Questions and Answers on Global Credential.

• Position: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants - Brief Article

The following questions and answers were prepared to address members' comments and feedback regarding the global credential ("XYZ").

Why begin implementation of the XYZ with the CPA profession rather than the legal or any other profession?

Because we have the vision, and because if we're correct and there is a market opportunity, our members will have the early opportunity to participate.

The XYZ is an idea that grows directly out of the CPA Vision Process and about which the Institute's Strategic Planning Committee and other accountancy institutes around the globe have expressed their excitement. If the CPA profession takes the lead in developing the concept, the ground rules will be consistent with our frame of reference and culture.

What is the AICPA's motive in creating this new credential?

This initiative grew out of the Institute's Strategic Planning Committee looking for opportunities consistent with the Vision that would enable AICPA members to continue to excel in a very competitive marketplace. It is not, as some have suggested, an attempt to increase AICPA membership numbers. Rather, it is an effort to complement existing professional credentials by creating a new and distinct profession that emphasizes the strategic integration of knowledge needed to create value for businesses in today's evolving information economy.

Why is the AICPA exploring the feasibility of a new credential that would include non-CPAs and thereby augment competition for CPAs?

The AICPA is certainly not looking to create new sources of competition for the CPA. On the contrary, our job is to keep the CPA profession relevant and viable well into the next century. In that regard, the Institute is continuing to expand its aggressive efforts in image enhancement, student recruitment and membership services.

But CPAs, apart from their attest functions, are already in competition with other professions. Even when because of its unique attributes our CPA credential gives us an advantage in the marketplace, we have no exclusivity in most of what we do. That won't change once the XYZ has been established.

CPAs have already begun to accept the idea of collaborating with other professions in order to offer clients as wide a variety of services as possible. Many CPAs are now part of multidisciplinary practices, and CPA firms, large and small, are hiring non-CPAs. The XYZ credential would be a way to validate that everyone in a firm has a certain level of...