See You in September

See You in September

By Michael D. Seidenberg, Rockland Chapter President

Hello, Rockland Chapter members. The summer is over, Labor Day has passed, and hopefully the Yankees are still in first place. I know the Mets will be.

Two firsts have occurred in our chapter. Our Compilation and Review Seminar, held July 26 at Casa Mia Manor House in Blauvelt, was the highest-attended 3-credit seminar since the inception of our chapter. It must have been those two incredible speakers, Ira M. Talbi, of Polakoff & Michaelson CPA, P.C., and Joseph A. Maffia, of Janover Rubinroit, LLC.

Our seminars are always informative, and I always leave with an extra bit of knowledge. For example, did you know that New York state has its own record-retention laws for work papers that accountants must follow? This law applies to work papers in your possession as of Jan. 3, 2003. There is a mandatory seven-year retention policy. Also, you are required to have a mandatory formal written policy on the retention of work papers. It’s not getting any easier for us accountants.

The event’s sponsor, Ken Mahoney, President of Mahoney Asset Management in Chestnut Ridge, has offered our members the opportunity to write an article to be published in the Rockland Business Digest. It’s a great chance for you to get your name known out in the community and will possibly even garner you some new business. If you have a specialty, this is a chance to let prospective clients know. Any member who is interested can contact Ken Mahoney at fmonam@aol.com or 845-371-0101.

The second item is that Ed Day, Rockland County Legislator, District 5 (New City–Haverstraw), spoke to our group to let us know that he is available to help us in any way we feel he can in his capacity as an elected official with issues regarding the business community and CPAs in the county.

We have a series of social and CPE events coming up in September. On Sept. 28 we will be going to a Yankees versus the Baltimore Orioles game. The bus leaves from the Bradlees Shopping Center in New City. Look for our flier on our Web site at www.nysscpa.org. As for CPE, we will be offering “What a 1031 Exchange Won’t Do” on Sept. 13, “Mergers and Acquisitions” on Oct. 11 and “Structuring Annuities to Meet Clients’ Needs” on Oct. 26. Our Sept. 13 seminar will be the first evening CPE course we have on offer. We will also have others for those who find breakfast seminars difficult to attend.
Big news. This year’s Networking with Professionals Dinner, to be held on Nov. 30, will be of interest to you football fans out there. Our featured speaker will be Marty Lyons, former defensive end for the New York Jets.

A bit of information I picked up from IRS e-News for Tax Professionals, an electronic mail service designed to provide general news for tax practitioners, is that “Any person in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions must file Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. The definition of cash includes U.S. and foreign currency, and can include cashier’s checks, money orders, bank drafts or traveler’s checks with a face amount of $10,000 or less. A business must file Form 8300 with the IRS within 15 days of the transaction.” Form 8300 is available as a PDF document at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8300.pdf.

I wish to welcome our new board members Sharon Siegel, Larry Shaffer and Janet Toborg, who is also Chair of our Young CPAs Committee. Congratulations to Bill Hughes, who will chair our Membership Committee. We are looking for more members to help out. Please contact Bill Hughes at whughes@khhcpas.com or 845-634-3951 if you are interested.

Make our Web page a favorite on your browser. It’s constantly changing, and you may recognize yourself in one of the photos posted on the site from previous events. We will continue to offer quality CPE seminars and other events to promote networking for our members and the business community.

If you have questions or wish to get involved, don’t be shy. Give me a call or write me an e-mail.

And now for the joke of the month:

Q: Why do some accountants decide to be actuaries?
A: They find bookkeeping too exciting!

Michael D. Seidenberg can be reached at 845-639-3183 or seidenbergcpa@aol.com.