Effective this month, the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) has put into effect a restructuring of its committees to help with efficiency and communication among committee and subcommittee volunteers.  

The previous AAM structure was developed more than 20 years ago, and is not as effective today as it once was, according to the association. Because the committees were set up as tactical units, a silo effect had been created and affects how AAM delivers membership benefits, educational offerings, and communications. Each committee worked on its own project without knowledge of the "big picture" or how projects relate to other AAM initiatives.  

The concept of reorganizing AAM's structure was based on two major shifts of thinking. First, the structure was broken into two strategic units: Education and Membership. Both of these units represent the core of why AAM exists. Their focus is to carry out the objectives set by the board on an annual basis. There will be an assigned PR person on each subcommittee whose sole responsibility will be to communicate the projects being developed. That person will then feed that knowledge to the Communications Committee.

The second shift of thinking involves setting up the subcommittees as single-focus tactical units. This will improve volunteers' understanding of their roles and help expedite projects.   

Call for volunteers

AAM accomplished a lot in the last year, including a successful transition to a new headquarters office, a new interactive conference Web site, the development of a communications task force, and a compensation survey. This work would not have been accomplished without the hard working, passionate AAM volunteers.  

There are more initiatives planned in the upcoming year and the more volunteers we have, the more value we can offer to the membership at large. We're looking for a few passionate members to help fill open positions throughout the various AAM committees. If you are ready to become active at the national level and improve your leadership skills while expanding your professional experience, volunteer to serve on a committee, subcommittee, or task force. View our Committee Volunteer form or visit our Web site to see how you can get involved.