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NEW YORK, NY, May 2, 2006 - The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) has announced the winners of the 2005 Max Block Award, which recognizes innovative and stimulating articles published in The CPA Journal. The awards recognize outstanding contributions in the areas of technical analysis, informed comment and policy analysis.

The CPA Journal is a peer-reviewed technical publication aimed at public and private accounting practitioners, managers, educators, and other financial professionals. Editors receive hundreds of manuscripts annually. The members of The CPA Journal’s editorial board, representing dozens of professionals and professors in all fields of practice and study, judged this year’s published articles. Awards will be presented at the Society’s 109th Annual Election Meeting & Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on May 18, 2006.

“The Max Block Distinguished Article Award, named for an early and influential managing editor, has been awarded each year since 1975,” said Mary-Jo Kranacher, Editor-in-Chief of The CPA Journal. “The awards recognize innovative and stimulating articles that are of current significance and which are likely to be of lasting value.”

Robert A. Dyson, CPA with American Express Tax & Business Services Inc., received the award for best technical analysis for his article “Basic Principles in the New Accounting for Stock Options: A Roadmap for Navigating SFAS 123(R),” which ran in the September 2005 issue. It analyzed the implementation of share-based payment accounting standards, which requires public companies to recognize compensation cost associated with modified stock option awards rather than account for them as variable options.

Stephen A. Zeff, PhD, of Rice University in Houston, Texas received the award for best article in the area of informed comment for his article “The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces Behind Professional Standards,” Part 1 & 2 (January/February 2005). This historical commentary discusses the rising importance of financial accounting standards in different sectors of the U.S. economy, which has led to increased special-interest lobbying for accounting standards designed with predetermined outcomes. It also traces FASB’s efforts to implement an asset and liability approach to recognition and a fair value approach to measurement.

In his article, “Accounting at a Crossroad: Preserving an Independent Profession,” (December 2005), Eugene H. Flegm, CPA, retired general auditor for General Motors Corp., discusses the top-level management frauds at a number of major corporations at the start of this century, which resulted in substantial losses for their employees and investors. He describes a culture of greed behind the scandals, the root cause of which, he believes, is the general decline of ethical behavior in our society. He
blames accounting standard-setters and Congress for neglecting to stem the opportunities that a would-be fraudster might seek to take advantage of. Flegm received the award for the best policy analysis article.

The CPA Journal archives are available at www.cpajournal.com.