Members in the News

NYSSCPA to hold New York State Taxation Conference on Nov. 8
Accounting Today
The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) will hold their 2016 New York State Taxation Conference next Tuesday, November 8th. The conference will be held at the New York Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Produced by the NYSSCPA's Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE), the Taxation Conference will open with remarks from Jason Feingertz, state tax associate at Reed Smith, and Mark Klein, partner at Hodgson Russ.

New York CPAs Suggest Items for FASB Agenda
Accounting Today
The New York State Society of CPAs has some recommendations for items that the Financial Accounting Standards Board should add to its to-do list. The NYSSCPA sent a comment letter to FASB in response to a request for recommendations on its future agenda. Among the NYSSCPA's suggestions were updating the framework for distinguishing liabilities from equity, along with updating the guidance for the treatment of intangible assets, including research and development.

Key steps in financial planning
WROC Rochester First
CPA Chris Gamble of Kroner Gamble & Company discussed the importance of having a solid financial plan and how to put one together Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. "Financial planning is the ongoing process of having short-term and long-term goals, and that helps you make decisions on how you're going to spend your money," said Gamble.  "Good financial planning helps you avoid financial setbacks, can help to deal with major life changes, and can help avoid credit or debt problems."

Say you’re dead -- who gets access to your online accounts?
CBS News
You may not know that at the end of September, New York became the 20th state to pass something called the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act -- known to those in the know as RUFADAA. It’s the most important law you’ve never heard of, and you could be dead when it would come into play. That’s because it will govern how and to what extent your family members or the executor of your estate will be able to access your online accounts if you die or become disabled, and they need to ask the account provider for access.

People News – Oct. 28, 2016
Accounting Today
Joanne S. Barry, executive director and CEO of the New York State Society of CPAs, has been appointed the 2016-2017 president of the CPA Society Executives Association.

PCAOB's Harris eyes threats to independence, plugs expanded auditor’s report
Jim Hamilton’s World of Securities Regulation (Wolters Kluwer)
PCAOB board member Steven Harris is concerned that auditor independence is again being threatened by the rise of consulting and advisory services at audit firms. He reiterated that the Board is committed to holding auditors accountable, through enforcement actions if necessary, to high standards of independence and professional skepticism. 

IRS Expands Offshore Tax Avoidance Efforts Past Switzerland
Bloomberg BNA
The IRS’s criminal investigations arm is moving beyond Switzerland in its efforts to track down U.S. tax evaders, the agency’s investigations chief said. “In fiscal year 2017, IRS-CI will continue to rigorously pursue U.S. citizens seeking to evade income taxes by placing assets in other countries,” said Richard Weber, chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division.

SEC Conference
PCAOB Unsure About Motives Behind Audit Firms' Fancy New Thingamajigs
Going Concern
The Big 4 has been attempting to bring sexy back to auditing for awhile now, with leaders talking about innovation this and technology that, data this and 100% testing that. And that's cool, auditing needed the confidence boost, since advisory's been strutting around getting all the attention for the last decade. So yeah, we've noticed and everything sounds good even if audit teams will mostly be androids in a couple decades.

Credit card pros & cons
WROC Rochester First
CPA Kenneth Hall discussed the pros and cons of using credit cards Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. Many will use credit this time of year to supplement holiday purchases.  Hall started by addressing some of the dangers associated with credit card use.  "It's important to know when you have a credit card, that it's money that's going to come out of your pocket later when the bill comes in the mail or email," he said.  "Once you can install discipline in your spending it's good to think about a credit card, but if you can't control yourself, credit cards are a real bad thing."

Awards Recognize the Most Powerful Women in Accounting
CPA Practice Advisor
Women are increasingly attaining the reins of power in accounting firms, accounting for about 20 percent of firm partners. This is still not enough, according to thought leaders like Amy Vetter, CPA, who notes that women make up more than half of the overall workforce, so their representation in leadership is too low. Still, it is an improvement over a decade or two ago. In just the last couple of years, two Big Four firms have appointed female CEOs: Cathy Engelbert at Deloitte, and Lynn Doughtie at KPMG.

NYSSCPA Leader Named President of CPA Execs Association
INSIDE Public Accounting
Joanne S. Barry, executive director and CEO of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), has been appointed the 2016-2017 president of the Certified Public Accountants Society Executives Association (CPA/SEA). Formed 50 years ago, CPA/SEA is composed of all state CPA state society chief executive officers/executive directors throughout the United States.

CPA conferences to cover regulatory issues

Westfair Communications

Accountants can catch up on the latest regulatory issues at two day-long forums in Manhattan. The New York State Society of CPAs is presenting an SEC conference on Oct. 25 and an anti-money laundering conference on Oct. 27. The SEC conference will cover effective disclosure in financial reporting, strategies for defending Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions and current regulatory issues. Speakers include Craig Olinger of the SEC, Cullen Walsh of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and Claudius Modesti of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Steps to prevent identity theft

WROC News 8

CPA Tom Walpole discussed steps you should take to prevent identity theft Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. "The first thing you should do is keep all your information safe," said Walpole.  "That's vital. Monitor your information -- your personal information -- and if you think you've had a problem, act quickly. Those are three things right there." Part of keeping your information safe is properly disposing of it.  "Anything that has any information on it that may be available to somebody else that's dangerous, shred it," said Walpole.

NYSSCPA announces October 2016 CPE Conferences

Accounting Today

The New York State Society of CPA's (NYSSCPA) Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) announced on Monday that they will sponsor two conferences this month financial and business industry. 10/25 - The SEC Conference, 8:55 a.m. – 5 p.m., 14 Wall Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY – Addresses the newest developments affecting SEC financial reporting matters, SEC comment letter trends, and non-GAAP financial measures.

Firm News – Oct. 14, 2016

Accounting Today

The CPA Journal, the New York State Society of CPAs monthly accounting magazine, has been named a finalist for the 2016 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards in the “Association/Non-Profit Business to Business - Full Issue” Category for its June 2016 issue.

CPA on saving money

WROC Rochester News 8

CPA David Young discussed some options for people looking to save money Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. Young said the first expense you can consider reducing is the cost of television service. "A lot of people are paying for cable and it might be fairly expensive per month," he said. "You might be able to save money by reducing it into a basic cable channel and filling in with Netflix or whatever else you can get streaming online. A lot of people aren't using all the package they're paying for. It's an easy way right off the bat."

Look For These Newly Painted Cans in Islip Town Parks near You

Greater Bay Shore

Ever wonder what accountants do when it’s not the busy season Apparently they’re still busy — doing good deeds. A group of NextGen volunteers with the New York State Society of CPAs spent a recent day painting four trash receptacles for use in Town of Islip public parks. Working with Keep Islip Clean, the volunteers came up with whimsical designs for four 55-gallon drums donated by Billy Hill of Rainbow Party Rentals. Rainbow Party Rentals has provided drums for all the Keep Islip Clean painting projects.

Donald Trump Claims He'll 'Fix' Tax System, So What Would He Do?

NBC News

The latest revelations about Donald Trump's taxes are pushing questions about his business record, personal finances, and transparency back into the campaign spotlight. But they also connect to a larger policy fight: Trump is calling for a significant decrease in taxes on the wealthy while Hillary Clinton is calling for a significant increase. That distinction is likely to come into sharper relief after a New York Times report that Trump, by claiming $916 million in business losses in 1995, may have been able to avoid paying federal income tax for up to eighteen years.

Albion native awarded for non-profit community involvement

The Daily News

The New York State Society of CPAs announces that NYSSCPA member James Bowers, an Albion native and Syracuse-based CPA, has been chosen to receive the 2016 Urbach CPA Community Builders Award for his leadership in recovering a number of nonprofits throughout his career. The Urbach Award is named in honor of the late Michael H. Urbach, CPA, who was also a partner at Urbach, Kahn and Werlin (now called UHY Advisors); former NYS Commission of Tax and Finance; and former board leader of a number of charities.

Tax filing extensions due October 17

WROC News 8

CPA Michelle Staebell discussed the upcoming tax extension deadline Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. "An extension is exactly what it sounds like, an extended time to file your tax return," said Staebell.  "Usually tax returns are due in April. If you file this extension, which is really easy, you don't even have to say why you are filing an extension. You have six months to file it, so that would bring you to October seventeenth this year to file your extended tax return."