IMA April 2011.indd - Long Island Chapter of the Institute of

LONG ISLAND CHAPTER
Monthly Dinner Meeting - Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Milleridge Inn - Jericho, NY - Cocktail Hour begins at 6:00 pm
How CFOs can Enhance their Relationships
with Bankers, Accountants & Attorneys
Special Guest Speakers:
Joe Ferreira
AVZ, CPAs
Ira Halperin
Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein &
Breitstone, LLP
Phil Panarelli
HSBC Bank USA
Moderated by Manny Cafiero, CFO, Scales Industrial Technologies
Pricing and Payment
for the meeting:
$65
(IMA Members receive $15 discount)
Payment can be made by Cash, Check or Credit Card
Thank You To Our
April Sponsors
Bank of America • The LISS Group
Mendels & Associates
Portnoy, Messinger, Pearl & Assoc.
April 2011
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 2
joe ferreira, Partner - AVZ, CPAs
Mr. Ferreira joined AVZ in 1984 and became Partner in 2003. His diversified client base includes construction, real
estate, food service, wholesale distributors, professional services, engineering, not-for-profits and sports franchises.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified
Public Accountants, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and he is past-chairperson of the Real Estate/
Construction Committee for the Suffolk Chapter of NYSSCPA. He is on the Smithtown Schools audit committee
and Joe is a registered representative who has passed the FINRA Series 7 and NASAA Series 66 exams. He also
holds a New York State Life and Health Insurance License.
A graduate from Hofstra University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, he was inducted into Beta Alpha
Psi in December 1983.
ira halperin, Partner - Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP
Ira heads the Corporate Law and Business Group at Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP. He has
extensive experience representing public and private companies engaged in complex mergers and acquisitions,
public offerings, private placements, corporate financings, venture capital investments, restructurings and other
commercial transactions.
Ira represents many business enterprises and individuals on an ongoing basis, handling general corporate and
securities matters including organization of new business ventures, ’33 and ’34 Securities Acts filings, NYSE,
Nasdaq and NASD submissions, executive compensation matters, proxy solicitations, debt and equity consent
solicitations, confidentiality and non-competition agreements, offshore reincorporation and corporate governance
matters.
Before joining Meltzer, Lippe, Ira was Counsel in the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Ira is also a Certified Public Accountant, and served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of several
New York and Long Island companies over an eleven-year period prior to becoming an attorney. Ira began his
accounting career at KPMG.
Ira serves as General Counsel to and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Software and
Technology Network (LISTnet) and the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative (LILSI). He is on the Board of Directors
of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA – Long Island Chapter) and is also on the Board of Advisors
of the Long Island Community Foundation. Ira is also a founding Trustee in the CEO Trust, a member of the
Association of Corporate Growth New York and a member of the Nassau Bar Association.
Ira has regularly been named by Long Island Business News as one of Long Island’s top lawyers in its listings
of “Who’s Who in Law” and “Who’s Who in Corporate Law.” He has authored numerous articles on topics
ranging from securities law to ESOP’s and has been quoted in Long Island Business News, Market-Watch.com and
newspapers across the country.
phil panarelli, Regional Commercial Executive - HSBC Bank USA
Phil Panarelli is Regional Commercial Executive of HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Panarelli oversees the bank’s middle
market practice covering the New York/metro marketplace. Panarelli started his banking career in 1979 with
EAB and subsequently held various positions in the New York City retail banking group and commercial banking
group. Panarelli joined HSBC (formerly Marine Midland Bank) in 1987 and has held various line and management
positions in commercial lending, business development and sales management.
He serves on the boards of the Long Island Association, the Long Island Risk Management Associates, Institute
for Student Achievement Advisory Board and C.W. Post College Executive Board of Advisors.
Panarelli earned a bachelor’s degree from C.W. Post College and a master’s degree in business from Adelphi
University.
April 2011
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Last Month's Meeting
Page 3
by John Fodera, EisnerAmper LLP
At the March 8, 2011 IMA dinner, John P. Fodera, Partner at EisnerAmper LLP, led a panel discussion on “How
IT is Changing the Way Businesses Operate.” Panel members included James Bellotti of CMIT Solutions, Harvey
Goss of Grassi & Co. and Ira Reisman of The LISS Group, three very knowledgeable professionals. Everyone
agreed that change is the only constant in business. Currently, technology solutions such as cloud computing,
broader outsourcing and wireless technology are being introduced to the marketplace. The questions in these
areas revolve around finding the best solutions for your company.
Ira Reisman, who has more than 18 years in technology management, discussed help-desk outsourcing and the
benefits this can give to many companies, primarily due to the inherent scalability of the outsourcing process and
its ease of use in managing temporary or permanent support demands.
James Bellotti, who brings more than 30 years of experience in computers and computer networks to the discussion,
described the move to cloud computing and addressing the risks involved with transferring data to a third party
provider. He stressed the importance of a thorough due diligence process to evaluate cloud computing service
providers.
Harvey Goss, who has more than 25 years of technology consulting experience, noted that smart phones sales
are outpacing that of PCs. However, he also discussed how the risks are greater with Smartphones than PCs,
due to the fact that, generally, PCs go through a firm’s server, which is presumed to have anti-virus and other
software that help reduce risk. Mobile, wireless devices can put information at risk of interception and create a
new set of concerns.
Technology is moving quickly. How effectively our companies integrate solutions to the business process will
be determined by well-designed project plans and, hopefully, buy-in from the C-suites. Thanks very much to
Harvey, Ira, and James for their contributions to our discussion.
Ira Reisman, James Bellotti, John Fodera, Harvey Goss, Neil Seiden
Doug Rowe, Bob Arnold Sr., Ira Reisman
Donna Inocco, Rosemarie Algieri
Al Giaimis, Bob Arnold Jr., Christine Ippolito
Mike Conway, Lori Catapano, Don Decker
Tom Gomez, Elizabeth Melillo
Thank You To Our March Sponsors
Creative Plan Designs, Ltd.• ICC Logistics • The LISS Group • Usercom Systems, Inc.
April 2011
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 4
by Tim McCue, State Bank of Long Island
if it is too good to be true....
counterfeit check schemes targeting lawyers
Wouldn’t we all be happy to have a check for a
half million dollars arrive on our desk to close
out a case that we barely started to work? Big
fee, no effort, no worry; just send the proceeds
off to the anxious client and on to the next task.
But wait. That cashier’s check of $500,000 is
coming back as fraudulent. It can’t be. And
in our mind, we hear ourselves say, “It was
too good to be true.”
According to the FBI, U.S. law firms are being
targeted with schemes that if followed through
could be costly if not disastrous for the attorney
or firm.
One of the schemes involves overseas con
artists sending emails to attorneys requesting
assistance in collecting delinquent payments
from a third party located in the United States.
The attorney receives a retainer agreement,
copies of the invoices reflecting what is owed,
and eventually a check payable to the attorney
with little or no effort put forth. The firm is
instructed to deposit the check and take their
fee for the collection and wire the remaining
funds to banks in Korea, China, Ireland or
Canada. If the scam is executed successfully,
the funds are wired overseas before the check
is determined to be counterfeit.
The FBI is also reporting a twist on this scam
by targeting matrimonial attorneys. The
Joseph A. Giacinto
Chief Executive Officer
(516) 338-5454 Ext 23
Fax (516) 338-4479
jgiacinto@pbipayroll.com
www.pbipayroll.com
scammer is an “ex-wife” on assignment in an
Asian country and she claims to be pursuing
a collection of divorce settlement monies from
her “ex-husband” in the U.S. The firm agrees
to represent the ex-wife, sends emails to the
ex-husband and receives a “certified check”
for the settlement via a delivery service. As
in the first scam, the firm is instructed to wire
funds less the retainer fee to an overseas bank
account. Again, if executed well, the money
is wired before the check is discovered as
counterfeit, and the attorney incurs a loss.
Some of you might be saying “how could
anyone fall for this?” but unfortunately many
do. The checks initially look legitimate with
real company names or the cashier checks look
authentic. Therefore, approach all unsolicited
emails with caution and conduct as much due
diligence as possible before engaging in any
business transactions solely via the Internet.
Use your banker as a resource to attempt to
verify cashier checks if there is any doubt about
a check and do not use next day availability
tickets to deposit the cashier/certified check.
Let enough time pass from deposit before any
funds are released to ensure the check is paid.
And again, the best defense against these and
any other scam is common sense. If it is too
good to be true, it probably is trouble.
April 2011
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 5
Save the Date ...
The Milton Zipper
Financial Executive of the Year
Award Dinner
Tuesday Evening, May 10, 2011, 6:00pm
The Cottage, Milleridge Inn, Jericho, NY
http://longisland.imanet.org/fey/
lissliss
consulting
consulting
Stop spending on information technology and
invest in 24/7 support.
LISS solutions can save businesses up to 70%
on annual IT costs.
Contact LISS
(888) 717-5477
www.lissconsulting.com
a
LISS Group Company
April 2011
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 6
2010-2011 Dinner Meeting Schedule
May 10th, 2011 - FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARDS DINNER
Quarterly Breakfast Series
April 26th, 2011 - LEAN Manufacturing / Six Sigma
New Members:
Send or bring a friend or business associate to an IMA meeting!
Your help is needed to keep our Chapter growing. Please submit the name of a prospective
candidate who might be interested in IMA membership to our Vice President of Membership:
Gail L. Trugman-Nikol
Unique Business Solutions
PO Box 7777 • Hicksville, NY 11802
Direct (516) 935-5641 • Cell: (516) 713-6325 • Fax: (516) 935-4101
Email: gail@UBSassociates.com
Your Newsletter Editor
Your newsletter editor is always looking for information about you and other chapter
members as well as significant issues concerning our Long Island community relative to
accounting and business matters. Please forward all personal notes for possible inclusion
in the newsletter to the editor:
Karen A. Goldberg, CPA
Grassi & Co., CPAs
50 Jericho Quadrangle, Suite 200 • Jericho, NY 11753
(516) 336-2455
Email: kgoldberg@grassicpas.com
Visit our website at
www.longisland.imanet.org