Society Approves Contract with Insurance Broker

Society Approves Contract with Insurance Broker
New Company to Handle Member Benefits Programs

By Simon Eskow

Continued from the Home Page

The Society’s Member Benefits Committee and Executive Committee recommended Pearl to the board, selecting the company out of a group of three that had bid to replace the NYSSCPA’s current broker, whose contract expires this year.

According to NYSSCPA President Stephen Langowski, who spoke about the selection process to the board, the committees recommended the company for its “personal touch” and entrepreneurial spirit. The Executive Committee analyzed the candidate’s financial condition, succession planning and management team before making the recommendation to the board.

“We did plenty of due diligence,” Langowski said.

Analysis and staff visits to Pearl’s offices led the committee to approve of the company, Langowski said. While members were concerned with the proximity of the company’s backup computer systems to its headquarters, it was satisfied with the facilities and management. Pearl’s management, Langowski told the board, were taking under consideration the relocation of its backup systems in response to the Society’s concerns.

Pearl executives, in a presentation to the board, said that the 51-year-old insurance brokerage already provides member benefits to other organizations, such as the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Executives and board members discussed specifics of Pearl’s health insurance offerings and customer service and its ability to protect sensitive member information.

According to Society officials, NYSSCPA members will not lose any of their current benefit programs. The contract does not eliminate programs or switch insurance carriers, the officials said; it only engages Pearl as the administrator of those programs.

Group to Analyze AICPA Financials

The New York–appointed members of AICPA Council will meet to discuss their responsibilities as members of the AICPA’s governing body.

The Society’s Executive Committee in June agreed to provide staff support to NYSSCPA-recommended and –appointed Council members in that group.

Langowski told the board at its July 12 meeting that the group will look into the AICPA’s financials as part of their fiduciary responsibilities as individual members of the AICPA Council.

Questions about the AICPA’s financials arose during its Council meeting in May.

The group will include Langowski, Jo Ann Golden, Sharon S. Fierstein, Kevin J. McCoy, Maryann M. Winters, Peter L. Berlant, John J. Kearney, Vincent J. Love, Thomas E. Riley, Frank J. Aquilino and Carol L. Lapidus.