With New York state having launched its medical marijuana program in January 2016 and all of its neighboring states administering their own medical marijuana programs, the NYSSCPA hosted its first Marijuana Symposium on Dec. 13, in order to educate the profession and the public, inform local and national decision makers, and host a forum for open and thoughtful discussion on one of the United States’ fastest growing industries. 

Movies like “Scarface” and TV shows such as “Narco” glamorize drug lords for using banks to funnel their money into legitimate accounts and businesses. But money laundering is a serious crime, and CPAs must remain vigilant to avoid being used as unwitting intermediaries, according to panelists at the Foundation for Accounting Education's recent Anti–Money Laundering Conference in Manhattan. 

Hans Hoogervorst begins his second term as chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in July. When appointed in 2011, he was facing a global economy still recovering from the economic crisis, as well as several major projects with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). He took the time to talk to the Trusted Professional about his reflections on his first term, as well as his priorities for the future. 

Do CPAs have a place in personal financial planning (PFP)? A few decades ago, that might have been a provocative question. Take, for example, “Accountants as Financial Planners,” a 1991 New York Times story about the AICPA’s efforts to highlight CPAs who ventured into PFP. Putting the accounting profession on the defensive, the article wondered, “Why should the public get their financial advice from CPAs, as opposed to non-accountants?” (Stuart Kessler, an NYSSCPA past president who was interviewed for the piece, offered one succinct answer: Because CPAs “are bound by enforceable standards of conduct. The CPA is thought of in the public mind as being independent and objective.”)

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF)—which houses both the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)—issued a formal proposal on April 29 to delay the implementation of the new revenue recognition standard by one year for both public and private companies.