You’d think that every CPA would be on the same side in this fight.
But just as the New York CPA society, led by CEO Lou Grumet, nears a compromise with state lawmakers to advance mobility, some of the biggest firms say they want more, threatening the deal Grumet has crafted.
As told by the NYSSCPA, the society received a letter from 10 of New York state’s 11 largest firms urging the society to rethink its position on the Uniform Accountancy Act Section 23 amendment that would allow out-of-state CPAs to practice in New York without giving notice. Grumet responded to the firm partners and CEOs by asking them to reaffirm the support that some had given to legislative agreements made last spring.
The big firms say the society-sponsored compromise would be “particularly burdensome for smaller firms who may lack the resources to track and comply with the current crazy-quilt notification requirements.” In addition, they say, neighboring states New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut are considering “retaliatory actions.”
The letter’s authors include:
- Philip H. Politziner, president and chief executive officer of Amper, Politziner & Mattia, P.C.;
- Alan W. Sellitti, office business line leader, assurance, of BDO Seidman, LLP;
- Gregory T. Durant, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP’s regional managing partner, northeast;
- Charles Weinstein, managing partner of Eisner LLP;
- Mark Manoff, vice chairman, Northeast area managing partner of Ernst & Young LLP;
- Martin E. Cooperman, Northeast regional managing partner of Grant Thornton LLP;
- Thomas Marino, partner and CEO of J.H. Cohn LLP;
- Robert F. Arning, managing partner of KPMG LLP;
- Donald A. Lipari and
- Steven J. Mayer, co-managing partners of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP’s New York office; and
- Brendan Dougher, New York metro managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Grumet notes in his letter that none of the letter signers represents the 92 percent of the society’s almost 30,000 members who do not work for the 10 firms. “Pursuit of your too narrowly focused agenda could hurt the bulk of Society members, delay passage of the current compromise, and could have negative repercussions on the public all CPAs are licensed to serve,” Grumet says.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Click here to read the letter from the accounting firms to Grumet (6 pages, PDF).
FREE DOWNLOAD: Click here to read Grumet’s response to the accounting firms (6 pages, PDF).
