To the members of the AICPA.

• Author: Castellano, James G.
• Position: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; public relations following Enron Corp. bankruptcy - Brief Article

The events surrounding the Enron bankruptcy have sparked an unprecedented level of public policy discussion and media coverage regarding the accounting profession and our role in our nation's capital market system. The situation is very fluid and can make the task of timely communication with you, our members, quite complicated. It is, however, a job to which we are firmly committed. This special insert is one of the means by which we can accomplish this task.

We've heard from many of our members and we share your deep concern over the impact this crisis is having on the confidence that investors and the public have in the work of CPAs. As the national organization for the profession, we are working hard to communicate the valuable contributions that CPAs make every day to the American economy. In every interview with print and broadcast media, we are making the following points as strongly as possible:

* There are more than 350,000 CPAs nationwide, employed in industry, government and in over 45,000 public practice firms.

* Hundreds of thousands of CPAs do their jobs every day with nothing but the highest level of integrity.

* Our profession will not tolerate those who do not abide by the rules.

* CPAs contribute to the U.S. economy and support their local communities by providing valuable services and sound advice to clients and employers each and every day.

The two of us, along with other spokespersons for the profession, have been very visible in delivering these messages to the national print, cable and broadcast media in recent weeks. We have participated in numerous interviews with print reporters and have appeared on "MoneyLine" with Lou Dobbs on CNN, "Market Wrap" and "Power Lunch" on CNBC as well as programs on C-SPAN, Bloomberg Radio and National Public Radio. While the AICPA presence in your local press is not as apparent, we are working hard to provide support to state CPA societies and individual members in their effort to deliver the local perspective on the profession.

In his State of the Union address on Jan. 29, 2002, President Bush spoke of the need for fighter disclosures and more transparency in corporate financial reporting. Our profession has a 100-year tradition of serving the public interest. Consistent with that tradition, we are committed to addressing the issues emerging from this crisis and to suggesting and implementing changes that need to be made, working with the SEC, other regulators and Congress. There are...