NYSSCPA Board Seeks FAE Trustee Candidates
Posted on 2/2/12

A Message from President-elect Gail M. Kinsella, CPA, chair of the NYSSCPA Board Selections Subcommittee:

We are now seeking the names of NYSSCPA members interested in serving on the Board of Trustees of The Foundation for Accounting Education, Inc. (FAE). There are three trustee vacancies to be filled for the upcoming fiscal year, beginning June 1, 2012. If you are interested in serving on the FAE Board, we need to hear from you by Feb. 22.

The FAE is the educational arm of the NYSSCPA. The FAE has its own governing body—a nine to 12 person board of trustees—nine of whom serve a three-year term, with the remaining three appointed by the NYSSCPA Board of Directors for terms of one, two or three years. The trustees’ three-year terms are evenly staggered, so three vacancies occur each year in addition to the three slots available to the NYSSCPA Board. According to its bylaws, the FAE’s Board of Trustees acts to fill vacancies in the three-year positions on the FAE Board, but its choice is limited to the six or more candidates identified by the Society’s Board of Directors. To identify individuals qualified to serve on the FAE Board, the Society’s Board turns to one of its subcommittees, the Selections Subcommittee, which is chaired by me as the Society’s president-elect.

This process is very important to the members of the Society because the FAE administers an important strategic initiative of the NYSSCPA, the lifelong learning program for New York CPAs. The FAE’s educational outreach impacts the lives of more NYSSCPA members than any other Society program, except perhaps The Trusted Professional and The CPA Journal. The central importance of the FAE’s efforts to New York CPAs makes service as a FAE trustee a highly fulfilling activity for members interested in giving back to the profession.

Trustee Responsibilities

FAE trustees typically meet four times a year to discuss the business of the foundation. One of those meetings is held at the Society’s Leadership Conference. The FAE trustees are responsible for approval of the FAE budget, setting the general direction for educational programs and overseeing the scholarship program and Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP), a week-long program geared toward encouraging minority high school students to enter the accounting profession. In Nov. 2009, the Society’s Benevolent Fund was merged into the FAE. If there is an application for benefits, FAE Trustees would be responsible for evaluating such requests. There is no compensation for service on the FAE board.

Eligibility Requirements

According to foundation bylaws, to serve on the FAE Board, a prospective candidate must be a CPA and a member in good standing of the NYSSCPA. Trustees are appointed based on their interest and ability to contribute to the educational goals of the foundation. Trustee selection, to the extent possible, represents a cross section of the Society’s membership in terms of geography and areas of professional practice.

Over and above the foundation’s bylaw requirements, it is beneficial for candidates to have taken FAE courses or to have been responsible for sending others to FAE programs. In addition, candidates should be familiar with the market for adult learning in a continuing professional education environment. FAE primarily targets small- and medium-sized CPA firms. The market is expanding into programs for industry CPAs as well.

How to Serve

Those interested in serving on the FAE Board of Trustees should send an e-mail to my attention at presidentelect@nysscpa.org by Feb. 22 . The e-mail should include your resume and a statement of your interest and ability to contribute to the educational goals of the foundation. Candidate information will be forwarded to the Selections Subcommittee of the NYSSCPA Board of Directors, which will propose to the Society’s Board of Directors the names of individuals to fill the three FAE vacancies. The Society’s Board will submit at least six nominees to the FAE Board of Trustees. The FAE board then appoints three individuals from among the nominees by the Society’s Board to become FAE trustees.