Chapter Holds Joint Half-Day Conference with NJBA
Financial Reporting, Tax, Economy and Online Security are Key Topics
The traditional FMS NY-NJ Chapter Spring Half-Day Accounting
and Finance Conference was held at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack, NJ on April 18, 2014. The event was co-sponsored by the
New Jersey Bankers Association. The program featured a range of key topics designed for the contemporary financial management
executive. Topics included financial reporting, taxation, the state of the economy and online security. Members and guests started
the day with a hot buffet breakfast and concluded with a full course luncheon prepared by the expert chefs at the Stony Hill Inn.
Eric Segal, Managing Director from CFO Consulting Partners opened the program with
Current Issues in Accounting & Reporting: Managing the Deluge.
Michael Gregory from BMO Capital Markets presented
Outlook 2014: A Spring in the Economy's Step.
Attendees earn valuable CPE credits while hearing an expert view on the economy during the presentation by Michael Gregory.
Eric Segal, Managing Director from CFO Consulting Partners
opened the morning program by presenting Current Issues in Bank Accounting & Reporting:Managing the Deluge. The program focused
on current financial reporting issues facing community banks (the “deluge”) and the corresponding impact on current
standards. Eric offered specific advice to achieve financial reporting success as well as the steps to lead a bank’s CEO and board of
directors to successfully navigate the financial reporting deluge.
Outlook 2014: A Spring in the Economy’s Step, an expert view
on the current state of the economy was presented by Michael Gregory CFA from BMO Capital Markets. Michael noted how record energy use
during the coldest winter in recent memory presented an economic burden that became the winter of our economic discontent. He
also noted that although economic growth has been stagnated by household deleveraging, fiscal consolidation and elevated uncertainty,
there are clear signs that steady economic growth is on the horizon. Michael pointed to the signs of a continuing housing recovery,
an unleashing of pent-up demand, rising energy production and strong corporate balance sheets as signs that modest growth in
the 3% range is achievable over the near term.
Following a “networking” break, an informative Federal and
State Tax Update was presented by Glenn James CPA, tax partner from BDO. Glenn has more than 25 years of experience providing
tax consultancy to financial institution clients. Glenn discussed the latest trends in state and local taxes (“SALT”) with
specific attention to the expansion of taxation of out-of-state banks by changing the nexus to location of the customer as
opposed to the location of the bank. He also discussed the deferred tax implications of the Basel III accord. Glenn then
presented a very comprehensive review of the changes in tax regulations in New York and Pennsylvania.
He noted that the definition of a taxable institution in Pennsylvania has been changed from “located in PA” to “doing business in PA”. Glenn discussed the repeal of the Article 32 Bank Franchise Tax and the overhaul of the Article 9 General Corporation Tax in New York as well as a change in nexus from physical presence to an economic presence.
Security expert, Gideon Lenkey from Ra Security Systems, Inc.
presented Network Visibility, a very timely discussion regarding controlling a bank’s computer network, detecting compromise and
preventing data loss. Gideon provided a data encryption primer and gave a very insightful explanation of how the Secure Socket Layer
(“SSL”) protocol works by using a series of well-designed flowcharts. He described why the “bad guys” are winning the recent data
hacking “wars” and then offered advice on how banks can take the advantage back.
Attendees enjoyed a full-course luncheon while listening to
Capital is King: Balancing Regulatory Capital Requirements and Sustainable Growth, presented by Richard Trauger from the Kafafian
Group. He offered three key takeaways from his presentation:
• The Great Capital Debate
– management and measurement of capital levels and risk appetite
• Sustaining Growth – how do banks achieve growth?
• Achieving Growth – strategies to achieve sustainable growth
Richard compared the composition of today’s capital standards
with those from the past and noted the capital compliance challenges institutions are facing as a result. He discussed strategies
that management should consider when implementing a growth strategy. He emphasized that capital is king and those that have access
to quality capital and can generate sufficient returns will get access to more. He noted the importance of adequate planning and
stressed that successful growth comes from accountability in the strategic plan.
Topics and Speakers
Current Issues in Bank Accounting & Reporting: Managing the Deluge
Outlook 2014: A Spring in the Economy's Step
Federal and State Tax Update
Capital is King: Balancing Capital Requirements and Sustainable Growth
Glenn James CPA from BDO, discusses the latest trends in state and local taxes during his tax update presentation.
FMS Chapter President Maureen Kalena welcomed the attendees to the conference and introduced the opening speaker.
Gideon Lenkey from Ra Security discussed the latest trends in network security.
Richard Trauger from The Kafafian Group discussed methods for maintaining capital requirements while implementing a growth strategy.