New York (May 27, 2003) -- Incoming New York State CPA Society president Jeffrey Hoops says the state is all for accounting reform at the state level - just not the kind of “cascade”- like bills that seek to make Sarbanes-Oxley provisions apply to private firms.
Hoops, an Ernst & Young veteran who was formally installed as society president this month, said society leaders successfully stopped state lawmakers from enacting any accounting-related legislation last year before Sarbanes-Oxley became law, but plan to actively advocate this year for reforms that won’t hurt consumers – or the profession.
“We’ve drafted legislation that calls for a number of important and hopefully effective reforms,” Hoops told WebCPA. “We think that Sarbanes-Oxley adequately deals with issues on a federal level and is an important piece of legislation. We’re just not advocates of having it cascading to the states.”
Some of the provisions in the NYSSCPA-sponsored legislation include greater regulation of the many other non-audit services CPAs perform, such as tax services, and an expansion of the state’s right to regulate and discipline all CPAs. The bill would also change the experience requirement to become a CPA, “so that it covers what a CPA actually does as opposed to just the audit function,” Hoops said. The group is also in favor of mandatory peer review and requiring that all CPAs take continuing professional education courses.
In addition to legislation, Hoops wants the group to get more involved in minority recruiting. As an active volunteer with the New York City public schools, he thinks the society needs to take advantage of the opportunity to require bright young minorities into the profession.
Hoops has spent his career as a tax professional. He joined Ernst & Young (then Ernst & Ernst) in 1974, transferred to the firm’s national tax department in 1981 and to its New York City office in 1983. He was admitted as a partner in 1984.
-- Tracey Miller-Segarra
