By Bruce H. Nearon

The Technology Assurance Committee of the New York State Society of CPAs will hold a continuing professional education (CPE) evening presentation for auditors and risk management personnel who have responsibility for payment system risk assessment in the legacy (physical) environment and the virtual (Internet) environment. The presentation will familiarize auditors and risk management professionals with payment system risks from the retailer’s perspective. The event also will include discussion on how retailers can identify secure options for establishing a web presence, and for securely accepting payments from new customers or ones they never meet in person.

Topics covered will include:

n Overview of payment methods and their risks: check cards, check truncation, debit cards and credit
n Merchant payment preferences
n Fraud trends for each payment method
n Fraud mitigation techniques, including security practices, activity monitoring and detection
n Must-know debit and credit card network requirements for merchants
n Secure methods for web payment acceptance.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 18
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: registration, networking, free sandwiches and soft drinks; 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.: CPE session
Presenter: Bruce Sussman, CPA, CISSP, CISA, director of internal audit, NYCE Corporation
Location: NYSSCPA headquarters, 530 Fifth Ave. (between 44th and 45th streets), fifth floor, New York City

About the Presenter

Bruce Sussman founded NYCE Corporation’s internal audit function in 1995, and has also assisted NYCE management with various self-assessment, regulatory compliance, Y2K and encryption/security awareness programs. Prior to joining NYCE, Mr. Sussman previously worked for several large NYCE participant banks, including Chase, First Union and The Bank of New York. Much of his career has focused on risk management issues central to E-commerce, EFT, encryption, data networking and funds transfer.

A member of the Society, Mr. Sussman often represents NYCE before bank regulators, financial institutions and the ANSI Encryption standards committees. He has been published in various industry journals, including that of the Information Systems and Control Association, and recently published a research paper titled “Designing Secure Internet Payments Solutions.”

Additional Information

This NYSSCPA/Foundation for Accounting Education CPE evening technical session is $45 for NYSSCPA members and $50 for nonmembers to qualify for three hours of CPE credit. A $25 additional walk-in fee will be charged to those who register at the door.

At the session you will get the chance to network with the profession’s and the industry’s IT leaders. Advance registration is recommended because seating is limited.

For additional information, contact Gary E. Carpenter at 315-487-4567 or gcarpenter-cit@worldnet.att.net or Bruce H. Nearon at 973-403-6955 or bnearon@jhcohn.com.

For more information on the Technology Assurance Committee, visit www.nysscpa.org, click on the Find Committees tab on the left-hand side of the page and then scroll down to the Technology Assurance Committee link.

Registration

To register: contact FAE at 212-719-8383 or 800-537-3635 or visit the Society’s website at www.nysscpa.org (you will need your Society member number to register). Go to the Technology Assurance Committee homepage and select “9/18/03-Reducing Payment System Risks in the Retail Delivery Channel” located under the Evening Technical Session banner.

Acknowledgments

J.H. Cohn LLP and Carpenter Information Technologies, Inc., helped provide the funding and resources for the sandwiches and soft drinks, marketing and publicity, and administration of this event.