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Before I decided on a position on these four proposed by-laws amendments, I wanted some feedback on how you, the members attending the convention, feel about the proposed changes.  Several dozen of you have responded to my request.  (A greater than ten percent response to a poll that requires a positive response is extremely good.)

If you are still thinking about it, please get in touch.  I would like to discuss the issues with you, either via e-mail or at the convention.

Proposed By-law Amendment 1:

I am opposed to the proposed by-law amendment 1 as currently written.

I would like to see something that addresses students who work part-time in accounting, primarily for work-study or internship programs that may not be part of their curriculum.  Most employers look for students who have spent time working in an accounting firm for experience prior to graduation.  These potential employers feel that this experience is essential for them to be successful employment candidates.  It would be unfair and unwise to exclude the best candidates for employment from our student members.

Proposed By-law Amendment 2:

I am opposed to the proposed by-law amendment 2 as currently written.

Historically, the National Society of Accountants (NSA) Board of Governors (BOG) has been against putting the duties of the State Directors (SD) in the by-laws to prevent limiting the options of the BOG in assigning the duties of the SDs.  The duties of the SDs are written into the Administrative Procedures (APs) in Section 13.10.  Additionally, the State Directors’ Task Force and the State Directors Committee write the SD duties into the State Directors’ Manual.

In the past these guidelines and suggestions have been sufficient to guide most SDs.  The manual is an evergreen document, designed to be constantly changing.  The SDs are encouraged, along with the BOG, to add to the manual any sections, exhibits, videos, or anything else that may be helpful to the SDs in the performance of their duties. 

The duties of the SD are already well-defined, and evolving.  There is no need for this proposed by-law change.

Proposed By-law Amendment 3:

I am currently in favor of the proposed by-law amendment 3.

Removing the 65 years of age and 10 years of membership requirement for retired members may encourage more retired members to retain their membership in the NSA.

Proposed By-law Amendment 4:

I am currently opposed to proposed by-law amendment 4.

I have not taken this position lightly.  I wrote extensively to the sponsors of this by-law to inform them of the objections that I was receiving via email from members.  I shared those comments (anonymously) with the sponsors.  I was concerned that intelligent and insightful NSA leaders had written to me with their concerns about the proposed by-law changes, and items they wanted addressed.  I became convinced that this by-law change needs further work before it can be considered.

Here are a few concerns that were shared with me:

1. Why eliminate the “council of delegates?”  Isn’t there some way that the members can be allowed to retain control of the voting process?  The way the by-law is written, the members are giving up their rights to determine the details of how the election will be held, when the election will be held, and perhaps even who (what candidates) and what proposed by-laws changes will be voted on.
2. More people will vote, but probably no more than 10%, as reported by ASOs and other organizations that use online/mail-in voting. 
3. The decisions will be made by a less informed electorate, and an electorate that is less involved with NSA.
4. Online/e-mail voting would eliminate a significant part of the face-to-face social networking of the convention.  In addition, contested elections are a good thing.  They get the candidates and the electorate involved in a dialogue.
5. Many members have trouble navigating the web.  Some members do not have computers.  Some members are not good with computers.
6. Some members are not active on MemberConnect, the primary information source for “Meet the Candidates.”  Several members even wrote to me to tell me that they could not find “Meet the Candidates.”