, occasionally, by the placeholder title "XYZ."

Q4. We aid the AICPA administer and support the proposed global business credential?

No. The credential would be administered by a new international organization, which would establish global standards of ethics and competency. National credential granting organizations (NCGOs) would be created to issue the XYZ credential in accordance with global standards for admission. The AICPA would remain focused solely on its advocacy of the CPA profession. Dues to the new organization will only come from those individuals who choose to obtain the credential.

Q5. If the global credential is successful, will students choose to pursue the credential rather than become CPAs?

This question was one of the chief concerns of the AICPA Council during its early deliberations on the credential. Since then, an independent research study has indicated a strong interest in the credential among students and suggested that the existence of XYZ would actually have a positive effect on the number of students interested in pursuing the CPA.

According to the research data, when the CPA Vision is described to accounting and other students, the appeal of attaining a CPA increases. When the XYZ is explained to students in conjunction with the CPA Vision, the data indicates that interest in the CPA credential is further increased, especially among undeclared students. In fact, the study suggests that offering both the Vision-defined CPA and the XYZ represents an opportunity to keep students on the CPA-track who would otherwise be lost.

More specifically, 78% of AICPA student members support the Institute's launch of XYZ, and 83% of all college students see XYZ as a complement to the CPA. Only 8% of all college students surveyed see it as a substitute.

Q6. Will CPAs be required to add the new XYZ credential?.

No...