Chair’s Memo: New Beginnings

SHARE:

The theme for our 116^th Annual Meeting in New York City was “New Beginnings.” In the 2023 annual report, the letter from NASBA leadership explained, “New Beginnings demonstrates the significant transitions and transformations NASBA and Boards of Accountancy will experience in the upcoming year.”

I would like to share with you a few “New Beginnings” for this coming year.

CPA Evolution

We have a new beginning for our profession with the launch of the new exam under CPA Evolution in January 2024. This initiative transforms the CPA licensure model to recognize the ever-changing skills and competencies that CPAs need to meet the future demands of the marketplace.

I personally believe that each discipline of the new exam may require more specific accounting, tax and/or technology education. NASBA’s next IT project will expand the capability of the new Gateway software, so NASBA will be better equipped to capture the data needed to determine whether my suspicion is correct. Therefore, while the 150-hour education requirement continues to be discussed and questioned, it may be necessary to pass the discipline sections on the first try.

CPA Professional Licensure Task Force

For the past year, the CPA pipeline problem continues to be debated among state societies, state boards, academia, employers and the media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Tax, Accounting Today and other accounting and finance publications and blogs.

Undoubtedly, required education hours for licensure tends to be at the top of the list, but also the image of the profession and the starting salaries not being commensurate with the education compared to other professions, which are major contributors to the issue.

During my inaugural address, I announced that I established a Professional Licensure Task Force. We all agree that substantial equivalency and mobility must be protected. The charge of the task force is to consider new concepts for CPA licensure that may be included in the UAA to update the current licensure model. Pending legislation in various states makes this a top priority to avoid the loss of substantial equivalency in these states for CPAs. With our remote workforce and border practice in multi-state metropolitan areas, individual mobility may be harmed.

The 10-member task force is comprised of various stakeholders including state society members and executives, state board members and executives, NASBA board members, AICPA senior staff, and NASBA senior staff.

We will keep you informed along the way for your input, with the goal of presenting the new concepts at the regional meetings for your assessment.

CEO Selection Committee

Ken Bishop formally announced his July 31, 2024 retirement at the recent annual meeting. I was aware of his pending retirement when I was nominated as vice chair. One of the major duties of the vice chair is appointing members to serve on various NASBA committees and task forces. My mission was also to select a diverse group of members for the CEO selection committee while meeting our bylaws requirements for the new board’s approval.

The committee members met to approve the timeline, meeting schedule, process and job posting sites, and most recently approved the president and CEO job description, including responsibilities and requirements with input from the NASBA Board of Directors.

NASBA’s culture, mission, vision, values and objectives included in the current strategic plan will be part of the process in selecting Ken Bishop’s successor. The search committee will be looking for our next CEO to be a visionary, possessing financial and business acumen, executive decision-making skills, dynamic public speaking abilities, as well as knowledge of the profession and regulation. The person selected must continue our NASBA culture and ensure NASBA remains relevant, nationally and internationally.

As part of my address, I also shared a nickname that was given to me by Past Chair Donny Burkett many years ago due to my passionate voice discussing issues at NASBA board meetings.

Stephanie “Sparky” Saunders is passionate about tackling these issues we face together as regulators. It is my promise to you, as your 2023-2024 NASBA chair, that the NASBA Board will listen to your concerns and work in partnership with you to provide solutions for a stronger future.

I look forward to serving alongside you as we embrace “New Beginnings.”

Stephanie M. Saunders, CPA
NASBA Chair, 2023-2024