Participate in the Society’s Strategic Planning Process, Earn Free Ethics CPE

Plan to attend a scheduled free two-hour continuing professional education course on ethics in accordance with the new state mandate at one of the New York State Society of CPAs’ 17 chapters. The course, Where Ethics and Liability Cross Paths, Part II, is being held in conjunction with the annual NYSSCPA Officers Visitation, in which President Jo Ann Golden, President-Elect Jeffrey R. Hoops and Executive Director Louis Grumet will be on hand to discuss the Society’s strategic planning process.

The Society’s board of directors has asked for input from the chapters on the three major goals of the plan. Please give some thought to the role that the Society should play in advocacy for the profession, education for our members, and the strengthening of Society membership criteria. Encourage as many of your colleagues as possible to attend this event as we steer the Society in a new direction to meet the challenges of today’s practice environment. The Society feels very strongly that as a professional organization we need to take a proactive stance in how changes will occur in the CPA profession.

All CPAs licensed by the state of New York should attend. CPAs are now required to take four hours of ethics CPE during each of their triennial license renewal periods, beginning Sept. 1, 2001. For a complete discussion of the ethics CPE requirement, please refer to the NYSSCPA Web page: www.nysscpa.org/faeorg/courseguidelines.htm.

This seminar will help practitioners understand how in today’s environment adhering to the profession’s ethical responsibilities might sometimes still place them in the middle of a potential liability problem. This session will identify some of the rules of professional conduct, review situations where ethics and liability may cross paths, and offer guidance on how to avoid potential pitfalls

Highlights

• An overview of the changes to the independence rules (i.e., General Accounting Office, American Institute of CPAs)
• Ethical issues for CPAs in industry (i.e., illegal acts by management, whistle blowing, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Standards)
• Common ethical violations as reported by the New York State Board for Public Accountancy
• Updates regarding Statements on Standards in Tax Services (SSTS) and Treasury Circular 230
• New York State Education Department ethics update
• Ethical issues currently facing the profession
• Common ethical scenarios faced by Camico clients
• Comparison and contrast of applicable laws and regulations in other states and organizations.

The speaker, John F. Raspante, CPA, is manager of Camico’s New York office and leads Camico’s new business efforts in the state of New York and the Northeast. Raspante holds a BBA in accounting and is a member of the AICPA, the NYSSCPA, the New Jersey Society of CPAs, and the National Society of Tax Professionals.

This program complies with the standard set forth by the New York State Education Department for mandatory continuing education for CPAs. FAE’s New York state CPE sponsor number is 000372.

If a CPA decides to complete his/her CPE in a concentration, they have two options regarding the ethics component. They may complete 24 hours in the concentration and four additional hours in a general ethics course, or, if they choose to complete an ethics course in taxation/auditing/accounting, they may include this in the 24 hours of study in the concentration area of taxation/auditing/accounting.