NYSSCPA encourages all CPAs to become more involved

The Nassau Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) has over 5,000 members. Our chapter has seventeen committees that are responsible for hosting technical, networking and social events. My term as president began in May 2011, when we held our 58th Annual Installation Dinner/Dance and Lisa Haynie, Scott Sanders, Robert Barnett and Philip Kanyuk were sworn in as officers. During the summer we hosted two very successful events. On June 18, we held The Ellen Gordon CPAs 4(a): Cause at Wantagh Park. Over 200 walkers and runners were in attendance and helped to raise a significant sum of money for Island Harvest. On June 27, the chapter held its annual golf outing at North Hills Country Club at which all in attendance had a great day of golfing along with an opportunity to network with bankers. Our November chapter event is "Networking between Attorneys and Accountants on Tuesday, November 29 at the Crest Hollow Country Club. The committee chairs have arranged for Elyse Luray to give a brief presentation on wines which will complement the wine tasting and networking that will take place throughout the evening. The events for the month of December start early with our All-Day Tax Conference scheduled for December 3 and 4 at the Long Island Marriott. Thanks to the grand efforts of the conference and committee chairs, Robert Barnett, Robert Schaffer and Iola Damante, we have another great slate of speakers to educate on recent legislation, tax law changes and planning strategies. The speakers include Robert Katz, Bernard Krooks, Victor Finmann, Mark Klein, Karen Tenenbaum and Patricia Marcin. New York's Taxpayer Right's Advocate, Jack Trachtenberg, makes a return visit and IRS and New York State representatives will be on hand to answer questions. Of particular interest to the readers of this publication are the activities of our real estate committee, which is co-chaired by Joel Dressner and Cynthia Sze. Topics covered this year by the committee include Depreciation for Real Estate, Advanced Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 entity concepts, Building your Real Estate Limited Liability Company and Tearing it Down, Personal Residences and Section 2036, and Alternative Financing for Real Estate Projects. To find information on upcoming events, please check our website at www.nysscpa.org and click on the Nassau Chapter tab. We encourage all CPAs to become more involved with the NYSSCPA, and especially with the Nassau Chapter. By being active in the chapter, you can derive significant skills and develop business contacts to help you with your professional development. Whether it is finding role models, increasing your exposure to attorneys and bankers or speaking at professional events to become more of an expert in your field, CPAs that become involved will benefit from their participation. Ronald Finkelstein is the 2011 president of the Nassau Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.