Join Your Friends and Colleagues

NCCPAP ON THE HILL

May 9, 10 & 11, 2012

THE MADISON-1177 Fifteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20005

For hotel reservations-Call (800) 424-8577

ncCPAp rate: $289 single/double (rate avail 3 day pre & post meeting)

Hotel block ends April 17, 2012 or until block at capacity

Ed Kliegman with the Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award

Mineola, New York – December , 2011 – Founder of the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of the National Conference CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp), thirty-three years ago, Edwin J. Kliegman, CPA, has received the Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award in recognition of his many years of service and guidance to the CPA profession and ncCPAp.  The Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award was originated by the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of ncCPAp in honor of Leon D. Alpern and was presented at the Long Island Tax Professionals Symposium.

The Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award will be presented annually to a member of ncCPAp in recognition of his or her service to the organization and the profession. Mr. Ed Kliegman received the award and was  honored along with Leon Alpern posthumously.

Throughout Mr. Kliegman’s career, he has championed the cause of the small and medium sized accounting practitioners, including sole practitioners. He has been in the forefront of events and changes in the profession and has written, lectured and conducted seminars to encourage others to practice public accounting in a manner that would bring honor and integrity to the profession.

Mr. Kliegman’s activities within the profession include founding of Marcum & Kliegman, CPAs, (now Marcum, LLP), national president of the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, chairmanship of several committees of the New York State Society of CPAs’, he is a member and served on committees of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  Kliegman was also the Director of CPE Programs for Accounting Today, a national business newspaper serving the tax and accounting community. He has taught American business methods to Russian entrepreneurs as well as government officials and established one of the first local accounting firms in St. Petersburg, Russia.

About the Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award

The Leon D. Alpern Leadership award was created by the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of ncCPAp as a way to honor the memory of Leon D. Alpern, CPA, who passed on January 13, 2011 at the age of 89.

Mr. Alpern was the past President of the Chapter from 1992-1993.  The Leon D. Alpern Leadership Award recognizes a member for his/her selfless service, outstanding leadership ability and business acumen that results in making strategic business decisions that strengthens the industry or Chapter.

About National Conference CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp)

The National Conference CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp) is a professional organization that advocates on issues that affect the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) in Public Practice, small businesses and individual taxpayers located throughout the United States. ncCPAp estimates that its members serve more than 500,000 businesses and individual clients.  ncCPAp monitors and influences tax administration and tax policy by meeting with state taxing authorities as well as Internal Revenue Service representatives along with state and national elected officials.  In addition, the association provides a platform for its members to exchange ideas and information on managing and running a successful practice in today’s competitive environment.   http://www.nccpap.org

Click here to view PDF version of this Press Release

PRESS RELEASE IN PDF FORMAT

MINEOLA, NEW YORK – December 9, 2011 – The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp) has announced newly elected Officers and Directors for the year 2011-2012.

“Each year, ncCPAp changes its’ executive team. This enables us to continually gain fresh ideas, new direction and work efficiently and effectively to grow the organization,”  said ncCPAp newly elected President, Lana Kupferschmid.

“We are grateful for the efforts of the outgoing executive team which provided a strong foundation for the incoming Officers and Directors to build on,” Kupferschmid added.

Incoming Officers and Directors include:

President, Lana Kupferschmid, CPA.  For 22 years, Kupferschmid has been a member of the ncCPAp organization.  Kupferschmid attended Queens College, Lehman College and Pace University to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree and CPA license. She was employed by Haskin & Sells, CPA, USV Pharmaceutical and eventually became the Vice President/ Controller for Matrix Corporation in Orangeburg, N.Y. While serving as ncCPAp Director in the Westchester/Rockland Chapter, Lana pursued development of the New Jersey Chapter. On the National level, she was chair of the Membership Committee, Scholarship Committee and Forward Planning Committee and held positions as Treasurer, Secretary and Vice President.

Active in her community, she was the Treasurer of Temple Beth Sholom, Treasurer of Downtown New City Corp., President of the Tappan Zee Business and Professional Women Club, and President of the Mother of Twins Club.

Executive Vice President, Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS.   Fishman has been in practice since 1989. He is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Oneonta, and is licensed as a CPA in New York and Florida.  As chair of the ncCPAp Tax Policy committee, Fishman has assisted in the drafting of tax legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives.  He is the founding President of the South Florida Chapter of ncCPAp.

Vice Presidents include:

Ed Caine, CPA.  Caine is a graduate of both Lehigh University and Temple University, with over 35 years of experience in management and accounting. His CPA practice, headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, with other offices in Pottstown and Northern New Jersey, specializes in individual and corporate clients, general business consulting, and litigation support.  He is the founding President of the Delaware Valley Chapter of ncCPAp.

David J. Rothfeld, CPA.  Rothfeld is a graduate of Adelphi University and holds both a BBA in Accounting and an MS in Accounting earned in 1973. His accounting practice is located in Hicksville, New York and has been self-employed for over twenty-five years. Rothfeld has served ncCPAp as co-chair of the public Relations committee and is a member of the Membership and Education committees.  He has also held several positions at the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter including four years as Treasurer.

Kenneth Hauptman, CPA.   Hauptman obtained a BS in Economics, with a specialization in Accounting, in 1972 from Brooklyn College, and an MS in Taxation from LIU–C.W. Post in 1979. He has been practicing public accounting for over 40 years, initially with Lutz and Carr, CPAs, and as a partner with the firms of Weinick, Sanders & Co., CPA’s and Hauptman, Elsner & Co., CPAs, prior to establishing his own CPA practice.

Secretary, Lynne Marcus, CPA.   Marcus has a BA in Accounting from Queens College and an MBA in Finance from St. John’s University. She completed the Certified Financial Planner program of the College for Financial Planning at Queens College; she also holds a General Securities License and is an Investment Advisor Representative with Ameriprise Financial, a member of the FINRA and SIPC.

Treasurer, Sarah Jansen, CPA.  Jansen has been in practice since 1992 and is currently on staff at Katz Bloom & Schon CPAs LLC. She was introduced to NCCPAP while on staff at Schoenfeld Mendelsohn & Co. prior to starting her own practice. Sarah is a member of NCCPAP and the AICPA. She is on the NCCPAP National Tax Committee and the Nassau Suffolk Chapter Nominating, Education, and Long Island Tax Symposium Committees.

Three year-term directors include:
Bruce Berkowitz, CPA. Berkowitz graduated from Brooklyn College in June of 1981 with a BS in Accounting. He became certified in the State of New York in 1987 and was a partner in the firm Fein and Berkowitz, CPAs, from 1989 to 1999. In January 2000 he formed Bruce Berkowitz, CPA PC. Bruce has been a member of NCCPAP since 1989 and is completing his term as President of the NCCPAP Nassau/Suffolk Chapter.

Frank Gallo, CPA.   Gallo is the managing partner of Gallo & Company, CPAs LLP, located in Jericho, New York. He is a graduate of Pace University, with an MBA in Public Accounting, and was a manager at Kenneth Leventhal and Company before he started his own practice in 1986.   Gallo has been in public accounting for more than thirty years, and has expertise in audits, reviews, compilations, broker dealers, nonprofits, manufacturing, real estate, pension plans, construction and peer reviews.

Barry Zalk, CPA.  Zalk is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston where he received his BS in Accounting in 1973. He has practiced public accounting for over 38 years.  Zalk started his accounting career while in college, when he interned with various Boston accounting firms and Boston Gas Company. He also interned with J.K. Lasser and Company in New York City, where he also worked after graduating. In 1976 he joined an accounting practice with his father, where he continues as managing partner.

Two-term director Ronald Tockman, CPA.  Tockman is a graduate of Suffolk University, class of 1971.  Tockman has been a practicing CPA in his own firm since 1975, servicing clients primarily in eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and the Rhode Island area. He is the founding President of the South Boston Chapter of ncCPAp.

About National Conference of CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp)

Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting

Mineola, New York – October 14, 2011 – For the second year in a row, ncCPAp President Andrew Hult has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.

Accounting Today, a leading provider of online business news for the tax and accounting community, compiles this annual list, an accounting equivalent of Who’s Who in America.

Hult, president of ncCPAp since November 2009, has been a strong advocate, educator and voice into Congress and the IRS on critical issues affecting practicing CPAs nationwide.

“Being recognized next to so many important leaders in the accounting community is a true honor,” said Hult.  “Like last year, however, this honor best reflects the hard work, dedication, and talent of my fellow ncCPAp colleagues. They made this possible through their commitment to giving back to their communities and implementing the concept of “practitioners helping practitioners.”

The Accounting Today issue covering the top 100 list writes about Hult, “With so many challenges facing CPA practitioners – from a flood of new laws and regulations, including tax preparer registration, to the dismal economy and the changing nature of public practice – Hult’s members need ncCPAp’s educational and advocacy efforts, and its influence on policy-makers, more than ever.”

Henry Krostich, Director of a multi-state CPA firm based on Long Island, states,  “ncCPAp’s efforts, and success, in the many areas that Andrew Hult and his team fight for us, were, in my opinion, nothing short of amazing.”

Hult is the owner of Andrew L. Hult, CPA, P.L.L.C.  His practice, which serves the metropolitan New York area, is located on Hilton Avenue in Hempstead.

Prior to founding his own CPA practice, Hult was a junior partner and manager of quality control for Owen Peterson & Co. CPAs.  Before entering public practice, Mr. Hult received his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and his MBA from Columbia University.  He spent three years on active duty in the U. S. Navy as a Supply Officer on a destroyer escort followed by twenty years in private industry, notably with Silor Optical, Inc, where he served as Director of Finance during a period of exceptional growth.

He and Marilyn, his wife of 44 years, are long time Garden City residents.  Both they and their three children graduated from the same high school and have served in various community service organizations from the Scouts and the PTA to the Scholarship Fund and the Garden City Community Church.

TOP 100 FINAL PDF

MINEOLA, NEW YORK – September 26, 2011 – The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (ncCPAp) would like to express its support for the recommendations made by the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Blue-Ribbon Panel as it relates to accounting standards for private companies.

The Panel, established in December 2009, released its January 2011 report with recommendations to make modifications to private company accounting standards and establish a separate, autonomous regulatory standard-setting body for private company accounting standards.

ncCPAp is a National organization consisting of members exclusively in the practice of public accounting.  ncCPAp membership consists of CPA firms that deal, every day, with the issues contained in the Blue Ribbon Panel report. Members serve clients primarily, but not exclusively, in the private company arena.

ncCPAp’s members’ extensive experience in preparing financial statements for clients is instrumental in the discussions ncCPAp has held and the conclusions it has made regarding the need for differential standards.

“It is our belief that a systemic problem currently exists. There is an increasing lack of relevance of accounting standards for private companies and their financial statement users. Additionally, we believe that the panel was correct in that it does not make economic sense to incur significant costs to comply with standards that have become ever more irrelevant in the private company sector,” wrote Andrew Hult, President of ncCPAp, and Robert Goldfarb, Chair of the ncCPAp Issues Committee, in a joint statement.

“We further believe that private company financial reporting, as it currently exists, is too complex, too costly and time-consuming given its benefits and embodies too much information that is not relevant,” stated Hult and Goldfarb.

The Panel’s full report can be found online at www.accountingfoundation.org/.

PRIVATE COMPANY REPORTING PDF OF RELEASE

 MINEOLA, NY – September 26, 2011.  The IRS recently released the specifications for the Registered Tax Return Preparer competency test.

The IRS based some of the test requirements on input from ncCPAp.

“We are happy to see that the IRS has taken some of our suggestions regarding what is to be included in this exam,” said Neil H. Fishman, Chairman of the Tax Policy Committee for ncCPAp.

“Our concern has always been that when taxpayers use preparers who do not know enough about the tax code and what is really involved in tax return preparation, problems arise if tax returns are reviewed, which make those in the profession look bad.” stated Andrew L. Hult, President of ncCPAp.

The test, according to the IRS press release, “is part of an ongoing effort by the IRS to enhance oversight of the tax preparation industry.”

By successfully completing this test, a background check, a tax compliance check, and 15 hours of annual continuing education, preparers earn the title, “Registered Tax Return Preparer.”

The specifications of the test – which is slated to begin this fall – highlight the major areas of knowledge that preparers are expected to know.

The IRS press release includes helpful information for test candidates, including a link to the exam specifications, as well as links to various publications and tax forms.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=245207,00.html

 TAX RETURN PREPARER PRESS RELEASE PDF FORM

Upon enactment of the mobility legislation, CPAs licensed in states other than New York will be permitted to practice in New York providing they adhere to certain rules and regulations and agree to discipline by the New York State Department of Education. While this gives out-of-state CPAs the ability to practice in New York it also effectively allows New York State CPAs to practice in the other states without being in violation of other states’ statutes. Neighboring states were threatening to bar New York CPAs from practicing within their states if New York did not enact mobility legislation. The approval of this legislation was a unique effort of cooperation among accounting firms of all sizes.  “ncCPAp’s support, assistance and willingness to take a lead role in the effort ultimately resulted in the successful outcome that will allow New York CPA’s to practice on an equal basis with our counterparts across the country” stated  Andrew Hult, President of ncCPAp.

Mobility legislation does not decrease New York’s ability to enforce its laws and regulations against individuals and firms who are practicing from outside New York. Mobility actually strengthens New York’s disciplinary authority by establishing that an out-of-state CPA would consent to jurisdiction simply by entering New York to provide the audit or other attest or compilation services.

The text of the bill can be found online at m.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S2628A-2011.

Press-Release-mobility

The new website features an easy-to-use navigation structure, networking opportunities for tax professionals, information about local and national events, membership tools, and up-to-date industry news.  In support of the re-design, ncCPAp has established a presence on Twitter and LinkedIn and has created a Facebook LIKE page in order to expand its’ reach and communicate to members and tax professionals.

“Our organization focuses on helping the practitioner. We are delighted to be able to offer an enhanced version of our website that supports members with tools, information and social media networking,” states Andrew Hult, President of ncCPAp.

ncCPAp social media networks can be found on:

Twitter at http://twitter.com/nccpap
Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/National.Conference.of.CPA.Practitioners
LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com
LinkedIn Group:  National Conference of CPA Practitioners, Inc.

The new website can be accessed at http://www.nccpap.org/.

Media-Alert-website

MINEOLA, NEW YORK – August 24, 2011 – At the Board of Director’s meeting on August 5, 2011, a motion was approved to accept Delaware Valley Group as the newest chapter of ncCPAp.

“The Delaware Valley is a strong hub for ncCPAp with fifteen new firms joining ncCPAp in the last month.  Ed Caine, National Secretary of ncCPAp and President of the ncCPAp Delaware Valley Chapter, has done an outstanding job developing this region for ncCPAp and serving the needs of the practitioners,” stated Andrew Hult, President of ncCPAp.

NCCPAP 33rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE

October 26, 27 & 28, 2011

HILTON~Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, 1-201-391-3600

NCCPAP Conference Rates: $149

Reserve before October 4th when block of rooms will be released