National issues, MACPA agenda share spotlight at Annual Meeting

National leaders McDonough, Bunting highlight two-day event on Eastern Shore

By Bill Sheridan
MACPA E-Communications Manager

CAMBRIDGE — This wasn't your average Annual Meeting.

Sure, there was all the usual business — election of officers, speeches from leaders past present, awards to outstanding members.

But the MACPA's 2004 Annual Meeting went well beyond that. Some of the profession's most influential players were on hand as national issues shared the spotlight with the association's agenda during the two-day event in late June.

As industry CPAs, their companies and their auditors struggle to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chair Bill McDonough assured them that the PCAOB would not take a "one size fits all" view of internal controls. "If you're a small or mid-size accounting firm and you're auditing financial statements of small and mid-size companies, you don't want all the bells and whistles that, say, General Electric and its auditors think are necessary," he said. "... We expect you to show good judgment, and in turn we will show you good judgment."
Incoming AICPA Chair Bob Bunting outlined a series of "bold moves" the Institute has taken to help CPAs meet their obligation as guardians of the public trust, to increase public confidence in the capital markets and the audit function, and to help CPAs succeed and enhance their performance. "Your commitment is the defining difference between success and failure," Bunting told the CPAs in attendance. "Your commitment to our core values of competence, integrity and objectivity is what will make our bold moves real."

Diverse, but united

Still, by definition the event belonged to the MACPA and its members.

"When (CPAs) reach out to each other, when we share our different perspectives, when we speak up when we have a different view, only then can we truly benefit from the richness of our (profession's) diversity while still recognizing and appreciating our strong unity," said outgoing Chair Pat Reese. "I hope we never forget that."

Reese's successor, Ed Rommel, said his year as MACPA Chair will serve as emphasis of the difference the association makes in the lives of its members.

"Most of (the association's) efforts are behind the scenes — legislative efforts, communication efforts, work to make your job if not easier, then more controlled," Rommel said. "Accordingly, let this be the first message you take from me: We need your assistance in making the MACPA even more meaningful.

"Do not hesitate to tell us how we can make a difference," he added. "In return, I ask that you spread the word about us. Encourage others to join and consider becoming active."

Honoring our own

A number of members were honored for their contributions to the association, the profession and the public. They included the following:

Tom Lantz, a former chair of the MACPA's board of directors and a longtime volunteer with numerous Maryland charitable organizations, who received the association's 2004 Public Service Award.
Joel Grover, Ann Russo and Alfred Warfield, co-chairs of the MACPA's Members in Government Committee, who were awarded the association's 2004 Max Teichmann Committee Chair of the Year Award.
Gail Bates and Brian Feldman, the profession's representatives in the Maryland House of Delegates, who were honored for their work on behalf of the profession and the public.

Contact this Author: < William Sheridan > bill@macpa.org

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