I Call to Order and Roll Call - 9:40 A.M.

A meeting of the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy was convened in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act. Pursuant to those provisions, the proper notifications were made to the Office of the Secretary of State, the Camden Courier-Post, the Trenton Times, the Asbury Park Press, the Record and the Star-Ledger. Donald Jump, Secretary of the Board, called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m. The following roll call was taken:

Keith Balla, CPA Excused
Robert Cagnassola, CPA Present
John Dailey, Jr., CPA Present
Andrew DuBoff, CPA Present
Bennie Hadnott, CPA Present
Albertus Jenkins, Public Member Excused
Donald Jump, CPA Present
Aubrey Kosson, CPA Present
Margaret Shoe, Public Accountant Present
Robert Sommer, Public Accountant Present
Peter Torok, Public Member Present

Also present at the meeting were William Mandeville, Executive Director; Tobey Palan, Deputy Attorney General; Jonathan Eisenmenger, Assistant to the Executive Director, Melba Perez, Secretarial Assistant; Marie Lisa, Staff; Mike Polito, CPA, Past President, NJSCPA; John Coiro, CPA, NJSCPA; and David Plaskow, Editor, NJSCPA Magazine.

II Minutes of the Meeting of December 20, 2007

On a motion made by Andrew DuBoff, seconded by Robert Sommer, the Board voted to approve the December 20, 2007 Public Session Minutes with corrections. The vote of the Board was seven voting in favor with Bennie Hadnott and Donald Jump abstaining.

III President’s Remarks

No remarks were made.

IV Executive Director’s Remarks

Executive Director Mandeville reported to the Board that the proposed CPE regulations were published in the New Jersey Register on January 22, 2008. There is a 60 day comment period. Regulatory Analyst Maryann Sheehan will keep Executive Director Mandeville abreast of all comments as they are received. Executive Director Mandeville informed the Board that the CPE rules should be in effect before the end of the current licensing period.

V Legislative Matters

A Senate No. 2387

Establishes certificate of rehabilitation for certain persons with criminal records. The Board accepted Senate No. 2387 as informational.

B Senate No. 2969

Allows certified public accountants licensed in other states to practice public accountancy and attest services in this State under certain circumstances. The Board had previously commented on this Bill. There is a later version but it was only introduced in the Senate recently.

C Assembly No. 3623

Establishes certificate of rehabilitation for certain persons with criminal records. The Board accepted Assembly No. 3623 as informational.

VI Miscellaneous

A Andrew J. Goncharoff, Esq.

Correspondence was received from Andrew Goncharoff, Esq. wherein he requests an opinion regarding the meaning of "Commission" as it is used in Section 13:29-3.12.

The Board directed Executive Director Mandeville to inform Mr. Goncharoff, that it has been the policy of the Board not to offer legal opinions. Mr. Goncharoff should be referred to the statutes and regulations of the Board.

VII Committee Reports

A CPA Examination Committee - Aubrey Kosson, Chairperson

The Board received an invitation to comment on a Background paper entitled "Improving the Uniform CPA Examination" on proposed examination improvements. This matter was moved to Executive Session for further discussion.

B Ethics Committee

Donald Jump had no report for the Board.

C CPE Committee

Robert Sommer distributed a written report from the committee’s recommendations from a meeting held on January 8, 2008.

D RMA Committee

Robert Cagnassola reported to the Board that the RMA examination was given on Friday, December 7, 2007. Sixteen candidates sat for the exam and the grading has been completed. The results will be presented to the Board in Executive Session and reported on in Public Session.

E QE Committee

Robert Cagnassola informed the Board that the meeting that was conducted on January 23, 2008 was very productive. Mr. Cagnassola informed the Board that the regulations that the Texas Board of Accountancy uses for its Quality Enhancement program served as the model for the Committee’s discussion. Mr. Cagnassola hopes that by March the Board will have more concrete rules regarding the Quality Enhancement program. Ms. Shoe commented on Mr. Cagnassola’s research and suggested that utilization of the Texas rules will enable the Committee to speed up progress.

F Education Committee

Bennie Hadnott had no report for the Board.

Andrew DuBoff informed the Board that NASBA has revised the exposure draft significantly from their original version. The revised rules being dealt with are the new UAA education rules which are currently out for exposure have a comment period that will expire on January 31, 2008. If anyone is interested in making comments, they should be done as soon as possible. These rules will probably be approved at the April 2008 NASBA Board meeting. The rules seem to be accepted by all colleges and universities in New Jersey.

G Reciprocity Committee

No report was given.

H Nominating Committee

Andrew DuBoff had no report for the Board.

I Statute/Rules/Regulations Committee

Andrew DuBoff had no report for the Board.

J Planning Committee

Margaret Shoe informed the Board that she would like to get together with the other Committee members to discuss the future of using e-mail addresses to communicate with the licensees of the Board.

K Monitoring Profession Committee

John Dailey reported to the Board that he is working on a letter that will go out to licensees, and possibly posted to the Board’s website, regarding the CPE audit for the last license renewal period. At the present time, the letter has been reviewed by DAG Palan and she has made some minor grammatical changes. The letter is now in the Director’s office being reviewed by Lawrence DeMarzo, Acting Deputy Director. The letter should be approved shortly.

VIII Miscellaneous

Robert Cagnassola informed the Board that the Board should have some type of policy regarding committees. Mr. Cagnassola asked that a standard form or checklist be developed so each committee chairperson can follow a format in listing objectives and policies for their committees. Executive Director Mandeville will work on a form for the committee chairpersons to follow and will be presenting it to the full Board at the next meeting.

IX Public Comments

John Coiro, CPA, NJSCPA informed the Board that a town hall meeting was held in Iselin, NJ. The Chair of the AICPA was present and gave an update on the state of the profession at a national level.

Mr. Coiro reported to the Board that Ralph Thomas, Executive Director, NJSCPA was not present at the meeting because he was meeting with a potential sponsor for the Mobility Bill at the Assembly Office. There will be some slight changes to the Mobility Bill and it should be available this coming Spring.

Mr. Coiro informed the Board that on April 17th there will be a scholarship ceremony at the Sheraton in Iselin. Approximately $400,000.00 in awards will go to New Jersey high school and college students majoring in accounting. This will be the biggest scholarship distribution in the country.

Mr. Coiro informed the Board that on May 7-8, 2008 the NJSCPA annual convention will be held at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. There will also be trade shows and leadership courses available.

Mike Polito, CPA informed the Board that he has been advising licensees that if they will not complete the required CPE during this licensing period, they should so indicate in the upcoming renewal and have their licenses placed on inactive status.

On a motion made by John Dailey, seconded by Robert Cagnassola, the Board voted to adjourn the Public Session Board meeting at 10:30 A.M. and go into Executive Session to discuss three matters of Old Business, two Requests for UPL Reconsideration, three Requests for Reinstatement of CPA license, one PCAOB report, one CPE Waiver Request and five Consumer Complaints. The vote of the Board was unanimous

Respectfully submitted,

William Mandeville
Executive Director

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