Contact: Jay Hyde, 202-434-9266, jhyde@aicpa.org.
Washington, D.C.,
(Dec. 3, 2012) – One only has to look at the numerous complex issues on the
agendas of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to get an idea of the challenges CPAs
face, American Institute of CPAs Chairman of the
Board of Directors Richard J. Caturano, CPA, CGMA, told attendees
at the AICPA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB
Developments here today.
“Regulating the capital markets while
at the same time working to eliminate artificial barriers to a strong economy is
tricky business, and regulators whose job it is to balance those two objectives
rarely get enough credit for their hard work. But balance is necessary in the
regulatory approach,” Caturano said in his welcome address.
Caturano, who is
executive managing partner of the Boston office of McGladrey, said the AICPA is
committed to a constructive dialogue with the SEC, the PCAOB and others. “We
share a common purpose, which includes maintaining regulatory consistency among
the multiple layers of state and federal regulation. At the same time, the CPA
profession will continue to take a position on the leading financial and
regulatory issues of the day that could affect CPAs. Among those are rules to
implement the Dodd-Frank Act that relate to accounting and auditing. We’ll
continue to be a resource, advocate and defender of investor protections,” he
remarked.
Noting that 2012 has been a historic year for the CPA
profession, including observance of the AICPA’s 125th anniversary,
Caturano said, “We celebrated the milestone by reaffirming that we are a
forward-looking profession. We continually ask ourselves probing questions and
make critical decisions that shape the future. As we embrace change, we evolve
our profession by realigning how we help businesses and by acting on the trends
that are transforming them. To do this, we have to be proactive, nimble, quick
to market and ahead of the curve. All the while, we are protecting, innovating
and deepening our core services of accounting, auditing, attest and
assurance.”
At the top of Caturano’s agenda as chairman is to help
set a course for AICPA members’ future success, and for the success of their
employers and clients. “I believe the way to do that is to hold firm to our
values,” Caturano explained. “That is true for CPAs in business and industry, in
public practice, in accounting education, and most definitely for the younger
generations of current and future CPAs.”
The AICPA Conference on
Current SEC and PCAOB Developments is an intensive three-day, high-level event
that provides the forum for attendees to absorb new regulatory issues and their
potential impact on audits, reporting and governance for public companies. It is
being held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in our nation’s
capital.