the milleridge cottage - jericho, ny - cocktail hour...

Advanced Pricing andPayment for the Meeting:

$70 *New price(IMA Members receive $10 discount)Pre-register online at http://longisland.imanet.org/

(*Please note there will be a $10 surcharge forregistration & payment at the door)

LONG ISLAND CHAPTER

Thank You To OurFebruary Sponsors

Gourmet Caffe

The LISS Group

Monthly Dinner Meeting - Tuesday, February 11, 2014The Milleridge Cottage - Jericho, NY - Cocktail Hour begins at 6:00 pm

Data Security & CybercrimeSPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS:

Moderated by Robert Arnold, Jr., Arnold Standard Cost Control Services

Cynthia Hetherington Jeffrey S. Marshall Hetherington Group Nassau County Police Department

February 2014 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS

CYNTHIA HETHERINGTON, Founder - Hetherington GroupCynthia Hetherington, CFE has more than 18 years of experience in research, investigations, and corporate intelligence. She is the founder of Hetherington Group, a consulting, publishing, and training firm focusing on intelligence, security, and investigations. Cynthia was named the 2012 James Baker Speaker of the Year for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

A widely-published author, Cynthia authored Business Background Investigations (2007) and the Manual to Online Public Records (2008), published by Facts on Demand Press. She is the publisher of Data2know.com: Internet & Online Intelligence Newsletter and has co-authored articles on steganography, computer forensics, internet investigations, and other security-focused monographs. She is also recognized for providing corporate security officials, military intelligence units, and federal, state, and local agencies with training on online intelligence practices.

JEFFREY S. MARSHALL, Detective - Nassau County Police DepartmentDetective Jeffrey S. Marshall is assigned to the Nassau County Police Department’s Crimes Against Property Squad. In February 1986 he started his law enforcement career by joining the Port Authority as a police officer. He was assigned to the Manhattan Bus Terminal and John F. Kennedy Airport, where he worked various assignments.

He joined the Nassau County Police Department in October, 1994. Due to his work ethic and learning capabilities, in March, 2005 he was appointed as a Detective and assigned to the 7th Squad, where he investigated various crimes; from shoplifting cases to shootings. In May, 2009 he was transferred to the Crimes Against Property Squad where he investigates white collar crimes, identity theft, credit card fraud, bank fraud and counterfeit. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Jeffrey Marshall grew up on Long Island. After graduating from High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from John Jay College where his major was Police Studies accompanied by a minor in Fire Administration.

Jeffrey is married to Patricia, and they have two children. He sits on the Board of Directors for North American Police Ski Championship, an organization that raises money for the Winter Special Olympics. In addition, he was a Volunteer Firefighter in Suffolk County for 18 years.

He is also an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and at LaGuardia Community College.

Thank You To Our January 14th SponsorsJanusian Insights • Ruskin Moscou Faltischek • The LISS Group • TriNet Partners


The Milton Zipper Financial Executive of the Year Award DinnerTuesday Evening, May 13, 2014, 6:00pm

The Cottage, Milleridge Inn, Jericho, NYlongisland.imanet.org/fey/

Submit Your Nomination for the 2014 Financial Executive of the Year

Filing deadline: January 31, 2014

Every year the Long Island Chapter of the IMA selects a senior accounting/financial management professional to be recognized as its Financial Executive of the Year. A committee comprised of the Past Presidents of the Long Island Chapter of IMA will review all nominations submitted and select the candidate they believe best represents the values set forth by the IMA. This year's award will be presented on May 13, 2014 at The Milleridge Cottage, Jericho, NY.

The criteria for selection will be based upon the following:Executive financial position within a company located on Long IslandOutstanding achievement in the field of management accounting and financeCommitment to continuing educationContribution to the Long Island business community

FEY 2013 WINNER

Prior Financial Executive of the Year Award Recipients

Vincent Palazzolo, CPAChief Financial OfficerCPI Aerostructures, Inc.

2012 - C. Michael Stoehr, Voxx International Corporation2011 - Ronald G. DeVos, Nathan's Famous, Inc.2010 - Lawrence Winoker, Lifetime Brands, Inc.2009 - Howard S. Weitzman, Nassau County Comptroller2008 - Laurie D. Norwick, CPA, SUNY at Stony Brook2007 - Len LaSalandra, Marchon Eyewear, Inc.2006 - Jim Sands, CPA, United Way of Long Island2005 - Joseph Sawicki, Jr., CPA, Suffolk County Comptroller2004 - Frank P. Rizzo, CPA, North Shore - LIJ Health System2003 - Anita Florek, The Bank of Smithtown2000 - Charles L. Kelly, Spotless Plastics USA

1999 - Daniel M. Healy, CPA, North Fork Bancorporation1998 - George P. LaRosa, SUNY at Farmingdale1997 - Thomas Pohmer, CMA, P.C. Richard and Son1996 - Steven Paladino, Henry Schein, Inc.1995 - Thomas G. Amato, Symbol Technologies, Inc.1994 - Ralph F. Palleschi, First Long Island Investors, Inc.1993 - Lawrence Goldberg, CPA, Monitor Aerospace Corporation1992 - Peter Schwartz, Computer Associates International, Inc.1991 - John H. Regazzi, CPA, Avnet, Inc.1990 - Michael Gorin, CPA, ARX, Inc.1989 - Sanford Weintraub, CPA, Independent Election Corp. of America


Last Month's MeetingWith an audience of over 125 people in attendance Louis Grassi, CPA (Grassi & Company), Anthony Dalessio, CPA (KPMG) and Christopher Loiacono, CPA (Eisner Amper) discussed in great detail the issues facing Managing Partners today.

The program was interactive in that each of the panelists was asked to answer a specific question regarding management style, client satisfaction, professional reputation, succession planning, mentoring, partner accountability and overall practice management. After the first panelist spoke about how they approached the topic in their Firm, the other panelists told the audience what they did in their firm which made the discussion very lively.

Each of the panelists spoke about what made their firm successful and different, as well as their approach to firm leadership. They all agreed that they had to create the right atmosphere to accomplish their strategic goals.

As leaders of their firm, the panelists spoke in great detail about getting a firm wide culture regarding marketing and networking and staff and partner accountability. Accounting has never been a 9-5 occupation, but each panelist spoke about balancing the needs of the firm as well as balancing the careers and personal lives of both partners and staff. When asked about what courses colleges should add that they don’t have now to help graduates enter the business world, the panelists recommended courses in communication and project management.

Additionally the panelists spoke about managing client expectations regarding fees, work that the client must do, timeliness of reports and tax returns and instilling the importance of excellence and timeliness to staff and the use of social media by staff.

We have always heard that leaders get results and that their firms show above par performance in the metrics of practice management. After listening to the panelists as they answered the questions and spoke about their firms, I believe they exhibited to the audience why they were truly leaders.

by Arthur Sanders, CPA,Past President

Jim Smith with students Managing Partners and IMA BoardManaging Partners and Moderator


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Are you a Member with news to share? Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, special event or promotion,please contact Karen Goldberg at [email protected] for inclusion in a future newsletter.

Long Island Chapter of the IMAMember News & Announcements:

Lucy Mazany, Long Island IMA Chapter President, has joined Signature Bank as Group Director-SVP where she and her team cater to meeting the needs of privately-owned businesses, their owners and senior managers. Signature Bank was recently ranked the 2nd best bank in the nation according to Forbes.

Marc Palker, LI Chapter Board Member and member of the IMA Global Board of Directors, is now focusing on his own firm, MPP Associates, Inc. The firm is primarily engaged in consulting companies on accounting and financial matters. MPP Associates will provide CFO services, M&A due diligence, financing, SEC filing, SOX compliance, tax and special projects.

Adrienne M. Sinnott, CPA, a Past President of the LI Chapter, recently received a Superior Accomplishment Award from her employer, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB). The Award Program provides the FTB an opportunity to recognize individuals and teams that make significant superior contributions and that consistently demonstrate outstanding job performance.

This Month's Member Spotlight:

Member: Jeffrey Weiss, CPA

Company: Friedman LLP

Position: Partner

Why I joined the IMA:

I have been in business on Long Island for over 25 years, and I’m constantly looking for organizations to join that have quality members that are willing to connect outside of regular meetings. Many of the other groups I’ve been involved with previously had very formal meetings with not enough networking time and didn’t have the right mix of businesses. I joined IMA-Long Island because it is a casual networking setting that allows me to re-connect and meet CFOs, bankers, attorneys and insurance professionals that are involved with middle-market companies. Members also have a pulse on the Long Island business community and understand how the local economy is affecting business.

Welcome New Members

Aaron ZwebackJim Doran

Wayne LandauCharles Cacciabaudo


CFO InsIght

LInda KarLas

UnIversaL PhOtOnICs, InC.

1. Tell me a little about your company?Universal Photonics is a world-leader in the technology of critical surfacing for more than 85 years. As both manufacturer and global distributor, the company’s goal is to continually and consistently deliver the most advanced surface preparation materials and technology available. Universal’s products are essential in the production of optics, semiconductors, touch screen devices, eyeglass lenses, defense related optics, and much more.

The company employs over 120 people worldwide, with 2013 sales projected to be over $40mm. More than 60% of the company’s sales are made outside the USA.

2. How did you get to be CFO at your company and how long have you been there?My previous employer moved the operation (including my position) to Asia, which kicked off a networking effort to secure a new position. Luckily, a former colleague of mine introduced me to Universal Photonics, whose CFO was retiring. This was a fortuitous match for me, as I have enjoyed every minute of my five years of employment at Universal. As the CFO of a family owned business, I’ve had the opportunity to become involved with all aspects of the business including: operations, facilities, HR, manufacturing and, of course, accounting and finance.

3. What are some of the differences between the roles of a CFO of a private company vs. a public company?In a smaller family business, the CFO is typically the only internal financial manager with few resources to draw on; consequently, I find myself reaching out to networking groups I participate in, including Financial Executive Women, to share ideas, issues and to seek advice. In a private company, shareholder approval is not necessary and operational and growth strategy decisions are easier to implement and allow the management team to be nimble in making decisions and implementing changes.

4. What are the challenges your Company faces and how are you dealing with them?Competition throughout the world, especially in the Far East, continues to be a challenge. In the past, the competition was only able to compete on price and delivery and fell short on quality. As competitive quality improves, we must continue to develop new products and more cost effective processes. We are always trying to balance investment in research and development with increase in revenue and profitability, and many times it is difficult to assess the future benefit of a technology

improvement today. In the US, the instability of the US government, US economy and sequestration, has delayed customer production and buying and made it challenging for us to forecast accurately. Unfortunately, we can only be reactive in this environment and need to carefully manage inventory levels and cost.

5. What are the pressing industry issues facing your company?Universal Photonics’ services four major industries: precision optics, electronics, ophthalmic, and flat glass & mirror. Each presents challenges based on application advancements unique to its industry. For example, to meet end product specifications, precision optics manufacturing is forced to process materials of increased hardness within tighter parameters. The flat glass and mirror industries are looking for alternatives to polishing with loose abrasives, which are messy, hazardous, and generally inefficient. In the ophthalmic industry, the expansion of lens processing facilities has driven the need for efficient waste disposal. In each case Universal Photonics has been actively formulating processing solutions with state-of the-art R&D and proficient expertise. However, meeting such divergent needs also requires a dynamic economic strategy to assess risk, liquidity, and investment.

6. What keeps you up at night?Uncertainty in the global economy has created difficulties in accurately forecasting revenues. With much of our cost structure being fixed, our concern is developing new products and markets to keep our factories running efficiently and profitably.

7. What are your other accomplishments?During my tenure at Universal, we have made significant strides in improving our financial controls and information, providing our senior leadership with the tools to make informed decisions and focus their efforts on new products, markets, and customers. We have built a finance department with dedicated, hardworking professionals who have made a positive impact on the company that helps make my job very rewarding.


Millions of Americans – myself included along with those I’ve helped in Port Washington – fall victim to identity theft each year. Identity theft can destroy your credit, ruin your good name, hurt your job prospects and cost you between 500 and 800 hours of work attempting to fix what the identity theft has destroyed. Yet few people take the consequences of identity theft seriously.

Why? Well, I believe that most consumers fall into a false sense of security once they have alerted their banks or credit card issuers about the problem. Consumers are often left believing that there will be a fraud investigation. However, most banks and credit card companies do not initiate fraud investigations unless the crime involved a huge sum of money, as it is not cost effective for them to do so. So these institutions will place a flag on the account that has been compromised, remove the consumer from immediate liability and close the case. Most consumers are lulled into a false sense of security by this information and are relieved.

Yet, what most consumers don’t realize is that their personal information is still out there in the hands of crooks and that information will be sold for a profit to anyone willing to pay the price. The information may be sold numerous times around the world before the thief considers the information no longer valuable.

Ignorance and naiveté on the part of the consumer can create a snowball effect and cause havoc for years to come unless the proper steps are taken quickly.

The Solution: The very first step that the consumer should take is notify their bank(s) and credit card companies, and place fraud alerts on their accounts for seven years with the three major credit bureaus. It may also be a good idea to purchase credit monitoring services. Then the consumer should notify the police to file a report.

After all of this is done, I strongly suggest that the consumer hire a fraud investigator themselves. Not only will the fraud investigator take an initial report, they will work one-on-one with the consumer to notify the proper government agencies and the federal trade commission about the crime. The fraud investigator will make an attempt to track down the thieves and often has more time to spend on your case then local authorities. A fraud investigator will also notify all data warehouses to place fraud alerts on file, remove any future liability and repair any damage done to the victim’s credit rating.

(SAFE) is a fraud investigation firm located in Port Washington.

IdentIty theFt vICtIms gIven a FaLse sense OF seCUrIty

stePs tO taKe FOr thOse WhO FaLL Prey

by Eleanor E. Spring,Spring, CFE, CITRMS, CFCRAC,

Action Fraud Elimination

The 95Th IMA’s AnnuAl

ConferenCe & exposITIonJune 21 – 25, 2014 | Hilton Minneapolis, Minnesota

Discover your future in accounting and finance by enhancing your knowledge, networking with business colleagues, and becoming a top liner in the latest

professional standards and trends. Enjoy IMA’s rich history, dynamic speakers,and destination just waiting to be explored.

Early Bird rEgistration rates (a savings of up to $295)are in effect now through March 28, 2014.

Read more at www.imaconference.org


Gail L. Trugman-Nikol

P.O. Box 7777 | Hicksville, NY 11802

(516) 935-5641 | [email protected]

www.UBSassociates.com

uniquebusiness solutions

Cell: (516) 713-6325 | Fax: (516) 935-4101

YourProcess. Staff Knowledge. | IDENTIFY • DOCUMENT • PROTECT

(516) 338-5454 Ext 23Fax (516) 338-4479

[email protected] www.pbipayroll.com

Joseph A. GiacintoChief Executive Officer

22 Jericho Turnpike; Suite 100-EastMineola, NY 11501office: 516-280-8600fax: 516-740-0761

1375 Broadway (37 St.); Suite 300New York, NY 10018office: 646-862-1210fax: 646-292-5121

[email protected]

Peter Papagianakis

Peter Papagianakis

While Excel 2010 is a great tool for keeping records of large amounts of data, unsorted data will rarely tell you at a glance what it is you really need to know. Suppose you have a spreadsheet with thousands of customer names and addresses from all over the country and you need to do a mail merge to only your customers in Washington. If the spreadsheet is organized alphabetically by last name, or simply entered into the spreadsheet in random order, then finding and selecting all your Washington customers could be incredibly time consuming.

What you would want to do at this point is find a way to group the entire spreadsheet and sort all your data by “State” so that all your customers that live in Washington will be grouped together in one spot.

That is where Excel’s Data Sort feature comes in handy.

Step 1 is actually the most important step in the process and the one where in my experience I have seen the most mistakes made. Whenever you do a Data Sort of any kind you have to make sure to select the entire spreadsheet—all the columns and all the rows that are relevant to the information you want sorted. If all of your data is contained in cells A1 through M5000 (if it’s a big amount of data), then select just those cells.

Here is why this is so important. Suppose you’re doing a mail merge form letter with a spreadsheet that contains customer names in one column and their social security numbers in the next column. If you proceed to do a sort and do not select both columns, you’ll wind up with customer names and social security numbers misaligned. That means you’ll wind up sending out form letters to customers who now know each others’ social security numbers.

Once you’ve selected the relevant data cells, the rest is easy:

Go to the “Data tab” and then in the “Sort and Filter” group click the “Sort” button. In the “Sort” dialog box you just click the “Column” drop-down list and choose “State” (if that is how you named your column). You can further choose to sort it in ascending or descending order. You can even sort by multiple levels. For instance, in our example, you can sort it first by State and then by Customer in alphabetical order.

tIPs & trICKs -hOW tO sOrt data In exCeL 2010

by Anthony Saragias,Valley National Bank

Steven J. Kuperschmidc 516.672.3143

516.479.6329 • [email protected] Jericho Quadrangle, Suite 300, Jericho, NY 11753

For sponsorship opportunities contact Lori Catapano, VP of Sponsorshipat [email protected] or call 631-719-3221

marvin rosen

1983 marcus aVENuE suitE c130 lakE succEss, Ny 11042t 516.390.3666 F 516.390.3667 c [email protected]

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Pace University IMA Student Chapter and Leadership

“An IMA student chapter (IMASC) is a voluntary organization of IMA student members enrolled at a recognized institution of higher education” that embodies the spirit and principles or the IMA. Student Chapters gives its members valuable leadership and teamwork experience in working together for the benefit of all.

On December 6th, Lucy Mazany, IMA LI Chapter President and I had the exciting opportunity to meet with the Pace University IMA Student Chapter Leadership and faculty Advisor to get a better understanding of what it take to create, run and grow a Student Chapter.

Under the vision and leadership of Faraz Abdi, IMA Pace University Student Chapter President and guidance of Professor Bairj Donabedian, Chapter Advisor, Pace University has built a vibrant and active Student Chapter. To paraphrase Faraz, “Having a plan, direction, motivated officers and a vision of the future” are the keys to a vibrant chapter. And vibrant they are, a quick visit to their Chapter website is full of activities, professional networking and personal development. To anyone who is looking to see what our future leaders are doing in school today I suggest you visit the Chapter website, https://www.facebook.com/imapace, and prepare to be impressed! You will see all the IMA embodies. From networking events with CPA firms and major businesses to CPA exam tips and even dining etiquette you will find the focus is on becoming a business professional and leader.

Succession planning is a major factor in a Chapter’s success. Finding and attracting talented and motivated students is the key. As Faraz noted with deserved pride, the goal is not quantity but the quality of membership. From experienced officers such as Bharat Ghai, Vice President and new “talent” such as Ron Sartena, Operations Officer who is a freshman, you see a drive and professionalism that is impressive. This talent exists in each arriving class; you just need to find it. By keeping this in mind at all times and staying vigilant you assure long term success. It is not easy but no good things in life are!

True to their commitment to the IMA goals of professionalism, teamwork and leadership Faraz and his officers volunteered to help our Long Island IMA chapter to reach out to our local Universities and help them form their own Chapters.

From Lucy Mazany (President) and James L. Smith (Student Activities Committee Chair), thank you to the Officers and Faculty advisor of the Pace University Student IMA Chapter!

Ima stUdent aCtIvItIes by James Smith, Student Chapter Activities

If you are in transition, the Long Island Chapterof the IMA is here to help.

As an organization, we are always looking for ways to enhance the benefits we offer to members and member companies. As VP of Employment Services for the Chapter, our committee is here to act as a liaison between members who are looking for employment and companies who contact our Chapter with open positions, without opening the posting company or member to unwanted solicitation from recruiting agencies. We are also here to help members in transition with resume writing and interview skills workshops.For members who are seeking new positions, we can help in the following ways:1. We will engage the Long Island business community to gather and post open positions.2. Members may submit a copy of their resume to [email protected] in response to a specific posting

or for us to keep in our data base. Members may also submit resumes in the strictest confidence.For companies who have accounting and finance positions they would like to fill:1. The Long Island Chapter of the IMA will post open positions on the website for members. As a professional

organization, we are aware of the confidential nature of these postings; we will limit information about the posting company to protect anonymity.

2. We will review resumes to ensure that minimum requirements are met to filter the number of resumes that are forwarded in response to each posting.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you,Jim SilvestriVP Employment and Transition [email protected]


Visit our website at http://longisland.imanet.org

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:

Karen GoldbergWeiserMazars LLP

60 Crossways Park Drive West, Suite 301 • Woodbury, NY 11797Phone (516) 488-1200 • Direct: (516) 620-8760

Email: [email protected] • [email protected]

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:

Gail L. Trugman-NikolUnique Business Solutions, Inc.

P.O. Box 7777 • Hicksville, NY 11802-7777P (516) 935-5641 • F (516) 935-4101 • C (516) 713-6325

Email: [email protected] • [email protected]

2013-2014 Dinner Meeting ScheduleMarch 11th, 2014 CEO Panel

April 8th, 2014 Family Business - Managing Growth, Change & Ownership Transition

May 13th, 2014 FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD DINNER

June 10th, 2014 IMA <> AANG <> TMA Joint Meeting

Quarterly Breakfast SeriesApril 29th, 2014 PCI Compliance & Data Privacy

July, 2014 To be Decided

the milleridge cottage - jericho, ny - cocktail hour...

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