CPA2Biz, the marketing arm of the American Institute of CPAs, will offer a CPA-branded email service, CPA.com, for AICPA members this fall, with the goal of offering the profession an alternative to consumer-oriented email services.
The service was announced Tuesday morning at the AICPA’s Fall Meeting of Council in Phoenix. Members with common names can get variations if their preferred address is claimed by someone else. AICPA members can order basic email, or step up to a business-class offering that includes premier security, access and easy-to-use management tools.
“This is going to be of significant value to sole practitioners because a majority of them are using consumer email services to conduct business,” said CPA2Biz president and chief executive Erik Asgeirsson. “Additionally, members of larger firms, as well as those in business and industry, now have the opportunity to own a portable professional email account. Regardless of what firm you work for or which industry you represent, it can serve you throughout your career.”
Pricing and service details will be announced in the coming weeks. The offering will be the first of many to be featured on CPA.com.
File capacity is still being finalized at this time but it is expected that it will be “consistent with professional file capacity,” according to CPA2Biz vice president of corporate alliances MIchael Cerami.
AICPA president Barry Melancon said the new service could help smaller firms that have not been branding themselves in the marketplace through their firm names. They would be able to use an email address such as barry.melancon@cpa.com.
Incoming AICPA chairman Greg Anton noted that the service would be available for AICPA members and could be a boon for midsized and larger firms as well. “We see this as a benefit to them,” he said. “It can be a permanent portable address. Wherever you are, we will provide a forwarding service. Details about this will be coming out shortly.”
