Larger Than Ourselves
Sound Objectives Keep Society Focused on the Big Picture

By Stephen F. Langowski

Having worked closely with the New York State Society of CPAs over the last several years, I’ve come to realize a very important but little-known benefit of serving in a leadership position for the oldest and largest state accounting organization in the country. The opportunity has required me and my fellow officers to take a step back, focusing attention on why we became CPAs in the first place.

We all have busy work-a-day schedules and lives outside our jobs, and I think as we take on more responsibilities it becomes easy for us to focus our energy on the small stuff and harder to keep sight of the big picture. That’s why during this past year as president-elect traveling the state with past President John Kearney and Executive Director Lou Grumet, among several others, it was with great surprise and pleasure that I made some wonderful discoveries. Truth be told, these weren’t so much discoveries as they were valuable reminders.

Having visited the Society’s chapters and met with hundreds of members who are passionate about their work and committed to their clients and the public interest, I was reminded of the great profession in which I have been fortunate to have practiced for more than 25 years. At the same time, upon hearing these members’ concerns and ideas on everything from continuing professional education to regulatory compliance to pending legislation, and witnessing firsthand efforts to address their thoughts and suggestions, I also was reminded of the critical role the NYSS-CPA plays for the profession. The Society is a great organization, a highly regarded and influential body that frequently is one of the chief thought leaders for the profession and many times is its conscience, too.

So the logical question then, and the one that I asked at the Annual Meeting and Dinner in May, is, “How do we maintain that status over the coming months?”

For us to capitalize on this past year’s momentum and successes, there are three areas in which I feel the Society should devote its efforts. As we reassess the Strategic Plan we developed in 2001, all of these areas will get addressed.

First and foremost is quality. If anything has revealed the need for the constant adherence to quality, it is the financial scandals and alleged audit failures that have taken place in the Long Island school systems. School audits, no doubt, are a unique aspect of our profession, but that is no excuse for substandard work on the part of auditors or school board members. Accordingly, the Society, in conjunction with a coalition of state officials and legislators, has helped develop a five-point plan on internal controls that are intended to yield better school audits and safeguard taxpayer money. Different versions of the proposed legislation have continued to move forward in Albany.

At the same time, the Society is taking steps to enhance the quality of peer review and ethics. The NYSSCPA has long advocated for public disclosure of peer review reports and for mandatory peer review for firms that perform compilation and attestation services, a provision that is included in several different accounting-reform bills. However, a relatively new senior committee, the Quality Enhancement Policy Committee, is looking to raise the bar and has spent the last several months scrutinizing aspects of the peer review program. The committee, which comprises Society members from every corner of the profession as well as two non-CPAs, has developed a white paper with suggested changes to the program that will be discussed at this year’s Annual Leadership Conference.

The Society’s steady progress will also rely on constructive cooperation with the American Institute of CPAs and other accounting organizations and societies. I subscribe to the idea of strength in numbers, and if we want to assure that lawmakers and regulators are attuned to our interests and opinions, that the public is cognizant of and able to benefit from the role we serve, and that the future of our profession is secure and knowledgeable, then the best course of action is for us to pool our resources and expertise.

Internally, the Society needs to challenge itself and expand its membership. But as it is doing so, the NYSSCPA should also look for ways to retain the members we have. Active involvement begins at the grassroots level; therefore, I call upon the chapters to develop vibrant programs and opportunities for your members to learn from and enjoy. Consider following the lead of the Young CPAs committees of the Buffalo and Manhattan/Bronx chapters, for example, which regularly hold networking events and take part in career functions with local high schools. Through these activities and committees, I believe, members become invested in their chapters and the Society.

The NYSSCPA is also going to do a better job of reaching out to segments of our membership that traditionally have been underrepresented. This certainly includes our members in industry. The Society has been busy creating an extensive education program that will specifically target industry members’ professional responsibilities and areas of expertise and interest. Similarly, we are hoping to attract more women and minorities into our ranks, and are studying issues that are pertinent to these groups. I firmly believe a diverse membership is a strong membership, and the more backgrounds and points of view that we can bring into the Society, the better off we will be.

As we move forward, it is always important that we look back to acknowledge those who set the ball in motion and made big sacrifices and even bigger contributions to the Society and the profession, continually demanding more from both. I could write a whole column thanking those people. In particular, I would like to pay special tribute to John Kearney.

Under John’s leadership, the Society made impressive strides in the state legislative arena, and at this moment we are closer than we have ever been to seeing meaningful accounting-reform legislation passed in Albany. Furthermore, John made sure the Society had a strong presence in national affairs, putting together special task forces and overseeing informed, in-depth responses to the Social Security debate and President Bush’s tax simplification initiative—actions that have grabbed the attention of federal lawmakers and major media.

I am proud to follow in John’s footsteps, and am humbled to serve such a vast and dynamic membership. Over the next 12 months, I pledge to stay truthful to the principles and initiatives that have guided the NYSSCPA to its national prominence, and to be attentive to your concerns and ideas. Through this course, the NYSSCPA will fulfill the needs of its membership and continue to remain a thought leader for the accounting profession and the conscience that helps guide it. That, I believe, is a big picture well worth drawing.

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