Financial Literacy

Student Outreach Visits: February 2010

Crystil Turner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:02:30 +0000

Inland Empire
Don Driftmier: Colton Academy

OC/LB
Robin Patino and Majid Zarrinkelk: Santa Ana High School

Peninsula Silicon Valley
Wanda Ginner: Capuchino High School

San Diego
Carol Chrisopolous: Madison High School

San Francisco
James Elliott: Windsor High School

Tax Events: February 2010

Crystil Turner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:01:54 +0000

Leo Urtega, Ester Pryspta and Monica Mendoza assisted in a VITA tax event held by Assemblymember Kevin de León, the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department and Council member Ed Reyes.

Upcoming Tax Events

Crystil Turner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:44 +0000

If you are interested in participating, please contact Crystil Turner at your earliest convenience and specify which event you are interested in.

March 17, San Francisco
KALW Tax Call In
Volunteers: Laura Ross, Nathum Lan, Mary Quaye
* 3 volunteers needed

March 23, San Francisco
ABC/KGO-7 Tax Call in
Volunteers: Jim McHale, Kathy Yu Liu
* 2 Volunteers Needed

April 5, San Francisco
ABC/KGO-7 Tax Call in
Volunteers: Jim McHale, Kathy Yu Liu, Laura Ross
* 2 Volunteers Needed

Upcoming Events with State Legislators

Crystil Turner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:52:41 +0000

If there are openings for volunteers, and you are interested in participating, please contact Crystil Turner at your earliest convenience.

March 3, Sacramento
Financial Literacy Resource Fair
Hosted by: State Controller.
Volunteers: Bruce Kajiwara and Andrew Newman

March 6, Palm Springs
Tax Prep and Financial Literacy Seminar
Hosted by: State Controller & Assembly member Manuel Perez
Volunteer: Kathy Johnson
*Volunteers needed to work the vendor table

April 3, Moreno Valley
Dollars & Sense and Tax Consultations
Hosted by: Assembly members Bill Emmerson, Paul Cook and Brian Nestande
*Volunteers needed: presenters and tax consultations

Women to Watch Awards

Crystil Turner — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:55:21 +0000

CalCPA, in partnership with the AICPA, its Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee and Robert Half International seek candidates for the 2010 Women to Watch Awards. They are looking for women who have made significant contributions to the accounting profession or who demonstrate characteristics that enable them to become leaders in the profession.

The winners will be recognized at CalCPA’s Women’s Leadership Forum Wednesday, May 26, in San Francisco. You can register for the event online.

If you would like to nominate a candidate, please review the award criteria and submit the nomination form to Crystil Turner via e-mail or call (650) 802-2494 by March 22.

Members Make CPA Day at the Capitol a Success

Crystil Turner — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:15:32 +0000

We would like to give a big “thank you” to all the CPAs who attended CPA Day at the Capitol Jan. 20. Through wind, rain and hail, we had more than 130 members participate in a very successful day. One of the items discussed with legislators was financial literacy, and as a result several of the district offices have already been in contact with CalCPA to schedule a Dollars & Sense workshop for their constituents. Keep up the great work!

AICPA Chair Testifies Before Congress

Crystil Turner — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:50:08 +0000

AICPA Chair Bob Harris recently testified before the House Small Business Committee during a hearing on the impact of financial regulatory restructuring on small businesses and community lenders. In his testimony, Harris mentioned the profession’s volunteer efforts, 360 Degree of Financial Literacy and Feed the Pig, as well as cited Lisa Baskfield’s financial education efforts for the military, all of which would be impacted by the creation a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

You can view his testimony on YouTube.

D&S Success with Libraries—Keep up the Good Work!

Crystil Turner — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:15:05 +0000

Thanks to members like you, our success with California libraries continues to grow! More and more libraries are signing up for one or more financial literacy workshops for their patrons. Newest to the game: Burlingame library has signed up for a four-part series to take place in September; Santa Clara is scheduled for a workshop in November and Redondo library has begun coordination for their workshops.

Why the success? First, libraries have free presentation space that can accommodate a good sized crowdand have the ability to show PowerPoints and DVDs. Second, libraries have a built-in audience, so they are not solely reliant on the marketing they do with the community to bring a crowd. And finally, most libraries have a need to supply the community with workshops and services, but do not have the money to pay for services and materials. Because Dollars & Sense is free, it is a perfect fit.

Thus far, these presentation requests have resulted solely by word of mouth. One way is through members and staff approaching their local libraries, and telling them about the program … that’s it! If this is something you would be interested in bringing to your community, please visit your local library and tell them all about the D&S workshops.

More information, including content for all workshops, is available on CalCPA’s website.

New AICPA ‘Start Here, Go Places’ Website Debuts

Crystil Turner — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:31:08 +0000

Start Here, Go Places, the AICPA’s interactive website created to inform students and educators about the range and breadth of an accounting career, has unveiled new simulated career paths, job shadowing opportunities and scholarship searches, among other offerings.

The redesigned site encourages students to envision being employed as a CPA. One of the new features is a section called Meet Real Life CPAs. Its purpose is to gain an understanding that accounting is about people. Featured in this section are two CalCPA members: Dan Dehner, senior consultant at Durkin Forensic in Los Angeles, and Victor Molokwu, president of Victor Molokwu CPA in San Diego. CalCPA CEO Loretta Doon will soon be featured on the site as well.

Additional new features include:
• “FutureMe,” a potential customizable career path for students to view what their model career would look like;
• CPA Profile, which outlines the numerous career paths available to an accounting graduate;
• Job shadowing opportunities for students to spend a day at work with a CPA;
• Scholarship searches by state; and
• A special educator forum.

The site was launched in 2001 and has received 11 awards from the International Association of Business Communicators, American Society of Association Executives and other sponsoring organizations. Since 2006, the site has had more than 600,000 visitors from 211 countries.

Bair: Financial Education Can’t Start too Early

Crystil Turner — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:30:47 +0000

FDIC Chair Sheila Bair recently reflected on the critical role that financial education plays in helping consumers protect themselves from bad loans, fraud and other troubles. In a June 17 speech at the Operation Hope Global Financial Literacy Summit in Washington, DC, Bair offered her vision for using financial education early and often in the future.

“It’s absolutely essential that people of all ages—and I mean all ages, starting in kindergarten—to learn financial basics so they can make prudent financial decisions,” she said.

Read the full text of the speech.