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DIAMOND TRAIL TO DALLAS – articles from AWSCPA Past National Presidents

AWSCPA in the 70’s
By Ruth Nowicky, AWSCPA Past National President 1978-1979

During the 1970’s a major issue which AWSCPA was involved in was support for the ratification by the states of the “Equal Rights Amendment” to the United States Constitution.  As you all know, the required number of states did not ratify the proposed amendment.

The 1978 Joint Annual Meeting was held in San Francisco – an area of our country with strong support for the amendment.  I presided over the AWSCPA Business Meeting as President – a meeting that lasted almost four hours – a record that probably still stands.  We had the support of fourteen past presidents in attendance.  Resolutions were considered with respect to the Equal Rights Amendment and the formation of a committee to investigate the merging of AWSCPA and ASWA.

The 70’s were a very exciting but challenging time for our profession.  Our membership had tripled in the five years prior to 1978.  At that time our latest statistical survey showed that 63% of our members had received their certificate since 1974.  We were told that an average of 45% of all accounting students in our colleges and universities were women.

Many new activities and programs were adopted in response to our changing needs as we worked to attain high standards and goals for our members, and increased visibility for AWSCPA.  Regional educational seminars were a new project – we attempted to bring our members together in areas of greatest member concentration for networking and programs to increase technical competence which qualified for continuing education credit.  These seminars led to the formation of our Affiliated Groups.  The Board of Directors authorized the purchase of a professional development seminar, “Managing Effective Communications”, which was written especially for AWSCPA and tailored to the needs of women CPA’s.  It was copyrighted and presented three times during the year and received exceptional ratings.

The Board instituted several new awards to be presented annually to increase our visibility in other accounting organizations.  We authorized an award to the woman receiving the highest grade on each CPA examination, an award to recognize the outstanding woman teacher of accounting and a literary award for the best manuscript written by a woman in the Journal of Accountancy and The Woman CPA.

The Board of Directors outlined procedures for establishing an Accounting Standards Coordinating Committee to study authoritative proposals on financial accounting standards, auditing standards, cost accounting standards, tax legislation and SEC proposals, and to respond to such proposals with position papers on behalf of the Society.

A scholarship program was adopted to be funded through contributions to the Educational Foundation of AWSCPA – ASWA.  The Foundation continued to provide management seminars, career films and brochures.

Connie Barcelona and the staff of The Woman CPA brought us a recognized professional journal of the highest caliber, of which we were very proud.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have served as President.  AWSCPA has played a major part in my professional development, and I hope many of you can share this experience.

Formation and development of affiliates
By Liz Pozzi, AWSCPA Past National President 1986-1987

The Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) held in Memphis, Tennessee in 1981 was an historic one for AWSCPA.  At the annual business meeting held at that conference, the members voted to amend the bylaws to allow for local organizations known as affiliated groups.  The membership of AWSPCA was growing and there was a desire on the part of the members to meet and network with other members in their locale.  It was a special occasion for me as the National President of AWSCPA at that time was Carla Russell of Houston – someone who had paved the way for women in the profession and a role model for me.

I joined the National Board of Directors in September 1982 to fill a vacancy that had occurred.  I was a Director with responsibility to help with the formation of affiliated groups in my region.  I continued to serve on the National Board of Directors moving from Director to Vice-President.  During this time AWSCPA focused on the formation and development of the existing affiliates.

It was indeed a privilege for me to serve as President of AWSCPA from 1986 – 1987.    During my term as President, we restructured the National Board to better serve the affiliates and members at large. We had eight Directors on the board – four working with affiliated groups and four working with forming groups and providing for a network for the members at large. During the JAM, the National Board held a meeting of the President’s Advisory Council (presidents of the affiliated groups) as well as a meeting with the members-at-large. It was a time to improve communications between national and local and provide for exchange of ideas.  One of the most anticipated events at JAM was the leadership training and information sharing time for the affiliate members.

The formation of affiliates was a significant event in the history of AWSCPA. Ten charter groups were formed by June 30, 1982.  At the end of my term as President – June 30, 1987 – there were 39 affiliated groups.  At the JAM in Kansas City in October 1986, 22 affiliated presidents attended the meeting.  The emphasis of AWSCPA continued to be membership – increasing the members and retaining the membership.  The membership of AWSCPA was over 4,400 at June 30, 1982. Five years and 29 affiliates later, the membership had increased to over 5,200 members – the first time the organization had reached the 5,000 mark.