Letters

Banker Gets Beyond Counting
I compliment you on the wonderful article "Getting Beyond Counting" (JofA, Dec.96, page 69). It was very exciting and motivational. I have been trying to convey this same message to my staff and, more important, to my manager since I came to the bank two and a half years ago.

Coming from a Big 6 environment, I had let the terms "clearly immaterial," "efficient and effective" and "value added" become second nature, part of my everyday thinking. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to change what has been the tone for many years. However, I have begun to break some barriers and "clearly immaterial" has become a catch phrase for my department. With the help of this article, I hope to further these and other concepts.

Thank you again for a truly inspiring article.

Jennifer S. Quade, CPA
Accounting supervisor
First National Bank and Trust Co. Columbia, Missouri

NPO Guide for FASB Entities Only
"New AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide for NPOs" (JofA, Nov.96, page 63) says this new guide supersedes the AICPA Industry Audit Guide Audits of Colleges and Universities (including Statement of Position 74-8, Financial Accounting and Reporting by Colleges and Universities ). Practitioners should be aware that the new guide applies only to Financial Accounting Standards Board-jurisdiction entities and that the old industry audit guide and SOP remain in effect for Governmental Accounting Standards Board-jurisdiction colleges and universities.

Dick Schubert, CPA
Chairman, GASB/FASB subcommittee
Colorado higher education accounting standards committee

Authors reply: The AICPAs new NPO guide does supersede Audits of Colleges and Universities (including SOP 74-8). However, as discussed in more detail in footnote 2 of the preface of the NPO guide, the applicability of the 1973 Audits of Colleges and Universities and SOP 74-8 (as modified by applicable FASB pronouncements issued through November 30, 1989, and all applicable GASB pronouncements) to governmental colleges and universities is unchanged by the new NPO guide.


Journal Readers Have Sharp Eyes
I am pleased there is information on computers, but I am a little confused: The cover of the Journal refers to 10 must technologies, but on reading the article, only 5 are listed ("Must Technologies for All CPAs," JofA, Mar.97, page 59). Are the other 5 a secret? Its going to be hard to master the missing 5 when I do not know what they are. Maybe the other 5 are coming next month "Yeah, thats the ticket."

Far be it for me to criticize, but when I took the exam, 5+0=5, not 10. (I didnt even have to remove my shoes to figure that out.) Maybe thats why my exam scores were so low.

Im sure you will receive more e-mails on this than you care to count, but I hope Im first and my letter gets printed.

Pat McGowan, CPA
Annandale, Virginia

Editors note: Apologies for misleading you. It was a case of human error that slipped by us.