Editorial Staff

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Colleen Katz

Managing Editor
Elizabeth Uva

Senior Editors
Katharine W. Coveleski
Peter D. Fleming
Michael Hayes
Raj Rangarajan
Robert Tie
Cynthia Waller Vallario
Stanley Zarowin

Assistant Editors
Sarah Cobb
Vincent Nolan

Contributing Editors
Maria Luzarraga Albanese
Anita Dennis
Nicholas J. Fiore
Lesli S. Laffie
Barbara J. Shildneck

Production Director
Peter M. Tuohy 

Art Director
Jeryl A. Costello

Production Manager
Gene Cioffi

Senior Manager—
Production Services—
Publishing Technology
Robert DiCorcia

Production Editor
D. Hillel Lofaso

Senior Production Associates
Valrie Mason, Patrick Dougherty, Ingrid Medina

Art Assistant
Patty Arrington

Associate Publisher
Thomas R. Greve

Advertising Representatives
Karin DeMarco
Richard J. Flynn
Gwenn Goldberg
James G. Elliott Co. — Western U.S. 

Advertising Coordinator
John Weinberg

Editorial Offices
201-938-3292
e-mail:
joaed@aicpa.org

Advertising Offices
212-596-6269
West Coast 213-624-0900

Classified Ads
Gail Bender 1-800-237-9851

Letter From the President

PORTAL TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES,
ESPECIALLY FOR SMALL FIRMS

The Internet economy is changing the way all enterprises, large and small, do business. By the year 2004, online sales of goods and services are expected to hit $3.2 trillion in the United States. The AICPA is responding to this Internet revolution and in the spring of 2001 will launch cpa2biz, a multifunction Web site designed to help CPAs become truly "e-enabled" in today's rapidly changing business world.

This new portal will meet the specific needs of CPAs; it is being created by members of the profession for members of the profession. The Institute will have significant influence over the site's content and there will be major pricing incentives for members who take advantage of it.

While cpa2biz will offer advantages to members in every segment of the profession, it will provide the greatest opportunity to small firms and small businesses. It will enhance business options for CPAs in smaller practices by giving them much greater access to an abundance of information and knowledge. Local firms often aren't large enough to negotiate deals for favorable pricing with, for example, major technology providers. Cpa2biz will do that for them. As a result, small practitioners will be able to offer a wider array of services to clients, enabling them to remain competitive as the Internet economy sweeps through the small business sector. Members in business and industry can use this opportunity to offer new services to their employers, reinforcing the value CPAs bring to businesses from an e-commerce perspective. Of course, those working in large firms and corporations also can benefit from the portal. Although their businesses might be able to command similar pricing advantages for the kinds of goods and services cpa2biz will offer, the portal will give them the convenience of finding accounting-related and other options all in one place. Backed by the profession itself, cpa2biz is well-positioned to respond to all CPAs' specialized needs.

To meet the high expectations we have set for cpa2biz, the Institute has entered into a partnership with the state CPA societies and outside investors. By working with outside investors, we can create an Internet-based resource for CPAs, their clients and their employers that is different from anything the Institute has done before. Through this partnership, we will be able to design a truly dynamic Internet site for the profession.

Although we don't expect cpa2biz to debut until after tax season, it is possible for firms to get involved in the action right now. The site will have two main functions: services for CPAs and services for their clients or employers. In conjunction with the second function, we are looking for CPA firms that are interested in offering services to their own clients under a pilot program. To learn more, contact Jen Barbaro at 212-596-6174 or jbarbaro@aicpa.org.

Cpa2biz not only will expand members’ e-commerce opportunities, but it will also have a significant effect on the Institute. This development will allow the AICPA to separate its publishing and other services to members, which will become a part of the portal operation, from its self-regulatory activities. The Institute will be better able to independently operate its self-regulatory activities, such as ethics, peer review and standard setting, and will be less dependent on revenues from publishing operations. We will be positioned both to serve the public interest and to offer members enhanced opportunities to play a vital role in the new economy.

Barry C. Melancon, CPA

Editorial Advisers

Andrea Andrews, Kenneth D. Askelson, James Bean, Robert C. Beheler, John C. Boma, Jacob R. Brandzel, Steven J. Brown, Jolene C. Brucks, J. Gregory Bushong, Carolyn Callton, R. Patrick Cargill, Benson J. Chapman, Susan M. Comeau, Rosemarie T. Dunn, Sandra English, Robert J. Freeman, John S. Gibbons, Alan Glazer, Dan Gould, Cindy J. Gustafson, Patrick T. Hanratty, Thomas P. Hess, James E. Hunton, Harold Wayne Joseph, Christopher G. Keller, Frank J. Kopczynski, Jeffrey B. Kraut, Dennis B. Kremer, Daniel Laufer, William F. Laurie, Alan Levin, George Lewis, John Lewison, Joseph P. Liotta, Ellen M. Long, James V. Long, Mano Mahadeva, John Malthouse, Benjamin F. Mathews, Patrick Michael McDonough, Anita Meola, Debra Mitchell, Robert R. Moeller, Roger H. Molvar, G. Philip Morehead, Bea L. Nahon, Lyne P. Noella, Edward T. Odmark, Stanley Person, Grover L. Porter, Mark L. Richardson, Wesley Riemer, David B. Robinson, Ed Rockman, Marshall B. Romney, David Satava, Peggy Scott, Gary Shamis, Jeffrey D. Solomon, Ivan J. Sotomayor, Mark Spofforth, Paul C. Sullivan, Keith Tobias, Gary R. Trugman, Robert Willens, Jon Arthur Wise, Mark A. Yahoudy