 |
| JFK Inaugural Address Image via Library of Congress |
I joined the Kentucky Society of CPAs Members In Industry Committee. Half of the the KyCPA’s members are in public accounting and half work for private or publicly-held companies (i.e. CPAs In Industry). CPAs in Industry include CEOs, COOs, CFOs, controllers, accountants, financial analysts, and so on.
My committee is charged with developing benefits and programs specifically designed for members in industry. This is quite a challenge because of the diversity of this group. The first major diversity is small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) verses large companies. One large company such as YUM Brands, Churchhill Downs, Papa John’s, Brown Forman, and Humana have multiple CPAs on staff of varying degrees of experience and needs. Whereas a SMB may have only one CPA on staff
Typically, CPA societies provide three primary benefits to members:
- Continuing education CPAs in Industry are required to earn 60 hours of CPE each year. It is fairly easy to target CPAs in public because of ever-changing tax and audit requirements. But for CPAs in industry, we have diverse needs specific to our industry. For example, I took an eight-hour roofing seminar and I was the only CPA in the room.
- Networking CPAs in public practice are always seeking ways to drum up business. CPA societies provide excellent opportunities to get involved in the community and speaking engagements to establish expertise in the community. CPAs in industry are going to fulfill this by attending trade conferences and associations that network within the industry. For example, the forensic engineering and fire investigation industry targets claims adjusters, so the best networking opportunities is claims associations and property loss conferences.
- Lobbying There are always tax laws in the works a that greatly affect CPAs in public and there clients. Almost every law has some impact on at least one client. Whereas, the laws that affect small businesses are few and far between. State societies do a superb job of representing certified public accountants with state legislators and protecting the CPA brand. Whereas CPAs in industry are more interested in laws that affect the industry. For example, when I audited hospitals, I was very concerned about about Medicaid changes, but now
I don’t care nearly as much.
One member astutely pointed out that older CPAs think of membership as a requirement. It is just a given that if you are a CPA, you are a member of the state society. When asked if he was a member, a CPA in his seventies said I didn’t know it was an option. Younger CPAs, on the other hand, are fully aware that it is a choice and only pay dues if they get something out of it.
That reminded me of JFK’s famous quote from his inaugural speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I think it is your responsibility as a professional to join your state society and get involved. The old cliche applies, you get out of it what you put into it. The definition of a profession is that it is self-policing. We define our ethics and live by a code of conduct. We exist to protect the welfare of society through medicine, engineering, and, yes, accounting. It is accounting standards and the adherence to them by CPAs that provide the confidence that when you compare Coke and Pepsi financial statements, you are comparing apples to apples. Being a member of your state society is simply a part of taking on the higher standard of being a professional.
With that being said, it is now my responsibility to find ways to develop and communicate new ways to attract CPAs to the Kentucky Society of CPAs. I look forward to the challenge and have a few ideas. If you are a CPA, let me know in the comments what your state society is doing or what you would like to see it do.
