Strategic Planning Task Force Tackles the Future

NEW YORK—The New York State Society of CPAs should take a more active role in public policy issues, utilizing chapters as a strategic resource, and maintaining education as one of its most important services, a NYSSCPA task force has recommended.

“There have been some recent initiatives to expand services to members in industry, young CPAs, etc., but more is needed,” stated a report by the NYSSCPA’s Strategic Planning Task Force.

President Nancy Newman-Limata appointed the task force in part to help the Society be prepared for the possible relocation of its headquarters when its current lease expires in 2004. The task force summarized its recommendations in a report that identified the role the Society has played in the past, how it delivers services, and what it could do in the future to be the “professional organization of choice for all CPAs in New York.”

“The task force was very energetic,” said task force chairman Ronald J. Huefner. “We had very good discussion and a lot of insight from the members. It was a very productive group.”

The task force presented the initial report to the NYSSCPA Board of Directors at its December 4 and 5 meeting during facilitated sessions, Huefner said.

Raw Numbers and Broad Issues

According to the report, the NYSSCPA has about 30,000 members, which represents a slight decrease over the last 10 years. There are 50,000 CPAs in New York state, of whom 33,000 currently have active licenses. About 84 percent are also members of the American Institute of CPAs, and according to limited data, nearly all of the Institute’s 25,000 members in New York also belong to the NYSSCPA.

These members, the report stated, belong to the Society primarily to help them maintain professional expertise, earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit at reduced rates, take advantage of services and discounts, and network with colleagues.

Task force members concluded that the Society’s principal interest is to serve dues-paying members over nonmembers and prospective CPAs, and strongly urged future expansion into advocacy of public policy issues, where the CPA “expertise and independence can contribute to the public good,” the report states.

Members also agreed that the Society should stick more to its role as a service provider than as a leader, and should discover through focus groups, telephone interviews and trial and error what serves members best.

Prioritizing What We Do and How We Do It

The task force during its second meeting in October placed advocacy and education at the top of a list of eight priority services delivered through chapters, committees, staff and other elements, the report stated. The report described advocacy as professional in nature, focusing on licensure, regulation, standards and law, among other things. The task force called education the Society’s second most important activity as members ranked this high among their reasons for maintaining their membership.

Members considered the option of eliminating statewide committees in light of a more active and comprehensive chapter system, the report said. The task force concluded, however, that the 70 or so statewide committees were important for members of similar interests to network while lending a “single voice” for the Society on particular issues. The task force recommended the Society continuously assess and review the committees, however, and encourage committees to keep in contact with counterparts from the various chapters.

Other important Society activities include networking opportunities, programs that engender civic responsibility, such as charities and community service, efforts to recruit new talent to the profession, and other services like insurance and affinity programs.

The task force also included public policy analysis as a priority, though it is not currently a major role of the Society, and membership recruitment, the report stated.

The task force affirmed the Society’s commitment to chapters as an “important means of service delivery,” the report stated. With the establishment of six new provisional chapters, the task force believes the Society is now in the position to systematically use the chapters to provide services locally.

Education

While task force members agreed on priorities, there was extensive discussion about education and how it is currently offered through the Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE).

According to the report, FAE saw 19,428 registrations representing some 8,144 discrete people in 2000-2001, with 60 percent of the NYSSCPA membership “always or sometimes” using FAE for their CPE. Although FAE operates as a separate entity, it relies financially on the NYSSCPA.

Members took two general positions, the report said, with one side advocating that education be viewed as one of many member services, and the other side averring that if education as a service could not break even or make a profit then the Society should abandon it to the myriad other CPE providers.

Nevertheless, the report said, the task force did agree that the Society should continue to provide members education, by narrowing its focus on particular segments of the market. Any Society subsidy, the task force agreed, should be budgeted and carefully controlled.

At their Nov. 27 meeting, the FAE Board of Trustees also passed resolutions recommending that the Society’s board of directors recognize education as an important membership service and that it “continues to subsidize statewide CPE offerings at a budgeted annual defecit with the goal to make every effort to minimize this expense.”

What’s Next

The report served as a launching point for two days of facilitated discussion during the Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 board meeting. The board decided to continue discussion through e-mail and telephone conferences over the next month, taking a week to develop a resolution for each of four issues: advocacy, education, chapters and committees.

The board will hold a vote on their resolutions in March.