"International, national and regional accounting firms outside of the Big Four have grown very significantly in recent years. They are a critical part of the U.S. economy and they are geographically dispersed throughout the country," said AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon. "We think it's important for Congress to understand their role in our capital markets and hear about the issues that are of concern to this group."

Members of the AICPA's "Major Firms Group," consisting primarily of the top five to 100 largest accounting firms outside the "Big Four" global accounting firms, are meeting in an AICPA forum in Washington, D.C., this week.  The firms are headquartered or have offices in all 50 states and serve a diverse group of clients including public companies, small and large private businesses, partnerships and non-profit organizations and individual taxpayers. 

This is the first time the Major Firms Group has visited Congress to meet with lawmakers. Leaders of these firms will be holding more than 70 meetings with House and Senate members. Legislative issues they will be discussing include: equalizing the IRS's tax preparer standards and taxpayer standards, banning tax strategy patents and promoting uniform interstate income tax requirements over the current complicated and confusing patchwork of laws.