February 2000

April 15th is when the government spring-cleans your wallet. --Henny Youngman

Florence--art mecca of the world. I write this column on the way to Milan from Florence. I've just experienced breathtaking sculptures, paintings, and churches circa 1250, in search of Friar Luca Pacioli (circa 1500), the accountant's hero. (For those of you who don't remember, Luca was not merely the name of the NYSSCPA's first technological communication effort with its members. Luca also was the father of double-entry bookkeeping. Luca actually came from the Tuscany region and I was not really searching for him but I needed the tie-in to Italy for the column. January was a slow news month CPA-wise).

Lou Grumet, Gerry Sokolski and I visited the Nassau Chapter, concluding our chapter visits (11 in all) for the 19992000 year, to update its members on Society doings. Historically, Nassau prefers to be the last chapter visited, viewing the visitation as a road show which continually improves its staging until it reaches the Big City--Well, Nassau, I trust that you were not disappointed. My thanks to Chapter President John Kearney for his diligence and hard work in providing an enjoyable evening, and for his service as both chapter president and chair of the Tax Division Oversight Committee at the same time.

I concluded the preparations for the Executive Committee and board of directors' meetings, immediately following Groundhog Day. You can look forward to some important news affecting various aspects of our profession, reported in this issue of The Trusted Professional.

Remember to read through this month's Trusted Professional to find out whether your name is in a "Where's Weiner?" box. (See my column in the January issue for more details.) If you find a box with your name, contact me (see address below) with the name of your favorite (noncontroversial) charity, and I'll send you my personal $25 contribution to it, plus your own complimentary copy (while supplies last) of "Taxpayer Boogie" performed by Robert J. Balopole, CPA.

My name is Alan Weiner. Any questions?

president@nysscpa.org.

The remainder of this column was penned by my lifetime partner, Susan, who also is my spouse. It expresses her sentiments about serving as the Society's First Lady.

"Say goodbye to your husband because you won't be seeing him for a year." This is almost verbatim what all the past presidents' wives and the staff told me last May. I shrugged it off thinking how much more could he work than he already does. Late nights and Saturdays are standard. What more could there be? I forgot there are 24 hours in the day and walking in at midnight or one o'clock in the morning and adding Sunday to his work schedule plus almost weekly upstate trips were options I hadn't considered. I am wilting, but he is thriving. Alan loves being president and I am truly happy that I said go for it when he asked me how I felt about his accepting this huge responsibility. We will both get through this year and hopefully remember all the perks that come with being president of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

The first is the wonderful staff at the Society, who always make me feel welcome and part of what's going on. It's nice to be asked your opinion and feel that it matters.

The weekend we went to the Equinox to check out the hotel and all the activities that would be taking place at the June conference was fun, interesting, and a joint collaboration among Society staff, Barry and Linda Seidel (the Annual Conference Committee chair and his wife), and Alan and me. The staff knew of my interest in art and made a special effort to include a trip to the Bennington Museum and Will Moses studio, as well as plan for an antique expert to educate us at the conference. I really appreciated being treated as part of the "team." From experience, I can say that wives are very often overlooked in these situations.

And wasn't it a great conference in Vermont! From the beautiful hotel (especially the lavish suite that is another perk of being president) to all the great things to see and do in the area--I still can't believe that I had a falcon perched on my hand, but there are pictures to prove it. The ice rink was a perfect setting for the dinner dance, and by then I was used to standing in a receiving line and greeting everyone. Another great thing about being up close and personal is all the terrific people in this group. I always find Society members to be warm and friendly.

I will never forget the cookies and conversation part of the conference. Mike Borsuk was playing the piano, people were gathered around singing, and he moved me over to sit down next to him on the piano bench. Alan came over and stood next to me. Suddenly I heard a familiar tune coming from the piano, which he had dedicated to Alan and me, and I was stunned. The song was "Til There Was You," the song we danced to at our wedding 35 years ago. I couldn't understand how Mike could possibly know this, and he wasn't giving away any secrets. A little later he reminded me that at the installation dinner in May he had asked me, during a casual conversation, if I remembered what "our song" was at our wedding and I had told him. Thank you Mike for a very special moment.

In August, we went up to the Hudson Valley Resort for a Society leadership conference and I had the chance to meet more chapter members and even sit in on an FAE dinner meeting. I didn't expect to be interested in what was going on but was very pleasantly surprised at how interesting the meeting was. Another perk to being the president's wife.

And in November I had the opportunity to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets as the sky turned pink, red, gold and purple behind the Empire State Building as we all watched the sun set from the 56th floor of the Met Life building. Alan had asked me to join him at the board of directors dinner that night and as I looked at the sinking sun and watercolor sky with the Chrysler Building so close you could practically touch it, I thought, "Hey, this isn't such a bad deal!" * Alan Weiner