AICPA Governing Council Approves Revisions to Membership Categories
Changes Aimed at Students, Young Professionals, Financial Executives and Accounting Firms
Published May 24, 2010
San Diego (May 24, 2010) – The governing Council of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants approved revisions to the Institute’s membership categories to draw more qualified people into the accounting profession and widen the availability of AICPA knowledge and resources.
“The strength and dynamism of the CPA profession is based on a broad range of expertise and career paths in public practice, business, industry, government and education” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon. “This was a comprehensive review of our affiliate, associate and voting member categories. The changes aim at maintaining the prestige of the CPA and keeping the inflow of new members steady and strong.”
The council’s resolutions, adopted by unanimous voice vote, organize the AICPA’s membership into three distinct categories:
- Regular/Voting Members: Individuals with full membership privileges and voting rights.
- Affiliates: Non-CPA relationships with non-voting status including students, CPA-exam candidates and pre-college educators.
- Associates: CPA peer or professional peer relationships including international professionals and non-CPA associates.
In addition, Council authorized a member ballot on a bylaw change that would permit professionals to qualify for admission in the AICPA as voting members if they previously held a valid CPA certificate or otherwise meet the education, examination and experience requirements set out in the Uniform Accountancy Act. They cannot have had their certificate revoked as a result of a disciplinary action and must be of good moral character.
Today’s accounting professionals now differ from prior generations in their perceptions and expectations for a professional association and are choosing to affiliate in new and more dynamic ways. In addition, more candidates are entering the profession in ways other than public accounting and so are bypassing the CPA firms that historically introduced new employees to AICPA membership.
The new “student affiliate” category will open up new audiences of high school students in addition to the college and university students now among AICPA student affiliate members. The “CPA exam candidate affiliate” membership will help provide key decision-making resources and support for individuals accepted to sit for the exam. The broader “associate” category will allow certified individuals who have passed the CPA exam but who may have moved into business, industry, government or education to maintain their membership in the AICPA. The “non-CPA associate” category will further widen the availability of AICPA membership and benefits to professional staff of CPA firms, or those in business, industry and government who are supervised or sponsored by an AICPA member, and full-time educators. And as the global environment continues to evolve, the” international associate” category will allow peer CPA professionals worldwide to participate in the AICPA’s expanding programs and reach.