Chapter News - Southern New England/Westchester Chapter

NABA National News

NABA Southern New England & Westchester News

Giving Back to the Accounting Profession Through Board Service
Original article appears in NABA's Spectrum

One of the most significant ways minority CPAs and accountants can give back to the profession is by serving on various accounting boards and committees. State boards of accountancy, state CPA societies, the AICPA and other organizations need and welcome the expertise of accounting professionals to fulfill their own missions.

While the state boards of accountancy are tasked with regulating the profession, there also are the national (AICPA) and state accounting societies that work to secure the rights of practitioners and promote professionalism, according to the National Society of Accountants.

For Dannell R. Lyne, CPA, a partner in the Professional Services Practice at Marks Paneth LLP, appointment to the Connecticut State Board of Accountancy was fortuitous. What qualified Lyne for service, he said, was his 15 years of experience as a certified public accountant. “I gave it some thought, chewing on the fact that this would be a good way of giving back to the profession, and decided to get involved,” Lyne said.

Lyne believes that it is important for African American CPAs/accountants to position themselves to serve on state boards of accountancy and other accounting organization boards. One of the great things that I like about being on the board is when we have our regional and annual meetings, it is great to see additional African American CPAs on other boards and you get to know their experiences and what they have gone through to become members of their boards.” Lyne said that NABA members can position themselves to serve on boards by getting to know who the current members are. “In Connecticut, the meetings are open, so if you want to observe how the board operates, you can come to meetings.”