NYSSCPA Members in the News

NYSSCPA COAP Program – Adelphi University
Adelphi University kicks off summer 'COAP' program for CPA hopefuls
Accounting Today
Adelphi University announced this week that their Robert B. Willumstad School of Business will kick off the annual Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) summer program, designed to introduce minority high school juniors in New York State to the accounting profession. Approximately 40 local students will participate in Adelphi's five-day program, which begins Saturday, June 25.

Other Accounting and Financial News Stories

The End of Accounting
Wall Street Journal
When Netflix’s quarterly earnings announcement in April fell short of the consensus estimate of analysts, its share price surprisingly rose almost 18% on the announcement. An investor blackout? No. Investors justifiably ignored the backward-looking accounting information, reacting enthusiastically to a sharp rise in the forward-looking new-subscribers indicator: 4.9 million vs. expected 4 million.

IRS Scrutiny of Donor Advised Funds
EideBailly
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are actively scrutinizing donor advised funds out of concern they may be generating questionable charitable deductions, impermissible economic benefits to donors, and management fees for promoters of such funds. Donor advised funds have grown significantly over the years.

New State Compliance Tool from Thomson Reuters
Accounting Today
Thomson Reuters has released Checkpoint State Clear Comply, a software application designed to simplify the analysis of complex state compliance questions for multi-tier partnerships and S Corporations with a presence in multiple states. According to the company, the logic in the tool lets tax professionals highlight nexus flow-up issues and easily generate comprehensive reports covering the necessary requirements for composite returns, non-resident withholding and annual returns.

An Assault Weapons Ban For the IRS (And Other Federal Regulatory Agencies)
Forbes
In the aftermath of the Orlando terrorist attack, many Washington politicians tried to shift the conversation to the Second Amendment and called for an assault weapons bans. But former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, our Honorary Chairman, had another idea. In this interview on CNBC, Coburn said we should improve our system of background checks, but said it was IRS officials and non-military federal personnel who should be subject to an assault weapons ban, not the general public.

CPAs Moving Slowly on the Road to Cloud Adoption
AccountingWEB
The accounting profession faces many issues in a fast-changing world, and cloud usage with all of its attendant requirements ranks among the most important. AccountingWEB spoke with Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, whose mission is “empowering CPAs and businesses for the digital age,” about the progress being made in embracing the cloud.

Using a Retirement Plan to Start a Business
JD Supra Business Advisor
Ever wanted to start a business using a retirement plan? There’s a way to roll over plan benefits into a new business without paying taxes and penalties, but you have to be careful. Two recent cases illustrate how not to do it. In Powell v U.S. (Fed Cl 2016) 117 AFTR2d 1001, Spouses received $78,000 in IRA distributions, which they listed as income on their tax return.

SEC Gives Mutual Funds a Break Over Ties With Auditors
Wall Street JournalMutual funds won’t be forced to replace their auditors, at least for now, while regulators work to resolve a dispute over whether some auditors have violated conflict-of-interest rules. Funds won’t face any action from the Securities and Exchange Commission despite financial links between the funds and their auditors that are prohibited under an SEC provision known as the Loan Rule, the agency said.

Best Practices for CPAs to Take Control of Life Insurance Reviews
Accounting Today
Clients often seek counsel from their accountants and financial planners regarding proper life insurance coverage, especially when a policy might be used to secure family income or protect financial assets. However, not all CPAs are equipped with the right knowledge and tools to start clients on the right path, both with new coverage and with policies clients may have long held.

DOL Fiduciary Rule: Who Wins, Who Loses
ThinkAdvisor
Around $3 trillion of advised, commission-based brokerage IRA assets will be subject to the Department of Labor's new fiduciary rule, reshaping the financial industry, Morningstar has concluded. At the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago, panelists outlined a recent Morningstar report that shows the positive and negative monetary impacts the DOL fiduciary rule will have on the industry.

Growth Paths Challenge Black Accountants
AccountingWEB
Perhaps your goal is to eventually move up the ranks, from being a manager in an accounting firm to becoming a partner, or shifting from a cost accounting center to central accounting. Today, there is a pressing need among black accountants to develop leadership skills to move up the ranks and make career transitions.

Regulators See Potential Risks in Online Lending, Tech Behind Digital Currencies
Wall Street Journal
The rapid growth in online lending and use of digital currency warrants close scrutiny, U.S. policy makers said Tuesday in an annual report on financial-system threats. The Financial Stability Oversight Council—a group of senior officials including the heads of the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission—also said the financial system continues to face threats from cyberattacks and risk-taking fueled by historically low interest rates.

Janet Yellen Hints That Fed May Hold Back on Raising Interest Rates
New York Times
Weak economic growth in the United States could force the Federal Reserve to hold off on any imminent interest rate increases, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, told Congress on Tuesday. While Ms. Yellen said that the American economy’s long-term prospects remain favorable, she signaled that headwinds, including slower employment gains in recent months, weak productivity growth and the persistence of a sluggish pace of inflation have prompted the Fed to adopt a more cautious stance.

The Optimal CFO? Depends on Industry Growth Rate
CFO
Last month, in our Square-Off debate forum, CFO presented five opinions on the question of whether an accounting background is important to today’s finance chiefs. The views given were divergent, well-stated, and in some cases startling. Now comes a look at the issue from academia, with three business school professors reaching a conclusion that adds fuel to the debate.