SMALL STATE, BIG IMPACT

Jim Morrison - On Giving Back to the Profession

While being the CFO of a large company is plenty courageous for many CPAs, it isn't enough for Jim Morrison. Wanting to "give back to his profession," he plays a major role in both the national AICPA and local RISCPA.

Morrison is the CFO of Teknor Apex, headquartered in Pawtucket, and has been with the company for 10 years. Producing products such as vinyl and bioplastics, Teknor Apex manufactures for its nine locations in the U.S., one in China, one in Singapore, and two plants in Europe.

Morrison said that only about one third of his job as a CFO concerns the "guts" of accounting. "The other two thirds are different kinds of responsibilities, such as strategic planning and human resources, which don't reflect your finance degree, but your experience in the industry."

He began his volunteer work with the AICPA almost 6 years ago, and his major contribution comes from his involvement on the Business and Industry Committee, where he has served for four years. It's on this board where Morrison, as well as other members of the AICPA, is looking to make the association "more relevant to business and industry CPA members."

Morrison looks to help the AICPA be more proactive with business issues for the 40-50 percent of members that are involved with an industry, which is the reason for his participation in the AICPA CFO Economic Survey.

This AICPA endeavor, whose goal is to sell the survey as a leading indicator of the economy, targets CFOs in the AICPA membership and asks them questions such as 'Are you getting ready to hire' to get a feel for the market.

When asked about the survey in a recent webcast, Morrison "felt very comfortable with what the survey was saying and what our business is seeing." He also went on to acknowledge that with any survey, its validity will come with time.

After becoming more involved with the AICPA and getting to know people from the local scene, he joined the RISCPA board three years ago. Serving as its current treasurer, Morrison feels "deeply involved."

"The national level is still fun and still a great thing, but we only meet three times a year," said Morrison. "The AICPA is a little bit of a removed consulting position, whereas being an officer [for the RISCPA] is more involved."

His involvement ranges from short terms goals including using newly implemented technology to its full potential, such as an updated website and computer systems, to long-term goals such as financial stability.

"I would like to see a long term outlook that really puts [the RISCPA] on a strong footing financially going forward," said Morrison.

However, not all of Morrison's goals are tied to finance, as he cited "energizing young CPAs" as another future project. The RISCPA is already addressing this need, with its New Young Professionals Network group. Drawing typically 40-50 people for each event, NYPN organizes events that teach young professionals things such as interviewing tactics or dress codes.

This is part of a broader effort to engage young people, which includes outreach to Rhode Island colleges and universities. Morrison says the question is "how can we team up with the accounting faculties at URI, Bryant and P.C. and really work to get more young people into the profession?"

Speaking about his optimism about the young CPAs involvement in RISCPA, Morrison said, "they want to network, they want to be there, and they want to be a part of something."