New York State Senators Kenneth LaValle and Nicholas Spano

By Louis Grumet

New York state Senators Kenneth P. LaValle (Suffolk) and Nicholas A. Spano (Westchester) recently introduced legislation (S. 4402) to amend the state's accountancy law. (See article on page 1.) LaValle, a resident of Port Jefferson, chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, which oversees legislation regarding higher education and the professions. He also chairs the Senate Majority Conference and is a member of the agriculture, children and families, codes, education, finance, insurance, judiciary, rules, tourism, and recreation and sports development committees.

Spano, a resident of Yonkers, is the Senate's assistant majority leader. He chairs the Labor Committee and is a member of the cities; civil service and pensions; education; finance; health; investigation, taxation and government operations; mental health and developmental disabilities; racing, gaming, and wagering; and rules committees.

LaValle

As chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, what is your view of the state Legislature's role in regulation of the profession and, in particular, public accountancy?

New York's citizens demand and deserve assurances that state government is using their tax dollars effectively and efficiently to protect their heath, safety, and welfare. This is especially true in the oversight of the 38 professions licensed by the Board of Regents and State Education Department. I believe that it is the duty and responsibility of the Senate Higher Education Committee to take a leading role in helping to provide those assurances.

In order to protect the public, it is the role of the state Legislature to establish appropriate licensing standards to ensure that those who enter a profession are minimally qualified and competent. With respect to the profession of public accountancy, this means making sure that the holder of the license is fully qualified to practice the profession, especially those services in which certain assurances are given to or relied upon by the public.

Please explain your support for the bill that you just sponsored to amend the current accountancy law.

The issues that have arisen in the profession of public accountancy over the past year, such as the right to receive commissions, the right to practice the profession in nontraditional entities, and the type of services that are subject to State Education Department regulation and oversight, convinced me that the current law badly needed to be updated to reflect today's practice.

I strongly believe that the legislation that I introduced, which, among other things, clarifies the profession's scope of practice, facilitates interstate practice, allows for non-CPA ownership in CPA firms, and creates a system of peer review, balances the need to bring the profession into the 21st century and the need to protect the public's interest.

What is your evaluation of the performance of the State Education Department in regulating and overseeing the professions, particularly the profession of public accountancy?

In recent years, I have urged the State Education Department to provide better and faster service to the public and the professionals, to give state boards a more active role in ensuring safe standards of practice, to expedite the resolution of professional misconduct, and to strengthen the Department's ability to prosecute illegal practitioners. In response to my concerns, the Regents and the Department have made significant progress in improving the quality and timeliness of service to both professionals and the public, and have taken steps to strengthen the Office of the Professions.

The role of the Legislature is not to micro-manage the operations of the licensing agency but to make sure that the agency has the necessary powers and sufficient resources to regulate the profession and protect the public.

Where do you see the accountancy profession heading, and what challenges do you think it faces as we approach the 21st century?

The challenges that the accountancy profession faces in the next millennium are not that different from those with which the other 37 professions are now grappling. These challenges include how the public can be assured that members of professions are maintaining their competency, how to regulate those who choose to be licensed in different professions, how to facilitate interstate practice, and whether to allow ownership in firms by both licensed and nonlicensed individuals or by licensees of different professions.

As was the case over 100 years ago, the profession of public accountancy is once again taking the lead in attempting to address these issues. I believe that the bill that I just introduced, if passed, could serve as a model for the other professions.

Spano

Please tell us about your support for the legislation you recently sponsored to update the state's accountancy law.

I have always enjoyed a very close relationship with CPAs and have been glad to act on their behalf. When this bill was discussed, I was glad to put my support behind it. All industries and professions go through times of change, and accounting is no exception.

We need to enhance interstate reciprocity and practice across state lines by CPAs. I understand that this issue is the single biggest challenge facing the accounting profession today and will do my best to get the measure through the legislature.

This bill recognizes marketplace realities of the services CPAs offer, including some of the same services currently provided by public accountants. How does this affect CPAs and their ability to best serve the public?

I think the measure will only enhance the services CPAs offer. Clearly, business dynamics have changed drastically since current laws were enacted 50 years ago. CPAs and their clients are not tied to one state, thanks in large part to the communications revolution. Like anything, accountancy law must change with the times in order to keep up with the demands of the public.

Is it true that you were one of the youngest elected officials of the state?

Yes, I was 25 years old when I was first elected to the state Assembly. Now, twenty years later, I still get the same enjoyment from helping people and trying to make New York a better place. The only difference is I'm a little wiser and a little older.