March 2001

UAA Reintroduced in State Senate

ALBANY, N.Y.—State Sen. Kenneth P. LaValle (Suffolk), joined by five colleagues, introduced a bill on Feb. 12 to amend the current laws regulating the public accountancy profession in New York, just days after an identical bill was introduced in the State Assembly.

State Senate bill S. 2456 proposes to enact comprehensive reforms to the provisions of the law regulating the profession of public accountancy. The legislation reflects the reforms of the model Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) as proposed by the NYSSCPA. If enacted, the bill will represent the first comprehensive change to the state accountancy law since 1947.

LaValle was joined by five cosponsors including Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (Syracuse), John J. Marchi (Staten Island), Nicholas A. Spano (Westchester), Caesar Trunzo (Suffolk), and Dale M. Volker (Erie).

“We’re pleased to have an impressive list of sponsors for the UAA bill this year in both the State Senate and Assembly,” said Louis Grumet, executive director of the New York State Society of CPAs.

LaValle, a prime sponsor of the UAA bill in the 1999–2000 legislative session, is chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, which has legislative jurisdiction over laws governing the practice of public accountancy. S. 2456 has been referred to the committee for consideration.

“Senator LaValle has been a great friend of the accounting profession for many years,” said Grumet. “We are honored to have him as lead sponsor of the UAA bill. Senator LaValle will be a strong advocate for our reform legislation and thoroughly understands the needs of the profession in the 21st century.”

The Assembly bill, A. 4445, was introduced on Feb. 8 by Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. (New York), chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Farrell has been joined by 15 other cosponsors in the Assembly, including Majority Leader Paul A. Tokasz (Erie) and Deputy Majority Leader Ronald J. Canestrari (Albany).

“I was pleased to learn that Assemblymen Stephen Kaufman (Bronx) and Joseph Robach (Rochester) have also become cosponsors of our reform legislation,” said Grumet.

To achieve passage of this legislation in 2001, it is incumbent on each member of the Society to contact his or her senator and assemblyperson concerning the importance of the UAA bill to the CPA profession. NYSSCPA is working with the government relations directors of each chapter to coordinate a grass-roots lobbying effort in favor of the UAA bill.

Both the Senate and Assembly bills propose revisions to New York’s laws regulating accountancy that are consistent with parts of the UAA, a model legislative piece developed by the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

Among other changes, S. 2456 and A. 4445 would clarify the definition of “public accountancy,” change the two-year auditing and accounting experience requirement to one year of experience providing any service using accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills verified by a CPA. Such experience may include employment in private sector, government, academia, or public practice. The bill also provides express statutory authority for the acceptance of commissions and referral fees from nonattest clients and allows non-CPA ownership of up to 49 percent of the equity and voting rights in a CPA firm.

Bills to update the state’s accountancy laws were first introduced in spring 1999 and hearings to gather information and examine the proposed changes were held that fall. The Assembly’s public hearing, held on Nov. 16, 1999, lasted almost nine hours and consisted of testimony by more than 50 witnesses.

In February and March 2000, the Senate conducted two roundtable discussions. No additional hearings are expected on the UAA bill this year in either the Senate or the Assembly.

A reveiw of others states shows that 42 of the 54 jurisdictions that regulate accountants allow for commissions and referral fees and 23 jurisdictions allow up to 49 percent non-CPA ownership of CPA firms.