January 2003

Taking Stock, Pressing Ahead

By Jo Ann Golden

It was New Year’s Eve and thousands of New Yorkers from Buffalo to Albany, from Plattsburgh to Long Island, focused attention on television screens, watching the crystal ball high above Times Square slowly ticking off the finals seconds of the year 2002, and heralding the start of 2003.

As I watched the ball almost magically descend, I could not help but reflect on the year that was behind us, what it has meant to our profession, and how the financial world had been dramatically altered. I could not help but ponder the efforts and the accomplishments of New York State Society of CPAs in shaping the newly evolving environment of accountancy. And I could not help but wonder, with a sense of optimism, what the new year had in store for all of us.

From the warmth of an indoor gathering of friends in the northernmost part of the state, I watched the festivities in Times Square with a perspective unlike ever before. Times Square and the streets of New York leading to 530 Fifth Avenue only a few blocks away had become my regular stomping grounds over the past months. The NYSSCPA headquarters there has seemed to become my second home.

As I realized that I was sharing this New Year’s Eve experience with friends and colleagues from all corners of New York, I reflected on my “official” travels throughout the state, from Buffalo in the west, to Lake Placid in the north, to Albany on the east, to New York City and Long Island in the south. More personally, I reflected on the people, CPAs and others, that I’ve had the opportunity of meeting and sharing ideas with. While each of the 16 chapter visitations thus far have given me a chance to let our members throughout the state know what’s going on in our profession and our state society, this “tour de New York” has given me and the other society representatives accompanying me the ability to keep our fingers on the pulse of our members. It has enabled us to better serve your needs.

We at NYSSCPA have been busy doing just that….serving the needs of our members and the profession.

Beginning with the Leadership Conference in July, we were able to bring together influential members from all over the State of New York to plan and discuss a strategic vision for the Society. From that point our mission has been clear and things have grown:

Our Strategic Pan is finalized and on the Web.
We addressed the need for CPA input in response to the myriad of proposed rule changes emerging during this Enron era by gathering a diverse group of members under the chairmanship of Vince Love, who has responded with an ability to see many sides to the issues.
The Board of Directors has reconfirmed our commitment to a strong legislative agenda, striving to work for law and regulations which will improve the accounting environment in New York State without compromising our most important focus, our clients and employers. We’re continuing our discussions with the State Board of Accountancy.
We have formed a task force headed by Brian Caswell to evaluate whether strengthened adherence to Ethics and mandated Peer Review should be a condition for membership in NYSSCPA.
Sharon Fierstein is heading up a task force studying our Bylaws, a document which has not been reviewed for many years. The group is currently focusing on the process by which our leaders are nominated.
Our 17 Chapters are enthusiastically moving forward to provide the local presence so important to the future of NYSSCPA. At the same time our 45 Technical Committees have more active members than ever before.
We are focusing on the members and their needs, looking for better ways to involve and engage more members. After all, that’s what this organization is all about!
On the national front, we are making our voices heard, working within the ranks of the American Institute of CPAs. We need an AICPA that is responsive to the needs of the profession, and toward that end, we are calling for an evaluation of its governance structure.
And to make sure the NYSSCPA continually self-assesses its governance, a subcommittee of the board under the guidance of Stephen Langowski is looking at our internal policies regarding conflict of interest and related issues.

Our agenda has been rigorous, but there is much work to be done. Our resolve and passion to continue and improve our accomplishments is what makes the NYSSCPA the special society that it is. Although this resolve and passion is sometimes confused by others as stubborn indignation, we are a persistent group that cares ardently about our profession. So we continue with our resolutions for the next half of the year. And along the way, we’ll add a few more.

But what about the profession as a whole? This past year, fraught with finger pointing at the profession, has also been, for all of us, a time for reflection. New Year’s has traditionally been a time for reflection and resolutions. I believe that as we move forward we, as CPAs, must resolve to engage in self-examination to determine what we want our profession to be. We must resolve to engage in constructive communication with legislators and regulators to help mold the re-emerging practice of accountancy. We must resolve to live our lives and practice our profession in a manner that will instill the public’s confidence in us as trusted professionals. The lessons of the past year have taught us all too well that it takes years to earn the public trust and only moments to break it down.

As we begin the year 2003, one thing is sure: the NYSSCPA will be there helping mold the profession’s shape and reminding us of our roots.

While New Year’s Eve marked the end of the calendar year, it marked the end of only the seventh of the 12 months of my term in office. How fast those seven months have gone! And how little time is left to finish all of the things we had set out to accomplish when I took office on June 1. We will push on with resolve and passion.

president@nysscpa.org