NEW YORK -- One man controls New York state’s $154 billion pension fund. That same man is also charged with completing an audit of every school district in the state by 2010. He has made it his stated mission to restore the public’s trust in a state office marked by recent scandal and a federal investigation.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is a busy man. But on May 15, he is going to address the membership of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA).

DiNapoli will discuss his school district audit sweep, as well as other pressing financial issues, as guest speaker at the Society’s 111th annual Election Meeting and Dinner at the Hilton New York.

Society President David A. Lifson will conduct the meeting and election of new Society officers and directors, and audience members will hear from NYSSCPA President-Elect Sharon Sabba Fierstein. The Society will also honor its 2007-2008 award winners, that includes the posthumous induction of Samuel B. Traum into its Hall of Fame.

The meeting will be followed by the formal dinner. However, seats will be made available for members who wish to attend the annual meeting but do not wish to attend the dinner. If you wish to be seated without attending the dinner, please contact Nereida Gomez at ngomez@nysscpa.org or 212-719-8358, or Rosemary Clarke at rclarke@nysscpa.org or 212-719-8343.

To register online, please click here.

New York’s Chief Fiscal Officer

It’s been little more than a year since DiNapoli was voted by state Legislature to fill the spot left vacant by former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who was found to be misusing taxpayer-funded perks and resigned.

Most recently, the former Democratic Nassau County assemblyman announced a plan to invest $500 million of the state’s pension fund in green technology initiatives -- his Green Strategic Program -- saying in a statement that “it’s not just about doing good for the environment; going green is good for the bottom line, too.”

Last month, DiNapoli took Long Island school districts to task after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo discovered private attorneys on school payrolls so that the laywers could earn state pensions. He is reportedly now working to recoup these improper pension payments, and told Newsday that school districts and local governments throughout the state will have to re-certify any professional on the payroll that doesn’t appear to be an employee. He also established guidelines on how to determine if a person is, indeed, an employee.

Prior to his career in public service, DiNapoli was a manager in the telecommunications industry and served as an adjunct professor at Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus and Hofstra University. He has a master’s degree in human resources management from The New School University’s Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Hofstra, according to a bio on his Web site.