AICPA & CIMA CEO search: Details from the selection committee chair

Anoop Mehta, CPA, CGMA, is the chair of the selection committee that will choose the next AICPA & CIMA CEO. Mehta, a former AICPA chair and Association of International Certified Professional Accountants chair, discussed the qualities the organization seeks in its next leader, a planned timeline for the selection committee, and the importance of knowledge transfer.

The CEO chosen will replace Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, who on May 22 announced his retirement, effective at the end of the year.

Mehta, who recorded the episode at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE, also shared why he thinks prospective CPAs should attend the annual event in Las Vegas and why he expects to continue meeting with accounting students.

Resource: AICPA & CIMA CEO job description

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• A planned timeline for hiring the next CEO.
• The qualities being sought in the next leader.
• Mehta’s explanation of how a strong leader can balance openness to hearing others’ perspectives with making an unpopular decision.
• The importance of the Association chair and co-chair in the selection process.
• The state of talent development and why Mehta says he gets “energized.”

Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:

— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.

Neil Amato: Welcome back to the Journal of Accountancy podcast. This is Neil Amato with the JofA. It is ENGAGE week, and I’m joined by a guest who many of you should know. He’s a repeat guest on the show. He is live in Las Vegas at ARIA. Anoop Mehta, former AICPA chair, former Association chair, joining me on the show. Anoop, thank you for being back on the Journal of Accountancy podcast.

Anoop Mehta: Well, thank you, Neil. Thank you for having me back. I’m always excited to be with you and talk to you.

Amato: Well, great. I jokingly said to some people that I was going to introduce you as the “most popular man at ENGAGE” this week. For those who maybe don’t know, Anoop Mehta is the chair of the CEO selection committee. Vegas is a celebrity-driven place, so I’ll have to ask what’s it like to be the head of the selection committee that chooses the next AICPA & CIMA CEO and be at ENGAGE?

Mehta: Well, wow, Neil, you’re actually comparing me to a celebrity, so I don’t know what to say. Well, let me tell you, being the head of the selection committee that chooses the next CEO for AICPA & CIMA, I will tell you it is a significant responsibility. I can’t tell you how deeply honored I am. I’m also honored to be working alongside eight other committee members who I greatly respect, greatly admire, and I know we’re going to do a good job.

I know myself and other committee members, we all have a deep understanding of the organization. We’ve been around a long time, and we understand the evolving landscape of our profession, the accounting and finance profession. We have a deep understanding of the qualities that are needed to lead such an important, such a prominent institution, the largest and the most influential accounting and finance body in the world. I think we need to identify a leader that can navigate future challenges and opportunities. Above all, uphold the organization’s value to drive success in the future.

I know we’re committed. We are going to be diligent. We’re going to be fair. We’re going to be forward-thinking to ensure that we choose the leader that can take us to the new heights. I’m not sure why you’re still comparing me to a celebrity, but that’s how I see my role and that’s how I see our committee’s role.

Amato: Well, I just figure you’re going to be a popular guy, given that there is the news out there for those who maybe haven’t heard it. May 22, Barry Melancon, AICPA & CIMA CEO, announced his retirement effective at the end of the year, and now there is the search committee in place that Anoop mentioned. Tell me this: The timeline for the search committee in choosing Barry’s successor — what does that look like?

Mehta: Well, as you just said, Barry just announced his retirement on May 22. I will tell you that the committee has been planning for that day for the past year, so we’re ready to move forward. We have communicated the job opening around the world. We put this in quite a few different publications. At this time, we’re accepting applications till the end of July.

After that, the committee will start to narrow down the list. We will review the potential candidates. We are a global organization, so we are looking for a global leader. We’re hoping to make the selection around mid-October. Shortly after, we’ll seek board approval. After that, we will start the transition process. We’re confident that we have a right timeline and we’re going to make it happen.

Amato: That sounds good. Thank you for filling in some of those dates. Now I’ve read the job description. One part of it — and I’ll include a link also to that job description in the show notes. One part of it included this, I guess, desired behavior: The candidate “ensures a high-performing leadership team is aligned to succeed together.” But also in the job description is this phrase: A leader who “takes a position to push the profession forward without waiting for consensus, even when the views shared are not popular.” How in your mind does a strong leader balance those two things — the importance of alignment on decision, but also knowing when to take an unpopular stance?

Mehta: Wow, sounds like you read the job description.

Amato: I did, all six pages.

Mehta: Are you telling me you’re interested in the position?

Amato: Well, unfortunately, I am not a CPA, so I have to declare myself ineligible.

Mehta: Well, I will tell you, yes, the job description is quite lengthy, but I think we needed to make sure that we put in everything that we’re looking for in a new leader. I will tell you, as a CEO of a company before, a strong leader really has to balance the need for the team, but at the same time has to have the courage to take unpopular stances. I think you can do that by fostering a culture of trust, open communication, shared vision. Let me hit the trust part. As you know, trust is the foundation of our profession.

I think trust allows a leader to make tough calls without alienating the team. The leader has to act in the team’s best interest. If the team knows this, they’re more likely to support the decision. I think open communication is critical. A leader should encourage a culture where all opinions are heard and considered. This doesn’t mean always reaching a consensus, but it does mean that when a decision is made, team members feel their voices were acknowledged and heard.

I think another important part is the why part. I think when taking those unpopular stances, it’s crucial for a leader to communicate the rationale, why they made the decision, and what was the thinking behind it. I think the team understanding the why, this can help the team rally behind the decision, even if they may disagree in the beginning. I think the key is long term. Sometimes we make these unpopular decisions, but they may be good or necessary for the long-term health of the organization. You’ve got to weigh those immediate, I’d say, discomforts against the future benefits.

At the end, you’ve got to be open to feedback. After you make a decision, a leader should be open to feedback, willing to adjust as new information comes to light. I think this shows the team that their input is valued and that even in a leadership position, you are continuing to learn through the decisions you’re making. In closing, I think the strong leader knows that alignment doesn’t necessarily mean unanimous agreement on every issue. It means uniting the team around a common goal and guiding them through the challenges, leveraging each individual on the team, their strengths, and then navigating those to the organization dynamic. I think that’s what we were trying to achieve when we put that in the job description.

Amato: Thank you for that. Now, in your view as a former chair — I mentioned former chair of both the AICPA and the Association — what’s the importance of the roles of the current chair and co-chair during this time of organizational transition?

Mehta: I think the role of the board chair and co-chair is very critical during this transitioning process. They need to make sure they’re ensuring a smooth and effective change in the leadership. I know, knowing both Carla and Simon, I’m very confident in their ability to lead through this transition. Some of the things that I think they need to be involved in, they will be involved in, is during this transition process, they’re looking at making sure the transition is moving according to schedule. The process is moving forward. It’s well planned, well executed, defining the phases of this transition, and a lot of coordination between the outgoing and incoming CEO.

One of the other key things — and this is going to be hard, I know that, because you’re transitioning from a leader who has been in a position for 30 years — is facilitating knowledge transfer. The chair and the co-chair, they need to ensure that the institutional knowledge, at least the key points, are transferred from the outgoing CEO to the incoming one. And, like I said, transferring that knowledge from Barry to the next CEO, it’s not going to be an easy task. There’s a wealth of knowledge that Barry has.

I think the other thing is stability. There’s always during transition, there’s always an uneasiness. The chair and co-chair, their responsibility is to maintain the stability. There’s a little bit of unsettling within the organization, within the stakeholders, within the employees. They need to play a stabilizing role, reassuring stakeholders that we will maintain continuity and the strategy that’s been laid out will be carried forward.

One of the other things will be supporting the incoming CEO. The chair and co-chair, they’re going to provide support. They’re going to provide guidance, helping them understand the organization culture, what are the expectations from the board, and what are the strategic priorities that have been laid out. Also being able to work with the leadership team.

We have an amazing leadership team within the Association. And the chair and the co-chair need to work with that leadership team, making sure that the new CEO’s vision and strategy is one of unity and that we’re all aligned and moving forward in the right direction. I can tell you their roles are pivotal, and we have a complex organization. Like I said before, I think we have Carla and Simon in the right roles to lead through that transition process.

Amato: Yes. Those names you mentioned, Carla is Carla McCall, AICPA chair, Simon Bittlestone on the CIMA side, he is in line to become CIMA president. I believe it’s next week at the CIMA annual general meeting?

Mehta: Yes.

Amato: Those are the people you mentioned. Also, they will, of course, lean on the outgoing chair and outgoing CIMA president. That would be Okorie Ramsey and Sarah Ghosh, and all of those people, I guess, are on the committee that’s going to be part of the selection process.

Mehta: That’s correct. That’s why I said earlier that it’s such an honor to work alongside these incredible leaders. I know that I’m well supported, and I’m confident that we’ll reach the right conclusion.

Amato: Now, setting aside that function, this selection of a CEO, what’s it like for you to be back at ENGAGE?

Mehta: I tell you, I am always thrilled to be back here. This is where collaboration happens. This is where friendships are renewed and new friendships created. This is where we learn about all the new technologies that will revolutionize our profession. This is also where we showcase why we have a cool profession. I made a comment a couple of years ago that it is nice to be at a conference when everyone else is younger than you because there’s so much to learn.

I have been thinking about this: How do we bring the students? As you know, the last couple of years, I’ve traveled a lot and interacted with a lot of students. I was thinking, how do I bring hundreds of accounting students to see what the profession is really like? And, I tell you, ENGAGE is a place where I know if students are here and they see it, I know we’ll be long into resolving the pipeline issue.

They will see what a cool profession and what cool people we have in this profession. I’m always thrilled to be back here at ENGAGE.

Amato: Now, speaking about that talent topic, definitely when you were the AICPA and Association chair, one of your focus areas was talent development for the profession. On that front, I know right now the selection committee is probably your main focus, but what have you been up to recently as it relates to those talent issues?

Mehta: I am continuing to travel and visit universities. In fact, just yesterday, I took some time out of ENGAGE and flew up to Seattle to give a keynote speech to the graduating class of University of Washington–Tacoma. Their graduation was [in] masters of science in accounting. I tell you, it’s always exciting for me to be interacting with students, sharing my thoughts on the importance of becoming a CPA.

I can see me continuing to do this because this is where I get energized. Someone asked me this morning, I know you were gone almost 24 hours yesterday. How can you keep doing this? I can tell you it’s the energy that I get from interacting with students. I know I’m going to continue to do this, and this is what makes me happy. It’s great that I still get the chance to do that, though.

Amato: I can hear it in your voice. I can see it in your selfies on social media. You definitely have an energy for that, for being around the students. Anoop, as a closing thought from ENGAGE, our discussion on Tuesday of the conference, anything to add? We appreciate having you on.

Mehta: Well, first of all, it’s always great to be with you, Neil, and whoever’s listening to this podcast, and I know that you have quite an audience. If you’ve never been to ENGAGE, I highly recommend that you do that. Take the time to do that. I guarantee you it’ll keep making you come back year after year after year. It’s a great place to be and being around some amazing leaders in our profession, people in our profession. This is what I love about this profession.

Amato: Anoop Mehta, thank you very much.

Mehta: Thank you, Neil.