1) Call to Order

President Maier called the meeting to order at 10:05 am.

The minutes of the September 11, 2007 Conference Call Scholarship Approval Meeting were approved by all.

Mr. Jaffee made a motion to approve the Minutes of September 19, 2007 Meeting of FAE Board. Mr. Kiamie seconded the motion. During discussion, the Trustees noted that the policy for complimentary attendance at FAE conferences approved at the September 11th meeting provided for members of the Conference Planning Committee who worked on the event to attend at no fee. The minutes should be modified to reflect that as well as what had already been covered for the topic. Subject to any final comments from Mr. Hendler, the minutes were approved as corrected.

President Maier asked Mr. Banerjee to report on the Financial Statements. Mr. Banerjee stated that FAE is experiencing a very good year and might possibly exceed the exceptional performance of FY 2007. As of September 30th, there is no need for a contribution to FAE from the Society as provided for in the NYSSCPA 2008 budget. September 2007 Net Revenue of $290,893 represents a favorable variance to budget of $268,295; and a favorable variance to FY 2007 of $174.767.

September 2007 continued the favorable trend through August 2007 although September represents a month with very reduced course activity compared to the prior three months. Therefore, YTD activity through August represents a clearer indication of the outcome for FY 2008. Overall, August 2007 results show a favorable variance to budget of $110,000; exceeding FY 2007 results by $254,000. September 2007 showed Key Assets; Cash and Cash Equivalents of $1,000,000 compared to $483,000 last fiscal year and Investments (restricted) of $1,800,000 compared to $1,600,000 in the prior fiscal year. Key Liabilities showed Accounts Payable of $325,000 compared to $179,000 in FY 2007 and Accrued Expenses of $499,000 compared to 303,000 in FY 2007.

Mr. Schmelkin reported that 850 people attended conferences in September and October 2007 with one seminar on AICPA Biz Val Exam prep adding 25 people. Traditionally, seminars are not scheduled during September and October. Mr. Schmelkin added that attendance (535) at the Investment Partnership Conference was down from last year since the brochure was a bit late, but it still is the largest single event in FAE’s calendar. As part of the discussion concerning conference locations, Mr. Kahn added that conference attendance will increase resulting from attracting panels of high quality speakers not whether the event is run at the FAE conference center or at a NYC hotel.

Mr. Kahn, Chair of the 2007 FAE Curriculum Committee gave an overview of the Curriculum Committee meetings on September 26, 2007 and October 24, 2007, explaining that Mr. Jaffee and Mr. Hendler, both FAE Trustees, served on the Committee. Mr. Kahn reported that the scope and mission statement was to “work with staff and make recommendations of topics to further enhance the curriculum that FAE offers to Society members in New York State and to present those recommendations to the FAE Board of Trustees for its action”. Mr. Kahn reported that if FAE’s seminar providers did not have a course recommended by the Curriculum Committee, Mr. Schmelkin would reach out to the appropriate committee to try and create the event as an evening technical session. President Maier asked if there were any new topics or future direction suggested to the Trustees by the Committee. Aside from expanding podcasts and webinars, Mr. Kahn mentioned that some on the Committee suggested more delivery via the internet, but explained that Mr. Schmelkin indicated that there were some difficulties with obtaining necessary legal releases from presenters. Mr. Schmelkin noted several delivery methods including webinars already being offered by NYSSCPA Committees citing the Anti-Money Laundering Conference which was being broadcast using Learn Live, a strategic partner of over 25 State Societies. Mr. Schmelkin explained that some liability issues concern firms considering to allow their representatives to participate in large conference broadcast events. He noted that so far there seems to be less apprehension about participation at shorter Committee webinars or evening technical sessions. Mr. Jaffee questioned whether the same concerns should apply to shorter committee events as full-day conferences. Mr. Schmelkin responded that if there was a sizeable response favoring full day conference broadcasts resulting from the educational survey now being conducted to our membership then FAE would need to devote more energy to the subject. As the discussion was drawing to a conclusion, Mr. Jaffee asked why there are less obstacles for webinars and 3 hr meetings and not full-day conferences since the legal issues would be the same. Mr. Schmelkin responded that the problems rest with the speakers and their firms and the perceived liability exposure, not concerns on the part of FAE and NYSSCPA. Mr. Kahn ended the curriculum discussion by stating that he hears that NYSSCPA membership wanted shorter programs and FAE should be more responsive in this area. President Maier thanked Mr. Kahn for his report.

Mr. Schmelkin reviewed the current exhibit and sponsorship packages. Current costs are $350 for a resource desk with promotion material and giveaways; $950 for a staffed (2) exhibition table and $2,850 for a cocktail reception sponsorship plus a per person refreshment charge, which includes logo identification on all promotional efforts, two staff passes to the conference and mention of their contribution. Hoping to increase the overall exhibitor fees, Ciro V. Cuono, Chair of the Society’s Business Valuation Committee, presented arguments for lowering the exhibitor fees for the May 2008 Business Valuation Conference (two days). He stated that the fee of $950 per day was high given the relative low-cost of the vendors’ services and the limited opportunity for vendors to interact with attendees; approximately 150-200 before the conference which begins at 8:30 am, during break times and at the end of the day. Mr. Cuono asked for a reduced fee from the present $950 per day to $750 per day. Mr. Martin made a motion to charge $1,500 for the two-day Business Valuation vendors at the May 2008 conference. Mr. Jaffee seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the FAE Board. Following the vote, President Maier agreed with the suggestion to invite Joanne Barry for a discussion with the Trustees at the next meeting about exhibits/sponsorships.

There was general discussion about the ongoing Survey of CPE/Professional Development Needs. Following the distribution of invitations for members and other FAE customers the consultant created an on-line survey with a link to allow completion over the internet. If responses appear too low, after a second email, the consultant will begin to conduct actual interviews with members. If data comes back too skewed, more probing would have to be done. Results are expected by the end of December.

Mr. Bloom reported that the first meeting of the chairs of the ten Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) programs went very well. The committee recommitted to the mission statement which focuses recruitment for the program on minorities. He noted that there was a very productive discussion about recruitment for the program and activities that each advisory board can do to invigorate its internal processes. Mr. Pape added that each program has an Advisory Board with a staff person at each location. Mr. Jaffee asked about the success rate. Mr. Pape stated that the FAE has only been able to obtain data from the last four years and that this data was incomplete. He said he would share with the Trustees the data that was given to the statewide committee.