Busy Season

By Mark Erickson, CPA

February through April, right? For some, yes, but let’s talk about December. December, for many of us, is supposed to be down time. Yeah, right! Unfortunately, it is anything but that. The shopping, the parties and the holiday activities fill our calendars. We get to New Year’s Day and we’re exhausted! My advice—slow down! Be intentional about investing time in your family and friends and cut out some of the activities that don’t accomplish this. This is what creates coveted memories, not the other stuff. May your celebration be one that bonds hearts and builds relationships.

October was a busy month for the chapter. The month started with a tremendously successful Young and Emerging Professionals Seminar, which I wrote to you about in the November president’s message. At the end of the month we hosted our first State of the Profession meeting. As I mentioned, we were privileged to have two men who are consistently in the trenches in Sacramento: Don Driftmier, president of the California Board of Accountancy, and Bruce Allen, CalCPA’s director of government relations. The discussion was fascinating and informative. The podcast is available for CalCPA members on the Inland Empire website. Lastly, Johanna Sweaney Salt continued her MAP interest group with a book study of “Managing the Professional Service Firm” by David H. Maister. There has been very positive feedback from this group.

This past week I participated in the CalCPA Finance Committee and Council meetings. The council meeting placed a great deal of emphasis on upcoming legislative issues on the calendar in 2009. Legislation on mobility and the 150-hour requirement, to name a couple, will most likely be introduced and voted on by our representatives in Sacramento. These key pieces of legislation are critical for California CPAs to remain competitive with our counterparts in other states. There is a tremendous amount at stake and if you are unfamiliar with the issues, I urge you to review this article online and educate yourself on these very important issues, and review other mobility material on the CalCPA website.

Our annual tax meeting is scheduled for Dec. 9, 12:30–4:30 p.m., and will be held at the Mission Inn in Riverside. Click here for details. Remember, too, that we will host a 4 X 2-hour event in January that will include such content as IFRS and XBRL. You will be able to attend all four classes for only $195. This is a great value that you shouldn’t miss.

Remember to slow down and celebrate the reason for the season with those you hold dear. Your memories are depending on it.

Respectfully,
— Mark Erickson, CPA

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 11:26 am and is filed under President's Message. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.