Archive for the ‘President's Message’ CategoryTouting SuccessesFebruary 25th, 2010
We held our first blood drive with the Central California Blood Center during the week of Jan. 11. We had 64 participants who attempted to donate, and 53 who were able to do so—which resulted in 53 pints of blood. For our first blood drive, these were excellent results. A big thank you to Denise Patterson who coordinated the drive and to everyone who took time out of their busy schedule to donate. Another thank you goes out to Britz Fertilizer, BPF, and MYW who had mobile blood units at their businesses. And of course, thank you to the employees of the blood bank.
Making Tax Season EasierJanuary 1st, 2010
YEP AwardsDecember 14th, 2009
The evening was filled with excitement from the very beginning when the chapter received a certificate of recognition from Mayor Ashley Swearingin in commemoration of CalCPA’s 100-year anniversary. We were fortunate to have a very entertaining and energetic speaker who provided the group with some valuable advice. Later in the evening, we celebrated with beautifully decorated cakes complete with the CalCPA logo.
Golf Tournament and MoreNovember 12th, 2009
Our annual golf tournament was held Oct. 26 at Fort Washington. The tournament was a lot of fun, but most importantly, we raised more than $8,000 for our scholarship fund and exceeded our expectations. I would like to thank all of the players, sponsors, donors and, of course, Fort Washington for helping make this event a success. A very special thank you goes out to our committee members who spent several months planning the event: Bob Price, Edgar Blunt, Jim Gaddis, Brittany Giersch and Dave Denham. In addition, Denham Resources provided volunteers who helped the entire day. We could not have done this without your help.
Gearing Up for EventsSeptember 11th, 2009
Student Night: This will be held at TorNino’s Thursday, Sept. 17, beginning at 5:30 p.m. This is an exciting night where we award our scholarship winners. In the past, this has been one of our best-attended events, and is important to all of the students who plan to pursue accounting as their career. Golf Tournament: Our annual Golf Tournament will be held Monday, Oct. 26, at Fort Washington Country Club beginning with shotgun start at 11 a.m. This event has historically attracted more than 100 golfers and raised a substantial amount of money for our scholarship fund. Take advantage of this opportunity to play golf with other CPAs and business professionals—and be sure to invite your clients! Lunch and dinner is provided, and there is even a rumor of a special hole-in-one prize! Registration forms and sponsorship information is available online. Member Awards Night: This event will prove to be our premier event of the year as we recognize members in various capacities, such as new members, 40-year members (yes, there are some of those), along with our board of directors and committee members who volunteer numerous during the year to put on all of these great events. In addition, we will be celebrating 100 years of CalCPA and will announce the first winner of the Distinguished Member Award. If you are interested in nominating a fellow member, please complete the form available online. Also, the Young Emerging Professionals Awards will also be presented that night, so complete your nomination forms as soon as possible. There are numerous upcoming opportunities for local CPE, as well, through our various committees. The Litigation Committee will present our next committee meeting Thursday, Oct. 1. The topic is “How Not to Get Sued.” The Committee was very lucky to have secured the speaker for this topic-you won’t want to miss it. Register online. Please pay attention to your e-mails that announce these events. And as always, you can access our chapter events online. I hope to see all of you at one or more of these events in the next few months.
MembershipAugust 12th, 2009
In addition to CalCPA providing us with a voice in Sacramento and continually enhancing our public image, member benefits include, among others:
As you can see, CalCPA offers something for everyone. And, if you are a long-standing member, take a moment to review the above list to make sure you are getting the most from your membership.
Professional Update and Upcoming EventsJuly 6th, 2009
At our Council meeting, we were updated on several bills in the legislative pipeline that affect CPAs, including the 150-hour rule, mandatory peer review and designation of inactive status. You can find status updates and more information on these bills online. I also recently attended the CPA Affinity Group with several Fresno CPAs and officials. This group was spearheaded by the mayor’s office and its goal is to create two-way communication with the local CPA community to hear our concerns, issues, comments, suggestions, etc. The focus of this particular meeting was the various tax credits available to business owners in the city of Fresno for incentive zones. The next meeting will be scheduled in the fall and I encourage as many of you to attend as possible. Given the economy, I know everyone is on a tight budget, so your chapter has ways to help by offering local, low-cost continuing education. Here are some upcoming CPE events: July 28: Tax Committee Other upcoming events that support our community and the scholarship fund include: Please help support our chapter by attending as many of these events as possible. Our success depends on each and every one of you. If you are unable to attend an event, consider making a donation to our scholarship fund.
From the Legislative FrontMay 7th, 2009
Voting in favor of the bill were committee members Aanestad, Correa, Florez, Oropeza, Walters, Wyland and Yee. Three members—Corbett, McLeod and Romero—did not vote. In addition to a number of CalCPA members, approximately 20 students and candidates attended the hearing to express their support of the bill. SB 691 will next go to the Senate Appropriations Committee. A date for this next hearing is not yet known. If the bill clears that committee, it would then go to the floor of the Senate. You can find more information SB 691 on the CalCPA website. If you would like to send a letter in support of this legislation, please contact Kay Coffin for a sample letter, as well as the address to which the letter should be directed. In other news, be sure to register for CalCPA’s 100th anniversary gala celebration. The event will take place Friday, June 19, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. In addition to dinner and dancing, the evening will include a reception and silent. This is my final President’s Message. Next month, our new officers will take the reins of the chapter. I wish our incoming officers great success! Sheryl Yardumian, Elaine Reule, Jodie Rolih and Laura Cullen will do a tremendous job for the Fresno Chapter. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who served as chapter officers and board members this past year: Sheryl Yardumian, Elaine Reule, Jodie Rolih, Laura Cullen, Tim Baker, Kristi Miller, Norman Wong, Paul Chen, Ron Hickok and Adrienne Cantrell. And a special thanks to Kay Coffin for keeping chapter operations running so smoothly! It has been my utmost pleasure to work with this group of wonderful professionals. I also want to thank all the chapter members for their input and participation in the various meetings and events this past year. Your support and involvement in the chapter is incredibly generous. Thank you all!
Support SB 691April 8th, 2009
Here’s a look at some recent developments: Senate Bill 691 is a CalCPA-sponsored measure introduced Feb. 27 by Sen. Leland Yee (co-authored by Assembly members Fiona Ma, CPA and Roger Niello, CPA). SB 691 would revise existing law regarding licensure. Currently, the law requires an applicant for licensure to comply with education, examination and experience requirements under one of two pathways that set forth different standards. Pathway 1 requires completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a college or university with completion of at least 24 semester units in accounting and 24 semester units in business related subjects, CPA Exam passage and two years of qualifying experience. Pathway 2 educational and examination requirements are the same as Pathway 1, but also requires proof of completion of a minimum of 150 semester units prior to licensure and instead accepts one year of qualifying experience. Pathway 1 would be sunsetted Jan. 1, 2014 under SB 691, and all applicants would be required to comply with Pathway 2. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee April 27. For additional information on CalCPA’s support of SB 691, please refer to our online resources. Eliminating pathway 1 would bring California’s licensing standards up to those of 46 other states and remove barriers to interstate commerce for California CPAs and their clients. Existing CPAs that did not get a license with 150 hours of education would be grandfathered in. In recognition of its 100th anniversary, CalCPA will be hosting a gala celebration Friday, June 19, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The evening will feature a reception and silent auction, and will continue with dinner and dancing. Registrations for the anniversary celebration can be made online. Also—don’t forget to renew your membership! CalCPA offers a number of benefits to its members. Additionally, the Fresno Chapter has outstanding educational and social activities available each year. Please remember to renew your membership! Until next month, have a wonderful spring!
Bank on California Initiative Comes to FresnoMarch 13th, 2009
By Denise M. Patterson, CPA (FL)
Fresno is one of five cities selected for Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Bank on California Initiative, which attempts to ensure that residents have access to mainstream financial institutions. Bank on Fresno is a joint effort of the Office of the Governor, Office of the Mayor, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, local financial institutions and nonprofit organizations. The United Way of Fresno County is serving as the local organizing agent. A goal has been established to start 10,000 unbanked Fresno residents on the path to financial mobility by helping them to open a low-cost, starter bank account and to access the education necessary to manage it successfully. An unbanked person is someone without an account at a traditional financial institution. Many of these individuals carry their money on their person or store it at home, which can make them susceptible to crime; these individuals are especially vulnerable in the event of a disaster. Recent market research shows that Fresno has the highest percentage of unbanked residents in the country at 11 percent—twice the national average. The consequences of being an unbanked individual can severely impact a person’s lifetime income, which in turn can impact the local economy and community. According to a research brief from the Brookings Institution, “a full-time worker who utilizes a lower-cost checking account instead of check-cashing services could potentially save $40,000 over their career. Depending on the types of checking accounts, residence, money-management skills and account stability, this same unbanked worker … could generate as much as $360,000 in wealth over a 40-year career. This would be enough to pay about 25 years of retirement, not accounting for the value of Social Security benefits.” (Fellows & Mabanta, “Banking on Wealth: Americas’s New Retail Banking Infrastructure and Its Wealth-Building Potential,” Brookings Institution Research Brief, 1/08).
During the January meeting, the local coalition identified potential opportunities to help unbanked individuals within the Fresno community. These include:
You can find more information on the Bank on Fresno program online.
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I realize that many of us are busy with tax season, and while our board of directors doesn’t meet for a few months, our chapter has still been busy.
