FOCUS on president’s message


Let’s Celebrate our Future and Salute our Past


By Robin Byford, CPA, CFP® C


Robin Byford, CPA, CFP®, the 2015-2016 OSCPA president, is the senior vice president of wealth management with Merrill Lynch in Oklahoma City, Okla. A member for more than 30 years, Byford has served on numerous  OSCPA Personal Financial  which she has also chaired. She’s been an OSCPA board member since 2009. She is a member of the CPA-PAC and the recipient of the 2007 Silver Pen Award.


ongratulations to our 2016 Trailblazers! We are honored to have you as members of our profession. Your leadership and talents are


valuable to us for our future. While thinking about our Trailblazers and the future


of our profession, I would like to review the key findings of the recent AICPA Vision Project called CPA Horizons 2025. Building on the previous CPA Vision effort, the key findings are:


 Te profession’s core values remained substantially unchanged: integrity, competence, lifelong learning, objectivity, commitment to excellence and relevance in the global marketplace.


 Te core competencies have evolved to reflect the 21st century: communication skills, leadership skills, critical-thinking and problem- solving skills, anticipating and serving evolving needs, synthesizing intelligence to insight and integration and collaboration.


 Te services provided by CPAs have become so varied and diverse that the concept of core services is no longer representative of the profession.


Insights and directions identified by this project are:


 We will need to understand and leverage relevant technology in conjunction with core CPA competencies to deliver superior services. Te profession will adopt new technologies and demonstrate effective leadership in doing so.


 In order for the educational framework to keep pace with the changing dynamics of business, government and our profession, traditional technical education will need to evolve and extend to include interpersonal skills and mentoring that allow CPAs and aspiring CPAs to meet their educational needs on a real-time, on-going basis.


  We will want to position the CPA as a premier designation of the accounting finance profession throughout the world and CPAs must be increasingly aware of international business issues and trends.


  CPAs will take collective pride in the knowledge and effort required to attain the CPA credential, and the


4 CPAFOCUS March/April 2016


many positive contributions CPAs make in serving the public interest, worldwide markets, businesses and communities.


 Te profession must stay vigilant in defending its unique role as providers of audit and attest services of financial and other information. All CPAs benefit from the public trust that is rooted in the provision of audit and assurances services. Conversely, our audit and attest functions must evolve to meet changing regulatory demands and client and business needs.


  CPAs must continue to evolve as strategic partners of clients, businesses and employers, applying multidisciplinary and integrated problem solving to expand traditional services and enhance nontraditional offerings and the perception of trusted advisor.


  We can leverage the strengths of the profession to expand market permissions and build upon core competencies and demonstrate broader expertise to extend CPA offerings beyond traditional services.


 Marketplace: As regulatory, business and economic shifts are inevitable and occurring more quickly, the profession must adjust and adapt while remaining rooted in its foundational values and competencies.


  We can increase the visibility of the profession’s value proposition by demonstrating the profession’s core values in multiple areas of business and society.


  CPAs will continue to offer opportunities that enhance the appeal of the profession and be proactive in addressing both U.S. and global demographic shifts.


Visioning requires hindsight, foresight and insight.


Ours is the only profession that has been in this process for more than 15 years. As we prepare for these exciting changes and honor our rising stars, we are all the more grateful for our past servants that are leaving us in this position of strength. Our leader and executive director, Daryl J. Hill, CAE, will retire after nearly 30 years of service on April 30, 2016. We hope you’ll join us when we salute all his years of service and dedication to our profession and to the OSCPA on Friday, April 22, at 6 p.m. at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. Look for more information in your email inbox soon! See you there!


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