360 Degrees of Financial Literacy

The program encourages CPAs to take a broad leadership role in volunteering to educate the American public, from school children to retirees, on financial topics that apply specifically to their particular stage of life.

The 360 Degree Life Stage Approach
The new 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program provides a comprehensive approach to financial education. It sends the message that financial education should be a lifelong endeavor—from a child putting pennies in a piggy bank to adults reaching a secure retirement.



Life stages include:

• K-12
• Advanced Education
• Job Market
• Military & Reserves
• Establishing a Household
• Parents
• Homeowner
• Entrepreneurs
• Life Crisis
• Sandwich Generation (Caring for elderly parents while raising your children)
• Retirement

Program Components
360 Degrees of Financial Literary offers a number of exciting opportunities.

National CPA Financial Literacy Commission
Chaired by Carl R. George, CPA, the commission will offer thought leadership, build liaisons within the financial literacy community, and work to promote community-based efforts involving CPAs.

Grassroots Mobilization Team
This grassroots team will develop models, capture best practices, and work with the state CPA societies to facilitate and promote CPA volunteerism in local communities across the country. The team is being led by CPA, Jimmy Williamson, a small firm practitioner from Alabama.

360 Degrees of Financial Literacy Web site
A new Web site will furnish financial literacy education tailored to the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy life stage approach. When the site is mature, consumers will find information they can use to support sound financial decision making at every stage of their lives. The site will also contain resources for CPAs to use in educating and supporting consumers in making significant financial choices.

Certificate for Volunteer Financial Literacy Service
CPAs who perform a specified number of volunteer hours in financial literacy will be able to apply to receive a new certificate honoring their achievement.

Free Continuing Education for CPAs
To make sure CPAs are prepared to be successful volunteers in their communities, the AICPA is developing a new online Continuing Professional Education course, free of charge, to cover the crucial issues of financial literacy.

AICPA Foundation
Through the years, the AICPA Foundation has supported many efforts to advance financial literacy in America. Projects include the Disaster Recovery Guide, the Penny Wise and Business Building Blocks PBS YOU television programs, partnership with Bigchalk.com to deliver education materials, and the Jump$tart Coalition’s Financial Smarts for Teachers programs. The Foundation has endorsed the AICPA’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program and will remain active partners on this important public service initiative.

Ongoing AICPA Financial Literacy Initiatives
The AICPA has a number of financial literacy activities underway. These programs will be brought under the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy umbrella effort.

Women’s Financial Health Program
For two years, the AICPA and Money magazine have sponsored Women’s Financial Health Week, reaching an estimated 80 million consumers through print, television and radio coverage. The program is currently being expanded.

CPA Ambassador Program
Launched by the AICPA in cooperation with state CPA societies, the Ambassador Program trains CPAs in four important areas: financial literacy, small business success, student recruitment and restoring confidence in the expertise and integrity of the CPA. CPA Ambassadors are encouraged to educate people in their communities about these subjects, either through speaking engagements or media interviews.

Disaster Recovery Guide
To help Americans regain financial balance following the devastation of disaster, the AICPA and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), with support from the AICPA Foundation, jointly developed a recovery guide. More than 100,000 copies have been distributed free of charge through local Red Cross chapters and state CPA societies, and more than 600,000 hits have been made to the Web page. Available online at: www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/FinRecovery/acknowledgements.html.

Project for Financial Independence
The AICPA is one of six organizations sponsoring the Project for Financial Independence, the nation's first multi-organizational pro bono financial planning effort. The project offers free financial guidance to individuals who cannot afford a financial advisor, or who are facing an immediate or unusual financial need. For more information, visit www.consultaplanner.org.

iPACK
The AICPA introduced the CPA Information Package (iPACK) to provide effective, easy-to-use tools that teachers can utilize to give students a good grounding in financial literacy. This award-winning collection includes a video, teacher’s education handbook and student career guides showing students the importance of understanding financial concepts and how they relate to real-world situations.

Start Here. Go Places
Building on the success of this award-winning student recruitment program, the AICPA recently added a new resource. The Money Means Business game lets students of all ages practice new financial skills. A teacher’s guide is under development. Visit www.startheregoplaces.com.

TV Shows
Two television programs funded by the AICPA Foundation aired on PBS YOU in summer 2003. Penny Wise and Business Building Blocks focused on teaching middle and high school students, respectively, about personal finance, basic money management and the accounting profession.

Annual AICPA and USA Today Tax Hotline
Each year, AICPA members volunteer as tax experts to answer questions received on USA Today's Web site. Questions from online tax chats are used to develop a feature story about hot tax topics that runs in the newspaper’s money section, read by more than two million Americans every day.

Visit www.aicpa.org/financialliteracy for additional information.