New York, United States: William F. Ezzell has been elected Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, succeeding James G. Castellano.

Ezzell now leads one of the largest professional membership organizations in the country, composed of almost 340,000 CPAs serving in a variety of sectors: business and industry, public practice, government, and academia. The Chairmanship, a volunteer position, is a one-year term.

In his inaugural speech yesterday during the AICPA Governing Council's Fall meeting, Ezzell spoke frankly about the challenges the accounting profession has experienced over the past year and declared that "restoration" would be the theme of his chairmanship.

"There is no excuse for failing to live up to the standards of this profession," he said. "We must make sure CPAs everywhere -- including those yet to enter our profession -- truly understand and live by the core values that make us great."

Ezzell described what he announced would be "a year of restoration on three fronts":

-- Restoring the profession's belief in itself and its core values

-- Restoring its reputation among the communities it serves

-- Restoring a sense of shared purpose in the profession and the AICPA

He recited a litany of questions that all CPAs should ask themselves.

"We all know we can do everything right, and still not do the right thing," Ezzell said. "How much time do we spend teaching new hires about ethics and hard choices? How much time do we spend
reflecting on what it means when we say our profession stands for objectivity, competence and integrity? How often do we celebrate those who say 'no' in the face of overwhelming pressure?"

Ezzell applauded "the overwhelming majority of us" who always affirmed a strong commitment to the profession's core values. He noted that it is up to the members of the profession themselves to regain their reputation among their constituencies.

"No legislation, no regulation can win back that reputation," he admonished the audience. "We are the ones, the only ones, who can do it.

"We are a profession. And a profession has its responsibilities, which include an unwavering commitment to a code of ethics, a distinct and evolving body of knowledge, a sense of duty to the public interest, standards of excellence, and a shared sense of purpose."

Ezzell then touched on one of the AICPA's most significant initiatives, a comprehensive anti-fraud program. Last week, the Institute announced the approval of a new auditing standard that gives auditors additional guidance on detecting material fraud in financial statements. Other components include a fraud resource center, an Institute for Fraud Studies, a Fraud Summit, free corporate governance training in fraud and new recommendations for continuing professional education, all of which are in development.

"Our efforts are over and above what any legislator or regulator is telling us to do," Ezzell said. "They are what we believe we must do to protect the public interest. That's a message that must be heard."

Ezzell, a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP, has been active on many senior AICPA volunteer bodies, including the Board of Directors, the Governing Council and the Strategic Planning Committee. He holds a bachelor's in business administration and accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national, professional organization of CPAs, with almost 340,000 members in business and industry, public practice, government, and education. It sets U.S. auditing and professional ethical standards and, with the Financial Accounting Standards Board, U.S. accounting standards. The AICPA is the first national, professional association to be ISO 9001-certified, in recognition of its quality management and assurance practices.