When you're the CFO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA)-the accountant of the accountants, if you will-you gain a unique perspective on how the profession is changing and where it's headed.

That's why ACIPA CFO Scott Spiegel was one of the first guests on the General Ledger podcast, hosted by Kimberly Ellison Taylor, CEO of consulting firm KET Solutions and former chair of the AICPA. In a wide-ranging conversation, Spiegel and Ellison-Taylor talked about the work the association is doing to prepare accountants for a very different future, the critical role that accountants are playing in the economic recovery, and the lessons Spiegel has learned over his decades in accounting and as a CFO.

Just as the role of accountants is changing, the job of a CFO is expanding far beyond numbers into core corporate strategies.