State Education Department to Audit CPA and Provider Compliance with CPE

The State Education Department will conduct audits starting in January of both providers and participants of continuing professional education to determine compliance with state laws and regulations. (Article)

Earnings Management Update
SEC Proposes Audit Committee Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules on October 6 to improve disclosure about the functioning of corporate audit committees. (Article)

Society to Offer Members Online CPE

The Public Oversight Board's Panel on Audit Effectiveness held hearings in New York City on October 7 and 8 as part of its efforts to hear from the financial community on how to improve the audit process. (Article)

President's Commentary

Travelin' Man ("I'm a travelin' man, I've made a lot of stops all over the world...") was a hit record by Rick Nelson (Tracy's dad) in the early '60s. Well, it hit home with me because September was the month I (together with President-Elect Gerry Sokolski, Vice President for Chapters Nancy Newman-Limata, and Executive Director Lou Grumet) hit the trail to stop, in a seven-day period, at the Suffolk, Northeast (Albany), Syracuse, Rochester, and Utica chapters (five down, six to go) to meet with about 300 CPAs regarding their concerns about the future of the profession, their likes and dislikes about the Society, and whatever else was on their minds. (Article)

Have You Contributed to CPAPAC Yet?

A total of 2,372 NYSSCPA members have contributed approximately $62,000 to CPAPAC, the Society's political action committee, since its formation in April. (Article)

Members Sought as Media Spokespeople

The NYSSCPA public relations department would like to hear from members throughout the state who are interested in responding to the media on tax, accounting, financial planning, and other business and personal finance issues. (Article)

IRS to Issue Alternative ID Numbers for Preparers

A new Internal Revenue Service form will allow paid tax preparers to request an alternative identification number for use on the returns and refund claims they prepare after 1999. (Article)

Society Forms New Industry Committee Division

To establish closer links with more than 11,000 members in industry, the NYSSCPA formed a new industry committee division, approved by the Committee on Committee Operations. (Article)

Leadership Directory Now Available

The 1999-2000 NYSSCPA Leadership Directory is now available, offering members one source for contacts on the Society's leadership, including committee and chapter activities. (Article)

Buffalo Young CPAs Increase Chapter's Visibility

The NYSSCPA Buffalo Chapter Young CPAs Committee, chaired by Mark Koziel, has sponsored several recent events that have helped increase both the committee's and the chapter's visibility in the local community. (Article)

Pocket-protector world is no place for Young CPAs Reprinted from Buffalo Business First Newspaper -- week of September 13, 1999

Their forebears might have been content to live in a pocket-protector world. (Article)

Chapters Invite New CPAs to Officer Visitation Meetings

The NYSSCPA chapters have invited newly licensed CPAs to the officers visitation luncheon and dinner receptions to meet Society leaders, hear updates on the profession and the Society, and get acquainted with their peers. (Article)

Northeast Chapter happenings

"Where exactly is the Northeast Chapter?" I have heard this question frequently as I represent our chapter at NYSSCPA functions. (Article)

Officers Update Suffolk CPAs on Professional Issues The Suffolk Chapter held its annual officers' visitation meeting on September 22. (Article)

Society Establishes CPA Hall of Fame

The NYSSCPA board of directors recently authorized the creation of a New York state CPA Hall of Fame to honor exceptional certified public accountants for their lifetime achievements, vision, and contributions to the profession and the larger community. (Article)

CPAs Can Help Disaster Victims

Tropical Storm Floyd provided New Yorkers with vivid pictures of the devastation natural disasters leave behind. (Article)

Ten Common Business Continuity Planning Mistakes

With increasing reliance on electronic markets and the looming threat from noncompliant Year 2000 media, companies are becoming more and more concerned about business continuity planning (BCP). (Article)

Experts Recommend Reviewing Life Insurance Needs

It is often hard to discuss. Many people put off talking about it. Protecting your family in case of your death is not an easy topic but it is an important one. (Article)

Society Recruits Student Associates

Students actively pursuing an accounting curriculum at a college or university that provides courses to meet the requirements for the CPA exam can now become NYSSCPA associate members. (Article)

CPA License Plates Rolled Out

After months of planning with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, CPA license plates became available on September 1 to all of the state's licensed certified public accountants with New York-registered automobiles. (Article)

The Professional Ethics Committee at Work

Ethics in Action is a new feature of The Trusted Professional to help educate members on ethics issues and provide a greater understanding of the profession's self-disciplinary process. (Article)

Ethics and Regulation Q and A

The NYSSCPA offers assistance for members' questions on ethics and regulation. (Article)

Members In The News

Marc Albaum, own account, talked with The New York Times about the Internal Revenue Service's restructuring. (Article)

WSJ Quotes Society President Two Weeks in a Row

NYSSCPA President Alan E. Weiner recently met with Wall Street Journal Tax Report writer Tom Herman to discuss a variety of accounting and Society issues. (Article)

To Tax or Not to Tax, That Is the Question

The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, a diverse group of telecommunications industry leaders and legislators appointed by Congress as a result of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, convened in New York City on September 14 and 15 to discuss whether or not to tax the Internet. (Article)

Career and Litigation Directories Available on Society Website

Two popular NYSSCPA publications are now available exclusively online--the Career Opportunities Handbook and the Forensic and Litigation Services Directory. (Article)

Adobe^® Acrobat Reader Offers Fill-In Forms It seems that every form on the Internet is created in *.pdf format, which identifies it as an Adobe® Acrobat Reader file, the choice for many web documents, including tax forms and online applications. (Article)

TechCenter
The Basics of Random Access Memory

The most common question I get asked by people in the market for a new computer is "How much RAM should I get?" RAM, or random access memory, is the most common type of memory found in computers and other devices. (Article)

Senate Passes Cybersquatter Legislation

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (S. 1255) which makes it a crime for individuals to acquire Internet domain names that closely resemble trademarked words or phrases solely for the purpose of selling the names for profit. (Article)

Website FAQ's

FAQs, cyberspeak for "frequently asked questions," is a feature of The Trusted Professional that answers common questions about (Article)

Welcome New Members (List)

Geoffrey Permitted to Go Its Own Way

To millions of parents, "Geoffrey" conjures up the image of a cute giraffe printed on the play money used to give store credit on returns to Toys-R-Us. (Article)

New York Tribunal Holds SBA Certificates Taxable

In the September 9 tax case, Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. (USA), the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal held that the interest earned on Small Business Administration guaranteed loan pool certificates is not exempt from New York state tax. (Article)