Accountancy Reform Law
NYSSCPA Approved as Sponsoring Org
The New York State Education Department’s Quality Review Oversight Committee approved on Feb. 8 the NYSSCPA as a sponsoring organization that may administer and oversee mandatory quality reviews in New York State.
Oct. Trusted Professional: Society Critiques Proposed Audit Report Changes
Check out the October issue of The Trusted Professional for Society news and information on the key legislative, regulatory and administrative issues that affect you.
Sept. Trusted Professional: Leadership Conference, Mobility Comes to N.Y. & More
Check out the September isse of The Trusted Professional for Society news and information on the key legislative, regulatory and administrative issues that affect you.
July Trusted Professional: QROC, the NYSSCPA Annual Election Meeting & More
Have you seen the latest issue of The Trusted Professional? Stay on top of Society news and the key legislative, regulatory and administrative issues that affect you.
QROC Holds First Meeting
The state's Quality Review Oversight Committee (QROC), the Regents-appointed, five-member body that will oversee the state's mandatory quality review review program that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012, met for the first time in Albany on June 7 to discuss the basic purpose, structure and functions of the committee.
April Trusted Professional: Mobility Bill, QROC, the CPAPAC & More
Have you seen the latest issue of The Trusted Professional? Stay on top of Society news and the key legislative, regulatory and administrative issues that affect you.
Board of Regents Appoints QROC Members
The New York State Board of Regents appointed four of the five required members of the state’s Quality Review Oversight Committee (QROC), the oversight body of the state’s new mandatory quality review program that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012.
Senate Higher Ed. Committee Moves Mobility Bill to Full Senate
Mobility bill, S2628, was voted unanimously out of the New York State Senate’s Higher Education Committee on Tuesday and will now go before the full Senate for a vote.
PCAOB Approves Budget for 2011
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced that it has approved its $204.4 million budget for 2011, $21.1 million more than its budget for 2010. More than half of the 11.5 percent increase is to address the PCAOB’s new oversight of auditors of broker-dealers, as delineated by the Dodd-Frank Act.
SEC Proposes New Rules to Increase Accountability
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules regarding security-based swaps as well as rules to improve the oversight of investment advisers. The goal of these rules is to increase and strengthen the oversight, accountability and transparency of various market activities, the SEC said.
Members Approve New Category of Membership, Code of Conduct Changes
A proposed NYSSCPA Bylaws change and revisions to the Society’s Code of Professional Conduct were approved by the NYSSCPA’s CPA membership during a members meeting at 10 a.m. this morning at the NYSSCPA offices in Manhattan.
SED Issues Proposed Quality Review Regulations
The New York State Education Department has issued the proposed regulations that, if approved, will implement the quality review provisions of the accounting reform law, and would go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. These regulations are now open to public comment. The public has until Sept. 11, 2010 to respond to these proposed regulations.
CPE Waiver for Nonregistered CPAs Expires July 31
New York licensed-CPAs who are not currently registered, but required to register pursuant to New York’s accountancy law and regulations, have until July 31, 2010 to register with the State Education Department (SED) without having to document completion of 24 hours of CPE in the 12 months prior to their return to practice. Accordingly, after July 31, 2010, any unregistered CPA submitting an application to reactivate his or her registration will be required as a condition of registration to document 24 hours of CPE prior to his or her return to practice
For example, an unregistered CPA who submits an application to reactivate his or her registration between Feb. 1, 2009 and July 31, 2010 can return to practicing accountancy without having completed 24 hours of CPE in the prior 12-month period. However, an unregistered CPA who registers Aug. 1, 2010 or later will be required to provide proof that he or she had completed 24 hours of CPE in the 12 months prior to his or her return to practice.
The new accountancy reform law, enacted on July 26, 2009, requires all New York-licensed CPAs -- including those practicing public accountancy in public practice, industry, government and academia -- within New York state to be registered and earn CPE each calendar including the calendar year in which he or re-registers.
NYSSCPA Wins Big Apple Award
T
he NYSSCPA has won a Big Apple Award from the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) New York chapter for the Society’s communications work on the accountancy reform law.
For more than 20 years, PRSA-NY's Big Apple Awards have been considered the standard of excellence for the New York-area public relations industry. To date, more than 1,000 winning programs have solved problems, met challenges, influenced public opinion and created business opportunities, according to the PSRA’s website.
NY State Comptroller Reports on Accounting Reform Law
The accounting reform law and its impact on government CPAs was highlighted by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli in the winter issue of his newsletter, The Local Government Connection.
Society Board Endorses UAA Section 23 Mobility
SED Relaxes Registration Requirements for Most Retired CPAs on Non- and For-Profit Boards
Most retired or inactive CPAs who serve on non- and for-profit boards of directors will not have to register with the State Education Department or earn continuing professional education, according to a new interpretation of state accountancy regulations released by the SED Dec. 14.
However, these CPAs must seek inactive status from the SED and make certain disclosures to their boards and third parties.
WSJ.com Interviews Grumet on Friehling and Reform Law
Dow Jones newswires interviewed Lou Grumet, NYSSCPA executive director, following the announcement that Bernard Madoff’s auditor David Friehling pleaded guilty.
Test Your Knowledge of the Accounting Reform Law
Pop quiz: When is a New York CPA eligible for exemption from the state's accounting reform law requirement to register with the state and take CPE?
A) If the CPA does not perform audits or create financial statements relied upon by the public.
B) If the CPA does not work at a public accounting firm.
C) If the CPA has entered another field and no longer uses the CPA designation, skills or competencies.
D) All of these answers.
In the News: WSJ Covers NYSSCPA Accounting Reform Outreach
Long before the effective date of the new accountancy reform law, the NYSSCPA was traveling the state, informing CPAs of the new requirements on the horizon.
But still, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, many of those it affects "are in the dark about it."
This, the article notes, includes thousands of tax advisers, from chief financial officers and treasurers at investment banks to certified public accountants at firms around the state. They face penalties -- including having their licenses revoked -- for not complying with the law, which requires them to register with the state education board and take continuing professional education courses.
The law is "the biggest thing in the history of the New York accounting profession since 1897," NYSSCPA Executive Director Lou Grumet told a reporter from Dow Jones.