By Nellie Gomez, Committee Services

Taxation Financial Institutions and Products Committee

The Taxation of Financial Institutions and Products Committee, chaired by Leon M. Metzger, held a June 5 CPE session on tax shelters. Led by Maury Cartine of Rothstein Kass and Company P.C., the session was designed for tax practitioners wanting to learn more about recent tax shelter regulations.

Small Firm Practice Management Committee

The Small Firm Practice Management Committee, chaired by Edwin J. Kliegman, held a July 2 CPE session on practice management. Presented by Herbert Schoenfeld of Shoenfeld Mendelsohn Goldfarb, LLP, the session covered the latest practice management techniques for small firm practice units.

SEC Practice Committee

As part of its overall mission, the newly formed Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is authorized to establish auditing (and related attestation), quality control and ethics standards to be used by registered firms in the preparation of public company audit reports. Through its committee structure, the Society plans to monitor the activity of the PCAOB and create a standing task force under the SEC Practice Committee, chaired by George Victor. The task force will also be comprised of individuals from other Society committees.

Tax Division Oversight Committee

The Tax Division Oversight Committee (TDOC) under the leadership of Stephen Valenti has an active year plan geared toward building on several initiatives to enhance the activities and diversity of membership in the 15 statewide committees of the tax division. TDOC also is looking to strengthen its communication line and efforts with chapter tax committees. TDOC has initiated a “mentoring program” to acclimate newer members to committee activities. TDOC hopes to build on the prominent role the tax division has played in offering constructive comments on proposed regulations, legislation and administrative issues of different jurisdictions. The committee has several projects in place designed to increase the role of the tax division as a technical resource for its members. (For more information, see the annual report submitted by the TDOC by visiting www.nysscpa.org, clicking on the Committees link on the left-hand side of the page and scrolling down to the Tax Division Oversight Committee link.)