Society to Offer Members Online CPE
The Foundation for Accounting Education's board of trustees recently approved a partnership between NYSSCPA/FAE and Yipinet LLC, a leading provider of Internet-based learning, to offer online continuing professional education to Society members. (Article)

AICPA Revamps Education Programs
Effective May 2000, the AICPA will discontinue three of its Certificate for Education Achievements programs. Instead, it has created new "academies," each offering correlated curriculum centered around a specific CPA specialty. (Article)

Society Announces Nominating Committee Election Procedures
Article IX of the NYSSCPA bylaws sets forth the procedures to be followed for the election of the Committee on Nominations. (Article)

President's Commentary
August was, at one time, a traditionally slow time for CPAs; however, that's not been the case for hundreds of our members this year. Many of you attended the Leadership Forum in Kerhonkson, NY; others have been busy setting up your chapter programs; still others have organized the operations and formulated the action plans of the State Society committees; and the Society's Executive Committee had its initial meeting. My thanks and appreciation to all of you who have devoted, and continue to devote, countless hours to the success of our Society. (Article)

Society Responds to AICPA Exposure Draft
The NYSSCPA recently responded to an AICPA exposure draft that recommends changes to quality control standards. Controversy continues over the experience requirement in New York state, and the Society stated its disapproval of the exposure draft's strictly qualitative measure of competency for supervising attest engagements. (Article)

Views in the News with Arthur J. Roth
(Article)

AICPA Re-Redesigns Tax Division
In response to concerns from its tax division members, the AICPA re-evaluated plans to eliminate many tax committees, and instead developed a new restructuring model that leaves intact four committees, creates new technical resource panels (TRPs), and establishes task forces on an as-needed basis. (Article)

H&R Block Hires Amex's Yabuki
H&R Block recently named Jeffery W. Yabuki, former president and chief executive officer of American Express Tax & Business Services, to the new position of president, H&R Block International. (Article)

SEC Forces Sale of McGladrey & Pullen's Mutual Fund Practice
As result of H&R Block's acquisition of McGladrey & Pullen LLP (See the July issue of The Trusted Professional.), the Securities and Exchange Commission required McGladrey & Pullen to sell its mutual fund practice. (Article)

Society Recruits CPA Firm Employees
The NYSSCPA's decision--approved by a membership vote--to accept non-CPAs as associate members recognizes that many public accounting firms today employ more and more such professionals in the growth areas of tax and consulting. This new membership category is open to non-CPAs employed by CPA firms. (Article)

Society Introduces Fiscal Year Reform Site
The NYSSCPA recently introduced the Center for Fiscal Year Reform, a special section on the Society's website that contains a number of resources on fiscal year reform. (Article)

Forum Brings Together Society Leaders
The NYSSCPA held its first Leadership Forum that brought together nine groups of Society leaders who met both jointly and separately to discuss various policy issues and future plans. The event took place August 15-17 at the Hudson Valley Resort and Conference Center in Kerhonkson, N.Y. (Article)

PAC Board Approves Bylaws and Policies
At its organizational meeting on August 17, the NYSSCPA political action committee's initial incorporators approved a board of trustees, which then adopted bylaws, elected officers, and endorsed an interim disbursement policy. (Article)

GRDs Discuss Future Direction
On August 16, as part of the NYSSCPA Leadership Forum, the Society's Government Relations Directors met to discuss their future roles and approve policies to provide a formal structure to the committee. (Article)

TechCenter
The media continues to pay a lot of attention to Linux these days. This month's Tech Center provides an overview of this relatively new operating system, including who developed it, its uses, and what challenges it faces in moving from a "computer geek's" program to a more mainstream installation base. (Article)

Electronic Commerce Taxation: The Debate Rages Online
As the old adage says, there are few things more certain in life than death and taxes. Well, the modern day list may just include a third certainty--the Internet. (Article)

Passwords Are Dead!
NYSSCPA chapter and committee leaders agreed at the first annual Leadership Forum to eliminate passwords required to access committee and chapter sections of the Society's website, www.nysscpa.org. (Article)

Society Offers Electronic Mailing Lists to Chapters and Committees
The NYSSCPA has set up multiple electronic mailing lists to better serve the membership and provide easier collaboration among members of Society committee and chapters. (Article)

Website FAQs
FAQs, cyberspeak for "frequently asked questions," is a feature of The Trusted Professional that answers common questions about www.nysscpa.org. Members who have questions or suggestions about the website can post inquiries and comments by clicking on the Technical Problems and Website Suggestions links at the bottom of the home page. (Article)

State Attorney General Asks CPAs to Help Fight Medicaid Fraud
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called on CPAs to help uncover Medicaid fraud. He pointed out that accountants have helped save many millions of Medicaid dollars. (Article)

Panel Responds to Taxpayer Concerns
The Internal Revenue Service's Brooklyn District's Citizen Advocacy Panel (CAP), formed to identify taxpayer problems and propose recommendations, discussed the earned income tax credit, language barriers, and social security, among other issues, at its fifth meeting on August 5. (Article)

SEC Delivers Message on Materiality
On August 12, the Securities and Exchange Commission released Staff Accounting Bulletin 99--Materiality, that sets forth the SEC's views on when and how corporate management and independent auditors should determine whether or not information is material. (Article)

AICPA Issues Broad Ethics Exposure Draft
The AICPA recently issued an ethics exposure draft containing five proposals that address independence, record retention, asset management services, and employee benefits plans of attest clients. Comments are due October 1. (Article)

FASB Proposes Banning Pooling of Interests
The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently issued a proposal that would, among other things, eliminate the pooling of interests method of accounting for business combinations. (Article)

Summer Sizzler a Success in Syracuse
The Syracuse Chapter's third annual Summer Sizzler, which combines a CPE session with a social event, attracted over 100 people on August 18. (Article)

Golf Outing Draws Crowd and Helps Accounting Students
Over 130 bankers and CPAs attended the NYSSCPA Cooperation with Bankers and Other Credit Grantors Committee's annual Golf and Tennis Classic, held on July 26 at the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, New York. The event helps support the Society's Excellence in Accounting Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to needy college accounting students. (Article)

Chapter Happenings
As we begin our 47th year as a chapter, we look forward to an exciting year for our members. The theme of this year's activities is "Quality--Not Quantity." Our chapter programs will strive to educate our members on what is happening in the profession and will continue to offer strong CPE events. (Article)

Young CPAs Network at NYC Museum
Nearly 150 young CPAs from public and private practice, along with other young professionals, gathered at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City on July 27 to attend "An Evening of Fine Arts and Fine Wines," sponsored by the NYSSCPA Metro Area Young CPAs Committee, chaired by Alan Badey. (Article)

Hertz Rolls into Town as Latest Affinity Partner
The NYSSCPA teamed up with Hertz to provide members with discounts of up to 15 percent on domestic automobile rentals and 20 percent rentals in Europe. (Article)

Minority Career Fair Connects Employers and Candidates
Accounting firms and other employers can meet prospective job candidates from diverse ethnic backgrounds at the annual career fair sponsored by the NYSSCPA Minority Group Recruitment and Equal Opportunity Committee. This year's event will take place on Friday, October 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Society's offices at 530 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor (between 44th and 45th streets) in New York City. (Article)

Whatever Happened to the One-on-One Program?
As an active NYSSCPA member and an educator for over 20 years, I have taken great interest in the Society's development of young professionals. Which is why, when I heard Lou Grumet's speech about bringing the profession's knowledge to high school students in order to spur careers in accounting, I was both pleased and puzzled. (Article)

CPAs Needed to Reach Out to Students
In an effort to promote the profession effectively to young potential accountants, including both middle and high school students, the NYSSCPA wants CPA volunteers to speak at local schools. (Article)

Long Term Care Insurance Not Just for Elderly
While more than half the people needing long term care today are 65 years old or older, those between ages of 18 and 64 make up 40 percent of this population. A motor vehicle accident, stroke, heart disease, or chronic illness can incapacitate anyone. The NYSSCPA offers a long term care insurance plan, underwritten by the Travelers Insurance Co., that pays 100 percent of covered expenses, up to the full nursing facility care daily benefit amount for care in a nursing, Alzheimer's, or hospice facility. (Article)

FAE Conferences Provide Industry Updates and Tax and Valuation Strategies
FAE's November conferences feature updates on specialized industries and current practice areas including business valuation and tax planning. (Article)

Ethics and Regulations Q & As
(Article)