A Thank-You to the Profession

Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, speaking on May 23 to the AICPA Council in Washington, D.C.:

I want to commend this group for your 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort. Treasurys Office of Financial Education is delighted to be working with you on national financial education efforts; our partnership is awfully important to the young people who will benefit from these efforts.

It has been said that, regardless of how much money you have, wisdom has to be acquired on the installment plan. Similarly, it is true that regardless of an individuals income, saving must be done steadily, deliberately over a lifetime. Learning about how to become, and stay, financially healthy is a lifelong pursuit as well. So I want to thank you for giving back on this issue. Its a great gift to generations of Americans.

AND ALSO
Carl R. George, CPA, CEO of Clifton Gunderson LLP, speaking at the AICPA Retirement Planning Conference in Las Vegas on June 6:

With the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program, CPAs have an opportunity to help Americans understand the need to take responsibility for their retirement planning. According to the Roper Poll the AICPA performed in April 2004, 49% of respondents had never heard of a 401(k) planand this is the primary savings vehicle for most Americans. CPAs can use the resources of the Financial Literacy Resource Center, www.aicpa.org/financialliteracy , to get out into their communities to teach people about retirement savings vehicles and planning. We can help Americans change their financial futures.