Tommye Barie, a partner with Mauldin & Jenkins LLC, is the new chair of the board of directors of the American Institute of CPAs. Barie said accounting is in her family’s DNA, since her father was an accountant and her brother is a CPA. Yet it was her mother, the founder of two small businesses, who got Barie hooked on numbers at age 12 by enlisting her help with bookkeeping.
In her acceptance speech, Barie, 53, compared the nimbleness and strength required in kiteboarding–one of her favorite sports–with the skills CPAs must wield in an increasingly competitive global economy.
“External forces change the landscape seemingly overnight, and we ride that constantly changing wind.”
An accounting graduate of Stetson University, Barie is focused on audit and consulting services for governmental entities and not-for-profit organizations. We discussed Barie’s views on the small firms’ role over the next five years.
Barie commented that a CPA’s role is, “constantly evolving, we will have to develop whole new skill sets. The core skill set will remain intact.” She sees growth in the health care area, valuation and forensics, which attracts new CPAs, “it has a mystery around it,” she noted.
Concerning auditing Barie said, “small firms may not want to deal with the risk, and don’t want to deal with the peer review and quality control standards. Some enjoy [audits] and focus on their area of interest.
“This is a time of big changes for small firms. There are opportunities to specialize, use technology to compete with larger firms and to adopt more flexible work policies that make it easier to connect with clients and have a rewarding life outside of your career. But at the same time, many small firms run the risk of being squeezed out if they don’t adapt to changing client expectations.
“Automation, globalization and other trends all play into this. I worked in a smaller firm for many years, and never thought I’d have to get up to speed on IFRS and other international accounting issues. But I had two clients that did work overseas, so I adapted. Many practitioners at smaller firms will have to develop whole new skill sets, but that’s part of the evolution of our profession.”
Naturally, our discussion led to the Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 21 (SSARS No. 21), which takes effect for financial statements dated on or after Dec. 15, 2015 – although, early implementation is permitted.
“We needed to modernize the ‘trigger’ for when CPAs apply the compilation standard, and that’s being addressed through SARS 21,” Barie said. “In today’s environment, the old model of ‘submission’ no longer works. Additionally, in today’s technology environment, many CPAs collaborate in real-time with clients through financial cloud applications, so the question of who prepared the financial statements can be muddy. SSARS No. 21 takes the current climate into account, and requires a CPA to apply the compilation and new preparation standards when an accountant is actually engaged to perform specific work.”
Concerning the case brought against the IRS by the AICPA about the new RTRP replacement, Barie said, “As far as the lawsuit is concerned, we’re disappointed by the ruling and are analyzing it in order to evaluate our options. For tax-preparing CPAs, nothing really changes. We believe CPAs continue to offer the best advice and expertise for clients on tax matters. One of the issues with the IRS program is the CPA is educated far in excess of the new IRS voluntary Annual Filing Season Program (AFSB).”
“If the CPA has the credential, they get the additional resources,” Barie said. “Like the tax section, we are enhancing the value, increasing the overlap of what the tax preparing CPA needs.”
Barie has been athletic all her life. Besides kiteboarding, she spends her free time paddle boarding, golfing and training in Pilates. Barie tried kiteboarding on vacation and liked it. Learning the sport requires more leg strength than upper body strength to ride that constantly changing wind.
“You can’t control the wind, but you can ride it,” Barie said.
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