February 2001

By P. Gerard Sokolski, CPA

After writing presidential commentaries for seven months, I’ve come to realize that the more you’ve written the more difficult the next one becomes. In any event, here is my attempt to bring you up to date on current events.

First I’d like to report that the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy recently released its honor roll of states whose candidates achieved passing grades in all subjects of the Uniform CPA Exam that were higher than the national average. I’m pleased to report that New York State is one of 16 states that made the list this year. Congratulations to all who helped New York score so well.

The global credential appears to have drawn a lot of interest among our members statewide. As many of you know, the proposed global credential (sometimes referred to as Cognitor or XYZ) is a proposed international business credential that would be available to professionals from a number of disciplines, including accounting, law, and engineering.

I have been receiving many e-mails asking for additional information. Statewide interest has been demonstrated by the overwhelming response we have had to the Cognitor survey. The New York State Society of CPAs mailed surveys on the proposed credential to members in January. As of the date of this writing we have received over 6,000 responses. It will be very interesting to see the summary of the survey after the staff has had a chance to collate the responses. The New York delegation plans to present the opinions of Society members to the AICPA Council during its March meeting.

As you have all heard me say before, we are trying to keep the membership informed by providing as much information as possible. Don’t forget to visit our website at www.nysscpa.org to access the latest information we have. A copy of the survey can also be found in the December 2000 issue of The Trusted Professional. For those of you who are not yet surfing the Internet, a brief update of the Cognitor follows:

In the fall of 2000 the AICPA Council authorized the AICPA to gather additional information regarding the new credential proposal which would include, among other things, a business plan that would show the viability of the credential as well as study the implications on students of accountancy and to gather additional detailed market research. We have been informed that the AICPA has engaged an independent research and marketing communication group to study the market viability of the proposed credential. The AICPA has launched a member information center on the global credential. The site answers frequently asked questions and gives information on the credential. It also has an area where members can provide feedback to the AICPA. Check out www.globalcredential.aicpa.org or call (202) 434-9263.

Turning our attention to other related matters, you may recall that the NYSSCPA board of directors, at its June meeting, decided to join the State Societies Network Inc. (SSNI), a consortium of state societies that joined together to share common expenses, at the cost of $3 per in-state member. This amounted to a $96,192 investment. At the same time the board authorized the executive director to sign an agreement licensing the Society’s database to SSNI, permitting the group to further assign the database to Shared Services LLC, which is co-owned by SSNI and the AICPA and will license its database to the AICPA’s portal, CPA2biz.com. In return for licensing the use of this data the Society would receive a royalty payment.

We received the first royalty payment, in the amount of $160,320, in late January. The royalty payment was made possible because CPA2biz.com received a portion of its first two capital contributions from Microsoft and Thomson Corporation.

Where we go from here remains to be seen. In any event, we can take comfort in the fact that it turned out to be a nice return on investment for less than a 12-month holding period.

How many of you remember the name John D. Dingell? Rep. Dingell (D–Mich.) is known for being the representative who has served the longest consecutive term in Congress. Rep. Dingell is also the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce who spearheaded the U.S. General Accounting Office’s original investigation of the accounting profession.

A two-volume report, The Accounting Profession—Major Issues: Progress and Concerns, was issued by the GAO in 1996 in response to a request by Rep. Dingell. The report dealt with the status of recommendations made to the accounting profession over the prior two decades in an attempt to improve accounting and auditing standards and the performance of independent audit under the federal securities laws.

Guess who’s back? Just recently Rep. Dingell sent a letter to the GAO concerning the events of the past year regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission and auditor independence. He once again suggested that the GAO needs to take a look at the accounting profession. While the GAO hasn’t yet responded, both the Society and the AICPA plan to keep an eye on the GAO to see what it will do.

On a more realistic note, the steering committee for the six new chapters is moving forward. We hope to have all loose ends tied up before the first of June when the new chapters—including the Adirondack, Brooklyn, Central Southern Tier, Manhattan/Bronx, Queens, and Rockland chapters—are expected to embark on their maiden voyage.