In her new role, which started Tuesday at the AICPA's Fall Council meeting in Las Vegas, Eddy oversees more than 350,000 CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government and education. The confab was held Oct. 23 and 24.

In her inaugural speech Tuesday before the 260 or so Council members, Eddy, who has been active at the state society level and has even served as president of the West Virginia CPA Society, stressed her support of state societies, which she considers "nothing short of the Institute's lifeline to individual members."

And she asked the members to send a message to their state societies:

"The AICPA under my tenure will continue to be the professional home to every single CPA. As far as I'm concerned the letters 'A' and 'I' that start our name have a second -- and perhaps even more important -- meaning. They stand for All Inclusive," said Eddy. "That means CPAs of every ilk, young and old, men and women, in government, in industry, in small, medium or large firms, in education. If you are a CPA then AI -- All Inclusive -- means you."

Eddy, who previously co-chaired the AICPA National Steering Committee for the Regulation of the Profession and served on the AICPA Political Leadership Committee, in addition to several other AICPA committees, said that some have suggested the AICPA "is not the home for smaller firms," a comment she has taken personally and vehemently denies.

"I am the first chair of the AICPA in the new millennium and my firm numbers 14. I am proud of that small background and have been actively involved with the Institute for over 15 years," said Eddy, who is a shareholder in Parkersburg, W.Va.-based McDonough, Eddy, Parsons and Baylous, A.C. "The AICPA has been good for me and good for our firm."

Eddy added, "I will continue our commitment to self-regulation. I will be vigilant in honoring our profession's covenant to protect the public interest with integrity and objectivity."

"I will continue to hammer home the enduring value of the CPA. And remain an ardent supporter of our image enhancement program. I will step up our efforts to develop new assurance services that allow CPAs to perform the services that CPAs are most qualified to perform," she stated.

"I will continue to actively address the need for reform in accounting education," she said. "And, with an eye to developing accreditations that will lead to new services, I will see to it that the work of the National Accreditation Commission ... moves forward."

In an effort to keep the lines of communication open, Eddy said that she and AICPA president and chief executive Barry Melancon will "hold conference calls with the staff and volunteer leadership of state societies at least quarterly."

"We see it as a key tool in informing each other -- listening to each other -- an keeping the lines of communication continually open," she said. "We look forward to broad-based participation. This will be a great opportunity to really those three Cs -- cooperate, coordinate and communicate."

-- By Antoinette Alexander

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