AICPA Welcomes Federal Trade Commission`s Delay of Implementation of `Red Flags` Identity Theft Rule

Exemption Sought for CPAs and CPA Firms Drawn in by Billing Cycle
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants welcomes the Federal
Trade Commission postponement of the Nov. 1 enforcement deadline of the FTC`s
Final Rule relating to Identity Theft Red Flags under the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

"The FTC made an appropriate decision in delaying implementation of the Red
Flags Rule and we appreciate the commission`s continuing consideration of our
request for a CPA exemption," said Barry Melancon, president and CEO of the
AICPA. "We are concerned about the potentially broad application of the Red
Flags Rule to the accounting profession."

The AICPA has requested the FTC consider exempting CPAs and CPA firms from the
scope of the rule, or at least exempt the "general account receivables" of CPAs
and CPA firms. The Red Flags Rule is designed to help prevent identity theft
among credit providers and financial institutions. The rule appears to require
that any CPA that defers payments for services rendered, even in the normal
course of regular billing, would be covered under the rule and thus required to
develop and implement a written identity theft prevention program.

"We do not believe that there is any reasonably foreseeable risk of identity
theft when CPA clients are billed for services rendered," Melancon said. "As
trusted advisors, CPAs are personally acquainted with their clients and adhere
to strict privacy requirements over identifying information."

The American Institute of CPAs is ready to offer its assistance to the FTC to
find an appropriate balance between the laudable goals of the Red Flags Rule to
deter identity theft, and the practical aspects of implementation. A copy of the
AICPA`s Oct. 30 letter to the FTC requesting a delay is available online here
http://www.aicpa.org/download/news/2009/AICPA-Letter-to-FTC.pdf.

About the AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the
national, professional association of CPAs, with more than 350,000 members,
including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government, and
education; student affiliates; and international associates. It sets ethical
standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private
companies; federal, state and local governments; and non-profit organizations.
It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.

The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Durham, N.C., Ewing,
N.J., and Lewisville, Texas.

Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Online Media Center at
www.aicpa.org/mediacenter. For more news, tips and information from the AICPA
follow AICPANews on Twitter.com at twitter.com/AICPANews.

AICPA
William Roberts
202-434-9266
wroberts@aicpa.org

Copyright Business Wire 2009