For Busy Women, A New Volunteer Option
Ethical Vs. Creative Accounting
Corrections or additions?
This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring & Bart Jackson was prepared for the May 7, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Reparations for Pollution May Hurt
d>Edward Hogan was in third grade on the first Earth
Day, back in 1963. He decided then and there that his career would
revolve around the environment. The resolve was boosted by hiking
and fishing trips to the Adirondacks with his family, and further
reinforced by his favorite childhood reading. “I didn’t like to
read,” he recalls, “so my parents bought me fishing magazines.”
Now an attorney specializing in environmental law and litigation at
Norris McLaughlin & Marcus in Bridgewater (908-722-0700), Hogan speaks
on “The Politics of Natural Resource Damage” on Friday, May
9, at 8 a.m. for “Natural Resource Damages and the Public Trust,”
a one-day conference presented by NY/NJ Baykeeper at the Gateway Hilton
in Newark. Among the other speakers at this event are Ned Sullivan,
president, Scenic Hudson; Bradley Campbell, commissioner, NJDEP;
Tom Borden of the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic; and Rob
Ricker of the Atlantic Branch Chief Damage Assessment Center of
NOAA.
Established in 1990, the Baykeeper works at protecting the ecological
integrity of the Hudson-Raritan estuary. The organization helped achieve
a multimillion dollar Natural Resource Damage settlement against Exxon
in a major oil spill; defeated the construction of a 2,300-acre toxic-mulch
dredge spoil island in the middle of Raritan Bay; and recently declared
victory in its effort to save the 7,000-acre Hackensack Meadowlands.
While organizations like the Baykeeper often work tirelessly against
corporate polluters, there are also cases where corporations bear
what some consider unfair blame — and severe penalties — for
environmental discharges that are not their fault, and that in some
cases have no negative effects in the real world. This is the issue
that Hogan, who holds a master’s degree from Yale’s School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies and a J.D. from Georgetown, addresses in
his talk. It has to do with the possibility that a crack out-of-state
class action attorney may be brought in to go after thousands of New
Jersey businesses, each of which could face substantial fines.
Here is the background.
“Under laws of the Earth Day era,” says Hogan, “state
and federal governments have the authority to force people to do clean-ups
and to collect reparations for damages.” He points to the Exxon
Valdez as a classic case. The spill, which occurred shortly after
the oil tanker’s captain admitted to drinking alcohol, released 11
million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Property
values plummeted, commercial fishermen were put out of business, ducks
died, and tourists canceled trips. Damage on this scale is spectacular,
and most reasonable men would believe that a punitive damage award
would be justified.
Most cases of pollution are far less dramatic. They often involve
industrial properties from which harmful manufacturing by-products
were released — often in an era when doing so was not against
the law. Since the first Earth Day, an enormous number of such sites
have been cleaned up. “The state has approved, closed out, 10,000
clean-ups,” says Hogan. Efforts to remove contaminants from New
Jersey soil and water have been “very successful,” he says.
Clean-ups most often are triggered by the sale of a property, at which
time the owner has to satisfy the state that sources of pollution,
perhaps a leaking gas tank, have been removed, and that any damage
from discharges has been remediated. This is often an expensive process,
and, Hogan points out, the bill is presented to the property’s owner.
In a great many cases, the owner is not the party who discharged the
materials, and, says Hogan, he often very well may not even be aware
that the damage occurred.
A common scenario is that a manufacturer released toxic materials
into ground water near his plant in the 1940s or 1950s, and then the
current owner purchased the site a decade or two later. In order to
sell the site, the owner has to clean it up. Or, as Hogan puts it,
“You may not have discharged, but you’re it.” These owners
may not be polluters, but they are liable solely because of their
status as owners. By and large, business owners have accepted this
responsibility graciously, if not happily. In turn, the state has
refrained, in most cases, from collecting reparations — payments
for damage above and beyond the cost of clean-up.
“In the past 25 years,” says Hogan, “the state has brought
about 60 or 70 reparation cases.” This, of course, represents
just a tiny fraction of the 10,000-plus sites that have been cleaned
up. The state, says Hogan, did not go for reparations in most cases
“because they (current owners) didn’t do it. The state could have,
but it didn’t.” Instead, reparations were sought only in cases
of acute spills.
Then in 1992 the legislature enacted a 10-year statute of limitations.
This freed businesses from the threat that the state could decide
to bring a suit for reparations at any time. The attitude as Hogan
characterizes it was “we’ve cleaned up. We want to settle so you
can’t come after us for reparations.”
In 2000, as the clock began to run on the statue of limitations, Hogan
says the state snapped to attention, realizing that it was almost
out of time to decide whether to bring suit for reparations in a large
number of cases. The state made the preparation of lawsuits in 6,000
cases a high priority. “Every case manager in the state’s clean-up
division worked half time for six months helping to prepare the cases,”
says Hogan. “It was an enormous amount of effort.”
The state legislature extended the statute of limitations, and the
legal community learned four or five months ago, Hogan says, that
the DEP was planning to contract with an out-of-state plaintiff’s
attorney, “the kind who brings big class actions,” with an
eye toward having him prosecute some or all of the cases.
Hogan says that seeking reparations in the vast majority of the 6,000
cases is a bad idea. For one thing, he points out, the “damage”
done to the environment in any number of cases is, in a sense, virtual
damage. No real harm was done. For example, many companies’ discharges
went into ground water that sits under cities. It has never been tapped
as drinking water, and never will be. Damages, he says, would most
likely be calculated based upon the amount of water made unavailable
for drinking because of the discharge of toxins, when, in fact, no
one was ever going to drink that water anyway.
Another reason for going easy on seeking reparations, perhaps surprisingly,
is that, according to Hogan, doing so would be bad for the environment.
New Jersey has had great success in cleaning up brownfields, which
is the term used for abandoned or underutilized commercial or industrial
property that was contaminated by manufacturing by-products or other
discharges. Across the state many brownfields, the legacy of the early
decades of the century, have been reclaimed. Should owners be faced
with paying reparations as well as clean-up costs, Hogan believes
that many would just walk away.
Should the state decide to seek reparations, Hogan would gain some
business by defending some of those faced with making the payments.
But he says it is not work that he looks forward to. “These people
are liable only because of a statute,” he says. “They tried
to do the right thing.”
Top Of PageFor Busy Women, A New Volunteer Option
Women are busier than ever. This observation, from Janice
Carson of the United Way, has implications for all facets of 21st
century life — from shopping, dining, and travel patterns to eldercare
to the future of the destination shopping mall. It also affects the
volunteer work that traditionally has met myriad community needs.
More women working longer hours at more demanding jobs means fewer
woman-hours available for organizing relief drives, raising money,
and identifying effective community aid programs.
Women who do find time to give are a precious commodity, and Carson’s
organization is eager to sign them on. Toward that end, the United
Way of Greater Mercer is launching a Women’s Leadership Initiative
on Friday, May 9, at 8:30 a.m. at a breakfast at the Nassau Club.
Called Rise and Shine, the meeting features a keynote by Elizabeth
Christopherson, executive director of NJN Public Television and
president of the NJN Foundation. PNC is a sponsor of the event. The
price of admission is two cans of protein-based food (think tuna,
or stew) to be donated to a food bank. Carson encourages women who
cannot make this date, but who want to be involved, to call her at
609-637-4904 for more information.
“We want women to lend perspective and to give us their experience,”
says Carson, a graduate of Rowan College (Class of 1964). “Here’s
an opportunity to form a network and to let women plan, work, and
accomplish.”
At its first meeting the Women’s Leadership Initiative, whose co-chairs
are community volunteer Lilly Palmieri and Saul Ewing attorney
Jane Kozinski, will decide on an issue to tackle. “We’ll
put our heads together,” says Carson. In addition, a survey will
be sent to all who are interested, but who are not able to attend.
“By early June we will have the results,” she says. Then,
by summer or perhaps in the early fall, depending on everyone’s schedules,
an expert on the chosen issue will be enlisted and will conduct an
informational session.
While Carson and her steering committee are open to any number of
ideas, she does stress that the United Way stays within its stated
mission. The organization, relying heavily on payroll-deduction contributions
from area employees, concentrates its efforts on funding the work
of groups involved in addressing the needs of children in poverty,
youth at risk, the working poor, and seniors in need.
Once an issue is identified and explored, the Women’s Leadership Initiative
will get busy. But Carson, who is gregarious in a low-key, definitely
non-judgmental way, emphasizes that “no one has to sign up.”
Those who do want to get onboard for a particular issue can be most
flexible in the way they help, and in the amount of time they give.
In fact, for a particular issue, the entire group may decide that
the most they can do is give one day a year to painting and sprucing
up in an area in need of a quick makeover. Or perhaps an issue might
trigger the dedication needed to start and staff a mentoring program
or an outreach to members of the community struggling with limited
literacy.
“The sky’s the limit,” declares Carson. “We’ll decide
what is going to meet the need, and then an expanded group of women
will decide what to do.”
What if a man should want to join the Women’s Leadership Initiative?
Carson laughs, and encourages any man with a yen to improve his community
to give her agency a call.
The United Way is open to all volunteers. One of the agency’s important,
ongoing needs is for “resource development volunteers.” Translation:
fund raisers. “Our biggest challenge is finding people who have
the time to raise money, who like people, and like asking them to
pitch in,” says Carson. She adds that not everyone is comfortable
with asking for money.
That’s okay, she says. For those who like people, but who shrink from
hitting them up for donations, there is a need for people to help
the United Way to decide where to invest the contributions it receives,
and to go out and review and monitor the programs selected.
With the United Way for 15 years, Carson, a native of West Windsor,
has also been a teacher in the New York City school system and an
event coordinator in the fashion industry. Extremely sensitive to
the time constraints of those who want to volunteer for their communities,
Carson says she has first-hand experience of the increased demands
of the workplace.
“We went through a down-sizing last year,” she says. And while
her agency’s payroll shrunk by 20 percent, its workload did not. “Profits
and non-profits, we’re facing the same thing,” she says. Women
who want to help out anyway, and who are looking for an organization
that respects their time, might find the ideal outlet for their skills
at the United Way’s new Women’s Leadership Initiative.
Top Of PageThe Green Cars Are Coming
More than 30 teams from Canada, China, and 15 states
are set to participate in this year’s Tour de Sol: The Great American
Green Transportation Festival, which takes place from Saturday through
Wednesday, May 10 through 14, in cities stretching from Trenton through
Washington, D.C.
The festival, free and open to the public, takes place in Trenton
on May 12, moves to Philadelphia on May 13, and to Washington, D.C.
on May 14. In addition, an open house is set in Burlington City on
May 10. On that date, visitors can watch the teams go through pre-event
qualifying tests. For more information call 413-774-6051 or visit
The event showcases all greener modes of transportation that can reduce
oil use and, at the same time, improve the economy and the environment.
Cars, buses, and scooters that reduce gasoline use or that use a domestically-produced
fuel — such as biodiesel, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas,
or propane — will be on display and, in some cases, available
for test rides and drives. Also on display will be programs that promote
the health and quality-of-life benefits of walking, biking, and taking
mass transit.
Among the vehicles competing or exhibiting are those manufactured
by General Motors, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Allison Transmission,
and Honda. Some models are already being sold, while others are still
in the planning stages.
In addition to big manufacturers, the event includes some two dozen
university and high school teams as well as individuals who have built
one-of-a-kind experimental vehicles.
The Tour de Sol began in 1989 as a competition for solar-powered racing
vehicles. Over the years, it has expanded to include all greener vehicle
technologies. It is now the largest and longest running environmental
automotive competition in the United States.
The Iraq war saw the use of a sophisticated communications
infrastructure that revolutionized command and control functions,
says Russ Lockwood, a military history web publisher. Lockwood
will tell about the evolution of combat communications at the Society
of Internet Professionals on Wednesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. at the Sarnoff
auditorium on Fisher Place. Cost: $10. Call 215-369-4866.
Lockwood’s discussion will start with hand signals and musical instruments
and progress through more modern devices, such as the telegraph, walkie
talkies, and text messaging.
Lockwood’s interest in military history began at the age of 6, when
his father taught him chess using kings, queens, knights, and castles.
He started reading up on medieval knights, and then graduated to World
War II, “because the local library had more material on it.”
A graduate of Syracuse University (Class of 1981), where he studied
journalism and history, Lockwood has written for the New York Times
Information Service, Creative Computing magazine, and Personal Computing
magazine. He also ran Compuserve forums, including AfterHours and
Computer Gaming World, and was editorial director of AT&T’s New Media
Services web division.
Magweb (short for Magazine Web) was founded in 1996 by Lockwood and
his three partners. A compendium of more than 100 magazines on military
history, the company, with offices in Stockton, is self-funded, turned
a profit in 2000, and continues to grow. Lockwood previously spoke
to this group on how content subscriptions can be profitable (U.S.
1, November 7, 2001).
Lockwood’s original business plan included websites for magazines
in a number of niches. He started with military history because, he
says, “if you’re going to be spending 12 hours a day on something,
it helps if you love it.” Eighty percent of his subscribers pay
an annual fee to browse such periodicals as American Revolutionary
War Journal, English Civil War Times, Cry Havoc (all historical periods),
Dragonman (history of the Ottoman Empire), Abanderado (Spanish Civil
War history), and the Penny Whistle (military history, games, miniatures
and reviews).
Top Of PageSummit For Big Box Employers
The gauntlet has been thrown down to 500 employers at
Exit 8A, challenging them to unite and establish a reliable transportation
system to get workers to their warehouses. Many of the jobs pay minimum
wage, yet without the availability of public transportation, the workers
must supply their own.
Keep Middlesex Moving has set Thursday, May 15, 8:30 to 11 a.m., for
a free round-table conference on the problem at the New Jersey Principals
and Supervisors Association conference center. Fifteen companies had
signed up for the conference as of last week, about half the capacity
of the conference room. For reservations call Cristina Fowler
at 732-745-4318.
Speakers include moderator Anita Perez, Carl Spataro of
the Middlesex County economic development commission, Jim Wilno
of New Jersey Transit, Ted Williams of Centaur Consulting, and
KMM representatives Fowler and Roberta Karpinecz.
One attempt to solve the Exit 8A transportation problem was made last
year by the Mercer County Workforce Investment Board. Aided by the
Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, it instigated
a shuttle service from the Hamilton railroad station. Trenton residents
were supposed to take New Jersey Transit from Trenton to Hamilton
and board a bus that would wend its way past Robert Wood Johnson Hospital
at Hamilton to Route 130 to the big box warehouses. “It was intended
to get people to employment opportunities at Exit 8A and to some of
the employment centers, such as Hamilton Marketplace, along Route
130,” says Sandra Brillhart, executive director of the GMTMA,
which provided start-up support for the project through last August.
“We found most people were using it to get to Hightstown and East
Windsor locations, rather than the longer route to Exit 8A.”
Unofficial results show that — at least as far as Exit 8A is concerned,
the Trenton-Hamilton-8A plan was not a roaring success. “Usually
these initiatives are more successful when employers are paying for
it themselves and when they have control over the schedule, the timing,
and the routing,” says Brillhart. She points to successful shuttles
in Mercer County, “but they are express services and paid for
with private dollars. Public transportation shuttles make a lot of
stops and it is a long ride to begin with.”
Also some temporary staffing firms supply both the workers and the
transportation. Bob Brown of Trenton-based First Staff does
this (U.S. 1, December 12, 2002). “In the land of big boxes, there
is a strong demand for labor intensive workers and the staffing agencies
generally have to provide the transportation because there is no public
transportation to Cranbury, Dayton, and Monroe.”
It’s hard to implement change, says Brown. “Years ago SEPTA ran
a bus to the Philadelphia airport and there were five giant packaging
companies less than two miles from where the bus turned around, but
they wouldn’t add that stop.”
Top Of PageCrawling the Web’s Underside
Has the web really leveled the playing field? Or has
it just opened the door for global conglomerates to extend their tentacles
into your small market niche? In either case, it is hard to deny that
the consumer and small business owner, hunting for an enormous range
of goods and services, and easily comparing prices and features online,
has become hooked on web shopping. Yet this leaves the small or mid-size
business owner wondering just how he can throw a saddle over this
unbridled, wildly competitive cyber-mart.
Options will be discussed at “Marketing Your Website,” a seminar
on Thursday, May 15, at 8:30 a.m. at the Trenton Business and Technology
Center on South Broad Street in Trenton. Cost: $49. Contact 609-989-5232.
Sponsored by the New Jersey Small Business Development Center, this
talk features the NJSBDC’s director of E-business services, Nat
Bender. For a sample of Bender’s own work, go to www.NJSBDC.com
and examine the site he designed. The site also provides a full calendar
and an explanation of the SBDC’s business mentoring, funding, and
other advisory programs aimed at the up and coming entrepreneur.
“The competition on the web is indeed real business competition
— just as fierce, but with a different set of players,” says
Bender, “and this is one thing small firms seem to forget.”
Helping them remember and crawl along the competitive web has been
Bender’s personal project during his past six years with the Small
Business Development Center.
Born, raised, and still living in Plainfield, Bender trained as a
writer, earning a journalism degree from Rutgers. After working for
Health Foods Magazine, he shifted to AT&T to help create its web communication
system. When the monopoly split, Bender moved to the New Jersey Institute
of Technology’s brand-new web certification program. “They tout
me as one of their rags-to-riches stories,” laughs Bender. “But
actually it’s more rags-to- survival.” Whatever the label, a mere
four weeks into the course the SBDC offered him an E-business career.
“The web has shifted the sands of every business,” Bender
says, “so it becomes merely a question of choosing your best strategy
to participate.”
Search engine selection. A thorough, easy to read explanationof business-applicable search engines, authored by Bender, is printedon the www.NJSBDC.com site under “E-business.” Once you’vebroken the “Google-only” mindset, a world of specialized searchengines, worthy of comparison, unfolds. Some, like Yahoo and LookSmart,are directories, leading browsers directly to your site by name. Others,like Google and AltaVista, search via automated crawl systems thatfocus on keywords and other points of content. It is imperative tofind out exactly how each engine works and to adjust your site accordingly.Payment plans differ. Google’s AdSmart charges advertisers based oncost per click. Others levy a flat fee; but even some of these alsohave an underlying per-hit plan. Bender’s puts Yahoo, Inktomi, andLookSmart on the “must do” list for small companies, withGoogle and Alta Vista just behind. In the third tier are AOL, InfoSeek,Excite, and Lycos.With the country’s instinctive tilt toward size, notes Bender, manyof the very valuable specific search engines tend to get bypassed.For example, Lycos specifically aids businesses with market surveysand Northern Lights has gained a reputation as that last place tolook after you’ve tried all the rest. Industry-specific sites areideal for those on a budget — or those with a niche product. Theyallow for sending targeted messages to likely customers. Www.SearchEngineGuide.com lists a wide array of such sites. And yes, you can findgeographically specific sites. Look for them on www.searchenginecolossus.comDavid and Goliath. So you are all set to web-market thatnew cleaning fluid you’ve just invented in your basement lab. Wantto go head-to-head with Dupont?Son, you will lose. Bender points out that big companies have a reachagainst which the small firm cannot compete. He suggests avoidinga David and Goliath showdown, suggesting a partnering arrangementinstead. One of the true wonders of the web is that big companiesare open to teaming up with complementary small companies.Successful web designers know that, on the web, a teach-before-you-pitchtechnique works best. Every business now is striving to make its sitethe one potential customers turn to first for information. Big vendorsdesperately want to become the one-stop shopping site in their business,the place that provides encyclopedic information along with a fullarray of products. If your new cleaning fluid takes care of spillsno other cleanser can handle, and if you can provide examples of problemstains, along with techniques to banish them, you may be able to geta link from a high-profile housewares or hardware chain website, oreven a little real estate right on the site.Online catalogs. Vertically or horizontally, your productcan link up with others — and thereby gain much greater visibilitythan it might attract on its own. Obviously Lillian Vernon does notmanufacture every kabob basket, floating cooler, and pet welcome signfor sale in its online catalog. Rather, a large number of small businesseshave combined their products under a popular umbrella.Other possibilities for winning through aggregation include productor service advertisements on the websites of professional groups orchambers of commerce. Often as not, the groups welcome the energyof an aggressive marketer who will work to enrich everybody.In joining with others, companies often fear that they will be toutingtheir competition at their own expense. Typically, this does not happen.One of the area’s oldest horizontally linked websites belongs to thestate library system. Founded two decades ago as the South MiddlesexCounty Automation Consortium, each of its three largest member librariesreceived a 20 percent annual boost in circulation the year they linkedtogether their interlink. Now that the system has gone statewide,circulation continues to rise significantly despite a stable statepopulation. The lesson is that easing access enriches all.Auction sites. It has worked wonders for the insuranceindustry, loan companies, and every raw materials producer in thecommodities market. Simply gather on a single site, and wait for bidsto roll in. This tactic has even boosted sales for the hard-hit airlineindustry. Even sole practitioners offering a service can benefit froman auction website. Elance (www.elance.com), for example, aggregatesgrant writers, electrical engineers, word processors, tax attorneys,web designers, and scores of other professionals, who get the attentionof businesses and individuals looking for expertise on a per-projectbasis.Before small business owners develop an online marketing strategy,Bender suggests that they first critically examine products and services.”You’ve got to make sure that the public wants what you are selling,”he says. Simple as this back-to-basic business maxim sounds, thereare kaput E-commerce firms that forgot it, and live on only as abandonedwebsites, floating aimlessly and forever in a cyber graveyard.— Bart JacksonTop Of PageEthical Vs. Creative AccountingThey have lost our trust. Headlines tell of accountantswho sold $47 million of bogus tax shelters to Sprint, and now thatcompany’s stock is worth less than its tax bill. And Enron. Well,suffice it to say that the energy-trading company’s name has enteredthe vernacular as a synonym for shady dealings, and the accountingfirm that audited it is no more. These high- profile cases have puta good number of accountants on the defensive. Can the accountingprofession convince a wary public that 99.9 percent of all who practicethe profession are honest and independent-minded? The New Jersey Societyof Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA) is working to restore thatimpression.Exactly what state law and personal morality require of all accountantsis the subject of the “New Jersey Law and Ethics Seminar,”which takes place on Friday, May 16, at 8:30 a.m. at the DouglassCollege Student Center in New Brunswick. Cost: $189. Register onlineat www.NJSCPA.com or at 973-226-4494.Sponsored by the Middlesex-Somerset chapter of the NJSCPA, a four-hourcourse like this one is, as of January 1, mandated for every licensedaccountant in the Garden State. This one, run by Bernard Kieley,president of Morristown-based Kieley Capital Management (973-455-1894),will involve 50 to 100 attendees. A similar course is sponsored bythe Mercer chapter on the same day at the Mercer College ConferenceCenter, featuring Michael Polito of Deloitte & Touche. Call609-633-6586.Kieley urges all New Jersey CPAs to take this course well before thethree-year limit. The NJSCPA will even hold in-house courses for firmsof 15 or more. Those who leave it to the last semester of 2005, hewarns, will find all the seminars full; and simply put, no one willmake it into 2006 as a licensed CPA without it.”I am an accountant,” says Kieley, whose practice is basedin Morristown. “It does clients no good to whine. I am just thescorekeeper. I will not drive their getaway car.” This breathof ethical fresh air comes from a personal tax accountant who WorthMagazine has listed among its best investment counselors for fouryears running, and Accounting Magazine has honored among its top pickstwice. He has taught accounting at Rutgers University for 10 years.After graduating from Rozelle Park High School, Kieley found himselfserving aboard a destroyer in Vietnam, where he spent downtime teachinghimself about mutual funds. After his tour was over, he went to nightschool at Upsala, earning a degree in accounting. It was there, inhis money and banking class, that Kieley met another young accountant,Yvonne, whom he was later to join both in wedlock and in business.Continuing night classes, he gained an MBA in finance from RutgersUniversity. “The first time I stepped into a daytime classroom,”he laughs, “they called me professor.””Rather than a four-hour lecture on morality,” says Kieley,”our members need to know the whole raft of state statutes thatsomehow get skipped in college and later training.” One fascinatingexample he points out is that a CPA who fails to keep up with continuingeducation courses can have his license quietly revoked. In this circumstance,he could be advertising himself as an accountant when he is not, makinghim guilty of fraud, and eligible for a stretch in prison. NJSCPApast president Polito, who has had a great deal of input in this pilotseminar, hastens to add that it mirrors all recent S.E.C. and federalrulings.But beyond these older, if sometimes forgotten, statues loom ethicalgray areas that circle around client, accountant, government regulators.Fee disputes. Most typically, explains Kieley, fee disputesbetween an accountant and his client are initiated by clients whoeither don’t have the wherewithal to pay, or who are convinced thattheir CPA should have worked harder. One’s taxes, so goes the myth,are determined solely by the quality of one’s accounting team. Ifthey’re good enough, they can make the whole bill simply vanish ina cloud of deductions. This is not true, but there are a number ofexecutives who come storming into their accountant’s office shakingwhat they consider to be an unacceptably high tax bill.Then, in a paper chase standoff, the angered client withholds payment,and the accountant withholds vital documents, which he neither filesnor returns. At that point, the law steps in. Legally, an accountantmay not withhold documents. However, he may charge his client heftyinterest on the bill, and any IRS payments and penalties still stand.(Note: unfinished documents, like an unsigned tax form, can be withheld.)Watershed of blame. The legal waters become a bit moremuddied when the SEC or IRS raises questions and everyone runs tohide behind a scapegoat. Suppose a construction firm wants to deductthe cost of certain new equipment and depreciate other equipment.The company accountant prepares and signs the return. Later, the IRSquestions the deductions and the depreciation schedule. It penalizesthe construction firm, and even accuses it of fraud.Now the finger pointing begins. The owner brings a negligence chargeagainst his accountant. “He’s my accountant,” claims the owner.”He should have told me this depreciation was outside the rules.”The accountant responds with “Hey, I just crunch the numbers.If he wants to take an on-the-edge flyer, that’s his gamble.”Usually, Kieley notes, ultimate responsibility rests on the businessowner — the person who wanted to take the deductions and depreciatethe equipment, not the accountant who should have warned him. However,he adds, “both sides here should err well on the side of caution,and together examine the slightest possible red flag.”Sloth and lateness. Along with Hamlet’s complaints aboutthe insolence of office and the law’s delay, today’s business ownermight well add to the list of universal annoyances the overwhelmingtide of sluggishly-processed numbers. Our government, while so slowin returning tax refunds, is Johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to collectingmultiple kinds of taxes. Late payment penalties pile up quickly.Whose fault is it that the forms were not signed and filed: the grievingwidow who is too upset to look at papers from her late-husband’s businessright away? The bank executor who takes his cut, but forgets his duty?Or the accountant who didn’t crack the whip on them — and himself?Deciding just who is responsible for delays that can cost tens ofthousands of dollars in taxes has made many an attorney a lot richer.Fifteen thousand of New Jersey’s 17,000 CPAs belong to NJSCPA. Inaddition to holding its members responsible for following state law,this association employs a higher, more stringent set of professionalstandards. But in the end ethics must be more than the fear of beingcaught. Kieley insists that in the case of those high-profile scandals,the accounting firms “needed to strap on their spines, refuseto indulge in a con, and just honestly pay the tax bill.” Yes,the accounting profession will recover from the current black eyes,he believes, “but it will take integrity; simply doing our jobhonestly, not because the law threatens us, but because it is right.”— Bart JacksonTop Of PageWomen’s TributeThe 20th Annual Tribute to Women 2003 Achievement Awardsreception and dinner (formerly known as TWIN) is Thursday, May 8,at 5:15 p.m. at the Princeton Hyatt. Cost: $100. Call 609-497-2100,extension 333, for last minute reservations.The YWCA has assembled a stellar array of women to honor for theirprofessional and community contributions; this year’s list includesMargaret Lancefield, medical director of charity care clinicsat the Medical Center at Princeton (and also the spouse of RepresentativeRush Holt), as well as two other Medical Center physicians, LindaSieglen (chair of the anesthesiology department) and Kathy Ales(medical director of the Merwick unit. The legal profession is representedby Jane Altman of Altman & Legband at Montgomery Knoll. Thepharmaceutical arena is represented by Kim Klinger, vice presidentof human resources for Bracco Diagnostics, and Louise Mehrotra,vice president of finance for Janssen Pharmaceutica. Jyoti Chopraof Merrill Lynch represents the financial sector. Rev. Sally Osmer(of the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton) and Janet Stern(of the Arts Council of Princeton) represent the nonprofit arena.Women in education include the president of the College of New Jersey,Barbara Gitenstein; Charlotte Bialek, head of the PrincetonRegional Schools board; and Pauline Wood Egan, trustee boardchair of Stuart Country Day School. A chaplain at Princeton University,Rev. Hazel Vivian Staats-Westover, will also be honored, aswill Karin Trainer, Princeton University Librarian.This year’s group is surely the first to feature two librarians. Thesecond is Leslie Burger, director of the Princeton Public Library.The mayor of Princeton Township, Phyllis Marchand, is on thelist, as are two executives in state government, Lori A. Hennon-Bell,deputy superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, and DebraM. Johnson, an attorney directing legal and regulatory affairsat the New Jersey Department of Health.Top Of PageDonate Please: NCCJd>Katherine Kish of Market Entry seeks sponsorshipsfor the National Conference for Community and Justice dinner on Thursday,May 15, at the Doral Forrestal. Sponsors contribute $1,500 for a tablefor 10 and an ad page in the program, and other categories of givinginclude “supporter” (four seats for $500) and contributor(two seats, $250). Call Linda Tondow, 732-745-9330.The evening supports an historic group (formerly National Conferenceof Christians and Jews) fighting bias, bigotry and racism and workingclosely with young people, says Kish, who co-chairs the event withAllen Rowe. Edward Bullock, of L’Oreal USA, will receivea diversity award, as will Educational Testing Service, representedby CEO Kurt M. Landgraf.Sponsors so far include Eden Institute Foundation, and the supportercategory includes Robert Clancy, PNC Bank, the Pacesetter Groupof Companies, Shiloh Baptist Church, and Wegmans Food Markets.On Saturday, May 17, the Capital Health System Foundationholds its sixth annual dinner dance, “A Capital Affair,” atthe Princeton Hyatt. The event raises substantial sums for CapitalHealth System programs. In 2002 the foundation provided $25,000 tothe system’s nursing program in support of continuing nursing education;funded CUNA Program, which provides support, guidance, and directionfor new mothers; and provided $2.4 million for the purchase of a newPET scanner.This year Capital Health Foundation is offering tables at its May17 fundraiser for between $2,500 and $10,000. It is also offeringsponsorship opportunities for between $3,500 and $10,000.Sponsorships are sought for the American Red Cross Golf Classicon Monday, June 2, at both the Cherry Valley and Bedens Brook countryclubs. Following a buffet luncheon, an 18-hole shotgun start is at12:30 p.m., followed by cocktails, appetizers, and dinner. Sponsorshipsstart at $750, and a foursome costs $1,400, or $350 for an individualgolfer.Major patrons are Fleet Bank, Johnson & Johnson — NCS, Johnson& Johnson Consumer Companies, and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.Proceeds will benefit programs in Mercer and Middlesex counties. Call609-951-8550.Top Of PageApply PleaseThe New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Consortium(NJ BISEC) and PSE&G announce the 13th annual EnvironmentalEducation Grant Program. The program is open to teachers of gradesK-5 and 6-9 who teach in PSE&G’s service area. Teachers who can successfullylink their students’ understanding of math, science, computer science,and/or technology concepts with enthusiasms and appreciation for theenvironment are encouraged to apply.Applications that focus on the development of one or more classroomunits, the expansion of an existing course or curriculum, or the extensionof classroom work to community or after-school activities will beconsidered.PSE&G/NJ BISEC Environmental Education Grants provide funding to carryout the project for up to two years. Grants are available in amountsof up to $3,500, and may be used to purchase materials and equipment,take field trips, and develop curriculum-related activities.The grant application deadline is Monday, June 2, and awards willbe announced in September. For more information and an applicationvisit www.pseg.com/eegrants.Top Of PageParticipate PleaseCelebrities from television, stage, sports, politics,academe, and literature will be lending their support to Recordingfor the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) for the nonprofit organization’sninth annual National Record-A-Thon. The New Jersey Unit of RFB&D(www.rfbdnj.org), located in a new facility at 69 Mapleton Road (atSt. Joseph’s Seminary), is celebrating this event from Monday to Saturday,May 12 to 17. Hours are Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A Record-A-Thonopening ceremony/studio grand opening takes place on May 12 at 1 p.m.,and the studio will be open to the public for tours during Record-A-Thonhours.Founded in 1948 to serve veterans blinded in World War II, RFB&D isthe nation’s first and largest nonprofit organization to provide recordedtextbooks to students in kindergarten through graduate school withdisabilities such as blindness or severe dyslexia. RFB&D serves 117,000students nationwide, including 5,000 students in New Jersey.Celebrity readers join the 500 regular volunteers at the New JerseyUnit who lend their time to record textbooks and other academic materialsfor students who cannot read standard print effectively because ofa disability. Over the course of the New Jersey Unit’s Record-A-Thon,volunteers expect to double the week’s regular production, increasingthe number of books available in RFB&D’s “learning through listening”library in the organization’s national headquarters at 20 Roszel Road.This event, the unit’s major fundraiser, is also designed to raiseawareness of the services RFB&D offers to students throughout thestate.”We could not sustain our operation without the support of allthe volunteers and local celebrities who believe as we do that educationis a right, not a privilege,” says Olivian Boon, interimexecutive director of the New Jersey unit of RFB&D. “The workour volunteers do requires a great deal of training and focus, butwe take great satisfaction in knowing that every book we record representsanother step forward for a student trying to meet his or her educationalpotential.”Recorded textbooks from RFB&D are unique because they are the onlyrecorded textbooks that include full and complete descriptions ofall graphic elements within a book, including pictures, photographs,charts, maps and graphs. Because of the complex and advanced natureof many of the titles requested by RFB&D members, regular recordingvolunteers are required to have a level of expertise in the fieldsthey are assigned to read.”Because not everyone has the skills or the desire to read textbooks,we offer a variety of volunteer positions at our studio that allowpeople to get involved in other areas of our work,” says Boon.”We’re proud of our new recording facility. We welcome peoplewho want to participate in our work and who share our commitment tomaking education accessible for students with disabilities.” Formore information, call 609-750-1830.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
