In a lively AccountingWEB discussion before a packed house, Kathy Eddy, Chairman of the AICPA, presented the AICPA's case for the concept of the proposed global business credential that will come to a vote before the entire AICPA membership next month.

Ms. Eddy pointed out that, should the proposed credential take hold, it would not be administered by the AICPA but by a separate body, and that AICPA resources would not be used to fund this credential.

"Global credential holders would be defined as professionals who help people or organizations achieve their objectives through an unmatched breadth of knowledge in strategically critical and diverse disciplines," said Ms. Eddy. "Holders would be characterized as facilitators of organizational change, entrepreneurial in nature, globally aware, combining depth (specialty knowledge) with breadth (generalist knowledge across disciplines)."

Following the presentation, Ms. Eddy and a team of representatives from the AICPA responded to over 20 questions that were posed by the participants, including:

• Since one of the major differences between the global credential and an MBA is the code of ethics, wouldn't it make more sense to create a sort of 'MBA Society' that has a code, rather than create a whole new credential?
• How many (and which) countries have signed on to the Global Business Credential?
• When will we get a final decision on a name for the credential?
• Where will the millions required (to fund this new credential) come from?
• Do you think that the initial self-assessment for admission will be rigorous enough to guarantee the quality of the first credential holders?
• You say that the initial requirements are a work in progress. How can we vote on supporting the credential unless we know those facts?

You can read the entire transcript of the event, which includes all of the AICPA's responses to the questions that time permitted.

Following AICPA Chairman Kathy Eddy's presentation and Q&A session regarding the proposed global business credential, AccountingWEB members gathered in the AccountingWEB chat room where they conducted an informal analysis of the presentation. You can read the transcript of that session. Questions posed during this session will be forwarded to the AICPA's global credential committee for response.