The Trusted Professional

December 1998 Articles

State Board Recommends CPE Expansion
The New York State Board for Public Accountancy voted at its November 18 meeting to recommend that the State Education Department include technology and some practice management courses as qualifying for continuing professional education in New York. (Article)

AICPA Proposal Redefines Client
The AICPA issued an exposure draft on November 16 that provides guidance on accepting commissions and contingent fees in relation to attest clients, and also proposes changes to a number of other ethics interpretations and rulings. Comments are due by January 15, 1999. (Article)

SEC Proposal Mandates New Independence Disclosures
The Independence Standards Board, the regulatory group formed jointly by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the AICPA, recently issued an exposure draft that requires auditors of public companies to discuss their independence with their clients' audit committees or boards of directors annually during the course of the audit. (Article)

President's Commentary
A recent article in Accounting Today reminded me not to believe everything I read. Not that the article was wrong, but it was not exactly right. The slant was perhaps more to create controversy than to report information. This article leads one to believe that the NYSSCPA is going against the AICPA on the proposed model accountancy law--the Uniform Accountancy Act. We are not going against the Institute. We get along and communicate with them in a friendly and professional manner, even when we do not agree. Essentially, they are swell people. Their high officials have even participated at our board meeting. (Article)

Leadership Academy Hosts Conference
The NYSSCPA Leadership Academy held its second annual conference October 25 and 26, providing its members with opportunities to meet the Society's leaders and other CPA attendees from around the state and hear updates on important professional and technical topics. The conference featured educational sessions as well as social events, including dinner and entertainment in New York City, to encourage participants to interact with their peers and NYSSCPA leaders. Following a networking lunch, Society President George T. Foundotos (Suffolk) opened the formal program with a discussion on the Uniform Accountancy Act and the NYSSCPA's position on various provisions. The UAA will affect CPAs and the future of the profession as it presents sweeping changes in regulation and other areas, and Foundotos said the Society hopes to bring it before the state legislature in the near future. He also emphasized that Leadership Academy members should learn more about the UAA and communicate their views to others in the profession. (Article)

Society Hosts Chinese Delegation
Chinese tax professionals from the Jiangsu Province visited the NYSSCPA on October 9 to learn about tax compliance in the United States. Led by Guan-Rong Mi, director of the Jiangsu Province State Taxation Bureau, the delegation included 25 municipal and provincial tax professionals who were in the United States at the invitation of the Southern Connecticut State University's School of Business and Morgan Pacific Co. (Article)

Views in the News With Michael Urbach
(Article)

Society Website Offers New Resources
The NYSSCPA's redesigned website, www.nysscpa.org, recently added new sections to provide more helpful technical, business, and informational resources. (Article)

Survey Requests Input on Website
The member survey enclosed in this newspaper is an effort to identify new online services of interest to members to strengthen the Society's website. (Article)

Westchester CPAs Help Local Businesses
The NYSSCPA Westchester Chapter is participating in the Westchester Urban Areas Business Assistance Program, sponsored by the Westchester County Association in collaboration with mayors of seven area municipalities. (Article)

IRS Commissioner Reports on Restructuring Progress
The "enormity of change" at the Internal Revenue Service is staggering, according to IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti. Speaking before a recent New York City meeting of the Council on Economic Development, Rossotti provided an update on the agency's restructuring since he became commissioner in November 1997. (Article)

IRS Representatives Address Plenary Session
George Deller, IRS taxpayer advocate for the northeast region, and Thomas R. Burger, director of the IRS's national office of employment tax administration and compliance, were among the speakers at NYSSCPA's 18th Invitational Tax Plenary Session, held at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers on November 19. (Article)

Society Coffee Wagon Greets CPA Exam Candidates
Hundreds of CPA candidates received free coffee, pastries, and key rings on their way to take the November CPA exam in New York City, thanks to the NYSSCPA Membership Committee, which initiated and helped organize the hospitality event. (Article)

Estate Planning Dinner Highlights Grantor Trusts
Arthur Sederbaum, Esq., from Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, discussed the use of grantor trusts at the NYSSCPA Estate Planning Committee's annual fall dinner meeting, held on November 18 at the Yale Club in New York City. Sederbaum examined the planning opportunities and pitfalls in using this strategy. (Article)

CPAs Teach Reporters to Interpret Financial Statements
The NYSSCPA Cooperation with Financial Media Committee, chaired by Julie Floch, has created a series of customized seminars for Reuters America, a leading financial news service, to help reporters better interpret financial statements. The committee, which conducts both beginning and advanced sessions, recently presented "Understanding Financial Statements," a basic program for Reuters reporters new to the financial beat. (Article)

SED Streamlines Discipline Process
The State Education Department's Office of the Professions has made significant changes and improvements to its handling of disciplinary actions. It will expand its pilot program to streamline administrative processes to all 38 licensed professions-- including CPAs--in January. (Article)

AcSEC and FASB Issue Proposals on Film Industry Accounting
The AICPA's Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board recently issued concurrent proposals on accounting by producers and distributors of motion picture films. Comments for both are due on January 18, 1999. (Article)

Committee Provides Updates on HUD and NYC Tax Commission Initiatives
At the November meeting of the Real Estate Committee, chaired by Elliot Lesser (Westchester), committee member Abraham Haspel reported on the status of two important projects that impact many New York CPAs: the U.S. Department of Housing's (HUD) electronic filing initiative and the New York City Tax Commission revision to form TC309. (Article)

FASB Rules on Accounting for Mortgage-Backed Securities
The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 134, Accounting for Mortgage-Backed Securities and Certain Other Interests Retained after the Securitization of Mortgage Loans Held for Sale by a Mortgage Banking Enterprise, amending FASB Statement 65. SFAS 134 requires that after the securitization of mortgage loans held for sale, an entity engaged in mortgage banking activities classify the resulting mortgage-backed securities and other beneficial interests based on its ability and intent to sell or hold those investments. (Article)

Volunteer Programs Help Candidates Build Tax Skills
CPA candidates can gain professional skills and hands-on tax preparation experience by volunteering for tax assistance programs sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and Community Tax Aid. (Article)

Accountants as Communicators
While accountants have been stereotyped as bean counters or number crunchers, good writing skills are an essential element to their success. Accountants must master the concepts and proper application of generally accepted accounting principles, but also must show they can communicate that understanding to peers, superiors, and clients. (Article)

Student Education Night a Hit on Staten Island
NYSSCPA Staten Island Chapter's Education Night, an annual event that invites sophomores, juniors, and seniors to meet chapter members and hear presentations from local CPAs, attracted close to 100 college students from local schools. Held this year on October 8, the event included representatives from St. John's University, the College of Staten Island, Wagner College, and Pace University. (Article)

Chapters Reach out to Students
Staten Island was the first chapter to introduce an education night over ten years ago, but similar programs soon spread to other chapters. These events promote a positive image of the accounting profession and allow students to interact with CPAs in an informal, friendly atmosphere. (Article)

Students Learn About CPA Profession at Career Fair
Close to 100 college students from schools throughout the New York metropolitan area learned about opportunities in the accounting profession at the fall Career Fair sponsored by the NYSSCPA Minority Group Recruitment and Equal Opportunity Committee, chaired by Jo Ann Golden (Utica). (Article)

Practice Management Committees Discuss Staffing Needs
Large, medium, and small public accounting firms face the same staffing issues--finding, hiring, and retaining professional staff. These common concerns were apparent from discussions at a joint meeting of the Large-Sized and Medium-Sized Firm Practice Management committees on October 22, and a meeting of the Small-Sized Firm Practice Management Committee on October 26. (Article)

Committee Meets with AICPA Accounting Standards Representatives
The Financial Accounting Standards Committee is the NYSSCPA's senior technical accounting committee. Under the oversight of the General Committee on Accounting and Auditing, it reviews exposure drafts on matters related to its respective areas of expertise, develops proposed positions for submission to the Society's board of directors, tracks emerging practice problems to bring to the attention of the board, and initiates and maintains liaisons with industry, government, and other related organizations that affect committee activities. (Article)

Talking Real Estate with Alan Hoffman
The Foundation for Accounting Education's Real Estate Accounting and Taxation Conference will take place on January 20, 1999 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City. To find out more about the program, The Trusted Professional spoke to conference Chair Alan Hoffman (Nassau), who also serves as a member and past chair of the NYSSCPA's Real Estate Committee. (Article)

Consolidated Financial Statements
The financial statements presented in this edition of The Trusted Professional reflect a year of loyal member volunteerism, dedicated staff, and a transition period to prepare for a new executive director. We continue to be committed to quality professional service to our clients, the financial markets, and the public at large. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Without our devoted membership, we would be unable to fulfill our mission. (Article)

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