Committee Service Rises More Than 30 Percent
NYSSCPA members' participation on Society committees rose more than 30 percent this year, reversing a decline of the past several years. A total of 1,775 members now serve on committees compared to 1,327 in the 1998-99 year which ended May 31. (Article)

State Budget Late Again
Governor Pataki and the New York State Legislature finally agreed to a budget on August 5, setting a record by one day for the latest budget in state history. Passed 127 days after the April 1 deadline mandated by state law, this marks the 15th year in a row that lawmakers did not pass the budget on time. (Article)

AICPA Eliminates Committees to Align with Vision
The AICPA board of directors approved a shift in the Institute's committee structure that will eliminate many and transform a number of permanent committees into task forces operating on a project basis. (Article)

President's Commentary
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Survey Reports CPA Computer and Internet Use
NYSSCPA President Alan E. Weiner and Executive Director Louis Grumet met with New York State Bar Association President Tom Rice and Executive Director William Carroll on July 1. The meeting was part of an effort to forge a closer relationship between the accounting and legal professions. (Article)

Accepting Commissions in NY
While the State Education Department continues to express concern that taking commissions may reduce CPAs' stature and status with the public, since its policy under current law limits its ability to discipline CPAs, some advisors recommend that CPAs should cautiously look at how they can accept commissions and referral fees and develop new structures to better compete. (Article)

Congress and President Wrangle Over Tax Cut
Congress approved a $792 billion tax cut bill on August 5 and plans to submit legislation to President Clinton in September after its summer recess. (Article)

Society Recruits International Members
The NYSSCPA's new international associate membership category kicked off this month with a direct mail to chartered accountants (CAs) based in New York, ongoing support of top firms to communicate the information to their staffs, and high visibility on the website and in The Trusted Professional. (Article)

Tax Judge Encourages CPAs to Represent Public in Disputes
Administrative Law Judge Anne Murphy of the New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal recently addressed the NYSSCPA New York State, Municipal, and Local Taxation Committee, chaired by Barry Horowitz. She encouraged the committee, and CPAs in general, to take a more active role representing taxpayers in tax controversies with the city. (Article)

Task Force Studies Forming New Chapters
In an effort to better reach out to NYSSCPA members across the state, 1998-1999 Society President George T. Foundotos created a task force to study whether or not to form new chapters. The group will examine how to meet the needs of NYSSCPA members who live in some of the chapters' outlying regions, and also will address the New York City area. (Article)

October Conferences Examine Tax and Industry Trends
FAE's October conferences give updates on developments in the banking and publishing industries, address special tax areas including sales and partnerships, and help CPAs in new or existing practices meet the growing demand for consulting services. (Article)

AICPA to Send Vision CD to Members
The AICPA has produced a multimedia CD-ROM on the CPA Vision for individuals to use both as a research tool and interactive guide to learn how the vision applies to them. (Article)

TechCenter The Hacker: A Growing Network Security
The security aspects of a network can overwhelm any information services department. It seems that every week there are some new "holes" in a program or operating system that need to be patched before that vulnerability is used by someone for unethical or malicious reasons. (Article)

FAE Offers New Consulting Conference
In response to the professional demands faced by CPAs, David Rauch and Peter Frank have developed FAE's first Consulting Services Conference, to be held October 20 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City. (Article)

CPA-Musicians Perform at Show and Annual Conference
CPAs express their varied talents not only with debits and credits but also by creating original music with accounting themes. Attendees at the 1999 CPAs' Finance, Business and Technology Show and Conference and the NYSSCPA Annual Conference received an added bonus--a performance by Society members Peter Frank and Eric Cohen of their parody, "That Thing Called Y2K." (Article)

Website FAQs
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FAE Courses Filled to Capacity
Greater-than-usual attendance at seminars and conferences and later-than-ever registrations have prompted the Foundation for Accounting Education to encourage members to register early for events. FAE staff members say this will help ensure member placement in their desired courses and enable the smooth running of events. (Article)

Letters to the Editor
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Primedia President and Time Editor Headline Publishing Conference
FAE's 15th annual Publishing and New Media Conference will feature keynote speaker Charlie McCurdy, president of Primedia Inc., and Norman Pearlstine, editor-in-chief of Time Inc. (Article)

Chapters Organize for New Year
The NYSSCPA Buffalo, Southern Tier, and Syracuse chapters held their organizational meetings last month to outline goals for the year and begin planning events. (Article)

Society Presents 1999-2000 Officers and Board Members
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Chapter Presidents
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Chapter Happenings
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Delays Implementation of Derivatives and Hedging Standard
Citing concerns about companies' ability to modify their information systems and educate their managers in time to apply Statement 133 on derivatives and hedging, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has delayed the statement's effective date for one year, to fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2000. The delay, published as FASB Statement 137, applies to quarterly and annual financial statements. (Article)

Issues Interpretation on Real Estate Sales Accounting
The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently published an interpretation of Statement 66 on real estate sales. (Article)

Gives Guidance on Not-for-Profit Issues
The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently issued new accounting guidance for transfers of assets to a not-for-profit organization that raises or holds contributions for other organizations. (Article)

Will Not Pursue R&D Accounting Treatment
The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently announced that it would postpone its consideration of the accounting treatment for costs associated with purchased in-process research and development, or R&D. Current accounting treatment, which allows companies to write off purchased R&D immediately in an acquisition, would remain the same. (Article)

My COAP Experience
The alarm buzzed loudly in my ear at 7 a.m. I slowly woke up, turned it off, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. It was Sunday, June 27, the first day of the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program at Pace University. My anticipation started to build; it was my first time running the entire COAP program. I sat up in bed and hoped that everything would run smoothly. (Article)

ISB Seeks Comment on Family Relationships Proposal
The Independence Standards Board authorized the release of a proposal to revise rules concerning independent auditors with family members who are employed by clients. (Article)

1998-1999 Annual Report
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Business Valuation Expert Shannon Pratt Comes to New York
Dr. Shannon Pratt, a leading specialist in business valuation, will speak at a Foundation for Accounting Education program on October 25 in New York City. (Article)