The New York State Society of CPAs has elected Joseph M. Falbo Jr. as its new president.
Falbo was formally installed as president during the NYSSCPA’s 118th Annual Election Meeting and Dinner last month. His one-year term began June 1.
Falbo is a partner and member of the executive committee at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP in Williamsville, N.Y. He has been a member of the Society since 1994 and is a member of its Buffalo Chapter.
“The NYSSCPA has been my professional home, since I began my career,” Falbo said in a statement. “It is an honor and extremely humbling to be asked by my peers to assume the role of president. I look forward to working with the other officers and volunteers to represent this outstanding group of CPAs.”
One of Falbo’s priorities is leading the NYSSCPA as it grows its NextGen program. Launched two years ago, NextGen offers career support and networking opportunities to accounting’s next generation of young professionals. It is also a personal commitment, according to Falbo, who co-founded the NYSSCPA Buffalo Chapter’s Young CPAs Committee. He later became the chapter’s president.
“I know firsthand the benefits of a joining a professional association when you’re just starting out in your career,” Falbo said. “The fact that we now have a statewide program dedicated to providing young accounting professionals the resources they need to advance their careers is very exciting and has a lot of potential.”
Falbo also sees NextGen as a critical response to one of the most important issues confronting not only accounting but other key American industries as well: the “graying of America.”
“The profession is not immune to the effects of the Baby Boomer generation hitting retirement age,” he said. “The aging of current firm owners and the often lack of clear succession plans and overall retention and development of younger employees could become a major crisis in the next five to seven years if we do nothing.”
That’s what NextGen is about, he said. The program includes NextGen magazine, a quarterly professional development guide, sent free to every member, 35-years-old and under; the annual NextGen Conference, scheduled for July 31 in New York City (nysscpa.org/nextgen15), as well as networking events throughout the year, such as an upcoming whiskey tasting and a career fair planned for the fall.
Falbo also looks forward to continuing the Society’s role as a leading advocate for New York’s approximately 50,000 CPAs. Last month, the NYSSCPA opened a satellite office in Albany, the state’s capitol, to enable the organization to continue to develop relationships with legislators and regulators so that the NYSSCPA can respond even more quickly to issues affecting the profession, as well as the State’s overall business climate.
“Whether you’re a member or not, we work closely with regulators and standard setters to ensure that the CPAs’ unique training, experience and point of view is at the table when financial reporting, tax and general business policies and regulations are discussed,” Falbo said.
Falbo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Accounting from Niagara University in Lewiston and was recognized in 2004 by Buffalo’s Business First newspaper with its “40 Under Forty” Award. In 2012 he received the Society’s Special Recognition Award, which acknowledges individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the NYSSCPA.
Falbo has previously served on the NYSSCPA’s board of directors as president-elect, vice president, secretary/treasurer and Executive Committee member. He has also chaired the NYSSCPA' Chapter Task Force and the Finance, Governance, Information Technology, and Nominating committees.
Falbo is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, as well as a member of the AICPA Council and previously served on the AICPA Private Company Practice Section Executive Committee.
