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|
Governance
| MINUTES
OF: |
FAE
Board of Trustees Meeting |
| DATE
OF MEETING: |
Wednesday,
August 20, 2003 |
| LOCATION: |
NYSSCPA,
530 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY |
| TIME
MEETING CONVENED: |
12:03.pm. |
| TIME
MEETING ADJOURNED: |
4:06 p.m. |
| PRESIDING
OFFICER: |
Jo
Ann Golden, President |
| MEMBERS
PRESENT: |
John
J. Kearney, Secretary
Jeffrey M. Rosenbaum*
Illene L. Persoff
Sharon Sabba Fierstein
Thomas E. Riley
Franco Strangis |
| MEMBER
ABSENT: |
Ronald
Benjamin
Louis Grumet, Executive Director
Jeffery R, Hoops, President-Elect |
| STAFF
PRESENT: |
Lynn
T. Chambers
Alan Schmelkin
David Cho
James A. Woehlke |
*via
conference call
Minutes
| 0)
Call to Order |
President
Golden called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m.
|
| 1)
Approval of
Minutes
|
President
Golden entertained a motion to approve the minutes
for the meeting held on July 13, 2003, and the conference
call held on July 25, 2003. Ms. Fierstein moved and
Mr. Riley seconded a motion to approve the minutes
as written. The motion was unanimously approved.
|
| 2)
Introduction and Welcome of New FAE Trustees |
Ms. Golden introduced and welcomed the New FAE Trustees
Jeffrey M. Rosenbaum of Urbach Kahn & Werlin,
and Franco Strangis of Carrier Corporation.
|
| 3)
Finance Report and Registration Update
|
a.
Financial Statements for Two Months Ended July 31,
2003
Ms.
Chambers briefed the committee on details of the financial
statements for the two months ending July 31, 2003.
She discussed the variance of $139K, noting that the
variance was due to a shortfall of 616 attendees for
the first two months. Expenses had been over-accrued
based on the budgeted attendance numbers, and Ms.
Chambers said that the variance will be adjusted in
the August statement.
b.
FAE Registration Update
Mr.
Schmelkin provided the attendance figures through
July 30, 2003, and noted a trend among members of
deselecting AICPA courses that began last year and
has carried over to this year.
Mr.
Schmelkin also reported that the experimental FAE
University did not meet expectations in Syracuse during
July, with 200 people less than budgeted. He noted
that the two sessions scheduled for August in New
Paltz and Long Island were also running behind budget.
Mr. Schmelkin suggested having one FAE University
for 2004 in a central location rather than three separate
ones.
|
| 4)
POP Program Proposal for September 1, 2003 Through
August 31, 2003 |
Mr.
Schmelkin reported that POP continues to be a popular
program. He recommended retaining all current aspects
of the POP program, and implementing a $25 charge
for POP users who lose their POP pass coupons.
Mr. Riley moved and Mr. Kearney seconded a motion
to (i) change the name of “Firm” Booklets
to “Group” or “Company” Booklets,
the actual name to be decided by the NYSSCPA marketing
department, and (ii) charge a $25 replacement fee
for anyone who loses his or her POP coupons. The motion
carried with a majority of Trustees in favor. Ms.
Fierstein voted against the $25 fee.
The
Trustees discussed increasing the surcharge for POP
members who wish to do same-day walk in registration.
No motion on the issue was made.
|
| 5)
FAE Project Initiatives for 2003-04. |
a)
PCAOB Training for Corporate Management
Ms.
Golden reported that Robert Colson, NYSSCPA director
of quality enhancement, and Mr. Schmelkin are examining
(i) what steps FAE and NYSSCPA can take to educate
the public on the image of CPAs and (ii) technical
training from which CPAs may benefit. Mr. Schmelkin
noted that a one-day course for audit committee people,
who are not the normal target audience for SEC-related
courses, was attended by 30-35 people, and suggested
FAE should do more of these programs.
b)
Public School Boards
Ms.
Golden reported on a meeting with New York School
Chancellor Bennett on the idea of NYSSCPA and FAE
assisting school districts with audits. Ms. Golden
reported that George Foundotos, former president of
NYSSCPA and the FAE Trustees, has agreed to work with
Mr. Grumet on this project.
c)
CPE curriculum for industry CPAs
Ms.
Fierstein agreed to chair and Mr. Strangis agreed
to be a member of the committee on CPE curriculum
for industry. Mr. Kearney noted that a bill in the
New York State Legislature that would require mandatory
CPE for CPAs in industry has already been approved
by the State Senate.
d)
Ms. Golden asked Ms. Persoff to act as liaison with
the Finance committee and Mr. Riley to act as liaison
with the Investment committee. Both Trustees accepted
these appointments.
|
| 6)
Correspondence with SED regarding Ethics Guidelines |
The
Trustees discussed FAE’s recent history regarding
NYSSCPA and FAE’s offering ethics CPE to NYSSCPA
members and the SED’s opinions on these offerings.
Ms. Golden noted that there has been confusion between
the law and regulations of the state regarding ethics
courses for CPAs. Under current regulations, 4 hours
of ethics is required for every triennial CPA registration
period. If a CPA takes a CPE concentration of 24 hours
in a specialty area, then he or she may meet the requirement
by taking 4 hours of ethics specifically targeted at
that area. SED however, says that CPAs must take 4 hours
of general ethics course before considering 4 hours
in the specialized track, effectively doubling the amount
of ethics these CPAs must take. Mr. Woehlke said the
legal staff at SED may not have properly interpreted
the law. NYSSCPA has sent a letter to the SED volunteering
to work together to resolve the discrepancies. |
| 7)
Revised meeting dates for FAE Trustees |
Revisions
to future meeting dates were deferred and are expected
to be finalized during an upcoming conference call. |
| 8)
In-Firm Pricing Policy |
Mr.
Schmelkin informed the Trustees that In-Firm pricing
model was challenged by representatives from three firms,
claiming it made this option expensive for firms who
had more than 100 people attend. Ms. Fierstein moved,
and Mr. Riley seconded that the fees for in-firm programs
be capped at $4,900 for firms with 41 to 100 people
attending. Groups that expected more than 100 attendees
would call FAE for pricing. The motion passed unanimously.
Messrs. Kearney and Rosenbaum did not participate in
the vote. |
| 9)
Other Matters |
There
were no other matters. |
| 10)
Adjournment |
Having
no further business, Mr. Riley moved and Ms. Fierstein
seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. Following
unanimous approval of the motion, the meeting adjourned
at 4:06 p.m. |
Respectfully submitted,
John
J. Kearney, Secretary |
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