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DIAMOND TRAIL TO DALLAS – articles from AWSCPA Past National Presidents

AWSCPA in the 2000’s
By Barbara Guerra, AWSCPA Past National President 2002-2003 and Marilyn Huset, AWSCPA Past National President 2000-2001

Facts and Fads

As the new millennium began, everyone waited for the world to crash under the Y2K issue.  Computer experts warned that computer programs might not accommodate a roll into the next century and everything from personal computers to city water systems would stop operating.  But midnight on December 31, 1999, came and went and the world did not end, but rather began the next decade - a decade of transition.

In the 2000s, the U.S. population surpassed 300 million and per capita income by 2007 was $38,600.  Americans were increasingly mobile, computer literate and cell phone dependent.  Popular books included the Harry Potter series and reality shows took over television with the advent of “American Idol”.  The Baby Boomers born just after World War II began to reach retirement age, which raised a concern about whether there would be enough workers to replace them.

Politics

George W. Bush began his presidency on a rather quiet note.  The U.S. was still in the afterglow of a long period of peace and prosperity from the last two thirds of the 1990s.  Then terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001, hijacking four commercial airplanes.  The terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City in full view of millions of television viewers and the towers collapsed.  Another plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane.  Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks.  Words like Homeland Security and Code Red became commonplace.  Americans began their own war on terror by attacking Afghanistan, which was suspected of harboring the Al-Qaeda terrorists, who had planned and carried out the September 11th attacks.  After routing the Taliban in Afghanistan, the U.S. turned its attention to Iraq, which the Bush administration suspected of having “weapons of mass destruction”, as well as harboring terrorists.  When Iraq refused to cooperate with the United Nations on nuclear inspections, the U.S. declared war on Iraq and finally toppled Saddam Hussein (he was eventually tried for his crimes and executed).  At the time of this writing, U.S. troops remain in Iraq.

Economics

Between October 2001 and January 2002 a company called Enron became front-page news for using some “creative and aggressive” accounting in off-balance-sheet partnerships to hide debt.   Enron’s audit firm, Arthur Andersen, was convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to its audit of Enron.  By the time the dust settled, the 89-year-old accounting firm no longer existed and the Big Five accounting firms became the Big Four.  The subsequent bankruptcy of WorldCom, which quickly surpassed Enron as the biggest bankruptcy in history, led to a domino effect of accounting and similar corporate scandals that continue to tarnish American business practices.

The accounting and auditing profession was chastised for its failure to police rogue corporations and many other businesses had their practices questioned.  Some such as Tyco and HealthSouth had their management indicted.  Fortunately no other accounting firm expired, but the industry was in turmoil.

The real estate bubble burst.  Subprime lending practices and foreclosures were common in the second half of the decade.  The price of energy began to skyrocket.  “Going Green” finally made sense and numerous tax saving incentives were passed by both federal and local governments.  New laws were passed to shore up Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, both government-sponsored mortgage loan enterprises.  The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was passed in July of 2008, the most sweeping real estate change in 20 years.  Also in 2008, the IRS began issuing rebate checks to a large percentage of the population of the U.S. in order to jump-start the economy. 

Work/Life Balance

As the 1990s came to an end, there were some promising advances for women.  It seemed that the “glass ceiling” was rising.  Entry-level women saw few differences in the way they were treated vs. their male counterparts.

Work/life balance was still the buzzword.  However, it was no longer just a women’s issue – it was a generational issue as well.  Because time is a scarce and valuable resource, maintaining work/life balance has been recognized as a crucial factor in maintaining employee job satisfaction, particularly among women and younger workers. Many employees struggle to cope with the growing stress and demands within and outside of the workplace.  Employers in the accounting profession have become more aware of the work/life issues that face their professionals and many have developed innovative and creative arrangements that can help employees balance work with their particular life situation.  Some of the misunderstanding in this area comes from the different perceptions each generation brings to the table.  Younger generations in the workforce focus more on leisure and family time and are willing to sacrifice higher pay and prestigious titles in exchange for more flexible schedules and more vacation time.  Moving forward in the 21st century, the old theory of face time may become phased out.  For women, this ability to be flexible is very important. 

Additionally, the way Americans work has changed as technology has advanced.  Cell phones, personal digital assistants (handheld computers, e.g. Blackberries), and home computers have allowed workers to take their work with them, whether it’s to a home office or a child’s school event.  Some offices, recognizing employees’ needs to be mobile, have gone so far as to eliminate permanent workspaces for them and have found resulting cost savings.

This is not to say that acceptance of flexible work schedules and other arrangements have come about without obstacles.  Many employers have been uncomfortable about accepting the changes, finding it more difficult to manage several different flexible schedules; however, the new processes require managers to truly manage the process and not merely pass out work.  As more women entered the accounting world and as the newer generations began asking for more flexibility, the business case for different types of work arrangements began to make inroads with employers.  Flexible work arrangements are becoming more the norm in the last half of the 2000s decade.   The AWSCPA continues to work closely with the AICPA Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee to show the business case for this flexibility.

AWSCPA History 

In the early 2000s, the AWSCPA membership was declining.  Due to the advances made by women in the late 1990s and early 2000s, some members did not see a need for the organization.  In addition, the AWSCPA national board was finding that the present management company of Smith Bucklin was no longer suited to or adequately serving its needs.  Consequently, in June 1999 the board decided to change management companies and initiated a national search for new management.  The national board voted in October 1999 to hire Advanced Management Concepts and its president Kim Fantaci to take over the administrative management of AWSCPA.

The national board began shoring up the infrastructure and reaching out to members and potential members.  The national board sent a letter to all members explaining “what National does for you”; updated the bylaws to reflect the way business needed to be done in the current environment, including electronic means (these bylaws were ratified in June 2001); updated the policy and procedures manual as well as the various other manuals for marketing, etc.; began the Affinity Program to give discounts to AWSCPA members on the AWSCPA website; and created a PowerPoint presentation showcasing AWSCPA, its mission, goals and accomplishments.  More national board meetings were held via conference call with in-person meetings twice a year.  The 2000 annual meeting of the AWSCPA was held in San Francisco.

In May 2001, the national board met in McLean, Virginia with a professional facilitator to create a strategic plan for the future of the AWSCPA.  They looked at long-term and short-term goals and  came away with a plan for the future to keep the AWSCPA a vibrant and successful organization.   

In 2001-02, one of the goals was to make the AWSCPA more visible on a national platform.  At its members’ request, the national board sent comments to the President of the FASB on the FASB 9/11 ruling and President Marianne Heard was quoted on “Golden Parachute Payments” in the October 2001 Issue of the Journal of Accountancy and had the “Last Word”, a full-page article in the Practical Accountant about the glass ceiling and the progress made by the AWSCPA on behalf of women in the accounting profession.  The AWSCPA submitted a “white paper” - the second for this board - with comments on the Global/XYZ Credential to the AICPA.  The credential was ultimately rejected by AICPA members.    The 2001 annual meeting of the AWSCPA was held in Atlanta.

In May of 2002, as the national board prepared for the annual meeting, they had some concern that a quorum might not be present at the conference in San Antonio.  In the wake of 9/11, many people were still reluctant to travel and companies were trying to cut expenses.  But the revised bylaws allowed for electronic communication, so the national board decided to have the first ever  virtual meeting.  By doing so it allows all members, (whether they can make the annual meeting in person or not) to have the ability to vote for all items presented at the annual meeting.  The AWSCPA was fortunate to have former Texas Governor Ann Richards as the keynote speaker for the June 2002 conference in San Antonio. 

The AWSCPA enhanced the searchable database on its website in December 2002, which made it possible for members to search for other members by industry segment, function and specialty.  The updated tool made it even easier to network and find peers with answers to perplexing questions.  The conference in June 2003 was the first to be held outside the U.S. and was in Montreal, Canada. 

The 2003-04 board made a special commitment to students, seeing this group as the future leaders of the AWSCPA.  AWSCPA had long been represented at Beta Alpha Psi – the leading national accounting fraternity..  The AWSCPA has a seat on the Advisory Forum for this national fraternity along with representatives of the major accounting firms, trade associations, various corporations and the AICPA.  In the fall of 2004, the AWSCPA sponsored the first student affiliate in South Bend, Indiana at St. Mary’s College. 

During the 2003-04 the AWSCPA came full circle and again decided to have joint annual meetings with the American Society of Women Accountants.  The first joint conference was held in Chicago in November 2004. 

During the 2004-05 year, the AWSCPA updated its branding with a new logo and logo products, and a new tag line, “making opportunities count”.  The new logo represented a woman in balance – professional, yet personal.  The symbol is clearly female – representing the core of the organization.  It used dark pink to be both bold and feminine. The national board also began to work more closely with corporate sponsors such as Mass Mutual.  This initiative came as a result of the very successful model from the South Florida Affiliate.

During the 2005-06 year, the AWSCPA added Tech Casts to its arsenal of educational opportunities.  Tech Casts are live interactive 60-minute conferences presented over the telephone and Internet lines that cost $25 for members (unlimited participants on the firm end) and $45 for non-members.   The topics were also cutting edge.  Some of the topics for 2006 were “Risk Management for Your Accounting Practice”, “Auditing – A Risk Based Approach with an Emphasis on Fraud”, and “Creating Your Document Management Plan.”  The September 2005 joint conference was held in Philadelphia.

In the 2006-07 year, the AWSCPA began the process to charter a new affiliate – New Jersey.  That affiliate was formally recognized by the AWSCPA on July 18, 2007.  Kathy Hannan, an AWSCPA member, was recognized as a “Woman to Watch” in the Experienced Leader category by the AICPA’s Women’s Initiatives Committee.  The national board also introduced emails called E-Counters that send breaking news to members and developed new list serves, which focus on member questions about audit and accounting, tax and consulting, management, mentoring and leadership.  The September 2006 joint conference was held in Las Vegas.

In 2007, the AWSCPA was the first supporting organization of the 2007 Forum for Women in Accounting – “Becoming All You Can Be” that was held by the AICPA’s Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee.  The October 2007 conference was held in Orlando.

As the AWSCPA has done in the past 75 years, it continues to reinvent itself and remain relevant and necessary.  Recent national boards have looked at new needs and targeted new issues.  They have implemented new ways to network and participate in leadership.  In addition to the annual conference and affiliate meetings, the AWSCPA has regular “Tech Casts” on up-to-the-minute subjects, is affiliated with the Women in Accounting Forum, and its members continue to support each other in an environment where they continue to make a difference - leadership, education and networking. 

Jennifer Laudermilch, AWSCPA president 2007-08 had a wonderful quote when she said she had “grown up” in AWSCPA.  It is marvelous that the young women now leading the organization – those young enough to be daughters and granddaughters of the early members - feel such a strong passion for this organization.  It proves that our members have kept it strong, vital and ever changing to fit the needs of each new generation.  Many businesses do not survive for three generations.  The first generation struggles to get started, the second generation moves the business into profitability and the third generation spends the profits.  The AWSCPA is in its third generation and going into the fourth and that makes it very special indeed.

In the words of Elizabeth Sterling, AWSCPA president 1956-57, "AWSCPA has made a big difference in the recognition of women accountants...All women CPAs owe a debt of gratitude to the nine women CPAs who founded AWSCPA in 1933."