State CPA Societies in Action: Tennessee Society of CPAs

State CPA Societies in Action is a series of articles spotlighting the varied educational, advocacy, networking and professional activities of the state CPA societies across the U.S.

The mission of the Tennessee Society of CPAs is to drive the success of its members and the communities they serve through connections, professional development, and advocacy. With more than one hundred years of service to the accounting community, TSCPA continues to support generations of accountants, supporting its vision of being the innovative and trusted resource for the accounting profession in Tennessee.

The Society also established a political action committee in 1978. The Tennessee CPA Political Action Committee or TCPA/PAC works to address state legislation and laws that may affect businesses and the accounting profession

Website:www.tscpa.com
Number of current members: Apx. 9,000
Headquarters: Brentwood, Tennessee – 20 minutes south of Nashville
Founded In: 1904
Current president and CEO: Kara Fitzgerald, CPA, CGMA, CAE

Founded in 1904, TSCPA offers various levels of membership including an Affiliate membership for those working at a CPA firm that are not CPAs, as well as a Student membership for high school and college students interested in the profession.

“TSCPA is the premier professional association for CPAs in Tennessee,” said Kara Fitzgerald, CPA, President/CEO of TSCPA. “With a long history of supporting CPAs across Tennessee, we pride ourselves on advocating for our members, providing them opportunities to build professional connections, and delivering a variety of professional development opportunities.”

Has the Society seen growth in recent years?

TSCPA averages between 800-1,000 new members each year.

What are the society’s top 3 (or more) objectives for 2023 and beyond?

TSCPAs top objectives for 2023 and beyond include:

Enhance awareness, increase engagement, and build lasting relationships with students, emerging professionals, and other stakeholders. With a laser focus on growing the pool of accounting graduates in Tennessee, TSCPA will accomplish this through outreach, education, and stakeholder partnerships.
Advance the CPA profession in Tennessee and nationally through effective representation of the profession’s interests in legislative policy, standard setting, and rulemaking.
Continue Society efforts to build a more diverse accounting profession in Tennessee and assist firms in their journey to create a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Does the Society have any long-term objectives?

TSCPA has identified five priority areas that are addressed in their 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. These areas include:

Connections
Professional Development
Advocacy
Students & Emerging Professionals
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

“The accounting profession is facing a critical shortage of talent,” said Kara Fitzgerald, CPA, President/CEO of TSCPA. “It will require all stakeholders to work together, collaborate, and consider creative ways to address current and future talent needs. A multitude of factors are affecting the number of new accountants entering the profession and the retention of qualified individuals in our profession. These factors have culminated into a complex issue that we all long to fix quickly. Unfortunately, a quick fix is not the solution. A collaborative, strategic approach must be taken and TSCPA looks forward to being part of the solution along with our other state society partners, firms, members, other professional organizations, and regulatory bodies.”