Suffolk Chapter Continues to Up Its Ante, Committed to Making a Difference in the Community and the Profession

With a population of approximately 1,300,000, the people of Suffolk County are proud of their beautiful beaches that border the Long Island Sound on the North Shore and the Atlantic Ocean on the South Shore. They are proud of their parks, vineyards, schools, cultural institutions and scenic attractions that include Cold Spring Harbor (an old whaling port) and Montauk Point, the farthest point east on Long Island. And the more than 2,200 New York State Society of CPAs members who live or work in Suffolk County are proud of their chapter.

The Suffolk Chapter started the year swinging with its Annual June CPA/Bankers’ Golf Outing. The turnout was great, as always, and the prizes were quite nice. Not to be outdone, our Young CPAs Committee organized an equally successful golf event in September, which raised funds for a charitable organization, the “Marty Lyons Foundation.”

A trip to the ballpark proved to be a very successful summer social activity. One beautiful evening, about 300 family members picnicked together and accompanied our member CPAs to a Long Island Ducks minor league baseball game.

In addition to the social events, professional activities have kept the chapter and its committees, very busy providing continuing professional education credits through technical sessions and arranging networking events. Several of our committees, including the General Tax, Cooperation with Attorneys, Cooperation with Bankers and Other Credit Grantors, and the Young CPAs committees already have held several of these events.

Our General Tax Committee has remained active through technical sessions on the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and a half-day Estate Planning Conference and is now planning an all-day tax update in December and a Form 1040 workshop in January 2002.

The Cooperation with Attorneys Committee has held two networking events and is planning another one for the spring, where two continuing legal education and two CPE credits can be earned by attorneys and CPAs, respectively.

Our Cooperation with Bankers and Other Credit Grantors Committee traditionally has worked together with our neighbors in the Nassau Chapter to present a seminar and networking event with the banking community. This year was no exception as 140 CPAs and bankers from the Nassau and Suffolk chapters attended the Oct. 17 seminar.

The success of that cooperative effort led to another joint undertaking. For the first time, the Nassau and Suffolk chapters jointly presented an all-day accounting and auditing update on Nov. 17 that provided practitioners with eight CPE credits.

One of our most active committees is our Young CPAs. This committee has organized many successful events in past years and they managed to outdo themselves this year. This fall they held a big networking event that drew a large crowd of bankers, CPAs, attorneys and some “slightly older” professionals, too. Besides the networking opportunities, the activities of the Young CPAs Committee are often socially responsible events that try to make a difference. The committee has organized a Toys for Tots program for the past six years, and last year committee members collected more than 10,000 toys from local CPA firms.

The Young CPAs Committee also works with accounting students and CPA candidates, and is working to coordinate visits to high schools and colleges by our chapter board and members. During these visits, CPAs speak to students on a one-on-one basis or in a classroom setting and outline the career opportunities available to the professional accountant.

The chapter and its board have also been keeping up with current American Institute of CPAs’ initiatives, having held briefings and question-and-answer sessions in the summer and the fall to inform our membership on issues pertaining to the Institute’s proposed XYZ global credential. Our newsletter has also been put to good use on this matter and the AICPA membership ballot, and we are encouraging our members to go out and vote.

Last, but not least, all of us have been touched by the horrendous events of Sept. 11 and we are trying to find ways to deal with them on an individual and professional basis. We are very supportive of the activities the Society is undertaking to assist CPAs, as well as those families and individuals impacted by the disaster. The chapter will continue to offer its help. Additionally, the chapter’s board will meet to outline additional volunteer services we can render here in Suffolk County for those in need.

As a chapter, we have our work cut out for us to keep our organization and the CPA profession viable. These objectives require commitment and dedication, but in the end, they will be worthwhile and they will be achieved. w