Ron and Ed are thrilled to be interviewing Barry Melancon, President & CEO, American Institute of CPAs and CEO, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Barry joined the AICPA in 1995 when he was 37 years old, and is now the longest serving CEO in the organization's 129 year history. Under his tenure, the AICPA has grown to become the largest membership body of CPAs in the world and has spearheaded a number of initiatives to benefit not only the profession, but also investors, business owners, lenders and the general public. These include audit quality centers; private company reporting standards; eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL); the computerized CPA exam; and two consumer financial literacy education programs.