SYRACUSE — Dannible & McKee, LLP, a Syracuse–based accounting firm, will host a tax and financial planning conference in Syracuse, Binghamton, and Schenectady on separate Thursdays in November. 

Each event provides “insight on recent tax, accounting, and financial changes that will impact businesses and individuals this year, to help you in planning your year-end tax strategies,” Dannible & McKee says. Attendees can participate in the conference at no cost, the firm notes. Those attending can also earn continuing professional education (CPE) credits.

The first of these conferences is set for Nov. 7 from 12-6:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse Destiny. The conference in the Southern Tier is slated for Nov. 21 from 1-6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Binghamton Downtown.

In between, the conference in Schenectady will be held on Nov. 14 from 1-6:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Schenectady.

The keynote speakers at the conferences include Robert Simpson, president & CEO of CenterState CEO at the Syracuse event; Binghamton Mayor Richard David at the Southern Tier conference; and Mark Eagan, president & CEO of the Capital Region Chamber at the Schenectady event.

Syracuse conference

After Simpson’s remarks, Michael Reilly, managing partner at Dannible & McKee, will provide a federal tax update for businesses and Karl Jacob, one of the firm’s partners, will offer a federal tax update for individuals 

The conference will include two breakout sessions, each offering three seminars focusing on conference-related topics. 

For example, the topics at the Syracuse conference include “Accounting, Reporting and Corporate Governance Update;” “Estate Planning After Tax Reform: Debunking Myths That Everyone Still Accepts;” and “The Truth About Fraud …It Can Be Prevented. “

In the second breakout session, the topics include “Techniques for Evaluating a Company’s Financial Statements for Strengths and Weaknesses;” “2019 New York State Tax Update;” and “Tips for Buying or Selling a Business,” per the agenda on the firm’s website.

Binghamton conference

After David’s remarks, Reilly will provide a federal tax update for businesses and Jacob will do the same for individuals.

In addition, firm partners Kenneth Gardiner, Joseph Chemotti, and Benjamin Sumner will then provide an accounting, reporting, and corporate governance update, per the conference agenda.  

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.