By Charles Weintraub, Staten Island Chapter President

The first thing I would like to do as president is to thank my colleagues for honoring me with the privilege of serving for this term. I also want to thank and congratulate my fellow officers:

President-Elect: Anthony Tanzi
Vice President: Mark Fappiano
Treasurer: Richard Wismer
Secretary: Barbara Sandak

Now that tax season has finally ended, I can’t wait to watch my sons play sports without worrying if I closed the boss’s current quarter or which client is in final review or going on extension (family not included)!

Fifteen years have passed since I called my mother from an out-of-town client’s office to ask her to open my envelope from the state Board of Regents to find out if I had done better than 300. I had totaled 301 and was happier than a kid on Christmas! It didn’t matter that I had wasted a point; I passed and now was officially a member of a distinguished profession. I was a certified public accountant.

During my career, being a part of the New York State Society of CPAs has been a rewarding experience for me. I started my career with Laventhol & Horwath, based in Manhattan and, unaware that Staten Island had its own chapter, participated in Manhattan’s. While I was working for a local client of John Shall, former president of the Staten Island Chapter, John encouraged me to switch to the Staten Island Chapter. Twelve years later I am still enjoying the friendships, experiences and advice that I get from being an active member. John, thanks for the good advice!

As this year’s president, I plan to visit local high schools with other state Society members in order to encourage future participation in the profession. I was pleased to find out that Tottenville High School, of which I am an alumnus, participates in the Academy of Finance, which encourages high school students to become future accountants. They participated in the daily program for high school students at the NYSSCPA’s Manhattan office in May.

This past year our college education night, chaired by Ray Zollo, was a great success. Unfortunately I was not able to attend, but I was pleasantly surprised that more than 350 people attended. Great job, Ray!

The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation Associates Director, Jay Anderson, has also asked me to assist in furthering the education of local CPAs on the two Empire Zone programs on Staten Island. Jay is happy to assist with any questions on the program and has many contacts up in Albany to aid in getting your clients certified in the program.

Numerous tax savings from real estate taxes, sales tax, corporate taxes, and other various tax savings are obtainable through this program. If you have any questions, please call Jay at the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation at 718-477-1400, ext. 15. Jay has personally helped me in numerous situations for this program. Thanks, Jay!

I hope to see all of you at our upcoming events during the year. Our organizational meeting is scheduled for June 25, at which we will be scheduling many different seminars and events for the upcoming year.

The state Society is a great tool to help us and our profession in these troubled times. I encourage you to participate.