Newly licensed certified public accountants (CPAs) will be subject to mandatory continuing professional education (CPE) requirements under a new state law that takes effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 21, 2018 signed into law a bill eliminating the three-year exemption from mandatory CPE for newly licensed CPAs and public accountants. 

That’s according to information posted on the website of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA).

As a result, newly licensed CPAs in New York will need to earn up to 120 credit hours of CPE during their first three years of licensure, starting on Jan. 1, 2020. Specifically, the legislation will require new CPA licensees to earn either 24 credits a year in a concentration, such as audit or taxation, or 40 credits a year in general CPE. 

Whatever ethics CPE regulations are in effect on that date will also apply to the newly licensed in New York, per the NYSSCPA website.

The society lobbied for the legislation as part of an effort to ensure that new CPAs “remain competent” in new and emerging skill sets that clients and employers “have come to expect” in the age of blockchain and artificial intelligence. 

The New York State Assembly approved the legislation 144-0 on June 19, 2018, and the New York State Senate approved it as well, 60-0, the next day. The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman Albert Stirpe Jr. (D–Cicero) and by Sen. Pamela Helming (R–Canandaigua).

Ethics CPE

The New York State Board for Public Accountancy on Oct. 24, 2018 approved regulatory language implementing new ethics CPE requirements. If the New York State Board of Regents accepts the language, New York state-licensed CPAs will be required to complete two credits of ethics CPE every year, rather than the current four credits every three years, the NYSSCPA said. 

In addition, two out of six credits every three years will have to include a New York State-approved ethics course, while the other four credits can be in a variety of ethics topics, including behavioral ethics. Currently, all four credits must be in a New York state-approved course.

If accepted by the board of regents, the regulatory language approved by the public accountancy board will appear in Section 70.9(b)(3) of the regulations of the Commissioner of Education. 

That section reads: “For each registration ending on or after January 2, 2020, a registered licensee who is subject to the continuing professional education requirement shall be required to complete at least two credits in ethics every calendar year period; including, at a minimum, a two-credit NYS approved ethics course must be completed every three calendar years. The two credits of ethics may be counted toward the annual requirement in the calendar year that they are taken,” per the society’s website.

After some NYSSCPA members sought clarification about the effective date of the changes, the society said it reached out to the public accountancy board. The board responded that it would be “premature” to provide such clarification now, as the Board of Regents has not yet reviewed these changes. 

If the Board of Regents does accept the changes as regulation amendments, the public accountancy board will provide examples and clarification at that time, via frequently asked questions posted on its website. 

So, for now, the NYSSCPA says CPAs should continue to adhere to the current regulations for ethics CPE.

ITHACA — The Tompkins County Legislature on Sept. 19 approved a five-year performance-based contract awarded to the Tompkins County Assigned Counsel Office by the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. 

Over the five-year period, the contract will provide more than $2.5 million to support programming and representation through assigned counsel. The focus is to improve the ability of the office to ensure quality mandated representation to its clients. The contract is the first step in New York State’s expansion of the Hurrell Haring Settlement (initially affecting only five New York target counties) to all counties in New York State; the goal is to seek to “remedy a decades-old imbalance in support to mandated representation in the state and to address issues of lack of resources to ensure the quality of mandated representation in New York,” according to a news release from the Tompkins County Legislature.

The first-year allocation is nearly $170,000, with increases each year in the areas of quality improvement and caseload relief. 

“The focus in implementation of the contract will be on increased training for attorneys, increased supervision, monitoring and support to the attorneys, the use of support or expert services by the attorney in the case, and the buildup of supports for trial and client support,” Lance Salisbury, supervising attorney of the Tompkins County Assigned Counsel Office, stated in briefing materials submitted to the Tompkins County Legislature. “In addition, we are looking at potential collaborative efforts with surrounding counties that will strengthen our support services to attorneys and potentially allow us to build and strengthen our panel of attorneys.”

The legislature approved the measure by a unanimous vote, with two legislators (Henry Granison and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne) excused from the vote.  

Key components of new legislation “greatly expanding the scope” of New York State’s workplace anti-discrimination and sexual-harassment protections are now in effect. 

The new provisions — which took effect Oct. 11 — eliminate the restriction that harassment be “severe or pervasive” in order for it to be legally actionable. They also prohibit confidentiality requirements in employment-discrimination cases. 

The measures are “central components” of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2019 “women’s justice agenda,” his office said in a news release.

“The ongoing culture of sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable and has held employees back for far too long,” Cuomo said. “This critical measure finally ends the absurd legal standard for victims to prove sexual harassment in the workplace and makes it easier for those who have been subjected to this disgusting behavior to bring claims forward. Now it’s time for employers across the state to step up and review their internal policies to ensure their employees are protected from harassment or discrimination and abusers who violate these standards are held accountable.” 

The legal provisions that are now active “make clear” that harassment, including sexual harassment, of an employee need not be “severe or pervasive” to constitute actionable conduct against an employer. They also expand protections against all forms of workplace discrimination to include domestic workers and all contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, and others providing services in the workplace. 

Additional parts of the law allow individuals and attorneys to seek financial awards in employment-discrimination cases, prohibit confidentiality requirements in employment discrimination settlements unless such confidentiality is the employee’s preference, and require that all confidentiality agreements be written in plain English and, if applicable, the employee’s primary language.

“All workers deserve a work environment free of sexual harassment and discrimination,” Angela Fernandez, commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights, said. “The elimination of the ‘severe or pervasive’ standard along with other changes, including the requirement that the Human Rights Law be liberally construed, regardless of any federal rollback of rights, is a tremendous step forward. The division of human rights will use its powers fully to enforce these important measures.” 

These new measures “build” on Cuomo’s action last year to sign into law the “nation’s most comprehensive” sexual-harassment package as part of the fiscal year 2019 budget, his office said. 

That package expanded workplace-harassment protections in the state’s Human Rights Law to include contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, or others providing services in the workplace; required employers to adopt a sexual-harassment prevention policy and training; and mandated that as of January 2019 all state contractors must submit an affirmation that they have a sexual-harassment policy and that they provide annual training to all of their employees.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced on Oct. 8 that he has promoted David Hasso to deputy comptroller for payroll, accounting, and revenue services.

As deputy comptroller, Hasso will oversee the bureaus of state accounting operations, financial reporting & oil spill remediation, and state payroll services, as well as the Office of Unclaimed Funds. During his 42 years at the comptroller’s office, he has served in multiple positions, including most recently as an assistant comptroller.

Hasso has led and served on multiple accounting and auditing boards. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the New York State, Louisiana, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Mississippi CPA Societies. He is also a member of the Association of Government Accountants, Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), and the GFOA Special Review Committee.

Hasso received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting from Siena College, an advanced undergraduate diploma in English history from Oxford University, and an MBA from Imperial College (University of London).

SYRACUSE — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) has proposed the Build Local, Hire Local bill and made a recent stop in Syracuse to promote it.

If it became law, the legislation would create new requirements for hiring workers to ensure that local residents are the first to benefit from new infrastructure projects in their community, the senator says. The bill would also require that federal projects incorporate the community’s input and give contracting opportunities to small businesses and minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses, among other “disadvantaged entrepreneurs.”

Gillibrand contends the bill would make “bold reforms” to federal infrastructure investments, “helping to correct decades of failed federal policies that have isolated communities of color.” 

The proposal would also invest in infrastructure projects like the community grid alternative to replace Interstate 81.

Gillibrand discussed the proposal during an Oct. 9 visit to JHP Industrial Supply Company in Syracuse, standing with community leaders, business owners, and advocates as she made her announcement. Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Karen Bass of California (D–Los Angeles) introduced the bill in July. The bill is in the first step of the legislative process, according to Congress.gov.

“Infrastructure across New York is crumbling, and we must do something about it. But when we do, it is vital that we do it thoughtfully and purposefully — in a way that rebuilds the communities that have been left behind by failed federal policies, and in a way that connects more Americans to economic opportunity,” Gillibrand said in a release. “My bill, the Build Local, Hire Local Act, would help to do just that. It was inspired by the legacy of [Interstate-81] in Syracuse. The highway cut off whole neighborhoods from the broader community and from economic opportunity. My bill would make sure that when we invest in our infrastructure, we help undo injustices caused by decades of disinvestment and exclusionary federal policies. I urge my colleagues to pass the Build Local, Hire Local [bill].”

Gillibrand’s approach was endorsed by the leader of the business she visited in the Salt City.

“I think Build Local, Hire Local would be fantastic for the Syracuse area. The bill would give businesses here the opportunity to use their workforce, instead of having other contractors bring in a workforce from other areas. It would give workers in this underdeveloped city the opportunity to be involved in projects in their own community,” Emanuel Henderson, III, president of JHP Industrial Supply Company, said in the Gillibrand release. JHP is a wholesale distributor for the plumbing, heating, and industrial industry.

Proposal details

Specifically, the proposed Build Local, Hire Local bill would seek to create local construction jobs for people “who need them most through targeted hiring practices” that use registered apprenticeships and coordinate with state and local workforce-development boards.

It would also rebuild infrastructure with “new opportunities” for small and disadvantaged businesses, per Gillibrand’s release.

The legislation would also encourage the use of “best-value” contracting, registered apprenticeships, and neutrality in union organizing to ensure projects “place a premium not just on the bottom line” but also on the quality of jobs, safety, equity, climate resiliency, and environmental justice, Gillibrand contends.

In addition, the legislation would “dedicate” investment to struggling areas and connect communities to greater opportunity through new performance measures and data on accessibility to transportation and a new $25 billion connect communities grant program to redevelop “marginalized” communities.

The Build Local, Hire Local bill would also provide “pathways to careers” in construction, specialty trades, and other infrastructure jobs through a new $5 billion “Building American Infrastructure and Careers Program” to support training partnerships led by unions, community organizations, and education and training providers.

Gillibrand contends the legislation would also improve labor standards and working conditions and strengthen worker power by using Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act wage protections; exposing bad actors in contract bids; requiring the use of workforce-diversity programs; creating transparency in pay, employment status, and wage rates; ending forced arbitration; and ensuring that funds are not used for “union-busting.”

It would also “protect and expand” domestic manufacturing by establishing a new Buy America Bureau that would help build American supply chains and bring transparency and coordination to the Buy America waiver process; and by encouraging the use of U.S. employment plans that prioritize existing and new American manufacturing and service jobs when building the nation’s infrastructure.       

SYRACUSE — Edward J. Moses, a partner at Mackenzie Hughes LLP, has been named the 2019 Distinguished Lawyer award recipient by the Onondaga County Bar Association (OCBA). 

Moses will receive the award at OCBA’s 144th annual dinner on Oct. 23 at the Syracuse Marriott Downtown.

The Distinguished Lawyer award recognizes “a superior commitment to excellence in the legal profession,” according to a news release from Mackenzie Hughes. Moses, who was also recognized by the OCBA last year for his 50 years of legal service, is a corporate law attorney whose practice concentrates on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, business formations and succession planning. 

Moses currently serves on the legal committee and as an honorary trustee on the board of trustees at the Christian Brothers Academy, a member of the board of directors of the Georgetown Club of Central New York and its University Regional Alumni Interview Committee, and as a member of the Catholic Charities – House of Providence Annual Dinner Committee, per the release. 

Moses was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit in 1976, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in 2005. 

A graduate of Syracuse University’s College of Law in 1968, Moses attended Georgetown for his undergraduate degree. Moses also served in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he specialized in port security.