Ed and I had the honor of interviewing Mark Koziel from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He VP of Firm Services & Global Alliances at the AICPA. He oversees the development, ongoing improvement and delivery of services to members in PCPS/Firm Practice Management as well as International relations with various CPA related groups. He frequently speaks on CPA issues around the country. Prior to joining the AICPA, Mark Koziel served as Director of Media Planning for a political consulting firm in East Aurora, NY serving Presidential, Senate, Congressional and Governor races around the country.

Mark was one of the founding members of the Young CPAs committee and served as Chair for two years before being appointed to the Buffalo Chapter Board and serving as President for the 2003-2004 Fiscal Year, one of the youngest President’s in the history of the Buffalo Chapter. Mark earned a BS in Accounting from Canisius College. Mark has been named one to the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today annually from 2008-2014.

Macro Issues in the Accounting Profession

What are some of the major trends happening in the accounting profession?
How about trends around the world?
Rules vs. Principles debate?
Big 4 Consulting revenue projected to be greater than the Big 3 (Bain, McKinsey, BCG) consulting firms.
Auditor reform rotation in the EU.

Micro Issues

What’s happening in firms with Value Pricing? Is it diffusing?
What about timesheets?
What about firm innovation?
What about profession’s innovation?
PWC’s HALO audit software—runs algorithms through entire data sets—no more sampling (100% of customer transactions)

We also discussed the book, The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, and how it will impact the accounting profession.

What advice would Mark give to a young aspiring professional?

Thanks to Mark for a thought-provoking discussion, as always!