Committees and Changes

Committees and Changes

By Ray Nowicki

Continued from the Home Page

They are replaced by a time where members of the New York State Society of CPAs and the profession must be proactive, and sometimes reactive, to changes. My hope in this article is to discuss how change is occurring in our state committee structure, the basis for change, and the desired outcomes.

As part of the foundations for change, we held strategic planning sessions at the Annual Leadership Conference, soliciting the wisdom of leaders throughout the state. From this evolved the strategic plan, a useful tool, and significant bylaw revisions, which were overwhelmingly approved by the members. To implement change, some responsibilities were reassigned.

The secretary was designated the duty of providing to the state committees executive-level responsiveness, as opposed to reporting through the Committee on Committee Operations (COCO). To test committee response to this change, I enjoyed two initial, impromptu meetings in January. One was with the Industry Oversight Committee, under Edward Halas, and the other with the Consulting Services Oversight Committee, under Martin Leventhal. If initial reactions are a gauge, I think this change will be embraced and successful. The change recognizes that the committees, like the chapters, are the lifeblood of our organization. The direct and regular access to the Executive Committee empowers the committees to have direct communication rather than working through an intermediate step.

So, what of COCO? With strong influence from the Executive Committee, we have concluded that COCO will not continue in the next fiscal year. Instead, COCO’s duties are now reassigned to the secretary and the oversight chairs, who will meet regularly (much like COCO did) to discuss committee action plans, monitor committee activities and explore other issues. The oversight chairs will also have at least two opportunities annually to report directly to the entire Executive Committee, once separately, and again at the Annual Leadership Conference. I am personally grateful to Dick Piluso for having led a task force on this issue, and for the committee’s efforts in soliciting the wisdom of many non–committee members.

In reorganizing, COCO made a series of other recommendations to the Executive Committee. These changes are intended to streamline activities into natural user groups, to consolidate for sake of cost and efficiency, and to achieve greater effectiveness in achieving strategic goals. For instance, we noted that the Managing Partners Committee and the Large and Medium-Sized Firms Practice Management Committee have overlapping memberships and needs. Therefore, merging them, effective June 1, is a sensible outcome and use of talented resources. It may also save a little money.

The Executive Committee believes that certain activities are best conducted in a chapter environment. In this regard, the Promoting CPA Careers Committee function will be incorporated into the chapters, where it is likely to have the greatest benefit and synergy for our user-members.

Public relations is a major element of the role of advocacy in our strategic plan. It’s a sensitive matter, which needs full-time efforts and a single voice. With new policies emphasizing scrutiny of Society positions, and lawmakers watching our every move, and with the board and the Executive Committee taking on an increasingly active role in media activities, the Executive Committee has concluded that the Public Relations Committee needs to reevaluate its committee action plan. The Executive Committee will review the proposed change at its May meeting before making a final decision on whether or not the committee should be sunsetted.

Another reality of the Society is that the board of directors, which represents all members of the Society, is the designated body to set visionary goals and deal with emerging issues. This was demonstrated, for example, when the strategic plan was born, based on input generated at the Leadership Conference from chapter officers, committee chairs, and others. Therefore, the Furtherance Committee, originally charged with determining where the Society should head in the future, was also sunsetted.

And what would Heraclitus have to say about this? Probably that opposites are necessary for life, but they are unified in a system of balanced exchanges. And so it is with the ongoing change within the Society. Stay posted for more.

Ray Nowicki is the NYSSCPA secretary and the chair of its Committee on Committee Operations.