“We are truly living disruption—not incremental change but a radical break from the familiar,” she said. “Our profession has a crucial role to play in helping navigate this disruption. We are here to help businesses and individuals get through these tough times, learn from them and grow. In an uncertain world, CPAs are needed now more than ever as trusted advisors who can lead a path forward.”

She exhorted CPAs to use the pandemic as a time to make much needed long-term changes, noting that the crisis is accelerating changes within the profession. For instance, she said, firms could expand their service lines to include practice areas such as integrated tax planning, the future of finance, sustainability reporting and assurance, System and Organization Controls (SOC) for Cybersecurity and SOC for Supply Chains.

She also said that CPAs should refine and advance the ways they engage with clients and their employers, both virtually and in-person, tapping the power of networking and the ability to see across differences to transform relationships.

She also praised the CPA Evolution initiative, which was formally approved this week, and said that firms need to implement business model changes in order to adapt.

Golden spent the past year as vice chair of the AICPA and has held several other volunteer leadership positions within the organization. These include serving as a member of the Board of Directors and governing Council,  and previously serving as chair of both the Audit and Finance Committee and the Peer Review Board. In addition, she has served as the Board Liaison to the AICPA Foundation Board of Trustees and a member of the Relations with the Bar and National Peer Review committees.