Gentlemen:

I appreciate the opportunity to address you on this very important issue. Over the decades there has been explosions of information affecting each and every profession.

Years back, people like Abraham Lincoln clerked with an attorney and became a lawyer. Now young people must earn law degrees and pass bar examinations to become licensed attorneys. A minimum of 7 years of education.

The Accounting profession has for years held the line. In the past, we have recommended to students that they take a masters program to better prepare themselves to serve the public as well as give themselves a competitive edge.

The explosion in Accounting information and technology has been tremendous. We look to give our students that competitive edge. 75% of our student body at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University are minorities, 69% of our student body are females.

Now, our students understand that they need to be properly prepared to meet the challenges ahead. They recognize that to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that will come their way, to be well rounded individuals and to keep ahead of their competition, have already opted for the combined BS/MS degree in Accountancy - a 5 year program, 150 hours.

There has also been an explosion in the required entry level knowledge base. We need only to took at the change in the employment patterns of CPA firms away from college recruiting to experienced hires. This can be viewed as the firms are cutting back on "in house" training due to poor retention and/or they have transferred the burden of education back to the universities.

Professional service firms have expanded their degree criteria for hiring. They look for people with accounting backgrounds to also have knowledge of information technology, finance, insurance, etc.

It is a myth that minorities desire to gain equity in professional status through lower requirements. Percentage wise, there are more minority lawyers, doctors and engineers than in the accounting profession. These students go into these fields fully cognizant of the higher academic requirements and/or many more years of education than currently required by the accounting profession.

There is nothing like the sense of pride and accomplishment one receives upon meeting and overcoming challenges. On a personal note, I must confess that the pride I felt upon meeting the challenges along the way to earning my CPA license gave me a sense of accomplishment that has been unequaled.

Therefore, we strongly support the provisions of Assembly 8600, which would put the 150 hour requirement into place immediately.

Thank you for this opportunity to address you.