Present: Abe Akresh (VP-Practice; left the meeting at approximately 4:30 during the discussion of the operating manual), Mike Bamber (VP-Academic; left the meeting at 3pm and returned at approximately 5:30pm during our discussion of Sharing Midyear Meeting Dates with Management Accounting Section), Mark Beasley (Treasurer; arrived at the meeting during the discussion of the Committee Evaluation Project), Stan Biggs (President), Audrey Gramling (Secretary), Karen Pincus (Past President), Jack Robertson (Historian)

Guests:  Jeff Cohen, Linda McDaniel, Bob Tucker, Mark Taylor

Stan Biggs, President, called the meeting to order at 8:00 am.  Biggs began by providing an overview of the meeting.

Approval of August Minutes (Audrey Gramling)

Audrey Gramling presented the minutes of the August 13, 2000, and August 15, 2000, Executive Committee Meetings, which took place during the 2000 AAA Annual meeting in Philadelphia, PA.  Bamber moved and Akresh seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as presented.  The motion passed unanimously.

AJPT Editor Selection (Karen Pincus)

Pincus provided a report of potential candidates from the Editor Selection Committee. 

ACTION:  It was the consensus of the XC that Biggs will follow up with a potential candidate that has been recommended by the committee.

AJPT Editor Transition Policy (Stan Biggs for Arnie Wright)

The XC reviewed and discussed a potential editor transition policy proposed by Wright. Biggs moved and Pincus seconded the following motion: 

The XC will require that the outgoing and incoming editors agree on transition guidelines.  The transition guidelines will become an attachment of the letter of agreement with the incoming editor. 

The motion passed unanimously.

ACTION:  Biggs will discuss with the outgoing and the incoming editors the need to develop transition guidelines.  These transition guidelines will be incorporated as part of the letter of agreement with the incoming editor.

Biggs will send some comments to Wright on his proposed transition policy.  Biggs will also advise Wright that the XC will require that the outgoing and incoming editors agree on transition guidelines that will become an attachment of the letter of agreement with the incoming editor.

Results of By-Law Vote and Discussion of Implementation Issues (Audrey Gramling and Stan Biggs)

The XC reviewed the summary of the results of the vote on proposed by-law changes.  All 5 of the proposed changes to the by-laws passed.

ACTION:  Biggs and Gramling will work with the AAA and Glen Gray to allow for voting of officers by email.  Biggs will advise the section of the results of the by-law vote at the Business Meeting to take place on January 12, 2001.

ACTION:  Robertson will update the operating manual to reflect these approved by-law changes.  Robertson will send the revised operating manual to G. Gray for posting of appropriate sections at the section website.

ACTION:  Biggs will change the call for nominees and forward that revised document to Taylor.

The Auditors' Report

Biggs indicated that Taylor was considering modification of the newsletter design. 

ACTION:  Gramling will discuss with Taylor the need to consider a new newsletter design and the possibility of having the editors be responsible for composition of the newsletter.  Gramling will ask that Taylor report back to Gramling by July 1.

Committee Evaluation Project (Stan Biggs)

Changes to Current Committee Structure:

Biggs proposed changes to our current committee structure:

Regions:  Consider eliminating vice-chair positions, but encourage the regional chairs to seek assistance from the colleagues at their institutions. 

Membership Committee:  Consider combining the membership committee and the regional chairs.  The combined committee would be referred to as the Membership and Regional Chairs Committee.  If possible, regional chairs would be selected on the basis of the institution hosting the regional meeting.  The chair of that committee would report to the XC liaison, Vice-President-Academic. 

Akresh moved and Beasley seconded a motion that the membership committee and regional chairs be merged into one committee and that the Regional Vice Chairs positions be eliminated.  The motion was passed unanimously.

ACTION:  Bamber and Biggs will revise the committee charge for the Membership Committee and the Regional Chairs, as well as the related operating aids.  Additionally, they will determine how to best make this transition. 

Improve committee planning and structure: 

The XC discussed the need for the XC committee liaison and the committee chair to work together to develop specific committee goals at the beginning of each fiscal year. 

The XC also discussed the need to limit the size of the committees.  The size of each committee will vary by committee.  It was decided that the CPE committee would transition to 3 members (chair, vice chair, past chair).  For the other committees, they will transition to a maximum of 7 members, unless specific needs require additional members. 

ACTION:  Bamber will appoint committee members based on the need to make this transition.

The XC also discussed the current role of the Communications Committee.

ACTION:  Gramling will contact the Communications Committee Chair and ask that the committee evaluate the need for this committee.  The committee will also be asked to consider whether the committee should just be comprised of the Webmaster, the editor of the Auditor's Report, and the editor of the AJPT.  The committee will be asked to report back to Gramling by July 1.

XC Committee Liaisons:

The liaison for the Outstanding Educator Award committee will be changed to Past President.  The liaison for the Notable Contributions Award committee will be changed to the President.

Other Issues:  Notable Contributions to Literature Award Committee:  The XC modified the criteria for this award, including changing the timeframe from 5 to 10 years, and deleting the specific list of six requirements currently included in the criteria. 

Additionally, the selection process will be changed to call for submissions rather than nominations. 

Bamber made a motion to accept the modifications to the Notable Contributions to Literature Award Committee as indicated above; Akresh seconded.  The motion was passed unanimously.

ACTION:  Biggs will make the approved changes and forward the file to Robertson for inclusion in the operating manual.

Other Issues:  PAC:  The XC discussed the possibility of PAC organizing a panel session for the AAA annual meeting on the Quality of Earnings.

ACTION:  Akresh was asked to follow up with Jeri Calle, PAC Chair, and Mark Defond (Auditing Section Representative to the AAA Quality of Earnings Project) about developing a panel session for the AAA Annual meeting in Atlanta (August 2001).  Akresh was also asked to contact Jeri Calle to discuss replacing departed members of the PAC.  Akresh will report back to the XC. 

Other Issues:  Committee Meetings:

ACTION:  The XC liaisons will encourage their committees to meet at the annual meeting and the midyear meetings.  XC liaisons will attend these meetings as time permits.

Other Issues: Auditing Standards Committee:  Biggs noted that this committee made a presentation to the ASB Fraud Task Force that was very well received. 

ACTION:  Gramling will contact Taylor to solicit this report for publication in The Auditor's Report. 

2002 Midyear Meeting Plans (Jeff Cohen)

Cohen updated the XC on plans for the 2002 MYM and solicited ideas for panel sessions and speakers.

2001 Midyear Meeting Update (Linda McDaniel)

McDaniel updated the XC on the 2001 MYM.  The XC thanked for Linda McDaniel for her outstanding work in planning the 2001 MYM.

Treasurer's Report (Mark Beasley)

Mark Beasley distributed the Treasurer's Report and provided an analysis of the deficit for the year ended August 31, 2000, which includes an increase in AJPT costs (printing, distribution and AAA support), and an increase in annual meeting costs, and council fees.  The XC deemed that it was important to monitor the membership level and the related membership dues revenue. 

Pincus moved that we accept the Treasurer's report.  Akresh seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.

The XC discussed the issue of raising subscription rates (e.g., library subscriptions). 

ACTION:  Beasley will follow up with Wright to get additional information about subscription rates.

ACTION:  The XC liaison with the Research Committee, Karen Pincus, will contact the Research Committee to determine if the committee could do a citation analysis of the various accounting journals (e.g., JAR, JAE, TAR) to see how extensively AJPT is cited.  The citation analysis could improve the reputation of AJPT, and serve as a basis for increasing subscriptions. 

Membership Survey and Implications (Bob Tucker, Chair of the Membership Committee)

Biggs presented the XC's decision to merge the regional chairs and the membership committee to Tucker (see above point). 

Tucker provided the XC with a report from the Membership Committee regarding a survey of former section members.  The primary reasons for former members leaving the section appear related to the former members' change in research and teaching interests.

ACTION:  Tucker will advise Wright about any survey results related to concerns regarding AJPT research issues.

Tucker also discussed initiatives to increase the diversity of the membership.  Other actions discussed by Tucker included surveying auditing instructors who are not section members and surveying current section members.

Biggs thanked Tucker for his committee's efforts.

Putting Operating Manual on Webpage (Jack Robertson)

Robertson provided an overview of issues related to putting the Operating Manual on the section's website.  The XC reviewed each of the sections of the Operating Manual in order to make a determination of which sections should be placed on the section's website.  The following were unanimously approved:

Operating manual sections to include at the section website: 

• Purpose and Objectives of the Auditing Section,
• Mission Statements and Goals,
• Committee and Subcommittee Responsibilities (when revised and complete) with link to AAA website listing section Committee and Subcommittee Members,
• section by-laws,
• section award winners,
• calls for papers for the MYM,
• operating aids for regional chairs (when revised and complete will consider whether to post to website),
• a chronological history of the section including a listing of officers and chairpersons,
• Minutes of XC meetings, and
• Financial reports as included in the Auditor's Report.

Sections to add to paper copy only of the operating manual:

• History of membership,
• Reports of the program directors for the annual meeting and the MYM, and
• AJPT editors' report.

Sections to omit from both paper and web versions: 

• General Structure and Responsibilities,
• Three year plan, and
• List of on-going activities.

ACTION:  Biggs will produce a written description of the Lifetime Achievement Award for inclusion in the operating manual. 

Update on Auditor's Report  (Mark Taylor)

Taylor updated the XC on activities related to The Auditor's Report.  Taylor agreed to consider the possibility of having the newsletter composed "in-house" rather than at AAA and will provide the XC with a report.

Taylor asked the XC whether The Auditor's Report could accept position announcements.  After discussion, it was deemed that position announcements would not currently be accepted for publication in The Auditor's Report. 

Sharing Midyear Meeting Dates with Management Accounting Section (Stan Biggs)

The Management Accounting Section has approached the Auditing Section about holding joint midyear meetings.  A number of options for doing this were presented. 

The XC reached a consensus regarding the following action.

ACTION:  Biggs will talk with the Management Section president and the Auditing Section's V.P Elect that will be elected during the Auditing Section's Business meeting on January 12, 2001 about this joint meeting option.  The XC outlined the conditions associated with having some joint venture for the 2003 midyear meetings.  The Auditing Section will prepare a proposal to present to the AAA Management Accounting Section.  The proposal would include a joint plenary session following lunch on the last day of the Auditing Section MYM (which would be the first day of the Management Section MYM).  Following the joint plenary session will be a joint research presentation.  The plenary session and joint research session will have a theme to be approved by both the Auditing and Management Accounting Sections.  Possible themes could be related to Risk Assessment, ERP, and Fraud.  Biggs will follow up with Ramsay (2003 MYM Program director for the Auditing Section) and Ho (2003 MYM Program director for the Management Section) regarding this proposal.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:15 pm.

Submitted by Audrey A. Gramling, Georgia State University

Secretary