‘The more support we have, the more we can do’

As more CPAs get involved, 2006-07 MACPA chair Tami Bensky sees bright days ahead for the profession

In theory, says Tami Bensky, the task that faces the MACPA and its volunteer leadership – that of serving Maryland’s CPAs – can be boiled down to three words: Listen and respond.

In practice, of course, there is much more involved – identifying the issues of importance to MACPA members, developing a strategy for addressing those issues, putting that strategy into action. But for Bensky, who in July began her term as chair of the MACPA’s 2006-07 Board of Directors, it all starts with those three words.

“We listen to the feedback we get from members in various settings – town hall meetings, conferences and managing partner meetings are a few examples,” said Bensky, just the fifth woman to chair the MACPA’s board. “These ideas are used to develop our plan for each year. Feedback is also used to make sure our strategic plan is still on target with our member needs. So far, the issues have not changed dramatically from year to year. This is a good indication that we are on the right path to serving member needs.”

In a recent interview, Bensky took a closer look at those issues, her goals for the upcoming year and the challenges and opportunities that face Maryland’s CPAs. Her thoughts appear below.

What are your goals and priorities for the coming fiscal year?

My goals and priorities for the coming fiscal year have been set by both current and past leaders of the association. As chair, it is my job to continue the implementation of the strategic plan that has been in place for several years. The MACPA’s volunteer leadership developed a strategic plan in 1997, and while this plan has been updated to address current issues, it is a solid foundation for conducting business. In addition to the broad goals set by our strategic plan, the Board of Directors holds an annual planning retreat to develop specific plans to address the goals of the organization.

Although the specific plans to address each priority may change from year to year, the major priorities have remained constant for many years. Those priorities are growing the membership, focusing on potential regulatory threats and continuing our involvement in legislative issues, which includes a focus on funding the political action committee. Some newer initiatives, such as continuing to develop and promote involvement of our younger members and expanding financial literacy efforts, have also been identified as priorities for the upcoming year.

Why the focus on these issues?

The reason to focus on these issues is clear: These are the issues our members have identified as being important. As chair, it is my job to continue the momentum we currently have to reach goals that have already been set. It makes no sense for me to come in with an entirely new set of goals. The MACPA is very in tune to what our members tell us. We listen to the feedback we get from members in various settings – town hall meetings, conferences and managing partner meetings are a few examples. These ideas are used to develop our plan for each year. Feedback is also used to make sure our strategic plan is still on target with our member needs.

So far, the issues have not changed dramatically from year to year. This is a good indication that we are on the right path to serving member needs and will continue to work on the goals and priorities that have been set.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing Maryland CPAs?

There are two challenges that come to mind immediately. First is the staffing shortage that most firms and businesses are facing today. The other is the regulation overload that CPAs deal with every day.

Staffing shortage is a complex issue, since the challenge needs to be addressed on several levels. One level is to raise awareness among high school and college students about the many exciting opportunities that are available to those who pursue their CPA. The MACPA has a very popular and effective program in place to do just that. We’ve reached out to thousands of students with our high school and college speaking engagements. While enrollment in college accounting programs has increased across the country, Maryland schools have seen increases that are greater than national averages.

However, the solution is more than just awareness. In addition to increasing awareness among prospective students, we, as employers, have to encourage our new college graduates to continue on the path to certification. There is a difficult balance of getting work done in our businesses versus providing time for new staff to complete additional college courses to meet the requirements and sit for the exam.

We also need to make sure there is an organizational structure in place to encourage staff to take the exam. The computerized exam has made it more difficult to track who is taking the exam and when they are taking it. These are challenges that can be overcome with new systems and renewed encouragement from management. While we know there was a drop off in the number of people sitting for the exam once it went to a computerized format, we are now seeing those numbers approaching the levels that were experienced before the change.

To further complicate the staffing challenge, we are also facing a shortage of accounting Ph.D. graduates. Unfortunately, enrollment in doctoral programs is declining each year.

Accounting has become one of the top 10 majors on college campuses across the country.

This is good news, but if the number of qualified instructors continues to fall off, we are not going to be able to support the increased undergraduate enrollment that we need to fill the pipeline of future CPAs.

The second challenge I mentioned was regulation overload. There seems to be a never-ending increase in regulation that CPAs need to understand and implement. It’s difficult to keep up with all the changes, especially when the stakes are so high. In some cases, we say, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” In our business, what you don’t know will put you out of business!

Members look to the MACPA to keep them up to date on regulatory changes. However, we need to continue to be proactive in making sure that some proposed regulations never hit the books. The greatest example of this is the trickle-down of Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. I don’t like to think what would happen to our firms and businesses in Maryland if efforts to enforce SOX requirements on non-public companies would have passed through our General Assembly a couple years ago.

Another point on the increasing complexity of our regulatory environment is that this challenge actually adds to the staffing shortage. As we saw with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, this new regulation created a tremendous amount of work for the CPA firms and businesses that were affected by SOX. While this sounds like a good problem to have, it left firms and businesses scrambling to get work done and certainly lead to a strain on the people trying to comply.

How can CPAs best address these challenges?

In my opinion, the best way to address these challenges is to work together as a profession to promote change and improvement. There is not one firm, business or group of firms or businesses that can have as large an impact as the profession working together through our state societies. Our collective voice and collective efforts are undeniably strong.

The Maryland Association of CPAs has programs in place and is developing others to address the challenges I’ve identified. The MACPA has dramatically increased awareness of CPA opportunities by reaching out to thousands of students across the state. The MACPA has established a higher education task force to brainstorm opportunities for educators and practitioners to work together to provide solutions to challenges we each face. The MACPA has represented the interests of all Maryland CPAs in Annapolis each and every year since 1901, with much success. The MACPA’s Accounting Reform Task Force received national recognition and praise for its whitepaper, The Road to Reform: Protecting the Public Interest, Strengthening the CPA Profession. This white paper and the mobilization of CPAs to proactively address the fallout from past accounting scandals is credited with helping to save Maryland CPAs from SOX cascade regulation.

And there is so much more. The MACPA listens to member concerns and seeks ways to enable members to reach solutions. Fortunately, there has been an uptick in the number of MACPA members who have become active in the organization over the last few years. We have a strong Board of Directors, we have committed committee and task force members. We can always use and accommodate more volunteers. We need your support so we can do more. While it may sound like a commercial, I strongly believe that supporting the state society through membership and participation is the best way to address the issues facing our profession.

What are the biggest opportunities available to Maryland CPAs today?

First and most obvious is that CPAs are enjoying a tremendous job market right now. Job opportunities for CPAs have never been better!

Second, there is an opportunity for CPAs to make a difference in the lives of others. There are mind-boggling statistics on the sad state of financial affairs that many Americans are experiencing. CPAs in Maryland have the opportunity to participate in financial literacy efforts being launched by the MACPA. These efforts are aimed at every age group and every economic level. We have even participated in a great program for National Guardsmen who have to prepare to leave their families and jobs behind to go overseas.

Finally, CPAs in Maryland have a great opportunity to make a significant impact on proposed legislation in our state. Through our years of involvement in legislative issues, our annual CPA Day in Annapolis and Key Person program, the MACPA is well-respected and sought-after for our advice and opinions on matters that go before the General Assembly. We have worked hard to earn this respect and will work harder to maintain it. We enjoyed an especially successful session in 2006 and look forward to others.

Why did you choose to become involved as an MACPA volunteer?

I have to admit that initially, I did not actually choose to become an MACPA volunteer. I was working in a firm in which the managing partner was a past president of the MACPA. He encouraged staff to become involved in the organization by incorporating this participation in written annual goals. This goal was assigned to me one year and when I realized the end of the fiscal year was approaching, I really wanted to check off that goal. Just then, an e-mail invitation to become part of an MACPA task force popped up on my computer screen and, as they say, the rest is history!

I was fortunate to have responded to become part of the MACPA’s Structure and Governance Committee, which was a very rewarding and interesting experience. Our task force was given the charge of looking at the way the MACPA was structured and deciding whether we thought changes should be proposed. I take great satisfaction that our group’s recommendations were not only approved and praised by the Board of Directors at the time, but approved by the entire membership through changes to several of our bylaws.

It took a little encouragement to get started, but since then I have taken part in many MACPA initiatives and have enjoyed contributing to the profession that has been so good to me.

What has been the most rewarding part of your MACPA involvement?

Without question, the most rewarding part of my MACPA involvement has been the many great people I have met over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people who have made a tremendous impact on both my personal and professional lives. The MACPA provides a great environment to meet people who are so different from one another yet linked by our CPA profession. I’ve learned many lessons from the people I’ve met through MACPA and will continue to do so.

What’s the most important role associations like the MACPA play today?

I believe the most important role the MACPA plays today is to be the voice of the CPA profession. Someone has to represent the interests of CPAs as a group. What firm or business or government entity is going to do that, wants to do that or even has the ability to do that? CPAs who are not members of the MACPA don’t realize how bad it would be if no one was looking out for their interests. While non-members may say the MACPA will protect them with or without their membership dollars, we could do even more if all CPAs in Maryland contributed to our efforts.

What else would you like our members to know?

My experiences with the MACPA have been extremely rewarding. The environment has always been warm and welcoming. I encourage others to get involved to support MACPA initiatives. These initiatives are developed by volunteers. The more support we have, the more we can do to protect our profession, promote our CPA brand and make positive change for the future.

This content has not yet been Rated.

To Rate content, please Login.