Inside AICPA

ALPFA and NABA scholarships awarded…New director of Congressional and Political Affairs named…Elijah Watt Sells winners announced…Beta Alpha Psi scholarship program approved…Wallace Olson obituary

SCHOLARSHIPS CELEBRATE DIVERSITY

The AICPA recently awarded three scholarships to outstanding accounting students.

Two scholarships were awarded at the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting’s annual convention in August.

Beatriz S. Rengifo, a senior accounting and finance major at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, received the Women of ALPFA scholarship. She is an intern with PricewaterhouseCoopers and works as a seasonal tax specialist at H&R Block and Brunhofer and Balise CPA Services.

Ines Flores, a senior accounting and management major at Florida International University in Miami, received the second ALPFA scholarship. She is president of the Invitational Club for Scholars, a member of the Beta Alpha Psi honor society and last year was an audit intern for Deloitte & Touche.

The third scholarship was awarded to Wesley Bullock, a five-year MBA candidate with a concentration in accounting at Howard University in Washington, D.C., at the National Association of Black Accountants’ 36th Annual National Convention in June.

All three scholarships were presented by Ostine Swan, CPA, AICPA senior manager–Diversity, Work/Life and Women’s Initiatives, Academic & Career Development.

NEW DIRECTOR FOR A NEW POSITION

Mat Young has joined the AICPA as director of Congressional and Political Affairs.

In this newly created position, he will help cover issues including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and tax policy for the Institute. Young reports to Mark Peterson, vice president–Congressional and Political Affairs, in the Washington, D.C., office.

Young previously worked as an independent political consultant and as director of economic policy for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

HIGH EXAM-SCORERS RECOGNIZED

The AICPA’s 2006 Elijah Watt Sells Awards were presented to the 10 candidates earning the highest cumulative scores on the four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination.

The award was created in 1923 to honor Sells, one of the country’s first CPAs under the provision of a New York state law enacted in 1896. He was also a leader in advancing professional education.

Candidates must have completed testing during the previous calendar year and passed each exam section on their first attempt.

The winners are:

Irene Altman, a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, working at KPMG in San Francisco.

Jeffrey P. Barrows, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Charlotte, N.C.

Jonathan Patrick Booth, a graduate of Louisiana State University, working at KPMG in Baton Rouge, La.

Lina Ginan Dimachkieh, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, attending Harvard Law School.

Robert W. Hybiak, a graduate of the University of Denver, working at Deloitte & Touche in Denver.

Jason B. Jiskoot, a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, working at the Pella Corporation in Pella, Iowa.

Keith A. Piwko, a graduate of Michigan State University, working for Plante & Moran in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Kurt B. Piwko, a graduate of Michigan State University, working for Plante & Moran in Clinton Township, Mich.

Svetlana Rodinskaya, a graduate of St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University in Russia, working at Ernst & Young in St. Petersburg.

Wendee Mariko Shinsato, a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, working at the Defense Contract Audit Agency in Los Angeles.

NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR INSPIRATIONAL STUDENTS

The AICPA will fund three prizes of $5,000 each for the Medal of Inspiration program for Beta Alpha Psi for the year 2007–2008.

Under the program, members of the accounting, finance and information systems honors society will nominate themselves or be nominated by another current Beta Alpha Psi student. Nominees must write an essay describing their experience overcoming extreme hardship or making an impact on someone else’s life.

Three students with the most inspirational stories will receive cash scholarships and medals, which are expected to be presented in August 2008.

The goal of the program is that the sharing of such stories will inspire other students to find “greatness” in themselves, according to Stephanie Bryant, president of Beta Alpha Psi, who conceived the program.

Obituary

Former AICPA President Wallace Olson

Wallace “Wally” E. Olson, AICPA president from 1972 to 1980, died Sept. 20, at his home in Onalaska, Wis. He was 86 years old.

“He presided over an organization and a CPA profession undergoing rapid and unprecedented change,” said Gary John Previts, CPA, professor of accountancy at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

In the early 1970s, Olson was a member of the Study on Establishment of Accounting Principles (Wheat Committee), which recommended the establishment of an independent body, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, to keep accounting standards in the private sector.

“Wally led the AICPA during the first significant phase of Congress’ oversight of the profession,” said Barry Melancon, CPA, AICPA president and CEO. “The challenges of the day were very significant. He was the first staff president of the AICPA and oversaw tremendous growth in the number of CPAs. His place in the history of our profession is secure.”

Olson documented the significant occurrences in the profession, such as the completion of the Wheat and Trueblood committees’ reports, in his book, The Accounting Profession: Years of Trial, 1969–1980, published by the AICPA in 1982.

Olson, a member of the Institute since 1949, also helped restructure the AICPA’s code of conduct, which led to the establishment of the Public Oversight Board and the division for firms.

“Questions had been raised about the quality of audits, auditor independence and federal regulation of the profession,” said Philip B. Chenok, who succeeded Olson as president and served until 1995. “Under Wally Olson’s leadership, the profession acknowledged that to maintain its self-regulatory status, it needed to strengthen accounting and auditing. Many of the self-regulatory efforts that have been undertaken subsequently can be attributed to Wally’s forceful calls for change.”

Olson served in World War II as an officer aboard the USS Epping Forest in the Pacific Theater.

Following the war, Olson began his accounting career as an auditor in the La Crosse, Wis., office of Alexander Grant & Co. (now Grant Thornton). In his more than 25 years with the firm, he rose to become its executive partner and led it as it expanded internationally to join firms from Australia, Canada and the U.K. in the late 1960s.

In 1980, Olson was the recipient of the AICPA Gold Medal, which recognizes significant contributions to the profession. And, in 1994, he won the John J. McCloy Award, given by the Public Oversight Board to honor those who have made outstanding contributions in auditing.