President's Commentary

UAA Can Transform the Profession - Make Your Views Known

By George T. Foundotos, CPA

The Uniform Accountancy Act is upon us. This model law has begun the New York state journey from proposal to enactment. As proposed, it will fundamentally change our entire profession­at all venues and all levels. It is a change in the raw definition of:

* What is a CPA?

* How you become a CPA (educational and testing requirements)

* How you stay a CPA (CPE)

* What a CPA does and does not do (scope of practice/employment)

* Form and structure of practice/employment

* Certificate vs. license

* Transportability of license

* Modes of compensation

* Regulation, policing, and sanctions

It is not just for us in public practice. Those of us in industry, government, or academia are not immune. The UAA covers us all. If you have a New York State CPA license, you are in this UAA mixing bowl, so start stirring or be stirred.

The immediate problem is that your Society does not know what the rank-and-file members support or oppose in the UAA. This is not like any other issue we previously have faced, in which the member's desired direction was known and understood. This UAA is new. It is not a nuance here and a tweak there. The UAA is bedrock.

It is most logical and effective for the Society to be your voice. But to be your voice, we need your guidance. Before you can guide us, you must learn about the proposal. In other sections of this inaugural issue of the newspaper, there are articles explaining the UAA. Recent articles in The CPA Journal, the AICPA's Journal of Accountancy, and other publications have also begun covering the UAA's many facets.

The AICPA and the NASBA have promulgated and are promoting the model law. It will be passed on a state-by-state basis. We cannot be one of the last states to consider the UAA because, as it passes in other states, our options become limited and the pressure increases to conform to what the other states have done. Therefore, we must begin the process in earnest and be one of the lead states and accordingly, have the most options to impact and mold the eventual law.

If we do not do this, someone else will. The goals and objectives of others may or may not be the same as ours. So, you must learn all you can about the act and express your views. It will be hard work, but it was hard work earning your license and keeping it.

By way of helping you participate in the process, your Society has commissioned the 11 chapters around the state to examine and discuss the act at the local level. Support is being offered to the chapters on a requested basis only. Using whatever format and methodology they wish, the chapters will come to local conclusions and report back to the Society's board. Further, we have assigned to 15 of the Society's standing technical committees the project of reviewing the act from the vantage point of their own committee's scope. They too will report their conclusions to the Society board. This two-pronged approach is a first for us. As you can see, we are making every attempt to engage as many of you as possible in the dialogue and debate. It is, after all, your license and your Society.

From there, the Society board will further discuss, create, and refine our final position. And then, onto our state legislature. We will be the point. This will permit us to define the public debate and control the direction. It should be our game and our rules. With this approach, the legislative process will ultimately produce more of what we want, rather than what others want.

Please let us hear from you. Send an e-mail message to me personally at president@nysscpa.org or write to me at NYSSCPA, 530 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036-5101.

Like they say, "If you are not the lead dog, the view never changes." I want to be the lead dog. How about you?

George

PS: If you know of any colleagues or friends who are not Society members, please urge them to join. For applications, please call (800) 633-6320. As our membership increases, we develop more presence, stature, and clout. *