he Report: FAS 140 Played Role in Lehman's Repo 105 Accounting ...

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Vol. 13 No. 7 • April 15, 2010 The Newspaper of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants www.nysscpa.org
IRS Moves to Require CPAs
to Reregister PTINs, Pay Fee
By MELISSA HOFFMANN LAJARA
Trusted Professional Staff
NEW YORK—If recently proposed IRS
regulations are adopted, CPAs will be
required to register and pay a “modest” fee
to have their existing preparer tax identification
numbers (PTINs) reissued as a part
of the IRS’s efforts to regulate the tax
preparation industry, IRS spokesperson
Dianne Besunder recently confirmed.
What the modest fee might be has yet to
be determined, Besunder said.
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman
announced on Jan. 4 that his agency would
begin regulating tax return preparers by
implementing the recommendations for tax
preparer regulation published in a study
completed last June. On March 26, the IRS
proposed regulations that would put into
effect recommendations requiring all paid
tax return preparers who sign federal
returns to register or reregister with the IRS
and obtain or renew their PTIN.
WHAT’S INSIDE
Message from the President—New York needs
mobility, page 2.
Staying Sane in Tax Season—Page 3.
Talking Points—PCAOB seeks to enhance
communication standard, page 4.
Tweedie: IFRS or Bust—Page 6.
When I Do Becomes I Don’t—Tax tips for the
divorcing couple, page 7.
Balance Due—Two IRS campuses scrutinized
for collections procedures, page 9.
CPAs in Industry—Page 12.
Disciplinary Matters—Page 13.
New Members—Page 16.
Lifeline—CPAs, N.Y. publications partner to
answer tax questions.
Classifieds—Page 22.
Chapter Newsletters
Pages 17–20
Chapters in this issue include:
Buffalo
Manhattan/
Bronx
Mid Hudson
Nassau
Northeast
Queens/
Brooklyn
Rochester
Rockland
Suffolk
Westchester
PTIN reregistration will not be a one-time
obligation, the IRS said. The proposed regulations
would require a preparer to “regularly
renew the PTIN, and pay associated user
fees.” More details about registration and
fees would be outlined in future guidance,
the agency said.
The IRS’s proposal, once finalized, will
implement IRS rules requiring an estimated
1.2 million paid tax preparers in the United
States to obtain and use PTINs on all tax
returns and refund claims they prepare after
Dec. 31, 2010. A new system is expected to
be launched by the agency later this year
whereby all return preparers would be
required to register, regardless of whether
or not they already have a PTIN, according
to a statement from the agency.
Tax preparers have historically been able
to use their own Social Security numbers
(SSNs) in place of a PTIN, but this practice
will no longer be permitted. The IRS said
in its proposed regulations that the PTIN
requirement would “help maintain the confidentiality
of SSNs.”
Instructions for foreign tax return preparers
are in development and will be available
before tax return preparers will be required
to obtain a PTIN, according to the IRS.
If a tax preparer uses an expired identifying
number after the finalized implementation
date, the proposed regulations state
that he or she would be liable for Section
6695(c) preparer penalties, unless “reasonable
cause” can be proven.
The plan to regulate preparers in this
way was first outlined in recommendations
made by the agency in its Publication 4832,
Return Preparer Review, launched in
June 2009, and was released in January.
The report also recommended that non-
CPA preparers be subject to competency
checks and continuing professional education
(CPE) requirements.
This competency testing, which will
come with its own set of fees, is only being
considered for non-CPA practitioners,
Besunder said. Those regulations have not
yet been released for comment.
While CPAs will not be subject to the
proposed competency testing or CPE
requirements at this time, the agency has
stated that it is keeping that option open.
NYSSCPA Taxation of Individuals
Committee member Barry S. Kleiman
feels this is unnecessary.
“CPAs are already state-licensed and
(Continues on page 10)
Photo: Melissa Hoffmann Lajara
The Times Square offices of Lehman Brothers in Manhattan, on Sept. 15, 2008, the
day the firm declared bankruptcy. A new report from the court-appointed bankruptcy
examiner scrutinizes the firm’s use of FAS 140.
Report: FAS 140 Played Role in
Lehman’s Repo 105 Accounting
By CHRIS GAETANO
Trusted Professional Staff
Amassive bankruptcy examiner’s 2,200page
report detailing the specific circumstances
behind the demise of
financial giant Lehman Brothers Holdings
Inc. highlights some of the inherent weaknesses
in a rules-based accounting environment
due to the firm’s utilization of an
off–balance sheet device the firm called a
“Repo 105” transaction, a type of repurchase
and resale transaction that complied
with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP) but raises questions.
Repo 105, said the report, written by
Anton R. Valukas, the court-appointed
bankruptcy examiner in Lehman’s Chapter 11
proceedings, is nearly identical to any other
repurchase and resale transaction, which
many firms use every day to raise shortterm
financing, wherein a company sells
assets—in Lehman’s case, securities—with
the understanding that they’ll buy them
back within a few days at the same price
plus some interest.
The difference lies in how they are
counted. Ordinarily, said the report, these
agreements are treated on the balance sheet
as financing transactions. Repo 105 transactions,
on the other hand, were counted as
sales. Lehman would use the cash it got
from the Repo 105 transactions to pay
down its liabilities, thereby reducing both
the total liabilities and the total assets
reported on its balance sheet and lowering
its leverage ratios.
In the days leading up to a reporting period,
said the report, Lehman would increase
its use of these transactions to reduce its
publicly reported net leverage as well as its
balance sheet. Then, a few days after the
new quarter began, Lehman would then borrow
the necessary funds to repay the cash
borrowing, plus interest, repurchase the
securities and restore the assets to its balance
sheet, said the report. These transactions
were not reported on Lehman’s periodic
reports.
“Although Lehman had in effect borrowed
tens of billions of dollars in these transactions,
Lehman did not disclose the known
obligation to repay the debt,” said the
report.
The report quoted former Lehman
Brothers Global Financial Controller
Martin Kelly in saying that a careful review
of Lehman’s 10-K and 10-Q would not
have revealed the use of Repo 105 transactions
and “that the only purpose or motive
for the transactions was reduction in balance
sheet.”
(Continues on page 14)

President’s Commentary
2
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
The Time Has Come for Mobility in New York
As many of you
may know, the
NYSSCPA’s
Board of Directors
unanimously passed a
resolution in January
in support of CPA
mobility as outlined
in Section 23 of the
Uniform Accountancy
Act (UAA). This is a David J. Moynihan
positive step for the
Society and ultimately New York CPAs for
a few reasons, but first I want to tell you
exactly what this provision of the UAA
says and what it means for you, especially
if you’re a small CPA practitioner in New
York state.
The accountancy reform law that went
into effect last year made huge strides
towards updating the law that governs
accountancy in New York by expanding the
CPA scope of practice, mandating continuing
professional education (CPE) for all
practicing CPAs in public practice, industry,
government and academia, and as of
Jan. 1, 2012, mandating quality reviews of
firm attest services. Now that we have successfully
updated the accountancy law in
New York state, it is time to take the next
step: CPA mobility.
Put simply, mobility, or the cross-border
practice privilege, allows a CPA licensed in
good standing in his or her substantially
equivalent home state to provide services to
clients in other states without having to file
any paperwork or pay any fees. It makes
sense that in 2010 you could send an e-mail
to a client in another state without having
to fill out an application, right? That’s
because states that have adopted this legislation—and
46 states have already done
so—have basically made sure that their
requirements for licensure are “substantially
equivalent” to those outlined in UAA
Section 23.
So it’s a uniformity thing. In order for it
to work—and by work, I mean, in order to
ensure that all the CPAs providing services
outside of their home states meet the highest
set of standards—each state had to
adopt Section 23 of the UAA, which
requires three criteria: mandating a 150hour
education requirement to become a
CPA (that went into effect in New York in
August); removing the state’s notification
requirements (that would mean no more
temporary practice permits); and—this is
significant—giving the state’s board of
public accountancy automatic jurisdiction
over visiting CPAs and the CPA firm
employing them.
If New York adopts Section 23 mobility,
every CPA who practices here under the
mobility practice privilege would fall under
the jurisdiction of New York whenever they
crossed the border—physically, or even virtually,
by e-mail or online. And with the
passage of the accountancy reform law last
year, I’d feel a lot safer knowing that every
CPA who is practicing here would be subjected
to our laws. I know New York’s law
is tough, and it will be tough on any CPA
who practices here if we adopt mobility
legislation.
While all New York CPAs and CPA
firms would benefit from this legislation,
small firms and practitioners may benefit
most, without fear of so-called “quid pro
quo” retaliation by other states (that’s when
other states deny New York CPAs mobility
practice privileges because New York has
failed to adopt Section 23 mobility). Large
firms have whole departments dedicated to
compliance; small firms and sole practitioners
have themselves. They should not have
to waste their time or resources poring over
state licensing requirements. In 2010, even
small firms no longer compete with the
firm just down the street or across the county.
Technology allows them to compete
with small firms across the country, and
definitely across state lines. Why would we
want to restrict our sole practitioners and
small firms from serving their clients wherever
they may be?
And remember, 46 other states have
already adopted mobility legislation, which
means hundreds of thousands of CPAs can
provide services in those 46 states, without
filling out an application that may take
months to process. That’s not real-time
service for the 21st century, which is what
clients have grown to expect. New York
made great strides last year when it overhauled
its 100-year-old accountancy law.
We have to help keep the momentum going
and ensure that our laws allow New York
CPAs to compete across state lines and in a
global economy, while continuing to maintain
the highest standards of public protection.
The law and the protection are now
there. It’s time for mobility in New York
state.
president@nysscpa.org
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PRESIDENT
David J. Moynihan, CPA
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Peggy A. Wood, CPA
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Joseph M. Falbo Jr., CPA
VICE PRESIDENTS
Elliot A. Lesser, CPA
Mark L. Meinberg, CPA
C. Daniel Stubbs Jr., CPA
Liren Wei, CPA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Louis Grumet
ACTING EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Joanne S. Barry
EDITOR
Colleen Lutolf
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Melissa Hoffmann Lajara
STAFF WRITER
Chris Gaetano
COPY EDITORS
Gene Cioffi
Christopher Davis
ART DIRECTOR
Larry E. Matthews
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Roxanne Torres
Permission to reprint The Trusted Professional articles is granted with
few exceptions. Written requests indicating title, author, publication
date, and intended use of the reprint should be made prior to each use
by contacting the editor at 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5991,
212-719-8392, or clutolf@nysscpa.org.

3
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Surviving Tax Season
For CPAs working in taxation, the “busy season” means phones ring incessantly and every client
needs attention until the dreaded April 15 personal income tax filing deadline passes.
In the weeks leading up to that fateful date, some of the NYSSCPA’s individual tax practitioners were kind enough to
spare a few moments in order to share their secrets to staying sane during this tumultuous time.
STEPHEN P. VALENTI
Member, Tax Division Oversight Committee and several
other Society committees
“I think about summer musical theater!”
JUNE BALYK-MARTIN
Member, Taxation of Individuals Committee
“I just back from one of my coping mechanisms—
a luxurious hour-long massage.”
BARRY S. KLEIMAN
Member, Taxation of Individuals Committee
“I have a putting green in my office; however, it is covered with
tax return files. I tune in the radio—after hours of course—
to hard rock [or] heavy metal. My coworkers don’t mind until
I start singing along.”
ELLIOT L. HENDLER
Member, SEC Practice Committee
“I watch T.V. I take walks. But I’ve always had trouble
separating my office and home lives. When I go home,
I turn on the computer to try to catch up on the
50 e-mails I get a day.”
LAWRENCE STACK
Member, Taxation of Individuals Committee
“I take Krav Maga. It’s an Israeli self-defense class. In this
class we learn to be aggressive in hitting our opponents’
vulnerable parts. All parts of the body are accessible. Just like in
tax deductions—the more aggressive you are, the bigger
deduction you get. The only difference is in the self-defense
class, you can hit below the belt and get away with it
and are respected. In preparing taxes, you have
to deal with the IRS.”
RAYMOND G. RUSSOLILLO
Member, Taxation of Individuals Committee
KEVIN M. LEVINE
Member, Taxation of Individuals Committee
“I continue to bowl in a league on Sunday mornings at
9 a.m. If I need to work seven days a week, I will come in
on Sunday—after bowling.”
“I make it a point to never work seven days in a row. I believe I can
accomplish far more in six days than seven. While commuting, I always
listen to my iPod. Recently this season, I have taken to listening to a
Teaching Company course entitled, ‘How to Listen to and Understand
Great Music.’ This keeps me focused on the fact that there
is a great, wonderful world outside the
Internal Revenue Code.”
WILLIAM HENRY JONES
Member and former Chair, Taxation of
Individuals Committee
“I’m the most relaxed I’ve been in 17 years. It’s yoga.
I’ve been doing it almost every day. I don’t need
a lot of sleep.”

By MELISSA HOFFMANN LAJARA
Trusted Professional Staff
The Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB) has released
for comment a proposal that it says will
improve communication between auditors,
audit committees and company management.
The proposed standard includes new
requirements for how auditors must communicate
their audit strategy and use of
internal auditors’ work to a company’s
audit committee and board, and also makes
changes to how auditors should evaluate
significant risks, a company’s ability to
continue functioning as a going concern
and the auditor’s own evaluation of the
communications between the audit team
and the company’s audit committee.
The proposed auditing standard would
supersede the board’s interim standards AU
Section 380, Communication with Audit
Committees, and AU Section 310,
Appointment of the Independent Auditor,
as well as amend certain other PCAOB
standards.
In drafting its new proposed standard,
the PCAOB also considered the requirements
of the “relevant standards” of the
International Auditing and Assurance
Standards Board and the Auditing
4
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
PCAOB Seeks Comments on Proposed Auditor Communication Standard
Standards Board of the AICPA.
“Unlike AU Section 310, which requires
an understanding to be established with the
client of the services to be performed, the
proposed standard requires that this understanding
be established specifically with the
audit committee,” the proposal states.
The proposed standard would also
require the auditor to record this understanding
in a written audit engagement letter,
which the PCAOB said would be provided
each year.
The proposed auditing standard also
includes a requirement for the auditor to
make inquiries of the audit committee
about risks of material misstatement,
including inquiries related to fraud risks,
the PCAOB said. “It is important that the
discussion of these matters with the audit
committee be robust and substantive,” the
agency said in its proposal.
Among other things, the proposal would
require that auditors—
• communicate the audit strategy to the
audit committee, as well as its timing and
any changes to the audit strategy;
• communicate significant risks identified
that may occur during the audit due to
the results of audit procedures or “in
response to external factors, such as
changes in the economic environment”;
• explain how management monitors critical
accounting estimates and significant
assumptions used in critical accounting
estimates that have a high degree of subjectivity;
• evaluate whether there is a “substantial
doubt” about the company’s ability to continue
as a going concern for “a reasonable
period of time”; and
• provide the audit committee with the
schedule of uncorrected misstatements
related to accounting and disclosures presented
to management.
The auditor should also include in the
communication whether persons with specialized
skills or knowledge are needed during
the audit process, the auditor’s planned
use of the company’s internal audit function
and the extent of the use of internal auditors
and third parties, the PCAOB said.
“Communication of these arrangements
to the audit committee … facilitates an
effective discussion of how the work of
other parties affects the audit,” the PCAOB
said in its proposal.
There are several areas that the PCAOB
emphasized in meeting this goal.
The PCAOB noted the importance of
considering significant risks and noting
when variable assumptions are being used.
“Communication of the significant risks
identified by the auditor gives the audit
committee an opportunity to understand the
auditor’s view of the most important risks
of material misstatements and to communicate
its views relating to those risks based
on its knowledge of the company,” the proposal
said.
The proposed standard requires communications
be made no later than the issuance
of the auditor’s report, as it notes that that
“timely communications from the auditor
provide the audit committee with the opportunity
to make informed decisions and to
take actions that may affect the quality of
both the audit and the financial statements.”
Primary Objectives
For many companies and their auditors,
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 fundamentally
changed the relationship between the
audit committee and the auditor by
strengthening and expanding the role of the
audit committee in overseeing a company’s
financial reporting process, the PCAOB
said in its proposal.
The objectives of an auditor include
communicating to the audit committee the
responsibilities of the auditor in relation to
the audit and “establishing a mutual understanding”
of the terms of the engagement,
communicating to the audit committee the
(Continues on page 11)

By LOIS WHITEHEAD
NYSSCPA Public Relations Manager
Two computers and the ability to live
chat gave volunteers at this year’s Daily
News tax panel in Manhattan another
avenue in which to address the avalanche of
questions from taxpayers struggling to fill
out and file their tax forms.
Forty NYSSCPA members fielded more
than 1,000 calls from the tax-preparing
public during the three-day panel, held
March 23–25.
To supplement the two computers provided,
CPAs also brought their own laptops
for chatting with taxpayers or viewing
forms and guidance. Pamela A. Diamond,
a member of the NYSSCPA’s Personal
Financial Planning Committee, said she
used a computer to “walk a taxpayer
through a schedule” and to provide another
caller with a phone number for the New
York state tax department.
“That’s the greatest thing—getting a
computer in here,” said panel participant
Vincent Cervone, who supplied his own
laptop. Taxation of Individuals Committee
Vice Chair Jonathan M. Horn said he
found the computers useful for researching
queries.
The Daily News provided three days of
publicity during the panel and listed the
names of participating CPAs.
“The annual Daily News Tax Hotline was
once again swamped with calls and
e-mails this year,” said the newspaper’s
business editor, Scott Wenger. “The hotline
is a real community service for New
Yorkers who particularly need assistance.”
He thanked the NYSSCPA members for
making time to help so close to the filing
deadline.
A Range of Issues
With so many callers, the types of questions
and problems for the volunteers to
work on varied greatly.
Two of the panel participants said they
received a number of calls from senior citizens
struggling to understand new tax rules
and credits stemming from the economic
stimulus.
“[A] high percentage of my calls were
from retirees,” said Lawrence E.
Shoenthal, a member of three Society Tax
Division committees.
Patrick R. Colabella also got a slew of
calls from retirees..
“There were too many older taxpayers in
a quandary about taxes,” he said. “This is
not what a tax system should be. The tax
code is difficult for the layman and should
be scrapped.”
The bulk of questions for Martin L.
Greenberg focused on Social Security
income—specifically, whether or not things
5
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Society Volunteers Return to Daily News for Tax Panel
needed to be reported and if a tax return
needed to be filed if Social Security served
as the sole income source.
“Other questions,” Greenberg said, “were
about IRAs pertaining to investments …
and the taxability of such.”
Marc Albaum, a volunteer for 10 years,
said he fielded a lot of real estate questions.
First-time panel volunteer Dov Zaidman
said he was surprised by the number of
people choosing to self-prepare their
returns. Elliot Schwartz found the Daily
News panel to be “an eye-opening experience
that constantly reminds me of the lack
of knowledge of the general public when it
comes to taxes.”
Even so, it felt good to help the taxpaying
public, said Society member Sushil
Kumar.
“I got so involved in the calls that I felt
they were my clients,” he said. It was “a
great experience.”
The volunteers included:
Joseph P. Acquavella
Marc Albaum
Donna E. Aloise
Arthur Bloom
Allison Brack
Vincent Cervone
Scott M. Cheslowitz
Emmanuel T. Chirico
Patrick R. Colabella
Vincent J. Cosenza
Patrick J. Daly
Pamela A. Diamond
Bart L. Fooden
Laurence I. Foster
Martin L. Greenberg
Jonathan M. Horn
Robert Jellinek
Samuel M. Kearton
Sushil Kumar
Elliott Lavietes
Martin Leventhal
John R. Lieberman
John A. Lombardo
Eugene A. (Gene) Mulrenan
Joseph Nacmias
Avery E. Neumark
Joseph Pirinea
Barry C. Picker
Mark Reddy
I. Jay Safier
Irving Sandomer
David Sands
Elliot Schwartz
Joseph B. Sesay
Lawrence E. Shoenthal
Craig L Venokur
William D. Ward
Patricia A. Wilson
Dov Zaidman
lwhitehead@nysscpa.org
Tax panel volunteers Martin Leventhal, seated left, and Joseph Acquavella, help taxpayers
find answers to their tax questions during the pre-April 15 NYSSCPA/Daily News
tax panel, a three-day event where Society members volunteer to answer Daily News
readers’ questions about taxes and tax filing. The calls were so many in number that
even Daily News reporter Meredith Kolodner helped out by queuing the calls for Society
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By MELISSA HOFFMANNLAJARA
Trusted Professional Staff
Will the United States move forward in
adopting International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) in June
2011 now that the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) recently reaffirmed its
commitment to eventually adopt a single
set of accounting standards?
Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) Chairman Robert H. Herz wouldn’t
say whether he thinks that date is still feasible—only
that the FASB and the
International Accounting Standards Board
(IASB) are “redoubling efforts” and doing
the best they can.
“We probably increased our efforts fiveor
sixfold,” he told a group of business
leaders, professors, CPAs and press at an
IFRS forum in Manhattan on April 7. “We
are really engaged in something that is
probably unprecedented in the annals of
accounting standard-setting, and we’re
doing that to try to meet this effort.”
Herz was joined at the forum by his
international counterpart in the IFRS push,
IASB Chair Sir David Tweedie, who considers
meeting the deadline set by the IFRS
roadmap, proposed by the SEC in August
2008, to be of the utmost importance. It is
6
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Tweedie in N.Y. Makes Hard Sell for IFRS
Herz Joins IASB Chair in the International Standards Set Push
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also considered essential, Tweedie said, by
the Group of Twenty (G-20) finance ministers
and central bank governors, which was
established in 1999 to bring together systemically
important industrialized and
developing economies to discuss key issues
in the global economy. The G-20 met in
September and specifically asked the standards
setters to stick to the 2011 deadline.
“All the countries who are changing to
IFRS in 2011 or 2012 don’t want to change
twice, so therefore the pressure is to try and
fix this thing,” Tweedie said. “As a result,
you will see a barrage of exposure drafts in
the next three months, as we try and clear
off all these particular projects. …. People
are fed up.”
Internationally, Tweedie said, “the view
is, if the U.S. doesn’t want to do it, let them
go. Just let them go. Take them off the
board, take them off the trustees, take [SEC
Chair Mary Schapiro] off the monitoring
board. The rest of us will just get on board.
The opinion is, nine years is enough.
“The appetite for endless U.S. convergence
is diminishing internationally as a
consensus on IFRS emerges, meaning the
U.S. could lose its voice,” he said.
But, said Herz, “at the same time, we’re
very cognizant that quality of both process
and quality of output are essential. Due
(Continues on page 15)
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• Elder Law: A Planning Update
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Course Code: 25620112
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Photo: Melissa Hoffmann Lajara
Financial Accounting Standards Board Chair Robert H. Herz is seated in the foreground
as International Accounting Standards Board Chair Sir David Tweedie speaks to the
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By JOHN F. RASPANTE, CPA, CDFA,
and ARTHUR GARCIA, ESQ.
For CPAs, specialized areas of practice
can offer practitioners niche practices, professional
prominence and financial rewards.
However, there is no greater example of the
proverbial double-edged sword than the
specialized area of matrimonial accounting.
This area of practice requires a cross section
of knowledge that draws from income
taxation rules and regulations, valuation
methodologies, insurance planning, forensic
skills and economic theory.
CPAs may want to be aware of pitfalls
when providing services to clients who are
divorcing, divorced or legally separated.
The practitioner who services divorced or
divorcing clients should adhere to the codes
of conduct promulgated by the IRS, the
AICPA, the New York State Board for
Public Accountancy and the NYSSCPA.
Pitfall 1: Sale of a Principal Residence—
Capital Gains
When couples divorce, the spouse who is
required by the divorce to vacate the principal
residence may remain on the deed and,
therefore, share in the potential future proceeds
from the sale of the former residence.
IRC Section 121 offers significant exclusions
if certain conditions are satisfied.
Generally, individuals may exclude from
income $250,000 of gain and married couples
may exclude $500,000 of gain. The
two conditions that must be satisfied are the
ownership and use tests. The ownership test
is generally satisfied when both spouses
remain on the deed after the dissolution of
the marriage. However, when one spouse is
required to vacate, satisfying the use test
becomes an issue. If the divorce or separation
agreement does not address this issue,
the vacating spouse—depending on when
the former principal residence is sold—may
be subject to a capital gain that will not be
exempt under Section 121.
Section 121(d)(3) provides, in pertinent
part, that “…an individual shall be treated
as using property as such individual’s principal
residence during any period of ownership
while such individual’s spouse or former
spouse is granted use of the property
under a divorce or separation instrument.”
Therefore, this deemed use must be identified
in the separation agreement or
divorce decree in order for the Section 121
exclusions to apply.
Here’s an example:
Tom and Cathy decide to divorce on
Dec. 31, 2009, and Tom is ordered to
vacate the family residence. Although Tom
remains on the deed, the divorce decree is
silent as to the deemed use rule as enunciated
in Section 121(d)(3). Tom and Cathy
agree that the home will not be sold until
their two daughters leave for college and
Cathy’s mother moves to a retirement community.
Six years later, those requirements
are met and Cathy and Tom sell the home.
Assuming that the basis in the home is
7
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
5 Financial and Income Tax Pitfalls to Avoid in Matrimonial Dissolutions
$200,000 and the sale price is $600,000, the
resulting capital gain attributable to Tom
and Cathy is $400,000.
Cathy realizes a capital gain of $200,000
but will utilize the exemption under Section
121 ($250,000) and exclude the entire gain.
Tom, who is still listed as an owner of the
property, will also realize a capital gain of
$200,000 that is subject to tax. With respect
to the exemption, he will satisfy the ownership
test under code Section 121 because he
remained on the deed, but will fail the use
test under Section121 since the divorce
instrument was silent on the issue. Had the
divorce decree provided for the deemed use
provision, Tom would be able to avail himself
of the Section121 exclusion for single
taxpayers, and his capital gain would be
zero.
Pitfall 2: Qualified Domestic Relations
Order (QDRO)—The Alternate Payee
In many divorces, one of the largest matrimonial
assets is retirement accounts. If a
retirement account becomes divided
between the spouses, the resulting income
tax considerations may be material.
Generally, the plan participant bears the
responsibility for income taxes that result
from plan distributions. Section 402(e)(1)(a)
provides a significant tax benefit to the
spouse who is the retirement plan participant.
According to Section 402(e)(1)(a), “an
alternate payee who is the spouse or former
spouse of the participant shall be treated as
the distributee of any distribution or payment
made to the alternate payee under a
qualified domestic relations order.”
Therefore, distributions made by a qualified
plan to an alternate payee under the
terms of a QDRO will be taxed to the alternate
payee and not to the spouse who is the
plan participant. An original retirement plan
participant receives the benefit of not bearing
the income tax burden of distributions
to a spouse.
Let’s go back to our scenario: Assume
that Tom had a 401(k) and that there was
no QDRO in place. The consequence to
Tom would be to bear the responsibility for
income taxes that result from any plan distributions
to Cathy.
It should be noted that the QDRO instrument
is a formal judgment, decree or order under
a state’s domestic relations or community
property law. In addition, the QDRO must
meet strict conditions regarding content and
must conform to IRC Section 414(p),
Qualified domestic relations order defined.
Pitfall 3: Insuring the Property
Settlement—The Revenge at Death
One of the mainstays of a divorce action
and potential pitfall is spousal support.
Generally, spousal support ends upon the
death of the payor spouse. The surviving
former spouse is effectively cut off from
this source of income, which may cause
hardship. Buying life insurance may minimize
this risk. However, the following
insurance decisions should be addressed:
• The recipient spouse should own the
life insurance policy and make the premium
payments. This will prevent any changes to
the policy without the knowledge of the
recipient spouse.
• Whole life versus term policies should
be considered from both a cash flow and a
cash value perspective.
• The insurance should be procured prior
to the final divorce decree. This would
allow for a final property settlement and
modifications in the event the insurance
request is declined by the carrier.
• Lastly, the divorce decree should
exempt the life insurance payments from
spousal support tax treatment, if they are
paid by the nonrecipient spouse.
(It should be noted that the CPA’s role is
to advise in this area and not to select the
insurance company or the policy limits.
This advice should be provided by a trained
and competent insurance professional.)
Pitfall 4: Unsecured Debt—
The Irresponsible Former Spouse
In most marriages, spouses accumulate
some amount of unsecured debt, such as
credit cards, personal loans and bank loans.
It is quite common for the spouse who,
pursuant to the divorce decree, is ordered to
pay the unsecured debt to become delinquent
or cease to make the payments on the
unsecured debt. Under such circumstances,
credit card companies seeking collection
will undoubtedly try to secure payment
from both parties, including the spouse not
obligated to pay the debt under the divorce
decree. This is due to the contractual nature
of these transactions and the inherent joint
and several liabilities.
Moreover, because these delinquencies
affect the credit worthiness of both parties,
anything that involves credit will be affected.
In our scenario, assume Cathy was
responsible for the credit card debt under
the divorce decree and she failed to make
timely payments; Tom’s credit score would
be affected. If Tom sought to purchase a coop
apartment, the untimely payments would
impact negatively on his application for coop
board approval. If Cathy and Tom
decide to refinance the family home, they
will likely pay a higher interest rate due to
their downgraded credit worthiness. If
either Tom or Cathy decides to purchase a
car, each will likely pay a higher interest
rate on the car loan.
These negative results can be avoided by
the inclusion of a “hold harmless” provision
in the divorce decree that will indemnify
the nonpaying spouse, who receives the
right to collect all missed payments.
Another solution is to pay all credit card
debt with assets at the time of the divorce
or have the nonpaying spouse receive additional
property to offset this possibility.

It’s Not An Option. It’s The LAW!
NEW YORK STATE HAS ADOPTED
A NEW LAW THAT AFFECTS YOU!
New York State Law Now Recognizes:
• CPAs Who Prepare Tax Returns
• CPAs in Industry
• CPAs in Government
• CPAs in Financial Services
• CPAs in Education
As CPAs Practicing Public Accountancy.
All CPAs Who Practice Public Accountancy
Must Register with New York State and Take
Continuing Professional Education Courses.
www.nysscpa.org/page/reform-law

By MELISSA HOFFMANN LAJARA
Trusted Professional Staff
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration (TIGTA) gave less than
encouraging news to taxpayers and
their CPAs in a report that scrutinized IRS
balance-due cases in two of the agency’s
regional campuses.
The report, released on March 1, found
fault with the IRS’s handling of installment
agreement arrangements with taxpayers, as
well as poor documentation practices and a
failure to follow procedures that the report
says are causing harmful delays in taxpayer
service.
Most worrisome, perhaps, is that workload
reviews provided by management
included none of the problems identified by
the TIGTA, according to its report.
“Management could not provide reasons
why employees were not properly documenting
cases, assessing taxpayers’ ability
to fully pay their liabilities, or responding
to taxpayers’ correspondence timely
because management was not aware of
these problems,” the report said.
TIGTA examiners selected 60 balancedue
notice cases from two of the 10 IRS
regional campuses in order to evaluate
whether the cases were administrated properly.
Half of the cases came from the
Philadelphia Compliance Services
Collection Operations Center; the other half
originated from the IRS’s Andover, Mass.,
campus.
The problems identified are “significant,”
the report said, but unique to the two campuses.
“TIGTA’s findings about the poor backoffice
processing of agreements is deadon,”
said Jonathan M. Horn, vice chair of
the Society’s Taxation of Individuals
Committee. “I’ve had situations where
clients received four consecutive 45-day
letters while trying to establish an installment
agreement.”
Horn said he once received one letter
rejecting an installment agreement proposal,
while offering one at three times what
the client was able to pay; the next day, he
received another letter accepting the original
offer. Both letters were dated the same
day and came from different campuses.
A significant problem identified in the
report is the way in which case closures are
measured, the report said. Almost any entry
on a case in the system is treated as a
closed case.
“For example, a case is opened and
closed when an installment agreement is
established, and a new case may be subsequently
opened and closed every time a
payment is received from the taxpayer,” the
report said.
The 60 sample cases were reported as
closed a total of 525 separate times, according
to the report.
But, as Relations with the Internal
Revenue Service Committee member Fred
9
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
TIGTA Criticizes IRS Balance-Due, Procedural Practices at Two Campuses
Slater pointed out, with such variance
between IRS campuses, it is difficult to
determine how widespread the problems
cited in the report are, and how many taxpayers
may be negatively affected.
The 60 cases studied all dealt with taxpayers
with outstanding tax liabilities who
received balance-due notices—initially, a
letter demanding full payment of the debt.
“When the taxpayer responds to the balance
due notices, the [IRS] is not always
properly and timely working the cases or
effectively managing the inventory of
cases,” the TIGTA said in its report.
“Taxpayers who contact the IRS may experience
unnecessary delays or costs associated
with their outstanding liabilities.”
Part of the process is automated, and
some is still executed by IRS collections
examiners and employees.
Examiners try to close the easiest cases
first, such as when a taxpayer sends in documentation
to support an address change. If
the case isn’t immediately closed, another
set of examiners determines what actions
can be taken to bring the taxpayer into
compliance, the report said.
This is often where the process starts to
lag. Although the IRS is required to provide
taxpayers with a final response to issues
within 30 days, in 39 of the 60 sampled
cases, it took longer or no response letter
was issued at all, according to the report.
“The internal processing time of the IRS is
out of control,” Slater said. “Probably too
many rules and regulations to deal with
before they can reply. Who knows? They
could spend all their time sending out notices
that say ‘We need more time.’ Better to get
the rules streamlined and more practical.”
The options for a delinquent taxpayer
include payoffs, time extensions and installment
agreements.
Borrowing from the IRS
The March 1 report also noted that
installment payment plans are often set up
for a taxpayer with no consideration of the
individual’s ability to pay the debt or afford
the installments. Fifty-seven out of the 60
cases sampled involved installment agreements.
Seventeen of those, according to the
report, were situations in which the taxpayers
may have had the ability to pay the liability
in full, avoiding user fees, penalties
and interest charges.
The TIGTA’s analysis showed that the
installment agreements were established
without considering whether they were in
the taxpayers’ or the IRS’s best interest, the
report said.
IRS officials responded to that particular
complaint, saying that the Internal Revenue
Manual instructions for streamlined installment
agreements do not require them to
contact the taxpayer or make a determination
if the taxpayer has the ability to pay.
Rather, the installment agreements are based
entirely on data provided by taxpayers on a
form used to request the installment plan.
Some NYSSCPA members interviewed
said they see the IRS’s installment agreements
as a saving grace for a taxpayer who
otherwise might face larger debts borne of
private loans.
“People enter into installment agreements
for all kinds of reasons,” said Alan J. Straus,
a member and past chair of the NYSSCPA’s
Relations with the Internal Revenue Service
Committee. “Even if it appears that someone
can fully pay their debt, it still may be
cheaper for them to ‘borrow’ from the IRS
than from a credit card or other source.”
Or, said Slater, “Maybe the taxpayer
could fully pay, but they were concerned
about a major bill that was coming due and
that the IRS knew nothing about. So they
choose the installment system.”
Horn said he sometimes advises his
clients to take the agreement instead of
paying in full.
“Just because a taxpayer appears to have
the ability to pay a balance due in full doesn’t
mean it’s in their best interest,” he said.
“Personally, if I have a client that can’t pay
their total federal and New York state tax
bills, I usually recommend they pay the
state in full and take an agreement with the
IRS, since the IRS charges a much lower
interest rate.”
foundation for accounting
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“There are dozens of situations where a
taxpayer may not want to drain their personal
savings to pay the IRS in one shot,”
Horn said, citing examples such as an
anticipated large medical expense or sole
proprietors expecting to lose a major client.
“With streamlined [installment agreements],
the taxpayer isn’t being forced to enter into
one; it’s their choice. I disagree with
TIGTA’s findings that the taxpayer is being
harmed.”
Recommendations
The TIGTA recommended several
changes within the agency to moderate or
eliminate the problems it identified in the
report, including suggestions that the IRS
consider revising the streamlined installment
agreement procedures to ensure that
the agreements are beneficial to both the
IRS and the taxpayer, and that it establish
workload criteria to ensure that balance-due
notice cases are worked in compliance with
collection function guidelines and policy.
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meet annual CPE requirements,” he said.
“CPAs should be exempt from the competence
testing and CPE requirements.”
Other Society members see some additional
potential problems related to this
issue.
“They’re still going to be monitoring
CPAs to see if they have to broaden the
scope,” noted Stephen P. Valenti, a Society
Tax Division Oversight Committee member.
“Obviously, we are subject to our own
standards. We were very concerned that this
was going to come out and we’d have to
conform to their regulatory procedures.”
In terms of registration and fees, it seems
as this is already happening. And many
CPAs find it to be unnecessary, in light of
the profession’s existing stringent standards.
“There is still a big difference in skill
and knowledge and value that comes with
the CPA license, which is a higher standard
[than] a tax preparer,” noted Steven B.
Zelin, a member of the NYSSCPA’s
Taxation of Individuals Committee.
But with new regulations in place for
non-CPA preparers, will the public still
10
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
IRS Moves to Require CPAs to Reregister PTINs, Pay Fee
(Continued from page 1)
NYSSCPA 113th ANNUAL
ELECTION MEETING AND DINNER
2009–2010 President, Presiding
David J. Moynihan, CPA
•Introduction of Honored Guest and Officers
•Election of Officers and Directors
NOMINATED OFFICERS OF THE NYSSCPA 2010–2011
President-Elect: Richard E. Piluso, CPA
Nominee of 2009-2010 NYSSCPA Nominating Committee
Vice President: Scott M. Adair, CPA
Vice President: David R. Herman, CPA
Vice President: Martha A. Jaeckle, CPA
Vice President: Gail M. Kinsella, CPA
Secretary/Treasurer: Joseph M. Falbo Jr., CPA
NOMINATED DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE, JUNE 1, 2010–MAY 31, 2013
Robert W. Berliner, CPA
Stephen E. Franciosa, CPA
Rosemarie A. Giovinazzo-Barnickel, CPA
Pei-Cen Lin, CPA
Robert E. Sohr, CPA
NOMINATED DIRECTORS AS CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES,
JUNE 1, 2010–MAY 31, 2013
Jennifer R. George, CPA (Mid Hudson)
F. Michael Zovistoski, CPA (Northeast)
Adrian P. Fitzsimons, CPA (Queens/Brooklyn)
Mitchell L. Gusler, CPA (Rockland)
Robert R. Ritz, CPA (Utica)
know the difference? Taxation of
Individuals Committee member Raymond
G. Russolillo thinks so.
“We have always been the tax advisors
of choice for more discerning taxpayers and
I do not believe that raising the bar on the
low end of the market will hurt us competitively,”
he commented. “That said, I also
believe that we, as a profession, need to
continually remind the public of the CPA’s
value.”
Good Idea for Non-CPAs
While requiring additional registration
and fee payment by CPAs may seem redundant
in light of the profession’s current
requirements, Society members interviewed
agreed that it’s a good idea for the IRS to
establish a system in which they can track
and review the work of less-trained paid
practitioners.
Lawrence Stack, a member of the
NYSSCPA’s Taxation of Individuals
Committee, noted a prevalence of “tax preparer
impersonators” who know little and
file often.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
New York Marriott Marquis
at Times Square
1535 Broadway, at 45th Street
New York City
President-elect’s Address:
Margaret A. Wood, CPA
2010–2011 President
Join Your Friends and Colleagues
at the Dinner to:
* Congratulate the winners of the
Society Awards
* Elect the 2010–2011 NYSSCPA
officers and directors.
Reception: 7th Floor Foyer, 5:45 p.m.
Dinner and Meeting: Astor Ballroom,
6:45 p.m.
• For Society members wishing to attend the
meeting portion only, seating will be provided at
6:45 p.m. The time for the business meeting is
approximate. RSVP by April 23.
“These thespians speak a good game,
saying lines to clients who don’t really
understand, and then run to the closest hills
when their client gets audited,” he said.
But this, he said, is partly because under
current law, any individual may prepare a
tax return or submit a claim for refund. In
the Return Preparer Review, it was recommended
that “the IRS establish new eligibility
standards that an individual must
meet in order to prepare tax returns”—
including testing, continuing education and
tax compliance checks, according to the
proposed regulations posted to the March 26
Federal Register.
“This way, the unscrupulous tax preparers
can be identified and reported,” Zelin said.
“Anything that increases the quality of the
tax preparation product for the public helps
our [profession].”
“With these regulations, at least those
[preparers] playing the tax game will need
basic competence to play,” Stack agreed.
This is especially important because, as
the agency put it, “tax return preparers assist
a majority of U.S. taxpayers in meeting
REGISTRATION FORM
NYSSCPA 113th Annual Election Meeting and Dinner
Thursday, May 13, 2010
New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square
1535 Broadway, at 45th Street
New York City
Total cost of dinner is $190 per person.
Reservations must be received by April 23.
Enclosed is a check for $_________ to cover_________ ticket(s)
for the following person(s):
Name (Please Print)
their income tax filing obligations. Beyond
preparing tax returns, tax return preparers
also help educate taxpayers about the tax
laws, and facilitate electronic filing.”
Russolillo said the complexity of the tax
system makes “requiring regulation of
those who profess to have more knowledge
than the average taxpayer seem like a nobrainer,”
adding that competency testing
“will help weed out the bad apples, which
is an overall good thing for society.”
The IRS expects to see increased compliance
result from this procedural change, as
well as better service to taxpayers.
Comments, due by April 26, may be sent
to: CC: PA: LPD: PR (REG–134235–08),
Room 5205, Internal Revenue Service,
P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station,
Washington, DC, 20044. Comments may
also be e-mailed via an address linked from
the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov, under the
“Tax Professionals” tab.
Certification No.
Firm
Address
City State Zip
Telephone
E-mail
Method of payment:
Check made payable to NYSSCPA
MasterCard Visa American Express
Credit Card No.
Expiration Date
Cardholder’s Name
Cardholder’s Signature
Tables accommodate ten persons.
•Any person/firm with whom you would like to be seated (if possible)?
Please select one:
Beef Fish Kosher Vegetarian
Special dietary needs (please specify):
mlajara@nysscpa.org
Please fax your credit card payment reservation form to the attention of Nellie Gomez at
1-866-495-1354 or mail the completed reservation form, together with a check payable to NYSSCPA
(please write “for AEMD 2010” on the check), to the Society at the following address:
New York State Society of CPAs
P.O. Box 416135
Boston, MA 02241-6135
Attention: AEMD
Your ticket, seat assignment, and program will be available at the door. Seating will be prearranged.
For more information or to register online, visit the Society’s Web site at www.nysscpa.org.

PCAOB Seeks Comments on Proposed Auditor
Communication Standard
(Continued from page 4)
audit strategy and timing, providing the
audit committee with “timely observations”
that are significant to the financial reporting
process, and evaluating the efficacy of these
communications, the PCAOB wrote.
The board’s primary objectives in proposing
this new standard, as stated in its
proposal, are to enhance the relevance and
effectiveness of the communications
between the auditor and the audit committee
and emphasize the importance of effective,
two-way communication between the
auditor and the audit committee to “better
achieve the objectives of the audit.”
The proposal also comes on the heels of
a report by the bankruptcy examiner for the
Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy that
spotlighted questionable accounting practices
that went unchallenged by the investment
bank’s auditors, Ernst & Young.
According to a March 11 report from
examiner Anton R. Valukas, Lehman’s own
corporate audit group, together with
Lehman’s independent auditor, Ernst &
Young (EY), investigated allegations about
balance sheet substantiation problems made
in a May 16, 2008 “whistleblower” letter
sent to senior management.
“At a June 13, 2008 meeting, Ernst &
Young failed to disclose that allegation to
the Board’s Audit Committee,” the report
said.
However, in a statement sent to Ernst &
Young client audit committees, the firm
stated that “when we learned of the letter,
our lead partner promptly called the Audit
Committee Chair; we also insisted that
Lehman’s management inform the
Securities and Exchange Commission and
the Federal Reserve Bank of the letter. EY’s
lead partner discussed the whistleblower
letter with the Lehman Audit Committee on
at least three occasions during June and
July 2008.”
“I don’t know whether … these requirements
would have changed anything that
happened,” said Mitchell J. Mertz, chair of
the NYSSCPA’s Accounting and Auditing
Oversight Committee. “In an audit of that
nature and size, I cannot guess if this would
have been brought to light or would even
be discussed with an audit committee.”
The PCAOB said that the proposed standard
has been influenced by a number of
factors and developments, including the
increased use of risk-based audit methodologies
and the emphasis on judgments and
estimates in the financial reporting frameworks.
“Audit committees play an important
role in protecting the interests of investors,”
the PCAOB said in its proposal. “The audit
committee assists the board of directors in
fulfilling its responsibility to company
shareholders and others to oversee the
integrity of a company’s financial statements
and the financial reporting process.”
Educating the public and public companies
about the importance of audit quality is
not just a major concern for the PCAOB
and the economy’s overall health, but is
11
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
also a major focus of the NYSSCPA under
the leadership of its president, David J.
Moynihan, an auditor who has brought his
audit quality message to CPAs, companies,
municipal and nonprofit financial professionals
and members of the public
statewide.
Clear communication is at the heart of
any truly transparent process, and the
PCAOB is seeking to enhance the transparency
of audits by requiring auditors to
explain more about their methods, concerns
and results.
“An audit committee that is wellinformed
about accounting and disclosure
matters relating to the audit may be better
able to carry out its role of overseeing the
financial reporting process,” the PCAOB
said in its proposal.
The proposed standard includes a new
requirement for the auditor to communicate
to the audit committee the anticipated
application of new accounting or regulatory
pronouncements that are not yet effective,
but which may, upon adoption, have a significant
effect on the company’s financial
reporting, the proposal said.
“A discussion of such matters in more
detail with the audit committee may allow
audit committees time to properly consider
the effects on future financial statements as
well as ramifications on the financial
reporting process,” the PCAOB said.
Although Anthony S. Chan, chair of the
NYSSCPA’s SEC Practice Committee,
doesn’t see this having “a significant
impact on the timing or extent of an audit,”
he expects the proposed standard to have a
positive effect on audit quality.
“This proposed standard is needed to further
enhance the quality of the two-way
communication and the awareness of the
audit committee on matters that could significantly
affect the audit,” he said.
Mertz said he is not sure that all audit
committee members possess the necessary
information and understanding to fulfill
their obligations.
“I sometimes feel that audit committees
should be required to have on them, or be
required to consult with, an expert in these
areas to help them understand the process
and ascertain that the company and [its]
auditors have done their jobs properly,” he
said. “This would, I believe, enhance the
audit committee’s oversight function and
help strengthen the financial reporting
process.”
Comments on the proposal must be
received no later than the end of the business
day on May 28, and if approved by the SEC,
the standard would be effective for audits of
fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2010.
mlajara@nysscpa.org
You manage your
client’s compliance.
Estate Administration
Conference
Covering the latest issues
affecting estate and trust
administration and planning.
Topics will include:
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
FAE Conference Center
3 Park Avenue, at 34th
Street
19th Floor
New York, NY 10016
8:45 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
• Hot Topics and Current Developments in Estate and Trust
Administration
• Foreign Trust Compliance
• Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
• Fiduciary Accounting and Responsibilities
• Distributable Net Income and Separate Share Rules
Plus: An Interactive Lunch Discussion Focusing on Estate and Trust Administration
During These Turbulent Times—Bring Your Questions; Share Your Experiences!
CPE Credit Hours: 8 • Field of Study: Taxation • Course Code: 25608011
Member Fee: $325 • Nonmember Fee: $425
Note: This program satisfies requirements for PACE Recertification credit.
Participants can earn 8 credit hours by attending. This program has been accepted by the
CFP® Board for 8 CE credit hours.
Save on this and other FAE conferences and seminars
with FAE’s Discount Programs! See the ad on page 9 for more details.
Can’t attend the event in person? Experience the same great
speakers and topics directly from your PC.
Visit www.nysscpa.org/e-cpe for more details.
Are you managing your own?
Learn what you need to do to comply with
N.Y.’s new accountancy reform law.
Visit www.nysscpa.org/page/reform-law
Now Available
via Live
Webcast
foundation for accounting
FAE education
To register, visit www.nysscpa.org, or call 800-537-3635, for more detailed information.

12
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
CPAs IN INDUSTRY
Upcoming Industry Committee Meetings
Apparel and Textile Tues., April 27
Banking Thurs., May 6
Chief Financial Officers Thurs., April 29
(CPE: What Every Business Professional
“Technically” Needs to Know About Digital Forensics)
Construction Contractors Thurs., May 20
Entertainment and Sports Tues., April 27
Family Office Thurs., May 20
Hospitality Industry Tues., April 20
(CPE: NYS Sales Tax for Restaurants and Hotels)
Investment Management Tues., May 4
Media and Publishing Thurs., April 22
Real Estate Tues., May 4
Small Business Outreach Thurs., April 22
Stock Brokerage Thurs., April 29
This is a partial listing, which is subject to change. For a complete and updated listing of
meetings, visit www.nysscpa.org, click on “About Us,” and choose “Committees” from the
dropdown menu.
Interested in joining a committee? Fill out an application online or contact Committee
Services Senior Manager Nereida Gomez at 212-719-8358 or ngomez@nysscpa.org, to find out
more information.
Upcoming Conferences
Broker/Dealer May 11
CFOs, Controllers, and Financial Executives June 17
Hedge Funds and Alternative Investments July 29
To register for these conferences, visit www.nysscpa.org or call 800-537-3635 or 212-719-8383.
Broker/Dealer Conference
The Securities Industry of 2010
Hear Keynote Speaker:
Ken Fisher, Founder, Chairman,
and CEO, Fisher Investments
Conference Highlights:
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
New York Marriott Marquis
at Times Square
1535 Broadway, at 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
• 2010 Economic and Market Update: Richard A. Weiss, of City National Bank
• Accounting, Auditing, and Tax Updates
• FINOP, Legal, and Regulatory Matters
• Net Capital Business Compliance
• Regulatory Panel Update
• And much more
Save on this and other FAE conferences and seminars with
FAE’s Discount Programs! See the ad on page 9 for more details.
Can’t attend the event in person? Experience the same great speakers
and topics directly from your PC.
Visit www.nysscpa.org/e-cpe for more details.
Now Available
via Live
Webcast
CPE Credit Hours: 8
Field of Study: Specialized
Knowledge and Applications
Course Code: 25558011
Member Fee: $375
Nonmember Fee: $475
foundation for accounting
FAE education
To register, visit www.nysscpa.org, or call 800-537-3635, for more detailed information.
Talk to HR: Retaining Talent
BY PEI-CEN LIN
NYSSCPA Human Resources
Committee Chair
New hires can cost an organization with
more than 500 employees more than
$10,000, and that’s not including
training or salaries. That means retaining
talent and motivating current staff should
be a major concern for companies trying to
survive a recession.
“No matter what is ahead for your
accounting firm, it is never a good time to
lose great people,” said Carol Ann
Caccioppoli, director of Retensa, an
employee retention strategies firm, who
recently aided Human Resources
Committee members in ensuring their firms’
and companies’ best accounting talent is
being retained.
Employee disengagement is also a widespread
issue that needs attention. Sixtyeight
percent of employees feel disconnected
from their work responsibilities, according
to Retensa’s Web site. A company
could have bodies in the seats, but they
may not be producing.
Chason Hecht, the strategy firm’s president,
put it this way: “Some people quit
and leave. Some people quit and stay,”
But how do you determine who should
stay and how to keep those high-performing
employees loyal and productive?
History has shown, Caccioppoli cautioned,
that as unemployment decreases,
voluntary turnover increases—and most
often, it is the top talent who leaves.
Employee turnover can cost up to
40 percent of a company’s annual profits,
Caccioppoli said, For example, an organization
with 1,000 employees, with an average
turnover rate of 20 percent and average
salaries of $42,000, spends approximately
$8.4 million on employee turnover each
year, she said.
Retention strategies differ, but follow some
of the same guidelines, Caccioppoli added.
“Employers should not be spending more
than 15 percent of their time with low performers,”
she said, “or less than 25 percent
of their time with high performers.”
She also recommended that top management
pay special attention to a subgroup of
high-performing workers she called “high
potentials.”
High potentials are those high-performing
employees with the desire and ability to
move forward within an organization. They
are often motivated by more than just cash,
Caccioppoli said.
“Money is only the motivator when you
are doing everything else wrong,” she said.
Instead, employers must speak to these
valuable employees’ values. High potentials
tend to put a higher value on fulfilling their
development goals than on dollars and
cents. Most high potentials, Caccioppoli
said, want a clearly defined career path,
learning opportunities and the benefits of
real-life work experience and apprenticeship,
a mentor to guide them, frequent performance
appraisals and feedback.
CPAs In Industry need
airtight credentials.
Are you in compliance with the new law?
pei-cen.lin@nysscpa.org
Find out at www.nysscpa.org/page/reform-law

Using this method, Lehman was able to
move some $50.38 billion worth of securities
from its balance at the end of the second
quarter on May 30, 2008; this number was
slightly up from the previous quarter’s use
of Repo 105 transactions, said the report.
Lehman Brothers, the report said, was able
to do this because of a provision in Financial
Accounting Standards (FAS) No. 140,
Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of
Financial Assets and Extinguishments of
Liabilities.
Although this standard is usually discussed
in the context of securitization transactions,
paragraph 98 of FAS 140 specifies
that the transfer of assets in a repo agreement
shall be accounted for as a sale of
financial assets with a forward purchasing
agreement, provided that the transferor has
surrendered control over the transferred
assets, according to the report.
One of the ways that FAS 140 counts an
entity as having surrendered control is if an
arrangement to repurchase or lend readily
obtainable securities falls within a minimum
of a 102 percent overcollateralization.
As Lehman’s Repo 105 transactions were
overcollateralized by 105 percent (hence
the name), the firm was able to declare the
transaction as a sale of an inventory security
instead of a loan, moving the assets off
the balance sheet.
“If the Repo 105 transaction technically
qualified for true sale accounting under
SFAS 140, Lehman was not required for
accounting purposes to record a liability,
although the economic reality was that
Lehman had borrowed cash it had to repay.
Instead, Lehman recorded the cash proceeds
of the Repo 105 transaction as an
asset (cash), but re-characterized this
secured financing as a sale of the securities
used as collateral for the borrowing, resulting
in a reduction to its Securities Inventory
balance,” Valukas said in his report.
Lehman’s independent auditors, Ernst &
Young, were aware of but did not question
Lehman’s use and nondisclosure of the
Repo 105 accounting transactions, according
to the examiner’s report. The examiner
stated that he believes a “colorable claim of
professional malpractice” exists against
Ernst & Young.
“The Examiner concludes that there is
sufficient evidence to support a colorable
claim that … certain of Lehman’s officers
breached their fiduciary duties by exposing
Lehman to potential liability for filing
materially misleading reports and … Ernst
& Young … was professionally negligent in
allowing those reports to go unchallenged,”
Valukas said.
In May 2008, said the report, Lehman
Senior Vice President Matthew Lee in the
finance division wrote a letter to management,
identifying possible violations of
Lehman’s ethics code related to accounting
and balance sheet issues.
In the course of investigating these
claims, Ernst & Young met with Lee on
June 12, 2008, where he informed Ernst &
14
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Report: FAS 140 Played Role in Lehman’s Repo 105 Accounting
(Continued from page 1)
Young about Lehman’s use of $50 billion
of Repo 105 transactions in the second
quarter of 2008, according to the report.
The next day, said the report, the auditors
met with the Lehman Board Audit
Committee but did not inform the committee
of Lee’s allegation, despite the express
direction from the committee chair to investigate
every allegation raised by Lee. Ernst
& Young met with the audit committee
again in July and again did not mention
Lee’s allegations, the report said.
The report critiques Ernst & Young for
taking no action to investigate the Repo 105
allegations, or to question or challenge the
nondisclosure by Lehman of its use of
$50 billion of temporary, off–balance sheet
transactions.
Ernst & Young defended its actions in a
letter the firm sent to client audit committee
members after the Valukas report was
released. The letter was obtained by
Reuters and was published online. It states
that, in the firm’s opinion, Lehman’s financial
statements were fairly presented in
accordance with U.S. GAAP, adding that
the company’s bankruptcy was caused by a
collapse in its liquidity, which was in turn
caused by declining asset values and loss of
market confidence in Lehman.
“It was not caused by accounting issues
or disclosure issues,” said the letter.
The letter said the report did not challenge
Lehman’s accounting for its Repo
105 transactions and added that, because
effective control of the securities was surrendered
to the counterparty in the Repo
105 arrangements, the accounting literature
required Lehman to account for Repo 105
transactions as sales rather than as financings.
The letter further stated that Lee’s
whistleblower letter raised “various significant
potential concerns about Lehman’s
financial controls and reporting but did not
mention Repo 105.
“In the investigations that ensued, the
letter writer did briefly reference Repo 105
transactions in an interview with EY partners,”
the audit firm’s letter states. “He also
confirmed to EY that he was unaware of
any material financial reporting errors.”
Ernst & Young’s letter goes on to say
that Lehman’s 2008 bankruptcy prevented
the firm from completing its assessment of
Lee’s allegations and that they would have
been the subject of “significant attention”
had the firm completed its third-quarter
review and 2008 year-end audit.
Though the report did not make a judgment
as to whether the use of Repo 105
transactions technically complied with the
provisions of FAS 140, it also said that this
question doesn’t matter since, regardless of
whether Lehman was in technical compliance
with U.S. accounting rules, the company’s
failure to disclose its use of Repo
105 transactions may be seen as materially
misleading.
“This Report does not reach the question
whether Lehman’s Repo 105 transactions
technically complied with the relevant
financial accounting standard, SFAS 140,
because the answer to that question does
not impact whether a colorable claim exists
regarding Lehman’s failure to disclose its
Repo 105 practice and whether that failure
rendered the firm’s financial statements
materially misleading,” the report states.
“Even if Lehman’s use of Repo 105 transactions
technically complied with SFAS 140,
financial statements may be materially misleading
even when they do not violate
GAAP.”
It quoted the second circuit in saying
that “GAAP itself recognizes that technical
compliance with particular GAAP rules
may lead to misleading financial statements
and imposes an overall requirement that the
statements as a whole accurately reflect the
financial status of the company.”
George I. Victor, a Manhattan/Bronx
Chapter member who sits on the SEC
Practice Committee, said that the issue with
Repo 105 transactions represents an inherent
problem that can arise in a rules-based
accounting environment such as U.S.
GAAP.
Rules-based accounting, he said, can be
very advantageous in the sense that it’s easier
to account for and easier to audit
because one has a “specific recipe book” to
refer to. The problem, he said, is that sometimes
accounting rules can drive the transactions
as well as the accounting for these
transactions and the financial presentations
of these same transactions.
“I like to call that financial engineering:
When a contract is being structured, sometimes
that contract, the terms of that contract,
will be financially engineered to follow
specific accounting rules for desired
results, as opposed to what is the appropriate
accounting result. It is ‘what do we
want it to result in,’ and that is easier to do
with rules-based accounting than principles
based accounting,” said Victor.
As an example, he said imagine two
companies, Company A and Company B,
both operating under U.S. GAAP. Both
companies lease an airplane. Company A
manages to structure the lease transaction
so that the airplane’s present value factor (a
discount interest rate factor used to determine
the present value of a sum in the
future) is 89 percent.
The way Company B’s lease has been set
up, though, sets its airplane’s present value
factor at 90 percent. Despite this difference
of only one percent, said Victor, Company
A’s lease is counted as an operating lease
and will, therefore, not be on the balance
sheet; instead, it will be a footnote disclosure
discussing the terms of the lease.
Company B’s airplane, however, would
count as a capital lease and would show up
on the balance sheet as a liability.
“So you have two companies, A and B,
[with] essentially the same transaction,”
Victor said. “However, one company is
showing the airplane as an asset and liability,
the other, only because it’s one percent
[different], is not showing it as an asset and
liability. … So if you, as a reader, look at
these two companies side by side, you have
to ask the question as to whether that is a
fair presentation because one company will
look more advantaged than the other but it
has substantially similar terms on their
lease.”
Victor said that, had Lehman been under
a principles-based accounting approach—
which is more focused on providing a conceptual
basis for accountants to follow
rather than a list of detailed rules—Repo
105 transactions would have been much
more difficult to structure, as there wouldn’t
be any specific parameters or points that
transactions are being hinged upon.
NYSSCPA Past President Sharon Sabba
Fierstein, a Nassau Chapter member who
is also on the PCAOB’s Standing Advisory
Group, agreed with this view, saying that a
perception that Repo 105 agreements would
not have been able to go through, had
Lehman been operating under a principlesbased
rather than rules-based approach, is
“probably a reasonable assessment.”
“Standards aren’t supposed to be cookbooks,”
she said. … “I think when there’s a
cookbook approach, people try to work
their way around it, which is not adhering
to the underlying principle.”
She noted that, in recent years, the FASB
has come to recognize this as well and has
been moving more toward a principlesbased
approach in its rule making.
But that also does not mean a more principles-based
system of accounting, such as
International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS), would prevent companies from
structuring transactions to meet accounting
and reporting objectives, said Richard C.
Jones, an accounting professor at Hofstra
University.
Prior to teaching, Jones said he advised
investment bankers at an international
financial institution. Part of his job was
advising investment bankers of the different
accounting rules for various transactions.
“After they understand the rules, they create
the financing structure,” he said, making
it hard to prevent those who are set on
doing it to use accounting methodologies to
“window dress the financial statements.”
“So, despite IFRS rules being somewhat
more principles-based than U.S. GAAP,
IFRS is not perfect,” Jones said. “It contains
rules…some of which are very specific.
Where possible, smart investment bankers
will use those rules to develop financing
and other transaction approaches that allow
for accounting and financial reporting
objectives.”
Since Lehman’s collapse in 2008, the
FASB has tried to addressed the part of
FAS 140 in question through another standard,
FAS No. 166, Accounting for
Transfers of Financial Assets, which was
approved in June 2009 and was effective
for annual reports beginning after Nov. 15,
2009. According to the FASB, the board
drafted the standard in response to certain
(Continues on page 15)

process really contributes to the overall
quality and acceptability of the results.”
So, he said, “at this point, what we’re
trying to do is get out these many exposure
drafts and engage in a very intensive outreach
program with constituents …. And
then we’ll have to see, based on the comments,
but we will then resume our very
intensive efforts.”
Most recently, a joint exposure draft was
issued by the IASB and the FASB on the
reporting entity concept. In June, both
boards will tackle hedge accounting as part
of the two boards’ Accounting for Financial
Instruments Joint Project.
Other topics to be addressed through the
convergence project are performance
reporting, leases and pensions, Tweedie
said.
Regarding fair value, or mark-to-market,
accounting standards, “we’ve taken the
U.S. standard … basically, the U.S. standard
has proved very effective,” Tweedie
said. And, he said, the IASB has already
tackled and resolved the issue of business
combinations.
In addition to a looming deadline, other
possible potholes line the path to adoption
of IFRS in 2011, Tweedie warned.
“It might not work if people cheat,” he
said. “If we don’t have good auditing, it
won’t work; if the standards aren’t enforced
by regulators … it won’t work either. The
regulators have got to get their act together.
We’re trying to put pressure on them. And
that’s why we feel the SEC has a major role
to play in this. If the SEC commits, it gets a
seat at the table, a seat at the head of the
table. It is the world’s most powerful regulator.”
Tweedie added that adoption of international
standards also won’t work if people
keep trying to amend the provisions.
“This is the advice I give people when
they complain about the final standards ….
Between FASB and ourselves, we’ve made
a call. We’re totally independent, we’re not
paid by organizations, [and] this is what we
think the answer is,” Tweedie said. “In the
15
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Report: FAS 140 Played Role in Lehman’s Repo 105 Accounting
(Continued from page 14)
behaviors it had seen with regard to interpretations
of FAS 140, as well as concerns
over the accuracy of certain financial statements.
The statement clarifies the purpose of the
part of FAS 140 that Lehman had used,
saying that it is to determine whether a
transferor and all of the entity included in
the transferor’s financial statements being
presented have, indeed, surrendered control
over transferred financial assets.
The conditions for a transfer to be counted
as a sale are that the asset is isolated
from the transferor and the transferor’s
creditors, the transferee can pledge or
exchange the assets it received with no conditions,
and the transferor made no agreements
that both obligate and entitle it to
repurchase or redeem the assets or an
agreement to have the transferee unilaterally
cause the holder to return specific assets.
Rather than establishing new conditions,
FAS 166 clarifies the already-existing ones.
Among the clarifications, FAS 166 specifies
that the rule is applicable only to financial
assets; it says that assets must also be
isolated from consolidated affiliates; “transferees”
are expanded to also include thirdparty
holders, if the transferee is an entity
whose sole purpose is to engage in securiti-
Tweedie in N.Y. Makes Hard Sell for IFRS
(Continued from page 6)
meantime, don’t start fiddling with it. If
you do, we’ll never have global standards.
“If it blows apart at this stage, it will
take about 20 years to put it back together
again,” he said.
Tweedie said that there will be postadoption
analysis to ensure that the goal of
a “single set of high-quality global accounting
standards” is truly being met by the finished
IFRS product.
“We’ve agreed that two to three years
after the standard becomes effective, we’re
going to have a review,” he said.
The morning forum was held at the
Japan Society in Midtown Manhattan, and
Tweedie noted that in contrast to the U.S.—
which won’t make a final decision on IFRS
until 2011—in Japan, “the decision is
made,” along with 117 other countries that
are said to be moving more quickly to
adoption than the U.S, Tweedie said.
“And more are coming,” he said. “Next
year is the big year for Asia: [South] Korea
changes in March, India in June [and]
Japan has agreed to converge to these standards
by the end of June.”
Why Change at All?
Tweedie continued his pitch for IFRS by
listing several benefits he said will come
from the final adoption of a single set of
global accounting standards:
• Increased comparability, which will
reduce the cost of analysis;
• More effective regulation internationally,
with active enforcement, to reduce opportunities
for financial manipulation;
• Reduced compliance costs, leading to
greater returns for shareholders;
• Reform and transparency for investors
where needed and where national efforts
have stalled;
• It “sets up a race to the top, not the bottom”;
• Reduces opportunities for regulatory
arbitrage and would serve as a barrier to
political intervention in standards-setting
across the board; and
• With SEC involvement, there would be
zation or asset-backed financing activities
and that entity is constrained from pledging
or exchanging the assets it receives; and
that effective control has been given up.
The new standard goes into a few examples
of what it means to maintain control.
These include keeping an agreement that
both entitles and obligates the transferor to
repurchase or redeem the financial assets
before their maturity, an agreement giving
the transferor the unilateral ability to cause
the holder to return specific financial assets
(different from having the transferee unilaterally
do so), and having an agreement that
permits the transferee to require the trans-
greater U.S influence of international financial
reporting practices.
Tweedie said that it would also be incongruous
for the U.S. to continue using
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
when everyone else is getting on the IFRS
bandwagon.
“If major U.S. companies use IFRS,
feror to repurchase the transferred financial
assets at a price that is so favorable to the
transferee that it is probable that the transferee
will require the transferor to repurchase
them.
FAS 166 does maintain the 102 percent
overcollateralization feature of the original
FAS 140, though it does add that “judgment
should be applied based on the facts and
circumstances.”
cgaetano@nysscpa.org
Japan uses it, Europe uses it, why are you
using national standards?” he asked.
There was a time when it made sense to
stick with national accounting rules, but not
today, Tweedie said. Initially, “accounting
standards should [have been] national
because that’s where you get the money
from,” Tweedie said. “You just set your
Anti-Fraud/Anti-Money Laundering
Conference
The Fraud/Money Laundering Interface:
Challenges and Opportunities for CPAs and Their Clients
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square
1535 Broadway, at 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
Conference Highlights:
• Keynote Speaker: Sheila Gowan, Trustee of the Marc Dreier Case
• Money Laundering Crimes and Consequences for CPAs
• Hear from a Former Federal Judge on Expert Reports and Testimony
• Understand FINRA’s Expectations for Independent Tests of AML Programs
• Receive a FinCEN Update on Fraud and Money Laundering
• Get the Latest Update on the Federal False Claims Act, a.k.a. The Whistleblower Law
…And Much More!
Course Code: 25175111 (In-Person);
25175112 (Live Webcast)
Field of Study: Auditing
CPE Credit Hours: 8
Fees: Members $385; Nonmembers $485
Save the Date!
To register, please visit www.nysscpa.org, or call 800-537-3635.
Save on this and other FAE conferences and seminars with FAE’s Discount
Programs! See the ad on page 9 for more details.
(Continues on page 21)
This new conference is primarily designed for CPAs,
chief compliance officers, internal and external
auditors, attorneys, corporate financial officers,
controllers, accountants, and security directors who have
a stake in preventing, deterring, or detecting fraud and
money laundering at their client’s or in their own workplace,
as well as money managers, investment advisors,
broker/dealers, financial principals, financial officers, and
financial planners with Bank Secrecy Act responsibilities.
Now Available
via Live Webcast
Can’t attend the event in person? Experience the
same great speakers and topics directly from your PC.
Visit www.nysscpa.org/e-cpe for more details.
foundation for accounting
FAE education

Buffalo
Christie Adamczak
Janelle Breitnauer
James M. McKenna
Kyle J. Rookey
Donna E. Schirching
Ashley Snider
Jeanne Spaulding
Manhattan/Bronx
Marvin Agyemang
Shakeel Amir
James Argiriou
Santino Asaro
Elizabeth Barrett
Adam Baruch
Thomas Botero
Cheryl R. Callender
Jie Chen
Theodore Cheung
Robert F. Corrales
Magdalena M. Czerniawski
Abraham J. Daniel
Xixi Dong
Victor A. DuBois
Phillip Esaian
Shanon S. Fable
Scott Ferrara
Asher Friedman
Michael A. Garcia
Su Guan
Kevin J. Hanratty
Brittni L. Hausler
James P. Johns
Ewart L. Johnson
Pallav Kapoor
Kwok-Pui Lau
Chia-Hsing Lee
Daniel H. Lee
Benjamin M. Lehrhoff
Catherine Leonard
Iris Lo Po Ki
Winnie Y. Loo
Jeffrey P. Mastronardi
Anthony C. Mennella
Georgina M. Nichols
Shuming Ou
Patrick Payano
16
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Louis Pinto
Evan Piontnica
Cindy P. Pollack
Darya Prokopenko
Tamiko Pyronneau
Matthew Rubock
Roman Shneyder
Michael Sinca
Jacob J. Sperry
John B. Talbott
Peter D. Vicario
Josephine M. Viglione
Claudine Viselli
Robert J. Wisniewski
Ling P. Wong
Stephen K. Wong
Andy W. Yan
Yi Yang
Jacob Yavil
Mid Hudson
Wendy A. Freyhagen
Jenna Pelella
Nassau
Daniela Barbu
Yashima Bhatia
Joseph J. Bittner
Stephen R. Brown
Deanna Farina
Anita Jackson
Jacqueline Joseph
Jason Lisogorsky
Frederick C. Martin
Nicole Paone
Isabel Rahmani
Alexis Roth
Irving Schoenfeld
Matthew C. Schramm
Robert Schwartz
Omar J. Tejeiro
Evan B. Whitacare III
Northeast
Ryan S. McEvoy
Claire E. Neumann
Queens/Brooklyn
Adriana Agostinelli
Terrence Ahoua
Lilia E. Andia
New Members
Welcome New NYSSCPA Members
New members who joined the NYSSCPA between Feb. 16 and April 1, 2010:
Olayiwola Babalola
Yelena Babenko
Elibert Cabral
Giancarlo Castano-Jimenez
Marlene A. Cowan-Dockery
Stela Dzhavarov
Michael Eisenberg
Rabiya Hass
Tina Jiang
Liyuan Liu
Richard Luttman
Verna Mackmedley
Eleonora Mavashev
Anna Maykova
Robert Mohs
Nazia Niher
Ivan Olkhovenko
Natalia Oudalova
Dave Persaud
Sapna Pillai
Mahbub Rabbani
Fangyan Shi
Abdrahman Tabbara
Demetria Tsialas
Maria L. Vona
Franz M. Walter
Tingting Wang
Xiaokai Wang
Hon San Wu
XiaoFen Wu
Rochester
Ellen T. DeGregorio
Kelly Emborsky
Daniel S. Hawthorne
Olufemi Olaode
Lee Plummer
Rockland
Tamara Kopko
Staten Island
David Gonzalez
Mario Lee Gonzalez
Stephen Massimillo
John Paolino
Yuriy Y. Shirokikh
Edmond Sukalic
Suffolk
David Albrecht
Edwin Casanova
Jennifer M. DeMaula
Mark DiMichael
Odalys Franco
Nicholas Greene
James C. Johnis
Arber Kokoneshi
Nicholas G. Lazzaruolo
Thomas Melody III
Joanna Pasko
Andrew Taffurelli
Gregory Thompson
Amy Tillotson
Ting-Hwa Tong
Juan Velez
Syracuse
Rob D. Bloom
Lindsay M. Cronkright
Lena D’Addio
Timothy J. Hammond
Nicholas L. Kelley
Michael Lilienthal
Susan M. Padrao
Robert S. Smith
Piper N. Titus
Westchester
Matthew D. Callahan
Cassandra Campbell
Edward P. Galati
Fabio Guglielmi
Ahad B. Khan
Elzbieta Lechowska
Out-of-State
Monique A. Bachman
Salvatore G. Cantarella
Karen R. Conron
Cecelia Kash-Valenti
Do Hyun Kim
Michi Miller
Anthony Moschitta
Tigran Muradyan
Barry J. Pincus
Sylvia Quenum
Christina M. Ribaudo
Robert L. Weinstein

More Tax Questions, More
Answers from Chapter Volunteers
By CHRIS GAETANO and
CARA PATTERSON
At least once a year, almost everyone
needs to deal with the labyrinthine and
often baffling world of the U.S. tax
code. Some tax issues can be confusing
even for those with a CPA license, but these
professionals are the best equipped to handle
the questions that result.
With this in mind, NYSSCPA chapters
around the state each worked with an area
publication to provide the technical expertise
for reader tax call-in panels, during which
chapter members volunteered with local
media outlets to answer tax questions from
the publications’ readers.
This year’s volunteers agreed that there
was great diversity in the types of questions
they received, which ranged from new tax
credits to Social Security benefits.
Most questions were simple, though
there were some stumpers.
Mid Hudson Chapter Past President
Tracy Badgley, who served on the
Poughkeepsie Journal’s tax panel on March
24, fielded a question about stock options,
which she referred to another volunteer at
that panel, Robert J. Centrello III, who
had more experience with clients in that
industry. Like several others that day, the
caller was preparing his own return and was
looking for confirmation that he’d filled it
out correctly.
Centrello recommended that the caller
seek the paid assistance of a CPA for more
information about how to treat the complicated
trades on his return.
CHAPTER CONTENTS
In this issue:
Save These Dates 19
Nassau 20
17
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
“He should, but probably won’t [hire a
CPA],” Centrello figured.
Badgley also fielded a call from a taxpayer
who wondered if he qualified for a
home office deduction. A home office
would have to be the owner’s principal
place of business and meet other strict
requirements in order to qualify for a
deduction, Badgley told the caller, who
may have been hoping for more promising
advice. She had better news for another
caller, when she affirmed for a condo
owner who was renting out the space that
the condo fees were deductible.
One of the Buffalo volunteers, Tim
Hoelscher, became an unexpected matrimonial
referee as he addressed the concerns
of a divorcing couple over the phone.
Syracuse Chapter member Donna
Ascenzi also reported that she found herself
in a rather heated discussion with a caller
over the IRS.
“He was getting into a political debate
with me about the IRS that got a little nasty
and I had to tactfully cut him off at one
point,” Ascenzi said. “[As] one of the other
CPAs said, ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’”
Ascenzi, serving on the panel at the
Syracuse Post-Standard, noted that there
were also some people who were obviously
doing their tax returns over the phone,
which she called a “little annoying.”
“You could tell they were doing their tax
Husband-and-wife team Dennis and Jane Jewell team up to answer readers’ questions at
the Buffalo News tax panel on March 18.
returns and wanted to get a CPA to do it for
them but didn’t want to pay for it,” she
said.
New Tax Provisions Dominate
Hoelscher, who took part in the March
18 panel at the Buffalo News, said that a lot
of the calls he fielded had a common
thread, in that they centered around new tax
provisions that emerged as part of the economic
stimulus, including questions on the
Making Work Pay credit, the American
NYSSCPA members Christine A. Learman and Bruce Zgoda field tax questions at the
Buffalo News tax panel on March 18.
Opportunity Credit, various energy credits
and how Social Security payments should
be taxed. Hoelscher said that many of those
who called in found out that they were getting
more money back from the government
than expected due to energy credits.
“It felt good to be able to help people
because we did a service and helped them
figure out these things,” he said.
Ascenzi said she also received a wide
variety of questions during the Syracuse
Chapter’s panel on March 22, with many
wondering how the estate tax would specifically
affect them and whether they should
start redrawing their wills. Again, Social
Security also figured prominently.
The Syracuse Chapter benefited from
having its own research team available: two
college students whom Ascenzi—who is
also an accounting professor—brought with
her. The students, she said, got an opportunity
to hear the kinds of things that a CPA
will need to address in everyday practice.
“It was a wonderful experience for the
students and gave them an idea of what
kinds of questions were asked and how to
go about answering them,” said Ascenzi. At
the same time, the volunteers could turn to
the students to look things up as they spoke
to callers.
There was a mix of business and personal tax
questions at the panel held at the Westchester
County Business Journal on Feb. 20, according
to Robert Winton, who organized it.
This was both the first year that Winton
organized the Westchester event and the
first year it was hosted by the county’s
Business Journal.
“A lot of people volunteered, which I
was really happy with, and next year we’ll
see if we can ratchet up the advertising of it
with the Business Journal and see if we
(Continues on page 19)

BUFFALO
Educator’s Night with Student Awards and CPE Session
When: April 27, 3 p.m. registration, 6 p.m. dinner
Where: Salvatore’s Italian Gardens (6461 Transit Road, Depew)
Course Code: 29010010
Contact: Sandy Augustine (saugust@hilbert.edu)
MANHATTAN/BRONX
Scotch Tasting and CPE Session
When: April 21, 6–8:30 p.m.
Where: McGladrey and Pullen (1185 Avenue of the Americans, between 46th and
47th Streets)
Cost: $40 per person
Contact: Pat Gillespie (212-372-1661) or Gene Shear (212-372-1202)
2010–2011 Election Meeting and New York Economic Recovery CPE Session
When: April 29, 6–8 p.m. (check-in begins at 5 p.m.). Preregistration is required.
Where: Citigroup Center (601 Lexington Ave., 14th Floor, between 53rd and 54th
Streets). Refreshments will be served.
Cost: Free for members; $5 nonmembers
Course Code: 29150012
Personal Core Branding
When: May 4, 6–8 p.m. (5:30 p.m. registration)
Where: FAE Conference Center (3 Park Avenue, 19th floor, New York City)
Cost: $10 members; $15 nonmembers
Course Code: 45150010
A Game of Sport and Skill: a YCC Networking Event
When: May 11, 6–8 p.m.
Where: The Mean Fiddler (266 West 47th Street)
Cost: $25
Contact: Dina Esposito (desposito@bdo.com)
2010 IFRS & U.S. GAAP Update
When: June 16, 6–8 p.m. (5:30 registration)
Where: New York Life Insurance Company (44 East 27th Street, between Park
and Madison)
Cost: $15 members; $25 nonmembers
Course code: 29150101
CPE Credit: 2 (accounting)
MID HUDSON
Post-Busy Season Mixer
When: April 22, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Torches on the Hudson (120 Front Street, Newburgh)
Contact: Rebecca Hasbrouck (845-567-9000 or rhasbrouck@vddw.com)
NASSAU
Nassau Chapter Full-Day Estate Planning Conference
When: May 1, 9 a.m.–5:15 p.m. (check-in at 8:30 a.m.)
Where: Melville Marriott (1350 Old Walt Whitman Road, Melville)
Cost: $150 for members; $250 for nonmembers
Course Code: 28603026
57th Annual Installation Dinner/Dance
When: May 6, 7 p.m. (RSVP by April 27)
Where: Crest Hollow Country Club (8325 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury)
Cost: $80 per person; $160 per couple; $800 for a table of 10
Contact: Kirsten Dalland (kdalland@fmcocpa.com)
18
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Save These Dates
Women’s Focus Group
When: May 14, 12–2:30 p.m.
Where: The Milleridge Inn (585 North Broadway, Jericho)
Cost: $30
Contact: Christine P. Hallahan (c.hallahan@pascpa.com)
The Ellen Gordon CPAs 4(a): CAUSE 9th Annual 5K Run/Walk
When: June 13, 8 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. race
Where: Wantagh Park (East Merrick Road and Wantagh Parkway, Wantagh)
Contact: Ray Floch (RFloch@edwards-topple.com)
or Roy B. Massa (roymassa@yahoo.com)
NORTHEAST
Accounting Educators’ Conference
When: April 9 (8:45 a.m.–5 p.m.) to April 10 (8:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.)
Where: Holiday Inn (205 Wolf Road, Albany)
Cost: $150 members; $160 nonmembers
Course Code: 28604042
Young CPAs After-Busy Season Celebration
When: April 29, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Where: Wolf 1-11 (111 Wolf Road, Albany)
Contact: Jaclyn Ferrucci (jaclyn.ferrucci@ge.com) or Eric Scaringe
(escaringe@tbccpa.com)
QUEENS/BROOKLYN
Accounting and Auditing Update Conference
When: May 19, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Where: St. John’s University, Queens Campus, D’Angelo Center, Rooms 416 A, B and C
(8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica)
Cost: $100 members; $125 nonmembers
CPE Credit: 8 (4 Accounting, 4 Auditing)
Course Code: 28116022
ROCHESTER
Rochester World of Accounting
Where: May 14, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
When: HSBC Building (100 Chestnut Street, Rochester)
Contact: Ken Hall (kennetha@homeproperties.com)
ROCKLAND
Post-Busy Season Bash/Election Dinner
When: April 28
Where: Jade Village Restaurant (606 S. Pascack Road, Chestnut Ridge)
Cost: $25 members; $35 nonmembers
Contact: Shari Berk (seberkcpapc@aim.com)
SUFFOLK
Suffolk Chapter’s 39th Annual Golf Outing
When: May 10, 10 a.m. registration, 11:30 a.m. shotgun start, 5:30 p.m. dinner
Where: Southward Ho Country Club (601 West Montauk Highway, Bay Shore)
Cost: $450 golf, brunch, dinner. $200 cocktails, dinner only.
Contact: Robert Quarte or Irene Howell (631-434-9500)
(Continues on page 19)

Save These Dates
(Continued from page 18)
Fourth Annual Membership Event
When: May 25, 6:30–9:30 p.m.
Where: Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River
Cost: Free to members
Contact: Paul Becht (PBecht@hrrllp.com)
Suffolk Chapter’s 9th Annual Long Island Ducks Outing and Picnic
When: June 18, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7:25 p.m. ballgame (please RSVP by May 18)
Where: Citibank Park (3 Court House Drive, Central Islip)
Cost: Picnic and game ticket: $30 adults; $24 for kids 9 and under. Game ticket only: $10
Contact: Melissa Portelli (mportelli@hrrllp.com)
The 15th Annual Young Professionals Golf Classic
When: Sept. 23, 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Where: Hamlet Willow Creek Golf & Country Club (1 Clubhouse Drive, Mt. Sinai)
Cost: $250 per individual golfer
WESTCHESTER
Employment Issues in Labor Law CPE Session
When: April 21, 7:45–9:15 a.m.
Where: Merrill Lynch White Plains (360 Hamilton Avenue, 8th Floor)
Cost: Free
CPE Credit: 1
Contact: Jake Meyer (Jacob.Meyer@genspring.com) or Deborah Rubin
(Dbrubin@optonline.net)
Estate, Tax and Financial Planning Conference
When: May 10, 8:45 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
Where: Citigroup Conference Center (188 King Street, Armonk)
Cost: $125 members; $150 nonmembers
Course Code: 28611033
19
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
More Tax Questions, More Answers from Chapter Volunteers
(Continued from page 17)
could find other ways to get callers,” he said.
“It was a nice community service and everyone
who volunteered was really gracious.”
Overall, the volunteers said they came
away from the panel feeling good about
using the knowledge they had to help out
the public.
“I think it’s great exposure for the
Society and I think it’s nice to be able to
help out some of these people who are
doing their tax returns themselves and
maybe are stuck on a point and maybe
can’t afford to pay someone,” said Adam
Panek, a Syracuse Chapter member who
has participated in the panels for many
years. “Some of these senior citizens can’t
pay $100, $200 for a tax return, so it’s nice
to be able to help them out.”
For some, it also offered a time-out from
the tumult of the tax season. After finishing
their morning shifts as volunteers at the
Journal panel, several NYSSCPA Mid
Hudson Chapter members were headed
back to their offices to work until 9 or 10
p.m., a schedule they said they expected to
maintain through the busy season.
To illustrate the constant pressure tax
practitioners are under, participant
Kathleen B. Smith described the constant
stream of calls as a “nice break from tax
season.”
The following members participated in
the chapter tax panels:
Buffalo News
Peter Bellanti, Daniel Tirone, Tim
Hoelscher, Joseph Kabacinski, Rosemarie
Steeb, Jennifer Hatcher, Christine A.
Learman, Todd Zgoda, Anthony Goffigan,
Bruce Zgoda, Dennis Jewell, Jane Jewell
Poughkeepsie Journal
James Passikoff, Ira Levine, Vincent
Pangia, Jennifer Adler, Kathleen B. Smith,
Tracy Badgley, Robert Centrello, Shaun
Lemister, Dana Sperry
Syracuse Post-Standard
Connie Chiu, Oksana Dinis, Kathleen
Kaminski, Adam Panek, Shae Riley,
Mark Schmidt, Donna Ascenzi, Michael
Germain, Timothy Pethybridge, Vincent
Salvagni, Thomas Tartaglia, Lisa Szymanski
Westchester Business Environment CPE Session
When: May 19, 7:45–9:15 a.m.
Where: Merrill Lynch White Plains (360 Hamilton Avenue, 8th Floor)
Cost: Free
CPE Credit: 1
Contact: Jake Meyer (Jacob.Meyer@genspring.com) or Deborah Rubin
(Dbrubin@optonline.net)
Annual Golf Outing
When: June 22 (time TBA)
Where: Saint Andrew’s Golf Club (10 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson)
Contact: Jeff Schwartz (jeff@stantonandleone.com)
President’s Dinner
When: May 25, 6 p.m.
Where: Willow Ridge Country Club (123 North Street, Harrison)
Cost: $50
Contact: Kate DeMello (KDeMello@berdonllp.com)
Small Business Taxation Conference
When: Nov. 1 (time TBA)
Where: Citigroup Conference Center (188 King Street, Armonk)
Individual and Estate Planning Conference
When: Dec. 6 (time TBA)
Where: Citigroup Conference Center (188 King Street, Armonk)
On the left, NYSSCPA member Kathleen B. Smith fields a call from a confused taxpayer
at the Poughkeepsie Journal tax panel on March 24, as fellow NYSSCPA member
Jennifer Adler looks on.
Westchester Business Journal
William Minoff, Steven Shinder, Rodney
Ertischek, Mark Leeds, Stephen D’Angelo,
Denise Magnani, Jeffrey Gold, Barbara Bel,
Susan Kozera, Felix Lopez, Spencer
Barback, Les Thompson, Lisa Silvestro,
Tony Khalil, Michael Moss
cgaetano@nysscpa.org
cpatterson@nysscpa.org

Nassau
By MARK S. WARSHAVSKY
Nassau Chapter President
Ihope this time of the year has been going
smoothly for all of our chapter members.
Although yet another busy season is
starting to wind down, events in the Nassau
chapter are just heating up. We have lots of
events listed in this issue’s calendar section
and whether your interests lie in taxation,
auditing, accounting, practice management
or all of the above, you’ll certainly find an
event that can benefit you.
With the springtime comes one of my
favorite events: the Ellen Gordon CPAs
4:(a) CAUSE 9th Annual 5K Charity
Run/Walk, which will be held on Sunday,
June 13. This event is a great way to mingle
with fellow chapter members (and guests)
in a casual atmosphere.
The 57th Annual Installation Dinner/
Dance will be held on Thursday, May 6 at
the Crest Hollow Country Club in
Woodbury. That night, Mark Meinberg
20
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
Nassau Chapter Planning a Busy Spring
will be assuming the position as president
of our chapter. Mark is both capable and
enthusiastic and I am certain he will serve
our chapter well. Besides Mark, I wish to
congratulate all of our new officers and
directors as they assume their respective
positions. My sincerest thanks goes out to
the current roster of chapter leaders
who have volunteered their time
to make this past year a success.
I am proud to have
served alongside such wonderful
people. Thank you,
Mark Meinberg, Craig
Morris, Ronald Finkelstein,
Lisa Haynie, Howard Fine, Jack
Angel, Noelle Geiger, Richard Zerah,
Lynne Fuentes, John Pellitteri, Michael
Gaines and Scott Sanders.
I would be totally remiss if I didn’t also
thank each and every person who contributed
towards getting our newsletter published.
We print seven a year, each bringing
with it a stressful deadline and many other
logistical challenges. The two chairs of the
Newsletter Committee are Mark Meinberg
and Lynne Fuentes; however I realize and
appreciate the many others who help get
our newsletter to print.
I’d also like to thank everyone who
attended the Town Hall Meeting on Jan. 7.
The event was held at the Chateau
Briand in Carle Place. The
attendees, numbering well
in excess of 300, got an
opportunity to hear about
the current state of the
NYSSCPA and our industry.
We also benefited from
an enlightening CPE session on
ethics presented by NYSSCPA President
David J. Moynihan.
March, April and May are the concluding
three months in our chapter’s fiscal year. In
May and June, each committee holds organizational
meetings. These meetings are
very important because they help the committee
chairs in selecting timely and relevant
Nassau First to Begin Statewide Chapter Membership Push
By CHRIS GAETANO
Trusted Professional Staff
The NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter, hoping
to increase its numbers and offer the
benefits of Society membership to more
Long Island CPAs, has begun a new membership
drive that its organizers say, if successful,
could be used as a model for other
Society chapters.
Nassau Chapter Membership Committee
cochair John Pellitari, one of the membership
drive organizers, said that the chapter
noticed that events were being attended by
mostly the same people each time, with few
new ones coming in.
“We saw, for whatever reason, enrollment
in the chapter wasn’t what we thought
it should be and we wanted to reinvigorate
the chapter, drawing not only members that
used to be part of the organization, bringing
them back,” Pellitari said, but adding “new
blood” as well.
Lisa Haynie, the other membership
cochair, said that the chapter’s latest effort
involves actively seeking out CPAs in their
area and showing the benefits of NYSSCPA
participation that she and Pellitari have
prospered from throughout their careers.
“He and I have both had so much positive
experience of being part of the NYSSCPA
that we would be remiss to not share that
with other people and not get more involved,”
Haynie said.
Chapter member outreach is already
under way. Membership Committee members
will begin contacting area CPAs who
have previously attended chapter events and
give an appeal specifically tailored to the
area of the profession in which the potential
member works. This appeal will be helped
along by members of a newly formed
Nassau Chapter Mentorship Committee, a
group that was organized to complement
the chapter’s recruitment efforts.
“Instead of waiting for them to come to
us, we’re sort of coming to them,” Haynie
said.
The mentors, which Haynie called “the
first line of interest,” will talk with the
potential members about how Society
membership could benefit them, and also
how they, as new members, could get more
involved.
“If they have an affinity for a particular
area, whether it be tax or auditing, [we
hope to] give them a portal to reach out to
someone and talk to them about it, see what’s
going on and how the NYSSCPA can help
these potential people whether through programs
or relations and working with colleagues
and collaborating with events,” said
Haynie.
In addition to gaining new members,
Pellitari said, fact finding is a mission of
the recruitment drive. He said that the chapter
would like to know how the Society can
better serve the CPA community in the
future. Pellitari noted that any business
should reevaluate its business model to see
what it can improve. In the same way, he
said, the chapter is looking to create more
topics for the upcoming year. Please try to
attend one of these organizational meetings—
they’re a great way to get involved in the
Society and get a chance to help your profession.
Our newest committee, the Practice
Continuity Committee, is starting its second
year to rave reviews and we invite our
members to stop by a meeting and see what
it’s all about. If practice continuity isn’t
your thing, however, the chapter has many
different committees that you can join.
We’ve made it easy for members to participate
in any of these meetings. All you need
to do is RSVP with the chair and then show
up.
As always, should you have any questions
or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Contact Mark S. Warshavsky at
mwarshavsky@gmslny.com.
value for its members and use these ideas
to move forward.
“I think a lot of it will be fact finding for
us in where we need to improve,” Pellitari
said. “Where do we evolve as an organization?
What worked 120 years ago might not
be working anymore, so it will give us
some intelligence on how to position ourselves
going forward.” Pellitari noted that
this is especially relevant now that New
York’s accountancy reform law is in effect.
The Nassau Chapter is the first to undertake
this type of membership initiative,
Haynie said, noting that as a member of the
statewide Membership Committee, she has
discussed launching a similar initiative with
other chapter leaders. The chapter is planning
this membership drive, Pellitari said,
on a semiannual basis.
cgaetano@nysscpa.org

Key
GEOGRAPHIC
AREA
Field of Study
Date
Course Title
Course Description
Field of Study Course Code Site
Developer
Member Fee/Nonmember Fee
ALBANY
Accounting
05/04
Government Accounting and Auditing Conference
This conference will provide attendees with expert
advice on emerging issues in GASB standards and
single audits.
AC/4, AU/4 25144041 Albany Marriott
Foundation for Accounting Education
$345\$445
05/04
Government Accounting and Auditing Conference
(WEBCAST)
AC/4, AU/4 25144042
Foundation for Accounting Education
$345\$445
Auditing
05/04
Government Accounting and Auditing Conference
See course listing under Accounting.
05/04
Government Accounting and Auditing Conference
(WEBCAST)
See course listing under Accounting.
21
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
According to New York State
Regulations, courses may only be
categorized as the following fields of
study for CPE accreditation:
Accounting AC
Advisory Services AD
Auditing AU
Ethics E
Specialized Knowledge SK
Taxation T
Courses that have a concentration in
more than one field of study are
labeled with the quantity of credits that
apply to each category.
NASSAU
Taxation
05/01
Nassau Chapter All-Day Estate and Personal
Financial Planning Conference
TX/8 28603026 Melville Marriott Long Island
Foundation for Accounting Education
$150\$250
NEW YORK CITY
Accounting
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference
AC/1, AU/2, TX/5 25621011 FAE Conference Center
Foundation for Accounting Education
$325\$425
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference (WEBCAST)
AC/1, AU/2, TX/5 25621012
Foundation for Accounting Education
$325\$425
For more information about FAE programs, please visit www.nysscpa.org, or call 800-537-3635.
Tweedie in N.Y. Makes Hard Sell for IFRS
(Continued from page 15)
from,” Tweedie said. “You just set your
own rules. But by 1975, things were starting
to globalize and things started to
change, and gradually people felt it was a
good idea to have the same sort of standards.
People actually copied each others’
standards, but there was nothing formal
going on.”
In today’s financial accounting, “in
Tokyo or Toronto, we should get the same
answer,” Tweedie said. “And if we don’t,
why don’t we?”
That, he said, is why so many countries
are now using IFRS.
“People understand them,” Tweedie said.
“You can’t have a single market with 27
different ways of accounting.”
For companies, this means big savings:
“If people understand what you’re doing,
the risk is less, so the cost of capital is
less.”
Convergence to IFRS has been a gradual
process in the U.S., and some have made
the argument that reconciliation should just
continue to be used—but Tweedie said the
reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to IFRS has
brought with it a lot of resentment.
Convergence, he said, “is not an end point.”
“Differences will persist,” he said,
“despite intense efforts to converge, and
there’s the continued possibility of regulatory
arbitrage. Convergence without adoption
entails cost of change without getting
the full benefit of adoption.”
For April 15, 2010, through May 15, 2010
AICPA Pricing Schedule
For AICPA-developed courses, the following pricing schedule applies.
8-hour course 16-hour course
If you are:
A member of both AICPA and NYSSCPA: $295 $465
Only a member of the NYSSCPA: $325 $525
Only a member of the AICPA: $395 $565
A member of neither AICPA nor NYSSCPA: $425 $625
For 4-hour courses, please see course description for price information.
For details, refer to the registration information on www.nysscpa.org.
Please confirm exact time and location when registering, as schedule is
subject to change.
Auditing
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference
See course listing under Accounting.
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference (WEBCAST)
See course listing under Accounting.
Specialized Knowledge and Applications
05/11
Broker/Dealer Conference
SK/8 25558011 New York Marriott Marquis
at Times Square
Foundation for Accounting Education
$375\$475
05/11
Broker/Dealer Conference (WEBCAST)
SK/8 25558012
Foundation for Accounting Education
$375\$475
Taxation
05/04
International Estate Planning
TX/3 27411020 FAE Conference Center
Foundation for Accounting Education
$50\$55
He said that Herz’s appointment to the
chairmanship of the FASB was partly to
shepherd convergence into adoption.
“What many people don’t remember is
that Bob was one of our founding members
in the IASB and his selection as chairman
of the FASB was not an accident,” Tweedie
said. “I think that was a very strong symbol
that the U.S. acknowledged … and wanted
to have input into international standards
and move closer toward them.”
The FASB, the SEC and the IASB
moved through those difficult times to
develop a roadmap “that the SEC could
accept,” Tweedie said.
A memorandum of understanding
between the IASB and the FASB was drafted
05/04
International Estate Planning (WEBCAST)
TX/3 27411021
Foundation for Accounting Education
$50\$55
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference
See course listing under Accounting.
05/06
Employee Benefits Conference (WEBCAST)
See course listing under Accounting.
WESTCHESTER
Taxation
05/10
Westchester Chapter Annual Tax, Estate,
and Financial Planning Conference
TX/8 28611033 Citigroup Executive Planning Center
$125\$150
in 2006, then renewed by the agencies in
November 2009.
“We got a roadmap from [SEC]
Chairman [Christopher] Cox’s administration,
which of course was swept away by
the financial crisis and also by the new
administration,” Tweedie said, “but that was
renewed by Mary Schapiro just a few
weeks ago and we’re moving on, setting a
deadline of June 2011 to try and finish this
thing.”
mlajara@nysscpa.org

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
A well known and well established full
service, reliable, CPA firm seeks merger,
practice purchase or any viable association.
We have professional space, finances and
fantastic staff. Past transactions have resulted
in 99 percent retention and full payout. We
are flexible and guarantee an easy transition.
Our primary goal is client satisfaction.
E-mail your confidential response to
Lawrence Katz, CPA, CFP PFS at
LKatz@akmcpa.com.
WWW.ACCOUNTING-FIRM-
SALES.COM
SELLERS
HOW MUCH CASH ARE YOU GETTING
FOR
YOUR PRACTICE
GET MORE!
CALL JERRY KLING
FOR A FREE EVALUATION
212-532-5525
jerry@jerryklingandco.com
A well-established full-service CPA firm
seeks merger or purchase of practice. We
have space, finances, staff and experience
to assure an easy transition with high client
retention and client satisfaction as the goal.
E-mail your confidential response to Lisa at
lrosenberg@gsrcpa.com.
22
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
CPA with construction experience wanted
to work with and take over accounting
practice in Bayside from retiring accountant.
SUngvary@yahoo.com.
WESTERN NASSAU COUNTY CPA FIRM
Established 22 person firm with offices in
NYC and Long Island seeks to acquire or
merge with retirement-minded practitioner
and/or firm. Call partner at 516.328.3800 or
212.576.1829.
SPACE FOR RENT
AAA PROFESSIONAL OFFICES FOR
RENT, NASSAU COUNTY.
1-, 2-, 3- room suites facing Hempstead
Tpke. FREE UTILITIES. FRONT
PARKING. (516) 735-6681.
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE
THROUGHOUT MANHATTAN
300 square feet to 15,000 square feet.
Elliot Forest, Licensed Real Estate Broker,
212-447-5400.
MINEOLA – CPA OFFICE SPACE
16X16 AVAILABLE, 2ND FL., WIN-
DOWED, RECP, TELEPHONES, UTIL,
CONFR RM, STORAGE, COPIER &
FAX MACHINES ALL INCL. NEAR
COURT HOUSES, 495 & NORTHERN
STATE. CALL TONI 516-877-1900.
BEAUTIFUL ALL INCLUSIVE PRIVATE
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE PRICES
INCLUDE RENT AND ELECTRICITY
BUILT TO SUIT INCLUDING WALLS
AND PARTITIONS 2-50 PERSON
OFFICE SPACES. UP TO 5,000SF LONG
TERM LEASES AVAILABLE. CALL
NIGEL 212 366 0408.
Woodbury-CPA firm has 4th floor windowed
& non-windowed offices available.
Recp, Telephones, Util, Conf Rooms, Copy
Machines, Fax Machines, all included.
Close to 495, 135, Northern State and
Jericho Tpk. $1,200.00-$2,000.00 per
month. One to three year leases available.
Call Craig or Jim 516-364-8888.
OFFICE SPACE
THREE WINDOWED PRIVATE OFFICES
AVAILABLE IN BOUTIQUE CPA FIRM
TOWER SUITE, LOCATED NEAR
GRAND CENTRAL.
ACCESS TO KITCHEN AND CONFER-
ENCE ROOM WITH EAST RIVER
EXPOSURE.
RECEPTION DESK AND OTHER ADMIN
SPACE MAY ALSO BE AVAILABLE.
THE OFFICES CAN BE RENTED INDI-
VIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY.
ALTHOUGH NOT REQUIRED, TENANTS
IN SYNERGETIC PROFESSIONS WILL BE
CONSIDERED AS WELL. 212-953-5550.
CLASSIFIED SECTION
PRIVATE WINDOWED OFFICE IN CPA
SUITE, ACROSS PENN STATION. FUR-
NISHED, CONFERENCE AREA, ALL
SERVICES AVAILABLE. 212-868-2253.
AVNERBOOYA@AOL.COM.
NYC Middle Market Accounting Firm has
office to sublet in a Top “A” Building w/5
windowed offices, 15 Cubicles, use of
Conference Rooms, Reception Area,
Kitchen, Full office Support available. For
further information please contact (212)
404-5403.
Midtown CPA firm has large, furnished,
windowed corner office, including internet.
Services available. Contact David Mond at
dmond@akmcpa.com or 212-382-0404.
LEGAL SERVICES
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT EXPERT
Former Director Professional Discipline,
25 Years Experience, Licensure, Discipline,
Restoration, Professional Advertising,
Transfer of Practice; AICPA and NYSSCPA
Proceedings, Professional Business Practice.
Also available in Westchester County
ROBERT S. ASHER, ESQ.
295 Madison Avenue,
New York, NY 10017
(212) 697-2950
SITUATIONS WANTED
CPA Per Diem desires audit or tax work.
Experienced in various industries including
non profit and governmental. E-mail:
perdiemcpa@att.net.
Experienced CPA seeks per diem work,
audit and tax, 845-878-0051,
kbgralak@optonline.net.
New York City Metro Technical
Accounting/Auditing Pro seeks issues-oriented
and financial statements completiontype
work, such as draft footnotes and
statement format, on a project or other
basis at a reasonable professional rate for
CPAs in need of this type of temporary
help. Also available for audit, reviews or
compilations workpaper or report review.
Can serve in SOX/PCAOB concurring
partner review function or independent
monitoring function under new
Engagement Quality Review (EQR) in
years between smaller firm AICPA Peer
Reviews. Call 516-249-2882.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING &
AUDITING SERVICES
Experienced CPA is available for attestation,
employee benefit plan audits, quality control,
inspections, GAAP/ SEC consultation,
and internal control. Reply
sddoshi@hotmail.com.
TAX CONSULTANCY
INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES
for sales and use tax compliance, audits,
refunds, appeals, and bankruptcy.
Extensive multistate experience.
Jeffrey J. Coren, CPA
212-594-6970

SALES TAX CONSULTANTS
Stewart Buxbaum, CPA, MBA
• Former Senior Sales Tax Auditor, Team
Leader, Instructor, and Supervisor.
• Over 30 years’ experience with the New
York State Sales Tax Bureau and as independent
consultant handling audits, refunds,
and all levels of appeals in the field of sales
and use taxation.
• Recipient of the 1992 Outstanding
Discussion Leader Award of the FAE/NY
State Society of CPAs 1998 Special
Recognition Award.
• Former Member of the NY State
Division of Tax Appeals Advisory Panel
and NY State Taxpayers Advisory Council.
• Former Chairman of the NYSSCPA’s NY
State, Municipal, and Local Taxation
Committee.
Michael J. Buxbaum, CPA, MS Tax
• Many years of experience in handling
audits, appeals, and refunds, including:
1. Hotels
2. Publishers
3. Manufacturers
4. Retail Businesses
5. Construction Contractors
6. Telecommunication Companies
• Founder of NYsalestax.com, a Provider
of NYS Sales and Use Tax Information
• Member of the NYSSCPA’s NY State,
Municipal, and Local Taxation Committee
• Frequent Author and Lecturer
(845) 352-2211 or (212) 730-0086
E-mail: Stewart@nysalestax.com
Michael@nysalestax.com
www.nysalestax.com
23
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants/April 15, 2010
SALES TAX PROBLEMS?
More than 25 years of handling NYS audits
and appeals. CPAs, attorney, and former
NYS Sales Tax Auditor on staff. All businesses,
including service stations. Free initial
consultation. Rothbard & Sinchuk LLP,
516-454-0800, x204.
SALES TAX, ISAAC STERNHEIM &
CO. Sales tax consultants, audits, appeals,
& consultations. Principals with many
years of experience as Sales Tax Bureau
audit supervisors. (718) 436-7900.
SALES TAX PROBLEMS?
Are you being audited?
Free Evaluation
Former Head of NY
Sales Tax Division
• Audits • Appeals • Refund Claims •
* Reasonable fees *
(212) 563-0007 • (800) 750-4702
E-mail: lr.cole@verizon.net
LRC Group Inc.
Lawrence Cole, CPA
Nick Hartman
INTERNATIONAL TAX
CONSULTANT
Former IRS Agent (Foreign Operations
division) NYC CPA MBA Taxation.
Practice areas: Expatriate, Foreign Bank
Account, FIRPTA, Non Resident Alien.
CLASSIFIED SECTION
Best References. Completely Confidential.
Reply to Consultant, 305 East 86th Street,
Apt. 19B West, New York, NY 10028.
BUSINESS SERVICES
NEED TO INCORPORATE?
Complete Incorporation Package Includes:
Preparation–State Filing Fees–
Corporate Kit via UPS
Registered Agent Services Available
NEED TO DISSOLVE or REINSTATE
or AMEND?
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Your Corporate or LLC Goals!
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INC.
Toll Free 800-842-9990
margenjid@yahoo.com
CORPORATE MINUTES
CPA.BLOG IS HERE!
Let Your Voice Be Heard.
CPA.BLOG is the NYSSCPA’s new destination
to discuss the latest regulatory
developments, accounting and financial news,
and Society actions.
Read a post, leave a comment at:
http://www.nysscpa.org/blog/
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for your clients. Simple and easy software.
Visit www.cpaminutes.com to download a
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