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Why Advocate?

Apr 10, 2018

If you have been a member of INCPAS over the past few years, you have probably heard someone reference our INCPAS 2025 document. Hopefully, it’s been hard to miss. It has been a topic of Professional Issues Updates, Leadership Cabinet and Emerging Leaders meetings, and published in the CPA IN Perspective magazine. Since 2015, we have been working to make the four bold challenges and vision a reality in the everyday operations of our society.

Indiana Statehouse Tour Group

One of the four bold challenges outlined in the document addresses advocacy: INCPAS and our members become the most trusted business resource and advocates in Indiana.


Additionally, we defined success in part as “the Society is a leading advocate in Indiana; we weigh in on issues that matter to a broad business community and those with the CPA credential are sought-after for their known expertise. The Society is the #1 legislative and regulatory champion for CPAs in Indiana.”


To help achieve this, we formed an Advocacy Council, which I currently chair. We have worked to identify key issues where we want to be involved, defined the issues and outlined our policy regarding each. As we have begun to work more closely with our lobbyist and our elected officials, it has become apparent that we need more boots on the ground. 


At a recent legislators dinner hosted by INCPAS and attended by our lobby firm, the Corydon Group, I had the opportunity to speak with a state senator about our efforts and his thoughts. He welcomed our involvement and the prospect of being able to tap into our insight and expertise. He related that one of his biggest challenges was trying to deal with the “unintended consequences” of passing a bill without having input from someone who is well informed on the topic at hand.


Now, you may not think of yourself as an “expert,” but you are uniquely positioned to be exactly what we need to succeed. You are a CPA, and you have both a state senator and a representative that serve your area. You may have more than two, depending on how your district is served. We need volunteers to become more engaged in some simple ways.


Become part of the CPA Advocates online community. Read the weekly legislative updates during the legislative session. Reach out to your legislators to say “hello” and suggest that they and the INCPAS are great resources for all things business in Indiana.


As usual, the staff at the Society has made it incredibly easy for us. They have developed the CPA Advocate toolkit, which will lead you through the process. We are not expecting you to testify before a statehouse committee or offer insight into potential legislation that you may not be up-to-date on. We just want you to become a touchpoint so that our legislators have access to the Society.


Thanks for considering our request to become part of this exciting new chapter of INCPAS!


Join us as a CPA Advocate at incpas.org/advocates.



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