As reported last month, the AICPA Council in Apr. approved proposals submitted by the Professional Ethics Executive Committee to improve the timeliness and transparency of the AICPA’s disciplinary process. Two of those proposals require amendments to the AICPA’s bylaws and thus must be approved by the membership. A third recommendation made by the PEEC became effective upon Council’s approval.

Taken together, these enforcement enhancements provide clear evidence that our members hold themselves to the highest professional standards and are intolerant of those who break the rules. If approved by the membership, these changes will help ensure that the AICPA has greater flexibility and is better able to act quickly, decisively and fairly when a member violates the profession’s code of ethics.

Currently, it is anticipated that the member ballots on the two proposals will be mailed in Aug. or early Sept. Two-thirds of members voting must agree to each of the proposed changes for it to pass.

The first of these proposals would allow the PEEC to sanction an AICPA member without an investigation under the automatic disciplinary provisions in Section 7.3 of the bylaws (which currently allows for automatic discipline as a result of certain criminal or income tax related violations or state board of accountancy actions) if the member has been sanctioned by a governmental agency or other organization that has been approved by the PEEC and the AICPA Board of Directors. The proposal would also require a conforming amendment to bylaw section 7.4.5.

The other proposal on which members will vote is a measure for expanded transparency of the AICPA’s disciplinary findings. This amendment to bylaw section 7.6 would clarify that Council may authorize additional disclosures with regard to disciplinary actions and investigations.

Members are encouraged to read the June issue of The CPA Letter to help them better understand the proposed changes and the referendum process. Additional information, including a detailed summary of the proposals and an overview of the current ethics enforcement process, is available online at www.aicpa.org/enforcement.

Moreover, so that members can share their thoughts on the proposed changes before voting, the Institute invites members to briefly express their views on the proposals. Representative letters and/or a summary of member views will be published by the Institute. Send letters of approximately 100 words or less (type or print) to: Donna Wolf, AICPA, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-8775; fax 212/596-6104; or e-mail dwolf@aicpa.org. The deadline for receipt of letters is end of day, Monday, July 21, 2003.