January 2001

Society’s Training Seminar Makes for Good Relations

By Jay Dismukes

Furthering a relationship that has grown over the last several years, the New York State Society of CPAs and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (NYSDTF) held a joint training session for tax auditors on Dec. 7–8.

The session, which was conducted at the Department’s Queens, N.Y., office, focused on the audits of flow-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships, and trusts.

Barry Horowitz, a tax partner at Eisner & Lubin LLP and former chair of the Society’s Municipal, State, and Local Tax Committee, and Regina Jaffe, director of field office audit for the Department, developed the session. NYSDTF Commissioner Arthur Roth a was also major proponent of these training sessions.

Together with Horowitz, guest lecturers Samuel A. Dyckman, a former tax professor at Baruch College who is affiliated with Eisner & Lubin LLP, and Peter Nussbaum, director of the trust and estate department at M.R. Weiser & Co. LLP, provided technical training.

Besides explaining fundamental concepts as well as complicated intricacies of flow-through entities, Horowitz, Dyckman, and Nussbaum readily answered questions from the group of more than 35 agents who attended the session. Many auditors took advantage of the CPAs’ expertise, inquiring about problems they face on the job.

“[With] many of the areas that we address under audit, it was reinforced that we are proceeding in a proper manner,” said Jaffe.

In addition to being a helpful update on flow-through entities, Jaffe said the two-day event facilitated a good line of communication between auditors and practitioners, allowing both parties to hear one another’s perspectives.

With that in mind, Horowitz concluded the seminar by giving the agents advice he believes can help them conduct their business more easily. Among other things, Horowitz said auditors should treat all companies as if they are honest taxpayers until it is proven otherwise. He also told the agents to feel free to discuss problems with practitioners.

“I want an auditor to be as professional to me as I am to them,” Horowitz said.

The Society expects to conduct similar training sessions in the future.