Ita M. Rahilly, CPA, is the President of the Board of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) for the 2019-2020 term.

What is the NYSSCPA?

The NYSSCPA is the voice of the accountancy profession in New York State, encompassing tax professionals, auditors, academics, finance staff, government workers, consultants, financial planners and many, many more. Our membership is so diverse because the profession itself is too: we are long past the age where every CPA works in a public accounting firm. Today's CPA can be found anywhere business is conducted because every business can use the knowledge and expertise we provide.

As an organization, we provide a diverse array of services to our members, including continuing professional education seminars and conferences, networking events, top-notch publications and technical guidance through our member hotline. Most importantly, the NYSSCPA advocates on behalf of our members both through the dozens of comment letters to regulators and standard-setters we produce each year and through meetings with policymakers at the local, state and federal levels.

How has COVID-19 impacted your organization and what are the plans to lead the NYSSCPA to success? 

The COVID-19 crisis has meant adjustments for everyone, and the NYSSCPA is no exception. Our staff has been working remotely since the middle of March, but this hasn't prevented us from continuing to offer high-quality professional education and valuable member benefits virtually. As we have spent many years building out our digital capacities, this transition has been relatively easy. Even traditionally held in-person events, like our annual business meeting, will now be held virtually. The NYSSCPA had to wait for an executive order from Governor Cuomo to move forward and schedule this event in its new format.

Because physical meetings, formerly a hallmark of accountants, have become so risky, we have leaned much more heavily on our advocacy and news functions. This support is what our members, their firms and their clients need at this time to be safe and successful.

On the advocacy side, through relentless outreach to the governor, we were able to secure extensions on state tax deadlines as well as ensure CPAs were classified as an essential service in New York. Significantly, the NYSSCPA was also able to realize our long-held goal of allowing CPAs to use electronic signatures on behalf of their clients when filing state tax returns. Though this relief is only temporary, we are currently in conversation with the governor to make it a more permanent measure or at least have it extended to coincide with the new July 15 tax filing deadline. We were also part of larger efforts on the federal level to extend the IRS tax deadlines, as well as to get nonprofits included in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We are currently working to include 501(c)(6) organizations as well.

On the news side, we have created a page on our website, nysscpa.org/covid19, providing timely information and resources to our members throughout the COVID-19 crisis, covering everything from new tax guidance to PPP loan information to practice management tips. Building on the success of the original COVID-19 web page, we added a public-facing page, nysscpa.org/covid19public, expressly created to support the general public and the clients our members serve.  Meanwhile, our publications like The Trusted Professional and The CPA Journal quickly pivoted to providing breakdowns of some of the more complex aspects of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as well as developments in the wider economic crisis the pandemic set off.

Anything else we should know about you? 

A great deal of my work involves helping clients navigate complex tax issues. My aim in doing this work is to reduce the financial and administrative burden for all involved, which is even more critical right now.

Beyond my role as President of the NYSSCPA and the former President of its Mid-Hudson chapter, I have also been President of the Hudson Valley Estate Planning Council and of the Notre Dame Club of the Mid-Hudson Valley, as well as serving as vice-chair of the Mount Saint Mary College board.  

I wish my fellow Board Presidents the best of luck throughout the remainder of the pandemic.