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September 2002 Articles

Current Events Meet CPE in Recent Ethics Course

NEW YORK—Ongoing accounting and corporate reporting scandals underscore the pertinence of a year-old state-mandated ethics course that probably would have attracted few CPAs in the early 1990s, a lecturer on ethics said at a recent four-credit CPE session. (Article)

SEC Practice After Enron Conference Probes the Future

NEW YORK—As audit firms and corporate America begin to digest the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and various proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission, questions and concerns abound, but the call for the CPA profession to shape its own future remains loud and clear, a recent New York State Society of CPAs conference revealed. (Article)

State Proposes Record Retention Rule

ALBANY—The New York State Education Department recently published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would set new standards for the documentation and retention of work papers. (Article)

President's Commentary

In a few weeks, a young local high school student will start a year-long vocational program working one day a week at my firm, observing and experiencing what it’s like to be a CPA. She will be the third student I have mentored through the Regional Program for Excellence sponsored by the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). (Article)

Dec. 31 Deadline to Update Prototype Plans or Risk Losing Tax-Qualified Status

Many small employers have prototype profit-sharing or other prototype qualified plans that are sponsored by financial institutions. For most of these types of qualified plans, the clock is ticking for updating them with respect to a number of tax laws that have been enacted from 1995 through 2001. (Article)

NYSSCPA Endorses National Map Survey

The New York State Society of CPAs has agreed to endorse a joint project of two CPA groups to create a new firm management tool. (Article)

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. (Article)

AICPA Leadership Reflects Demographics of Profession

Members of the American Institute of CPAs Board of Directors are drawn from academia, private industry and public practice—from sole practitioners to large firms—reflecting the profession’s multifarious presence in the American economy. (Article)

AICPA Appoints New Public Affairs Officer

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has appointed James A. O’Malley as senior vice president, public affairs, replacing retiring AICPA Vice President John E. Hunnicut. (Article)

Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

President George W. Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-204) on Tuesday, July 30, 2002. Congress presented the act to the president on July 26, 2002, after passage in the Senate by a 99-0 vote and in the House by a 423-3 margin. (Article)

Annual Conference Links CPAs to Technology and CPE

More than 2,000 CPAs filtered through the sprawling convention halls of the New York Hilton Hotel in New York City to network with colleagues and exhibitors while earning continuing professional education (CPE) credit, during the New York CPA, Business and Technology Show and Conference in early August. (Article)

Conference Speaker Offers Suggestions for Simplifying Technology Conundrums

As technology continues to evolve, users risk falling into one of two categories: “dinosaurs” who are so far behind the times that they still run on DOS, or “early adopters” who pay too much to have the latest gadget—usually one that doesn’t yet have the kinks worked out. (Article)

Society Offers Resources for Professional Development, Member Needs

This past spring I attended the organizational meetings of various New York State Society of CPAs chapters. (Article)

Letters to the Editor

Jay Dismukes’ article, “Goodwill Accounting: CPA Brings Modern Business Training to Russia” [The Trusted Professional, page 9, June 2002], brought back many memories of the days when I initiated a program of teaching modern American business methods and accounting to Russian entrepreneurs, government officials, accountants, bankers and anyone in the potential business community who was interested. (Article)

Trade School (Article)

TechCenter

Does your firm or clients have formal or informal electronic communications policies? How do employees know what is expected of them when sending and receiving e-mail with other employees or customers? (Article)

Website of the month (Article)

Rise in Teleconferencing Boosts Committee Participation It used to be that time and travel constraints prevented many members from participating in or even joining a committee. (Article)

Disciplinary matters (Article)

Things to Remember When the Spotlight Is on You

The fall is fast approaching, and with it the opportunity to speak before local community groups. (Article)

Media Exposure Since Enron

The New York State Society of CPAs has emerged as a leading advisor to news outlets covering Enron and other financial reporting scandals. (Article)

The Resume: A Helpful Guide to the Perfect Job Match

The resume is a “blueprint” of a job candidate’s work history. It should contain pertinent information about the candidate to enable the employer to make an informed decision as to whether the candidate should be hired for a specific job. (Article)

NABA Convention Focuses on CPAs of Today and Tomorrow

Scores of minority accountants and future accountants convened at the 31st Annual National Convention hosted by the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) on July 23-27. (Article)

Selecting a Professional Liability Insurance Program

In recent years, CPA firms have been able to choose from about 15 professional liability insurance programs. (Article)