It is a great honor to be here today - both as a Chairman of the State Board for Public Accountancy and as a returning Baruch alumni. I first entered the hallways of Baruch thirty-five years ago. At the time it was the Baruch School of the City College. Today, of course it is the Baruch College. Our students have maintained that "fire in their belly" commitment towards education, combined with the yearning and hope to become productive and successful members of society.
When I attended Baruch, we had 2300 students - today, we have 15,000 students. Our students come from 90 countries and are a microcosm of the diversity of this great city. Ninety percent of our students are Business majors - making Baruch the largest business school in the nation. Baruch has been called the "Jewel of the CUNY System".
Baruch College has 60,000 alumni, a number of whom majored in Accounting. This city, this nation and this room possess a significant number of CPA's who started their accounting careers with Accounting 101 at the comer of Lexington Avenue and 23rd Street. I am proud of this great institution - its extraordinary students, brilliant faculty and devoted administration
I stand before you today as a Baruch BA graduate, class of 1968, as a Baruch MBA, class of 1972 and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Baruch College Fund.
Upon graduating from Baruch in 1968, 1 began my career in public accounting with the firm of Oppenheim, Appel Dixon & Co. In 1971 1 received my CPA degree. Later in my career I was a partner with the public accounting firm of Richard Eisner & Co. Along the way I had stints in the private sector- I was a Vice President of the Securities firm of Oppenheimer and Chief Financial Officer of Odyssey Partners, a spinoff of Oppenheimer & Co. I am presently Chief Operating Officer of Brahman Partners, a New York based Investment Partnership. I also serve as a member of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compliance Committee of Nomura Securities, Inc., one of the world's largest securities organizations.
In 1993 1 was appointed by the Board of Regents to the State Accountancy Board. In 1998 1 was elected Vice Chairman of the Board and this past June I was elected Chairman of the Board. The State Accountancy Board is composed of 22 members; fifteen members are licensed certified public accountants, five are licensed accountants and two are public members. The members of the Board are from diverse backgrounds. The Board is composed of individuals from the Big 5 accounting firms and from local smaller accounting firms located throughout New York State. The Board has distinguished members from academia and individuals who are associated in the private sectors. We have five standing committees - disciplinary, education, licensing, issues and examination. On a regular basis, the Board members serve on disciplinary panels, review licensing applications, oversee the CPA examinations, play a meaningful role in the continuing education process, and act as a sounding board for issues affecting the profession.
Our role is advisory. We work closely with the State Education Department through our Executive Director, Daniel Dustin and Deputy Commissioner Johanna Duncan-Poitier.
The New York State Accounting Board was first established in 1896. During its 103 year history, the Board has played an important role in the affairs of the profession. At the present time, five members of the New York Accountancy Board are serving on various committees of the National Association of the State Boards of Accountancy. Over the years, many members of the Board have also been involved in the affairs of the New York State Society of CPA's. The Board's composition today represents several hundred years of accounting experience. It is that experience, combined with wisdom and intelligence that I have been able to avail myself to carry out my responsibilities as Board Chairman.
We are here today because the accounting profession is at a crossroads. The changing landscape of American technology, the opportunities in the financial markets and the growth in the American economy have both created and provided CPA's with enormous opportunities and significant challenges. We are all concerned with maintaining the independence of the CPA and, at the same time, providing the public with both high quality professional services and professional integrity.
The State Accountancy Board has been discussing over the past several years the issues which are the subject of today's hearings, Contingency fees, commissions, scope of practice, 150 hour rules, substantial equivalency, CPE, peer review, alternative forms of practice and non-CPE ownership, to the layman these are extremely technical issues. To the CPA professional, the final bill which is passed by the Legislature represents the framework for how CPA's in New York State will function in the next millenium.
At the April 21st, 1999 meeting of the State Board for Public Accountancy we voted on various issues which are the subject of today's hearing. Specifically, the Board unanimously approved a motion reaffirming a broader definition of the scope of practice that allows the State Education Department to regulate all services provided by licensees. The Board feels that commissions and referral fees should not be allowed to be received by licensees. Finally, the Board supported the motion reaffirming the State Education Department's position opposing non-licensee ownership of professional practice. The issue of non-licensee ownership will be addressed in detail by my Vice-Chairman, Robert Fox.
In closing I just want to thank the Committee for the time which you are giving this important legislation. I want to thank the State Education Department for the enormous work that they perform on behalf of the professions, and finally I want to thank my Board for the support which they provide to me.