Presidents Message
June 30, 2009
By Jenny Bolsky
 2009 marks an important milestone for CalCPA—its 100th anniversary. In 1909, shortly after inception of the accounting license, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants was launched with just 36 individuals. This year we celebrate our centennial with more than 35,000 members. We are the largest CPA association in California and the largest state CPA society. CalCPA has worked since the beginning to promote and protect the value of the CPA designation on behalf of its members.
Our organization has accomplished a great deal over the past century, and looking forward to the next 100 years, it is clear that great opportunities and challenges await. CalCPA, by way of the governing council, board of directors and staff, has worked hard to develop a strategic plan to support CalCPA’s vision, mission and long-term success. I would like to share with you our strategic priorities:
Advocate for members on issues that affect the profession: Our aim includes shaping legislative and regulatory policy to achieve professional objectives in California (such as reciprocity with other states) and increasing visibility with state and local government officials. We wish to establish CalCPA and its members as leaders who are sought to educate legislators and the public about issues best served by CPA expertise. CalCPA supports a strong licensing and enforcement program in California and provides a means to bridge gaps in California Board of Accountancy resources. It also supports member participation on the board and committees. Our desire is to enhance grass-roots programs and joint ventures with other state societies and national and international organizations with common interests to strengthen the profession.
Enhance and promote the visibility of the profession and CalCPA: We seek to develop and implement strategies to raise awareness of the full spectrum of CPA services, including specializations, as well as enhance CalCPA’s brand with key audiences through targeted campaigns. Such campaigns shall focus on media outreach and membership recruitment and retention. We want to position CalCPA and its members as leaders and build an understanding that CalCPA helps CPAs perform their jobs better and encourage employers to support participation in CalCPA. We are working to enhance CalCPA visibility with students and educators at colleges and universities, build more strategic alliances and create opportunities and tools to increase peer-to-peer promotion of CalCPA.
Attract, educate and support CPAs in their professional and personal development: We intend to be there for CPAs throughout the professional life cycle and to position CalCPA as the place for professional support—technical advice, networking, career building. We wish to build connectivity among members to enable them to leverage their peer networks and expand leadership opportunities and training. We need to support bottom-up mentoring that encourages relationship building across generations and disciplines. Further, we wish to broadly address accounting education needs and issues, expand CalCPA’s focus beyond student scholarships and increase visibility of small CPA firms in campus recruiting.
I hope you will take advantage of the myriad benefits CalCPA offers, and participate in the processes that continue to build and strengthen our organization.
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Chapter News
Don’t miss this opportunity Thursday, July 30, to network and introduce yourself to the 2009–10 chapter leadership. Make sure you bring plenty of business cards. Register online.
President: Jenny Bolsky
First Vice President: Gayle M. Whittemore
Vice President: Loni Ang
Vice President: Mark A. Pribble
Secretary: Kristen N. Contreras
Treasurer: Cory J. Stigile
Directors:
Beth Bayer
Jeff Chen
Barbara M. Feliciano
Carrie T. Hidding
J. Gregory Kunkel
Gogi K. Overhoff
Robert Park
Jennifer E. Ziegler
Rishma Vedd
Peter L. Magidoff
Tayiika M. Dennis
Jillian N. Phan
Ellyn S. Carlson
Martin D. Seiden
Suzanne Beaudelaire
Robert S. Seltzer
James F. Walters
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Did you know we have online calendars where you can find the event your looking for?
You can find any event by chronological date here (select Los Angeles from the pull-down menu), or search our technical committee and discussion group calendars.
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$7,000 Multi-Endowment Recipient: Matthew Farghum, Loyola Marymount University
$2,000 Charles Gumbiner Lou Savett Memorial Scholarship Fund Recipient: Allison Felten, Loyola Marymount University
$1,000 Scholarship Recipients:
Kristenne B. Alvero, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Kimberly A. Carlson, Loyola Marymount University
Lok Yu (Gigi) Chan, University of Southern California
Anna Harutyunayan, University of Southern California
Steve Heinemann, Loyola Marymount University
Schatzi Herda, California State University, Northridge
Jack Karagulleyan, California State University, Northridge
Jamie Kwak, University of Southern California
Brandon Stewart Lang, University of Southern California
Walid Khaddaj Mallat, University of Southern California
Daniel Martinez, University of Southern California
Paul Rava, Loyola Marymount University
Lauren Shimabukuro, Loyola Marymount University
Diana Hua Tang, California State University, Los Angeles
Paige Weiss, University of Southern California
Kelly M. Williams, University of Southern California
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View photos of the event.
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We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous contribution in helping make our tournament a success: KBKG, Institute for Preparing Heirs and Stowe Management.
View photos of event.
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By Steven Valdes, CPA, Young and Emerging Committee Member
The chapter recently teamed up for a day with the Puente Project to highlight careers in accounting and the pursuit of higher education.
The award-winning Puente Project has helped thousands of students attend four-year colleges and universities. As part of the Los Angeles Chapter I was asked to participate in a prestigious career panel, speak to students, represent all the CPAs in my chapter and highlight what it means to be a CPA for a Day.
Accounting is definitely the language of business. Wherever you end up in life these skills will always come handy. There is a definite demand and need for skilled accountants. These were just some the messages I wanted the kids to take home. It was important to talk about accounting and what it means to be a CPA, as well as pursuing your own goals and your own dreams in life and continue to strive for achievement.
It was a great feeling to speak and a rewarding experience. I had such a great time that I would encourage every CPA, manager and partner to go back to their high school and college and give a speech about your career. It is important that young kids see you as the successful person you are. It is important to go back to where it began for you and let teachers and professors know how you are doing. It is a great feeling for educators who work hard to see you thriving in business and life. It is a very powerful message that college students see your name on that business card and what you have accomplished. They want to hear your ideas, experiences and learn from you.
For those of you professionals looking for a way to give back to the community, CalCPA has a variety of financial literacy and community outreach opportunities. I would encourage every professional to be a CPA for a Day.
You can reach Steven Valdes at valdescpa@aol.com.
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Showcase your business while you build relationships and create lasting impressions with CPAs at numerous and varied events. Sponsorships offer you face-to-face contact with your target market and expose your business to more then 9,000 CPAs and financial professionals in the Los Angeles area. We will work with you to maximize your marketing dollars and reach your target audience by helping you select programs that meet your specific needs.
For more information, contact chapter program associate Sandy Benitez.
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Paul Shaw (October 1917–May 2009), a life member since 1964.
Arthur Becker (April 1930–May 2009), an executive member since 1970.
Hisao Nishida (February 1945–May 2009), a member since 1979.
Arthur L. Wiechelman (May 1930–May 2009), a member since 1962.
Joseph G. Tejada (September 1916–March 2009), a life member since 1948
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CalCPA News
Please take three minutes to update your personal profile on our website and indicate your preferred fields of interest. This will allow us to target your meeting announcements so you receive only those of most interest to you. (No more tax updates for auditors—unless you request it).
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Looking for information on what CalCPA events you’ve registered for or a listing of all CPE taken from CalCPA or the Education Foundation? Look no further than the Manage My Account function of CalCPA’s website.
Once you log in to the website with your username and password, the Manage My Account function lets you update your personal and professional profile and provides access to Education Foundation products and course discounts.
Forget your username and password? No worries. Simply visit the Login Recovery webpage, enter your e-mail address and your username and password will be e-mailed to you.
Access Manage My Account today.
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You can post your résumé—for FREE—on CalCPA’s online classified page. Get in front of local employers looking to hire CPA professionals—post your résumé today.
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