March 2000

April 15th: when millions of Americans test their powers of deduction. Henny Youngman

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January was slow, news wise, but February surely made up for it.

Let's start with the movement to repeal bad tax law. No, not the entire Internal Revenue Code (from which many of our members make their living), rather, a provision of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (an act which doesn't even have a decent acronym--I'll simply refer to it as The Act).

The Act had many good intentions. It extended the research and development credit (but not without mind-boggling complication) and purged from the alternative minimum tax rolls people who were not rich and could ill afford to be subjected to the AMT; however, under current congressional procedure tax legislation must be revenue neutral--that is, it must raise in revenue as much as the expenditure. So, to pay for the legislative benefits, Congress repealed the ability of an accrual-basis taxpayer to use the installment method of accounting when its assets, including goodwill, are sold. This had an immediate effect on companies selling their business--your client or your company. The AICPA is among the leading organizations seeking the repeal of this bad law that affects the economics of the transaction. Click on to our site at http://www.nysscpa.org to find out more information and to "click" your opinion to our elected representatives.

Groundhog Day has come and gone. I don't know if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but we've had great weather for all of the meetings that took place in February. It began with two days of leadership meetings during which the Executive Committee and the board of directors opted NOT to increase dues for the fiscal year beginning June 1, 2000, and approved a process applicable to all 70 committees for smoothing and guiding the way in which the Society takes official positions on subjects of importance to the public and/or the profession. There are checks and balances in the process, but the result is a thorough and articulate product that will be submitted, as the Society's position on accounting rules and tax laws and regulations, within a stipulated time frame.

The Chapters Task Force headed by Ron Huefner reported that it is conducting a survey via our website and via postcard to determine whether metro New York City members would be interested in a Manhattan chapter. The astounding disclosure by Ron was not the yes/no vote (which is ongoing) but the fact that 1,250 of our 32,000 members had participated in the survey. In the world of surveys, that is a staggering number. If you would like to add your 2 cents, you know the site.

For those of you who are avid readers of this column, you surely will remember that in the September column I announced the "Lunch with Lou" program, whereby our executive director, Lou Grumet, broke bread with the managing partners of eight of the major independent firms on Long Island. I am pleased to tell you that the second Long Island "Lunch with Lou" affair was held in February and that all of the managing partners of the Long Island Big Five firms attended. David Bonagura (Ernst & Young, LLP), John Evans (Arthur Andersen), Doug Kurz (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP), Len Viggiano (Albrecht Viggiano, Zureck & Co.), Lawrence Waldman (KPMG LLP), and Adam Weisman (Deloitte & Touche LLP) were introduced to Lou and dialogued with him about professional issues of interest to CPAs--whether they be with the very large or the very small practice units. Lou briefed these Long Island leaders on what the Society was doing statewide to reattract its industry and Big Five members to participate at the state or chapter level.

It was clear that the chapters must continue to structure some sessions which focus on items of interest to Big Five (and larger firm) staff people. All of the attendees agreed that a key benefit of Society/chapter participation is the ability for the up-and-comers to hone their speaking and leadership skills (via committee chair positions). The larger firms in days gone by would require staff to participate in Society activities; but times have changed--business pressures are greater and more professionals seek quality of life after hours. We all recognize that there must be cooperation and assistance to keep the Society and its chapters vibrant and to identify its future leaders from among the ranks of all size firms. Thank you Adam, Larry, Len, Doug, John, and Dave for participating in the get-together, which has helped Lou and me further identify what needs to be done to get and keep your staff, and the staff of similar size firms, active in Society and chapter committees and events.

In mid-February, Frank Nusspickel (Arthur Andersen LLP), Marilyn Pendergast (Urbach, Kahn & Werlin, PC), Thomas Sullivan (National Football League), Society staff, and I met with key legislators and their staff sponsoring the Uniform Accountancy Act bill (A. 8600/S. 4402). Among those for whom we answered questions were Assembly Majority Leader Michael J. Bragman; Senator Kenneth LaValle (chair, Higher Education Committee); Assemblyman Edward C. Sullivan (chair, Higher Education Committee); and Assembly Minority Leader John Faso. We also met with the staff of Senator Joseph A. Bruno, Senator Nicholas Spano, and Senator Martin Connor. It was a civics lesson in how a law gets passed (we hope!). These people have an interest in, and knowledge of, not only the bill itself, but our profession. I also attended a roundtable meeting on March 8 sponsored by Senator LaValle. See the related articles on page 1 and 3 for more on these meetings.

Also in mid-February, I had the opportunity to conference call with seven of the 11 chapter presidents to listen to their updates and to give them a Society update for their chapter members. A summary of the items discussed was sent to every chapter president. We found out from Buffalo Chapter President Ray Nowicki that the chapter's Diamond (that's the stone for a 75th anniversary, folks) Jubilee is set for May 24. The Buffalo Chapter was born February 5, 1925. I'll be there, will you?

Other items that the presidents were briefed on, or questions to which responses were given, included the Uniform Accountancy Act status; the NYSSCPA Hall of Fame; the chapter budgets; the comment approval process; the Chapters Task Force; the Lunch with Lou program; and the Society Millennium Journal. Suffolk Chapter President Bob Peare gave us the scoop on his chapter's May 31 outing with the Long Island Ducks. No, it's not hunting season. It's not a hockey team. And it's not a film. It's Long Island's newest entry into professional sports: a minor, minor league baseball team. Go Ducks and Go Suffolk Chapter!

Upcoming events include the inaugural meeting of the Hall of Fame Committee (nominations are closed), the regional AICPA Council meeting, and an extension request for my personal income tax return.

And you know that the end is near when you read the report of the NYSSCPA Nominating Committee (see the February Trusted Professional or the Society's website), which begins by saying "P. Gerard Sokolski ... automatically succeeds Alan E. Weiner."

Remember to read through this month's Trusted Professional to find whether your name is in a "Where's Weiner?" box. (See my message in the January Trusted Professional--you can access it on the Society website if you haven't saved the hard copy--for more details.) If you find 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 complementary copy (while supplies last) of "Taxpayer Boogie," performed by Robert J. Balopole, CPA. This contest is not costing me as much as I had hoped--so if you see your friend's name, tell him/her. It still counts as a winner.

My name is Alan Weiner. Any questions? *

president@nysscpa.org