Moynihan Inducted as NYSSCPA President at Annual Dinner

NYSSCPA President Sharon Sabba Fierstein passed the presidential torch to President-elect David J. Moynihan at the Society's 112th annual Election Meeting and Dinner Thursday night.

“Quality matters” will be the focus of Moynihan’s presidency, the incoming president said during his acceptance speech.

The son of a man who became a CPA at 49 years old, Moynihan said he never forgot the day his father received a letter in the mail informing his dad he had become a CPA.

“He would tell you until the day he died it was one of the proudest moments of his life,” Moynihan said, his comments met with applause. “It’s because he knew in his heart, that he was something different. He was different to the rest of the world and he was different to himself.”

He compared successful CPAs to “good farmers”—those who could “grow a good vine” because they nurtured their businesses and what drew their customers was honesty and quality. He said that’s the way the profession was when he entered it in the 1970s.

“People hired you because you were quality,” he said.

He said that the CPA profession has changed from a “farming to a hunting mentality,” where some firms are more concerned with earning fees than with earning a reputation for quality.

“We have to get beyond the concept that fees are the driving force,” he said. “Quality should be the driving force. I promise you that my goal for this year is that quality matters. That's what we are going to strive to achieve.”

Moynihan predicts that quality can matter again through education – of the public and other CPA groups on why quality matters -- and enforcement.

Moynihan also urged the gathered crowd of CPAs to remember that same feeling they felt when they too learned they had gained entrance into the profession and to carry that feeling “in your hearts, everyday.”

President Fierstein led the NYSSCPA during a year of successes and transition -- the passage and signing of the accountancy reform law, a revision of the Society's strategic plan and bylaws and reorganization of the committee structure. Under Fierstein's leadership, the NYSSCPA issued more than 40 comment letters to various state and federal agencies and accountancy regulators.

"Because of the vision, and because of the strength, and because of the courage and because of the wisdom" of Sharon Sabba Fierstein, the Society has experienced some of the most exciting growth it has seen in decades, said NYSSCPA Executive Director Lou Grumet. "She has opened doors no one saw was there and done things no one thought could be done."

She received a standing ovation.

"This is a year of change," said Fierstein, whom Grumet described as the Society's first industry president. "This coming year is going to be a big year of change and I think we're very lucky to have someone like Dave to serve us over the next year; whose experience and thoughtful approach will serve our membership well."

Officers and Board Members

In addition to the acceptance and farewell speeches, the Society's annual dinner also includes a tallying of the votes for the Society's executive officers and board of directors for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

The Society received 2,714 votes by proxy, with 2,657 votes in favor of the following officers and board members.

President
David J. Moynihan, Testone Marshall & Discenza, CPAs, LLP

President-Elect
Margaret A. Wood, Grant Thornton LLP

Vice Presidents
Elliot A. Lesser, Berdon LLP

Mark L. Meinberg, Feldman, Meinberg & Co. LLP

C. Daniel Stubbs Jr., Rutgers University

Liren Wei, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP

Secretary/Treasurer
Joseph M. Falbo Jr., Tronconi Segarra & Associates, LLP

DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE: to hold office for three years from June 1, 2009:
Ian J. Benjamin, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
Robert Kawa, Own Account
Anthony J. Maltese, The Maltese CPA Firm, PLLC
Erin Scanlon, Deloitte & Touche LLP
George I. Victor, Holtz Rubenstein Reminick LLP

DIRECTORS AS CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES: to hold office for three years from June 1, 2009:
Buffalo
Sherry L. DelleBovi, Lumsden & McCormick, LLP

Manhattan/Bronx
Barbara A. Marino, The Hackett Group

Southern Tier
Jesse J. Wheeler, Davidson Fox & Company, LLP

Syracuse
Heather Losi, Losi & Ranger CPAs, PLLC

Westchester
Mark G. Leeds, Win Properties Inc