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Reports on the 91st annual meeting of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in San Francisco, California from October 22 to 24, 1978. A record 3,049 AICPA members, government officials, educators, speakers, guests and Institute staff met to appraise the profession's progress over the past year and to set goals for the year ahead. Issues related to self-discipline, ethics, peer review and private-sector standard setting continued to dominate the 91st annual meeting. Council approved submitting to the membership by mail ballot a resolution to eliminate the second sentence in ethics rule 502 of the rules of conduct. Council did not approve a proposal by the Maine Society of Public Accountants to dissolve the private companies practice section of the AICPA division for firms and change the name of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission practice section to the division of CPA firms. Council also did not approve opening to the public disciplinary hearings held under section 7.4 of the bylaws. New officers were also elected during the event. A summary of events in Congress and elsewhere in the federal government affecting the profession and a preview of what may be in store for 1979 were presented in the session The Washington Year in Review. In a session on federal taxation, moderator Arthur J. Dixon, chairman of the federal taxation executive committee, described the work of the committee, noting that it is authorized to speak on tax matters in the Institute's behalf. INSETS: Scott and Cummings appraise the profession's status;Plenary sessions focus on politics, economics.

The article discusses the views of Edmund Coulson, the chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the issue on disclosure. Coulson aims to play an active and visible role in enforcement when he was appointed to his position. The discussion focuses on a number of initiatives aimed at enforcing and implementing full and fair disclosure in certain key areas, such as the Treadway commission recommendations and harmonization of international accounting and auditing standards. The proposal is entirely consistent with the Treadway commission recommendations and it is almost the simplest form of management reporting on internal controls and auditor involvement that can be designed.

Features Robert L. May, chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 1988. Career background; Group affiliation; His efforts to promote the AICPA.

This article presents several news related to accounting in the U.S. In a recent letter to all members of Congress, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) called for greater efficiency and accountability in federal financial management. The Institute, which has created a related task force chaired by Neil Tierney of Arthur Young, supports legislation and administrative action aimed at providing complete, consistent, reliable, useful and timely information that clearly reflects the unique operations of the federal government and its financial condition. Proposed and temporary regulations on interest expense allocation when applying limits on passive activity losses and credits, investment interest and personal interest are too complex and strict. The regulations, which were issued, use a tracing concept to determine whether interest expense is subject to new statutory restrictions for passive, investment and personal interest. The tracing concept characterizes interest expense by examining the debt on which the interest originates and how the proceeds were spent. INSET: WIDNER NAMED AICPA VICE-PRESIDENT.

Presents an interview with A. Marvin Strait, vice-chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' board of directors concerning the planned changes of accounting standards in the U.S. Features of the proposed changes in accounting standards; Reasons behind the planned changes; Assessment of the proposed changes.

Presents an interview with Daniel A. Giannini, chairman of the small business committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Views about the strides small business has made over the last decade as a vibrant, growing segment of the U.S. economy; Reasons for the surge in small business; Change in attitude by financial institutions, which are more willing to bank on small businesses; Details of the characteristics of a small business.

This article focuses on the 14th American Institute of Certified Public Accountants National Conference on developments in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which was held in January 1987 in Washington D.C. One key focus at the conference was peer review. A recommendation on whether the SEC should require that auditors of publicly held companies be subject to mandatory peer review will be submitted to the commission shortly, according to SEC chief accountant A. Clarence Sampson. A draft recommendation, he added, had been completed and SEC action was anticipated very soon. The draft is an outgrowth of a recent SEC decision to defer action on another proposal that would have required companies to disclose in their proxy statements whether their auditors were members of a peer review program subject to review by the commission. The SEC staff is working to determine if a set of appropriate international accounting standards could be developed. SEC commissioner Edward Fleischman, in the conference's keynote address, also said that, in his opinion, the commission does have the authority to require peer reviews.

The article discusses a serious concern facing the accounting profession, that is, how to attract and retain top students. Dean Button, former chief accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, voiced concern that accounting is no longer the preferred career choice for the brightest students at the undergraduate college level. Moreover, he added, the major accounting firms today are demonstrating an inability to seek, attract and pay for the best and brightest graduates of graduate schools or to keep those few that are hired. The most serious challenge confronting the profession, according to Russell E. Palmer, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is that too few of the best young people are entering the profession. The business and economic atmosphere with which accountants must cope has changed dramatically. Increased competition from within the profession and pressures from financial service groups are now a way of life for accounting firms. The computer has certainly affected virtually all segments of society, and accounting has been no exception. While today's brightest students take for granted the computer's number-crunching skills, many certified public accountants can remember long hours working on trial balances or a client's hand-kept records. INSET: LOOKING AT TODAY'S ACCOUNTING MAJORS.

This article reports that the current regulatory focus on accounting issues was highlighted at the 12th annual American Institute of Certified Public Accountants National Conference on Current SEC Developments, held in January in Washington D.C. Among those reflecting on the state of accounting was departing SEC Commissioner James C. Treadway. Treadway invoiced the ghosts of accounting past, present and future to see how the profession has evolved to its current state, to assess that state and to peer into the future. Since joining the SEC in 1982, Treadway has noted an increased interest in accounting issues among the commissioners, as well as an increase in existing expertise and capacity, particularly in the Office of the Chief Accountant and the Division of Corporation Finance. In 1982 the SEC hired its first chief enforcement accountant, and several outside auditors were recruited to deal exclusively with enforcement matters. Treadway described a litany of developments in the world of accounting past that have combined to contribute to negative public perceptions.

This section comments on articles related to accounting published in various accounting literature. In an article about the lack of accounting progress of the Pilgrim Fathers, the Pilgrim's accounting problems began even before their journey. By 1628, the day of reckoning for the Pilgrims was drawing close. The situation was further was further complicated by a wide discrepancy between what the Pilgrims thought they owned. In another article regarding the advantages of EDP, the importance of computer technology to an accountant was discussed. Without an exposure to computer technology, an accountant will be unable to aid clients with EDP questions such as whether to convert from a manual system to a computerized based system.

This article presents an interview with Rick Elam, vice-president for education of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA), about the 150 college-level semester hours for accounting students in the U.S. This include the reasons for instituting the requirement, its impact on college accounting programs, the discussion on the focus subjects of the additional hours, and the utilization of the Uniform CPA Examination as a guide to the curricula.

Interviews Herbert J. Lerner, chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) tax division executive committee, and Donald H. Skadden, AICPA vice-president-taxation, on the introduction of taxpayers' bill of rights in the U.S. Motive of the legislation; Steps taken by the Internal Revenue Service for the rights of taxpayers; Discussion of the measures introduced earlier regarding this bill.

The article presents highlights of the American Institute of CPA Spring Tax Division Meeting which was held in Washington D.C. in May of 1987, where participants contemplated the fallout from the 1986 tax act and looked ahead. Some of the topics discussed were participants' concerns of calendar year-end legislation, international taxation, travel and entertainment expenses, and tax administration developments--all in relation to the 1986 tax act. Another topic covered was the status of IRS regulations projects in the international area and the service's plans to step up litigation of cases involving international tax issues.

Presents several news briefs related to accounting in the U.S. details of the final report issued recently by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants task force on the quality of audits of governmental units; Information that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, by a unanimous 5-0 vote at a recent open meeting, approved proposed amendments requiring mandatory peer review for CPA firms auditing financial statements filed with the commission; Information that the U.S. General Accounting Office recently released a draft of proposed revisions to its "Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions," commonly called the "yellow book.

Profiles Congressman Joseph J. DioGuardi (R-N.Y.) in the U.S. His views on the need for management skills by the federal government; Capability of DioGuardi as a certified public accountant; Efforts of DioGuardi to urge accounting firms to lead partners to enter public careers.

This article presents information about the 13th annual American Institute of Certified Public Accountants National Conference on Current Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Developments. It was held in Washington, D.C., in January 1986. The pressures on the accounting profession and the regulatory climate were key focuses at the conference. The profession is not accounting, but rather public accounting, said SEC Commissioner Charles C. Cox, in opening the conference. Looking forward into 1986, Cox said that five major problems will confront the accounting profession, and each will test the effectiveness of accountants' ability to recapture public confidence through private action. The most pressing problem is the perception or credibility gap. The second is similar to the first, in that it presents a question of image. The accounting self-regulatory program suffers from the same sort of credibility gap. Auditors also need to reassure both regulators and customers that they maintain sufficient independence in performing management advisory services engagements. Another problems are commercialism and opinion shopping.

Reports on the advice of Donald M. Zuckert, an officer of a major advertising company Ted Bates & Co., on matters pertaining to advertising. Zuckert warns that a large segment of the public is upset at needing professional services to cope with everyday problems. Consumerist groups, says Zuckert, are demanding help. As to the advent of advertising, Zuckert doesn't believe that the fears of either large or small firms about it are justified. Also, Zuckert advises CPAs to seek help from marketing and advertising professionals.

Provides information on the conference held by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) on October 5-6, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois, which discussed various topics regarding management advisory services (MAS). Included in the discussion are the developments of MAS practice in a small CPA firm. MAS helps clients plan for corporate growth and diversification. The convention provides information on how a CPA firm can recognize MAS opportunities in connection with its small business clients.

This article presents several topics discussed during the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants conference on computers and information systems held on May 16-19, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference included eight-hour programs in both basic computer auditing techniques and the audit and control of advanced computer systems. Also, the program in remote computing was expanded to nine hours to include sessions in the state of the art and remote computing applications. Because of the success of the basic session last year, a course on the audit and control of advanced computer systems was offered at this year's conference. The course, taught by Donald L. Adams, managing director of the Institute's administrative services, attracted the second largest number of participants. The course was designed to fill the needs of both systems and audit personnel and assumes a basic understanding of electronic data processing (EDP) and the related controls. Professor Brandt Allen of the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia stressed lessons to be learned from large computer frauds. Allen emphasized the need for controls to combat computer fraud, particularly in the areas of transaction controls, EDP audits and responsibility reporting. Harold Weiss, director of the Automation Training Center, Inc., spoke on the current status of computer auditing.

The article looks into the responsibility of internal auditors in the detection of fraud. It is noted that as professionals, auditors are responsible for the quality of their audits and they have certain standards to which their work must adhere. Leo Sweeney, senior internal auditor for Southern Railway System, asserts that auditors have been trained to determine what is reasonable and to evaluate performance against what is reasonable.

This article describes the image and reputation of accountants. The typical practising accountant or auditor is a man past middle age, cold, passive, non-committal and with eyes like a codfish. He is polite in contact but at the same time unresponsive, calm and as damnably composed as a concrete post or a plaster of Paris cast: a human petrification with a heart of feldspar and without charm. Minus bowels, passion or sense of humor. Happily they never reproduce and all of them go to hell. The author expresses concern about the accountant's present and future images and asks whether the accountant is as responsive or as passionately involved and concerned with his clients' interests as he should be. Also he wonders why the accountant is apparently content with his role as reporter of the past. A serious risk to the accountancy profession in any country is that it may fail to be responsive to changing economic circumstances or to keep abreast with the development of new techniques. It is imperative for accountants to decide what market they want to be in. Moreover, they must decide what arrangements need to be made so that their clients can obtain the services that they are not able to provide.

This section presents a summary of an article on accounting in the petroleum industry by L. J. Nethercott, which appeared in the April 1976 issue of The Accountant's Magazine. In the article, Nethercott suggests that if the function of accounting is to provide timely information to allow informed decision making, then the full-cost method is an inappropriate method of financial reporting for firms in the petroleum industry. This method, the author notes, assumes a relationship between costs incurred and revenue generated, even though the two may be completely unrelated. Moreover, the full-cost method places an investor in the position of not being able to determine the success or failure of a firm's exploration activities. A more feasible solution to the accounting problems in this industry, the author suggests, is the successful-efforts method, which capitalizes only those costs related to the discovery of a specific oil deposit. This method, concludes the author, overcomes the major weakness of full costing since shareholders can ascertain the result of particular exploration ventures and are informed of the dissipation of shareholders' equity from unproductive exploration.

Information about the Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable held in Washington, D.C. in June 1986 is presented. It focused on the role of auditors in detecting and disclosing financial fraud and illegal acts, evaluation of and reporting internal controls by independent accountants and the status of accountants' quality control initiatives. Among the participants include Philip B. Chenok, Michael Cook and Joseph E. Connor.

The article discusses the results of the survey conducted by the St. Christopher Motorists' Security Association, which found that drunker drivers take up 40 percent of the group's business, and as a profession, accountants placed second in this category in Great Britain. The association is a British outfit providing insurance coverage against loss of mobility through conviction for drunken driving, speeding or merely having a car stolen.

The article focuses on the advertising issue in Great Britain. The British Monopolies Commission recommended that all regulations in the ethics codes of accountancy bodies be scrapped and replaced by a rule permitting advertising. Widespread rejection of these proposals was voiced by the profession while a straw poll conducted by the publication indicates that much of the public feels accountants should advertise. The Monopolies Commission suggests that the proposed rule allow any accounting firm to sue, whenever it thinks fit, such methods of publicity as it thinks fit.

The article discusses the results of a survey which found that peer review on a profession-wide basis is a relatively new concept for accountants, but one that is apparently gaining support. Wayne G. Bremser, an assistant professor at Villanova University, found that 80 percent of the respondents favored some form of peer review program, although there was some diversity of opinion as to the best approach that should be taken. Diversity of opinion was found in respondents' appraisals of possible technical benefits. Considerable disagreement also arose as to whether peer review should be voluntary or mandatory, and as to whether a peer review report should be issued and, if so, what it should contain.

The article focuses on the proposal of accountant Donald B. Scholl, president of D. B. Scholl Inc., that a consulting firm establish a precise staff for partners in training. He said that an evaluation period of roughly six months to three years should be sufficient to evaluate the candidate. The best way to evaluate the partnership candidate is through a system of regular reviews. One partner should be designated partner-in-training counselor, and be responsible for candidate development.

This article presents a summary of the article which presents the views of Sir Henry Benson, then chairman of the International Accounting Standards Committee, about the lack of accounting standards, which appeared in the May 21, 1976 issue of the periodical Accountancy Age. Speaking before a group of Dutch and European accountants, Benson delivered a scathing attack on the lack of enforcement of accounting standards. He said that he doesn't believe that anywhere in the world any professional body has given enough attention to the maintenance of professional standards. Benson also echoed the theme that the profession must mend its ways, lest the government step in and take over the responsibility. He then reaffirmed his belief in international accounting standards, and refuted criticism that such standards were too loose. In refuting the criticism, Benson noted that international standards were based on a consensus of in-formed opinion or what is most appropriate, keeping in mind the normal conduct of business management and the needs of users of financial statements. Benson concluded that standard setting bodies have the job of sifting the good from the bad and of overcoming deeply entrenched local prejudices.

The article highlights the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) 12th Annual Federal Key Person Coordinator's Conference in Washington D.C. The panelists who serve as congressional staff members at the U.S. Congress emphasized the advantages provided by the expertise of certified public accountants in working with constituents and successfully presenting issues to Congress. The conference also dealt with the importance of grass-roots support to the success of the legislative agenda of the AICPA.

The article presents the guide-book "Technical Practice Aids" from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It contains the most troublesome and frequently encountered questions and problems submitted to the AICPA Technical Information Service. Each entry organized by subject, includes the problem, the recommendations made, and references to relevant standards or other authoritative sources.

The article announces that accountants James W. Barge and Kenneth V. Moreland are named two professional fellows to join the Securities and Exchange Commission of the U.S. in 1988.