Bordeaux Room, Lobby Level, Executive Conference

Marriott Marquis Hotel, Atlanta

Present: Abe Akresh (VP-Practice), Andy Bailey (observer - incoming Historian), Mike Bamber (VP-Academic), Mark Beasley (Treasurer), Stan Biggs (President), Joe Carcello (observer - incoming VP-Academic), Audrey Gramling (Secretary), Karen Pincus (Past President), Jack Robertson (Historian), Rick Tubbs (observer - incoming Treasurer)

Guests:  R. Debreceny - Communications Committee; A. Wright, editor of AJPT

Stan Biggs, President, called the meeting to order at 8:00 am.  Biggs began by providing a revised version of the previously distributed agenda for the meeting.

Approval of January 2001 Minutes (Audrey Gramling)

Audrey Gramling noted that the minutes of the January 11, 2001 Executive Committee Meeting, and the January 12, 2001 Business Meeting, which took place during the 2001 Auditing Section Midyear Meeting in Houston, were approved by the Executive Committee via email in January 2001.  There was no additional discussion.

Implementation of on-line voting for officers (S. Biggs)

S. Biggs provided the XC with information regarding procedures for on-line voting.  The XC discussed various aspects associated with on-line voting procedures. 

Motion:  Biggs made the following motion:  The Auditing Section will move to an online voting process.  The first online vote, which will be for officers, will run from October 15 to December 1, with two reminders to be sent by Biggs.  AAA will be responsible for administering this process.  M. Bamber seconded the motion.  It was unanimously approved.

ACTION:  S. Biggs to follow up with B. Harrelson to determine the costs of having the AAA administer on-line voting. 

S. Biggs will work with AAA to get the online voting process in place.  For the upcoming election, the XC discussed opening the election on October 15 and closing it on December 1.  S. Biggs will send out two reminders to the membership during the open voting period. 

Treasurer's Report (M. Beasley)

Mark Beasley distributed the Treasurer's Report and provided an analysis of the Report. 

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

The XC discussed potential ways to increase revenues and/or decrease costs. 

Beasley moved that the Auditing Section's newsletter, The Auditor's Report, be made available in electronic format only (beginning September 2001, if possible).  The membership will be notified that the newsletter is available by an email that contains a link to the newsletter (and PDF file, if possible).  Bamber seconded the motion.  It was unanimously approved.

ACTION:  Gramling will follow up with AAA to send an email to the Auditing Section members regarding moving the newsletter to an electronic version only.  Gramling will draft the message to be sent, and will send it to the XC for comment.  The message will note that the Auditor's Report will be go online and that this approach will avoid an immediate dues increase. 

Gramling will follow-up with Taylor to advise him of this approved change.

Beasley will follow up with AAA regarding library subscription fees.

Reimbursement policy for CPE speakers (M. Beasley)

Beasley discussed the issue of reimbursing CPE speakers for their travel expenses.  The XC committee reviewed our current policy on this issue.

ACTION:  Bamber will review the Operating Manual to determine if there are any changes that should be proposed regarding payment of expenses for CPE speakers.  Bamber will forward any recommended changes to the XC for review.

Update on 2002 Midyear Conference Plans (S. Biggs for Jeff Cohen)

Biggs provided an update on the 2002 Midyear Meeting.  Cohen reported that the meeting planning was progressing successfully.

Update on 2002 Annual Meeting collaboration with Management Accounting Section (Stan Biggs for Randy Elder)

Randy Elder has begun discussions with the Program Chair of the Management Section on potential collaboration during the AAA 2002 Annual meeting. 

Update on the 2001 AAA Annual Meeting (Biggs for R. Roberts)

Biggs noted that 72 papers were received for the 2001 AAA Annual Meeting.  Twenty-seven have been accepted for concurrent sessions, and 12 will be presented in a forum setting. 

ACTION:  Bamber will discuss potential ways to increase the number of auditing paper submissions in the future with Randy Elder and Robin Roberts.

Special Lifetime Achievement Award (Biggs)

Biggs distributed a draft of the requirements for a Special Lifetime Achievement Award.  The XC discussed the draft. 

ACTION:  Bailey will revise the operating manual to reflect the idea that the XC may occasionally issue special awards and that the special awards issued at the 2001 Audit Section Midyear Meeting were given as part of the celebration of the Section's 25^th Anniversary.  The operating manual will also reference special awards that were previously given to provide examples of possible special awards.  Examples include:  (1) Special Lifetime Achievement Award  -  R. Elliott (2001); and (2) Leadoff hitter of the Section - F. Neumann (2001)

Report of the editor of AJPT (A. Wright)

Wright presented an activity report of the journal and noted the improvement in review timeliness.

Wright noted that the editor transition is in process.  Wright has appointed Messier as an Associate Editor to AJPT to assist Messier in transitioning into the job of journal editor. 

Wright discussed the success of placing the Practice Summaries in the Journal of Accountancy.  He noted the successful efforts by Akresh to edit the Practice Summaries that are submitted to the Journal of Accountancy.  He further noted the need to appoint someone to fill Akresh's editing role once Akresh is no longer VP - Practice.

Wright discussed the current research review environment and the need to obtain reviews that are somewhat more positive than those currently obtained.  One potential mechanism would be have a session at the Auditing Section Midyear Meeting to discuss review issues. 

ACTION:  Wright will explore issues related to an increase in AJPT submission fees with the AAA Publications Committee and report back to the XC (M. Bamber).  Wright will also explore with other section journal editors ways in which their journals are dealing with rising costs.

XC Liaison Reports on Committee Activities

Communications Committee (A. Gramling / Roger Debreceny)

Debreceny (chair of the Communications Committee) discussed the possibility of implementing an electronic mechanism (i.e., website) that will allow Auditing Section members to communicate with parties external to the section (e.g., practitioners).  The XC concurred with the need to communicate with a practitioner audience. 

ACTION:  The XC (Gramling) will communicate with R. Debreceny that the XC would like the Communications Committee to provide additional information on the nature of the content, source of content, and costs of such a website prior to the 2002 Audit Midyear Meeting. 

Policy on allowing links on Auditing Section web page

ACTION:  Gramling will follow-up with Debreceny as to the Committee's recommended policy on allowing links on the Auditing Section webpage. 

New Combined Membership and Regional Coordinators (M. Bamber)

Bamber discussed the current status of this combined arrangement. 

Practice Advisory Council (A. Akresh)

Akresh noted that PAC has a session during the 2001 AAA Annual Meeting that will address the topic of auditing and quality of earnings.  Akresh acknowledged the efforts of M. DeFond in putting this session together. 

The XC discussed various ways to populate and maintain the Council. 

ACTIONS: 

Bamber to follow up with Elder regarding having PAC hold a session at the 2002 AAA Annual Meeting.

Bamber to contact various organizations (e.g., IIA, FEI, AICPA) to inquire as to whether the organizations would be willing to formalize a policy whereby a position within that organization would include an automatic appointment to the PAC.

Akresh will pursue obtaining a chair for PAC and will contact current members to see if they are interested in continuing to serve.  Akresh will also contact other potential PAC members to assess their interest in serving on the Council.

S. Biggs will follow up with J. Calle thanking her for her past service as Chairperson of the PAC. 

Auditing Standards Committee (A. Akresh)

Akresh reported that the ASC is functioning very successfully and that K. Tatum has done a very good job in chairing the committee. 

Research Committee (K. Pincus)

The Research Committee has re-formatted the Section's 25-year review of the literature into a database.  The database will be published at the Auditing Section's website. 

ACTION:  Biggs will communicate with the Research Committee about charging them with keeping the database updated, and adding journals as appropriate for the coming year.  The Research Committee will be asked to develop a policy for updating this database in the future.  Biggs will follow up with the committee as to their other planned activities for the upcoming year (e.g., citation analysis, assurance services, research tools). 

S. Biggs will talk with A. Wright about doing a SSCI summary of AJPT citations. 

Education Committee (M. Beasley)

The Education Committee has completed gathering data on the audit course syllabi project.  The Committee is in the process of finalizing the project. 

ACTION:  Biggs will communicate with the Education Committee regarding completion and publication of the report.

CPE Committee (M. Beasley)

Beasley noted that at the current AAA meeting, there are seven sessions that would have appeal to the members of the Auditing Section. 

Beasley noted that D. Hermanson is working on developing the CPE session(s) for the Midyear Meeting. 

The Auditor's Report (A. Gramling)

Gramling noted the following:

1. The Winter 2002 issue of the Auditor's Report will renamed as the Spring 2002 issue

2. Troy Hyatt has concluded his term as the column editor of "Have you seen?"  Taylor is taking responsibility for replacing Hyatt.

3. Taylor (editor of the Auditor's Report) noted a need for assigning photography responsibilities during the Audit Midyear Meeting.

ACTION:  Bamber will revise the operating manual to formalize photography responsibilities to the Program Committee. 

Gramling will communicate with Taylor about the updated policy on photography responsibilities. 

Other Business

Doctoral Consortium

The XC discussed the operations of the Doctoral Consortium that is held in conjunction with the Auditing Section Midyear Meeting.

Tubbs will prepare a memo to update the operating manual.  The memo will indicate the existence of the doctoral consortium, and the procedure for appointing the committee. 

Tubbs will prepare a summary of Guidelines for the Director of the Consortium. 

A Special Thanks

Biggs thanked the members of the XC whose terms were expiring:  Mark Beasley, Karen Pincus, and Jack Robertson.  Biggs presented Beasely with a plaque in appreciation for his service and noted that Pincus and Robertson would receive an acknowledgement of the section's appreciation at the Auditing Section lunch the following day.

Biggs adjourned the meeting at approximately 3:05 p.m.

Submitted by Audrey A. Gramling, Georgia State University
Secretary