March 2000

Not-for-Profit Conference Attracts 500

The Foundation for Accounting Education's 22nd annual Nonprofit Conference, held in Rochester on January 19 and New York City on January 27, brought together approximately 500 CPAs and other financial professionals interested in updates on the not-for-profit industry.

Conference Co-chair Mike McNee, who also chairs the NYSSCPA Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee, the conference's sponsor, estimates that 65 percent of the combined audience at the two sites came from public accounting and 35 percent from industry. He said that historically, the conference is FAE's best attended event each year and that the varied audience reflects the program's success at providing a track for CPAs from different backgrounds.

Highlights of the full-day program included the following sessions:

* Accounting and Auditing Update, with William A. Broadus Jr. of W.A. Broadus Jr., CPA, PC, and Allen L. Fetterman of Loeb & Troper;

* Legal and Tax Update, with Michael J. Cooney of Nixon Peabody LLP;

* Fraud, with Kenneth G. Yormark of Deloitte & Touche LLP

* Board Governance, with Carol Weisman of Board Builders;

* HUD Audits, with Peter B. Bell of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;

* FASB Consolidation Project, with Herbert K. Folpe of the Yale School of Management;

* Insurance Issues, with Andrew H. Marks and Bruce D. Tindal of MLW Services;

* Audit Risk, with John F. Heveron Jr. of Heveron & Heveron CPAs PC; and

* Enterprise Resource Planning for Not-for-Profits, with Charles J. Reiss of American Express Tax & Business Services of New York.

"The conference provided an excellent overview, a good update, and a valuable networking opportunity for meeting potential clients," conference Co-chair Julie Floch said.

The event also received positive feedback on attendee evaluation forms.

"The conference covers a broad range of issues that are important for accountants in industry as well as in public practice," said Sheila Abrams, vice president for finance at the Central Park Conservancy. "Some of my favorite parts are the sharing and networking. The program overall was excellent. The speakers on insurance issues were particularly helpful because they gave me a good checkpoint on the types and amounts of insurance this organization has."

According to McNee, the conference co-chairs, which also included William Abrams, Jeffrey Green, and John E. Oehler, are already working on plans for next year's program. *