Ralph B. Bender, CPA [center, top photo], of Baton Rouge, La., and KraftCPAs PLLC of Nashville received the Individual and Firm 2005 AICPA Public Service Awards, respectively. At the spring council meeting in Salt Lake City, Doyle Z. Williams, chair of the AICPA Awards Committee, presented the awards as AICPA Chair Leslie Murphy looked on. Vic Alexander, CPA/ABV [center, bottom photo], chief manager of KraftCPAs, accepted the award for the firm. The prize recognizes AICPA members who have made significant contributions to their communities.

Bender, CFO of Manship Media, Baton Rouge, La., has served on the boards of more than 20 local organizations and is a member of the AICPA Business and Industry Executive Committee. KraftCPAs regards community service as a goal for its professional staff. Currently, the firm’s employees serve as committee chairs or board members of more than 60 local not-for-profit organizations.

The AICPA offers its members the opportunity to support the profession and the public it serves through the programs and services of the AICPA Foundation, AICPA Benevolent Fund and AICPA Political Action Committee (PAC). The Benevolent Fund ( www.aicpa.org/members/ ) helps members and their families through difficult financial times. The Foundation ( www.aicpa.org/members/ ) was formed to advance the science of accountancy and accounting education. The PAC ensures that contributing members of the accounting profession have a strong voice in our nation’s capitol. (Contact Vicki Simmons at 202-434-9223 or vsimmons@aicpa.org for more information on the PAC.) Members are under no obligation to make financial contributions, but it is through their generosity that these programs thrive.

Karen V. Pincus received the AICPA 2006 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award. AICPA Chair Leslie Murphy presented the award at the spring council meeting in Salt Lake City.

“The future of our profession is built on the quality and the number of the young people who join us. That, in turn, depends on whether quality people decide to study accounting and how well they are trained in their collegiate and post-collegiate education. The Institute annually selects a member of the academic community who best serves these truths to receive the award,” Murphy said.

Pincus is the department chair and the S. Robson Walton Professor of Accounting at the University of Arkansas. She has been honored many times for her teaching excellence, curriculum development and service to the accounting academic and practicing professions. She currently is a member of the AICPA Nominations Committee and is past chair of the Precertification Education Executive Committee. From 2002 to 2005, she was an elected member-at-large of the AICPA governing council.

AICPA members can catch up on their CPE by volunteering to pilot-test new AICPA self-study courses. For information or to register, visit CPEcentral ( www.aicpa.org/cpe/index.htm ) and fill out the brief online survey. When courses become available for testing, the AICPA professional development quality assurance team will e-mail volunteers information on how to earn credit.

As part of its ongoing efforts to honor CPAs who have distinguished themselves in the area of community service, the AICPA established the Individual and Firm Public Service Awards. AICPA members, state societies and associations of CPA firms can submit the names of those they think should be honored. Almost any public-service-related activity counts, except for professional services related to accounting organizations. Consideration will be given to the size of the firm in relation to its contribution to the community it serves. Award recipients often have been involved in less traditional areas such as urban development, housing, education, youth programs, cultural activities and health care and disabilities.

Submissions are due by August 31, 2006. For more information about the Public Service Awards, contact Jay Rothberg (212-596-6005; jrothberg@aicpa.org ) or download the guidelines and nominations form at www.aicpa.org/members/nominationforms.htm .

The Journal of Accountancy’s 2005 Lawler Award for best article of the year was awarded to Thomas G. Evans, Stan Atkinson, and Charles H. Cho, CPA, for “ Hedge Fund Investing ” (Feb.05, page 52 ). In the article the authors explain the history, uses and regulation of these popular investment vehicles and show how CPAs can help clients understand the risks and rewards associated with them. Each year, the JofA’s editorial advisers choose a winning article, which earns its author(s) $500 and a commemorative plaque. The award is named after John L. Lawler, a former JofA editor and AICPA senior vice-president. .