AICPA Council Approves Internet Portal

On May 22, AICPA Council approved the Internet portal project announced at its regional meetings in April. The AICPA also announced that Microsoft, Intelisys, Thomson Corporation, ADP, and Aon are joint venturers in the portal. (Article)

Board Votes to Participate in Shared Services Company

The NYSSCPA board of directors voted on June 3 to participate in the State Societies Network Inc. (SSNI), a consortium of state societies that joined together to leverage their collective memberships to share common expenses. (Article)

POB Report Recommends Steps for Better Audits

The Public Oversight Board's panel on audit effectiveness released an exposure draft on June 6 that recommends several measures to improve audit quality. (Article)

President's Commentary

This is a time of beginnings. I'm beginning my service as your NYSSCPA president. The Society is beginning its involvement in a great collaborative effort among the state societies to share costs of operations. And the state societies together with the AICPA have begun a venture to enable local CPA firms and their clients to join the revolutionary Internet way of doing business. (Article)

Board Designates New Executive Committee

At its June 3 meeting, the NYSSCPA board of directors designated members of the 2000­2001 Executive Committee, confirming appointments made by Society President P. Gerard Sokolski. The board also reviewed Society comments on the AICPA exposure draft on management use only financial statements. (Article)

Big Five Agree to Conduct Self-Reviews And Disclose Independence Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on June 7 that the Big Five accounting firms have all agreed to participate in a voluntary look-back program to report past violations of auditor independence rules. In exchange, the SEC will provide safe harbor protection from enforcement and certain other staff actions, except in situations involving serious violations. (Article)

New York Bar Calls for MDPs with Ownership Prohibition by Nonlawyers

The New York State Bar Association report on multidisciplinary practice (MDP) would prohibit multidisciplinary partnerships, but does anticipate two forms of cooperation between CPAs and attorneys. A panel debated MDPs at the NYSSCPA Annual Conference on June 4. (Article)

AICPA Modifies WebTrust to Respond to Marketplace

The AICPA has modified the WebTrust^SM program, its assurance service for Internet sites, to include a repackaging of services, a redesigned seal, and other changes to respond to the marketplace, according to Anthony Pugliese, director of the AICPA assurance services team. (Article)

New Jersey Reverses Position on New York City UBT

New Jersey recently reversed its long-standing position regarding the New York City unincorporated business tax (UBT) and the Philadelphia business privilege tax (BPT). Previously, New Jersey had not considered the UBT and BPT as income taxes imposed on an individual proprietor's business income or an individual partner's distributive share of the partnership's business income. (Article)

Sokolski Begins Term as President

NYSSCPA President P. Gerard Sokolski welcomes the challenges of guiding the oldest and largest state CPA society into the new millennium. Sokolski's goals include developing educational and other services to continue to meet the needs of members--in particular the needs of CPAs in industry, a group that constitutes one-third of the Society's total membership. (Article)

Society Leaders Take Office

Alongside President P. Gerard Sokolski (see article above), the following 2000­2001 NYSSCPA officers began their terms on June 1: (Article)

FAE Responds to CPAs' Needs

A new CPE catalog--chock full of more than 70 new courses--is now available. The Foundation for Accounting Education has added new courses in every field of study: accounting and auditing, advisory services, government accounting and auditing, financial and general management, specialized industries and knowledge, and taxation. (Article)

Conference Updates Industry Professionals

The NYSSCPA Conference for CPAs in Industry, held on April 28 in New York City, provided updates on a wide range of finance, accounting, and management topics of interest to financial professionals in the private sector. (Article)

Show Draws 100 Exhibitors

The NYSSCPA/FAE 2000 CPAs' Finance, Business and Technology Show and Conference attracted more than 1,500 attendees and 100 exhibitors to New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center last month. (Article)

Employee Handbooks Can Result in Contractual Liability

While they are useful tools for communicating company policies and standards of conduct, employee handbooks can give rise to liability to employees who rely on certain provisions. (Article)

Letter to the Editor

I just finished reading Jonathan Wexler's article regarding sexual harassment in the April issue of The Trusted Professional. It was very informative. (Article)

Health Care Conference to Provide Regulatory and Technical Updates

Increased scrutiny by federal, state, and local government regulators makes corporate compliance programs crucial for many health care providers, and CPAs should be proactive in helping protect their clients and health care companies, according to Morris Shoretz, co-chair of FAE's 2000 Health Care Conference. (Article)

The Future of Health Care Compensation

Employers across the country--regardless of their type of business, industry, or location--face similar challenges in attracting and retaining qualified talent. The record low unemployment rate and the tightest labor market in more than 30 years, coupled with medical advances and breakthroughs, require health care organizations to modify the manner in which they traditionally have operated. Changes in business and marketing strategies will lead to a shift in recruitment and compensation efforts throughout the health care industry. (Article)

State Charities Bureau Representatives Meet with Society Committees

On April 25 William Josephson, assistant attorney general and head of the New York State Charities Bureau, spoke at a joint meeting of the NYSSCPA Not-for-Profit Organizations and Exempt Organizations committees. Joining Josephson were Karin K. Goldman, assistant attorney general and charities registration section chief, and Martin Goldband, the bureau's chief accountant. (Article)

City Department of Finance Commissioner Addresses Luncheon

Andrew S. Eristoff, commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, was the guest speaker at the annual luncheon sponsored by the NYSSCPA Cooperation with Bankers and Other Credit Grantors Committee on May 16 at the Yale Club in New York City. (Article)

Website FAQs

The more logical structure of the NYSSCPA website's new homepage has made it easier for users to find information, but some members have needed additional guidance. Here are some of the most frequent inquiries regarding the homepage's redesign: (Article)

Security Measures for the Home or Small Office

The widespread destruction caused by the recent "Love Bug" virus has made security an increasing concern of many Internet users. This month's column will explore three things you can do to protect yourself from hackers if you connect to the Internet with a cable modem or DSL. We will look at both commonsense safeguards and hardware and software solutions. All of these approaches are low cost and well worth the investment. (Article)

COAP Alumnus Goes Back to School

Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) alumnus Damon Duke, a member of the 1993 COAP class, recently spoke at a career night at Grover Cleveland High School in Brooklyn. Duke, of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, spoke with seventh to 12th graders with various levels of interest in the profession: Some were just curious, but others were planning to major in accounting in college and pursue an accounting career. Duke related his experiences, focusing on how participating in COAP helped shape his future. (Article)

Society Hosts Upstate Career Fair

On April 25, the NYSSCPA Minority Group Recruitment and Equal Opportunity Committee held its Buffalo career fair, the committee's first outside the New York City metropolitan area. Geared primarily toward graduating college seniors, the event gave students the opportunity to meet with representatives from nine participating firms and companies: Advantage Professionals, Arthur Andersen LLP, Becker Conviser, Dunhill Professional Search, Ernst &Young LLP, Freed Maxick Sachs & Murphy PC, National Fuel, Praxair, and Snelling Personnel Services. (Article)

COAP Receives Record Number of Applications

The Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program received a record 170 applications for its 2000 summer residency programs at Hofstra and Pace University. Sponsored by the NYSSCPA, FAE, academia, and the profession, COAP introduces minority high school juniors to the benefits of an accounting career and helps provide for a more diverse profession. (Article)

Western Regional Industry Conference Gets High Marks

The NYSSCPA/FAE Western Regional Members in Industry and Commerce Conference, held April 19 in Batavia, marked the first time that the Buffalo and Rochester chapter industry committees collaborated to produce a program. (Article)

Ethics and regulation Q&As

The NYSSCPA offers assistance with members' questions on ethics and regulation. Inquiries address a variety of topics such as: (Article)

Partnership and LLC Courses Available on eMind.com

Internet-based continuing education provider and NYSSCPA affinity partner eMind.com has added three new courses on partnerships and limited liability corporations, ranging from introductory to advanced topics. (Article)

When to Disengage from Clients: Recognize the Warning Signs

In life, there is an art to knowing when to leave. Be it a party, a relationship, or an engagement with a particular client, there are always signs that, when read properly, will point CPA firms toward the door. When CPAs encounter some of the following situations, it may be time to consider disengagement. (Article)