Firm Management
New York CPA Society Names New President
An NYSSCPA member since 1987, Zovistoski has served on the Society’s Board of Directors each year for the past six years—two of them as the Society’s secretary/treasurer. He’s also served as Finance Committee chair and Northeast Chapter president, as ...
Jun. 03, 2016
F. Michael Zovistoski, a partner at UHY LLP, has been named the 97th president of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA). The ceremony took place on May 19 at the NYSSCPA’s Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) Moynihan Fund Gala, held at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City. His one-year term begins June 1.
An NYSSCPA member since 1987, Zovistoski has served on the Society’s Board of Directors each year for the past six years—two of them as the Society’s secretary/treasurer. He’s also served as Finance Committee chair and Northeast Chapter president, as well as on multiple statewide and chapter committees.
Zovistoski takes the helm of the NYSSCPA—the nation’s first nonprofit accounting association—shortly after its members voted to approve a change to the organization’s bylaws that would allow certain non-CPAs to become associate members of the organization.
“The Society has welcomed non-CPAs into the membership for the past few years; however, these associate members had to be working under the supervision of a CPA,” Zovistoski said. “With this latest bylaws amendment, which was to align our membership categories with the types of professionals we see working in CPA firms more and more, that’s no longer a requirement. I would like to offer an invitation to all the bankers, lawyers, educators and alike … to consider joining our family and become an associate member in the NYSSCPA.”
Non-CPA professionals with a bachelor’s degree, working full time for the government; nonprofits; or in financial, legal or banking services, are eligible to join as associate members; however, these new members cannot hold leadership positions or vote in Society elections.
Aside from increasing networking opportunities for CPA members, Zovistoski—an Albany certified public accountant and certified financial planner—sees potential in growing the NYSSCPA’s government affairs program, and increasing engagement with young CPA professionals through the Society’s NextGen program. The Moynihan Fund Gala – an event where the Society raised nearly $250,000 for FAE’s scholarships and its college readiness program for high school students that are underrepresented in the profession – is part of that initiative.
“This is the first time the NYSSCPA has done something on this scale and it wasn’t limited to New York CPAs; the guest list was a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of the accounting profession,” he said. “It’s an exciting time to be a CPA, especially a CPA in New York.”
A native of Middle Granville, N.Y., Zovistoski grew up on a farm where his family planted and harvested blue spruce Christmas trees and tapped maple trees for syrup. He took a bookkeeping class in high school and decided he wanted to pursue a career in accounting.
Zovistoski attended Albany Business College and received a BBA from Siena College in 1984. He is married and has three adult children. Prior to UHY LLP, Zovistoski worked at Coopers & Lybrand (currently known as PwC), New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, and Albany City Hostel, Inc.