Archive for the ‘Presidents Message’ CategoryPlenty of Ways to Give BackFebruary 25th, 2010
You probably are familiar with the volunteer tax assistance programs we provide for low-income individuals. This is a valuable service to many families and individuals who need help maximizing tax-savings opportunities and credits they don’t fully understand and may not even be aware of. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Lanyce Mills at lmills@williamsribb.com.
CalCPA at Your ServiceJanuary 29th, 2010
By Jenny Bolsky
Attend CPA Day at the Capitol Jan. 20January 1st, 2010
By Jenny Bolsky
Supporting Our Young and Emerging ProfessionalsDecember 1st, 2009
Much To Do in NovemberOctober 23rd, 2009
November is a busy month for your chapter as we have some of our biggest and most successful events upcoming. Whatever your most important reasons are for being a CalCPA member, at least one of your needs will probably be addressed by these events.
Honoring CPAs Who Serve OthersOctober 1st, 2009
By Jenny Bolsky
You may be aware of CalCPA’s annual Public Service Award. You probably know that former chapter president Gary Condie of Condie & Wood, CPAs PC made us very proud when he received the 2009 award. While the tradition continues at the state level, the chapter has many members who share their talents regularly by volunteering at local charities, churches, schools and other nonprofit organizations. Your chapter leadership would like to begin a new tradition by honoring a member from the chapter for his or her public service. Therefore, we are proud to announce the Los Angeles Chapter Public Service Award, for which we are accepting nominations. I urge you to consider and nominate associates, peers or colleagues who might be deserving of this recognition. Each individual nominated must be a chapter member in good standing and meet at least one of the following qualifications:
No doubt you or someone you know meets one or more of these criteria, and you are strongly encouraged to nominate one or multiple chapter members. A committee of chapter leaders will select the 2010 recipient based on nomination forms received, and the award will be presented at our annual installation dinner in the spring. In addition, the recipient automatically becomes eligible for consideration in the selection of the CalCPA Public Service Award. A nomination form is available online. Nominations are due by Dec. 31.
Leadership Institute Benefits YouAugust 31st, 2009
Strong leaders in strategic positions are critical to CalCPA’s continued success, and this program is designed to teach members the specific skills necessary to grow into future leaders of both CalCPA and the profession. While the program aims to develop volunteer leaders for CalCPA, participants will find that the program’s benefits extend into their professional and personal lives. Every year a select group of approximately 20 individuals is accepted to the five-day highly interactive program. I had the privilege of participating in the 2008-09 class and found it extremely rewarding. We worked with an outstanding instructor to identify our individual strengths and weaknesses, and learn strategies for building our professional relationships, management skills and productivity. It is a top-notch training program and I have been enriched by the relationships we built in the collegial environment. Plus, I had a lot of fun! The Leadership Institute takes place over five days from October through January in three segments, alternating between Northern and Southern California locations. The first two days cover “situational leadership,” a process by which participants identify the fundamentals of leadership and assess their leadership styles. Participants learn how to determine the appropriate style for various situations and types of individuals, as well as the consequences of inappropriate leadership behaviors. This segment is designed to enable attendees to translate the behavioral sciences, principles and concepts into effective action. Day three is about leadership within an organization, such as CalCPA or a CPA firm. This segment covers strategic planning and goal setting, structuring your organization for success, trends in our profession and benchmarks. Managing people is covered on day four and includes communication skills, emotional intelligence and organizational leadership (building teams and relationships). Participants also will learn best practices for managing, motivating and developing people and creating a desirable workplace environment. The final day addresses firm management fundamentals, such as how to develop the necessary standard operating procedures to strengthen the foundation of your organization, implement accountability and create a personal marketing plan. CalCPA and the California CPA Education Foundation underwrite the significant cost of this excellent program. Attendees must only pay a small administrative fee and travel expenses. Acceptance to the Leadership Institute involves a nomination process designed to identify members with the greatest potential for fulfilling future leadership positions at CalCPA. A committee of top officers and leaders select participnts based on nomination forms received; self-nomination is encouraged. To be considered for this year’s Institute, you must submit your completed nomination form by Thursday, Sept, 10. I encourage you to learn more about the Leadership Institute and download an application online.
Chapter LeadershipJuly 31st, 2009
It is generally thought that organizations of all kinds are enriched by board diversity, and wider diversity has been advocated as a means of improving organizational performance by providing boards with new insights and perspectives. We are fortunate that our chapter board is diverse, representing the full spectrum of CalCPA membership. Our board benefits from gender, age and ethnic diversity, and members exemplify the broad range of career choices our profession offers. Our officers and directors include members from the academic world, consulting, government, private industry and public practice, ranging from sole practitioners to the Big Four. We are lucky enough to have several young and emerging professionals who bring lots of fresh ideas to the table, and a number of long-time leaders whose experience is invaluable to good discussion and decision making. The abundance of viewpoints and new ideas contributes significantly to the governance process, and as a result we have an energetic and productive board. Chapter leaders are involved in CalCPA for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a desire to serve our profession and the organization that contributes to our success. We choose to participate in the process of governance, and we have been chosen to represent the membership. To serve you better we want to know our members’ views. I hope you will take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with your chapter board and committee chairs and council members. Better yet, I invite you to meet your leaders in person at one of our four member networking mixers scheduled for this summer and fall. We would like to hear from you one way or another, so I encourage you to share your views and expectations with your leadership. I hope you will come to one or more networking events to meet your leaders in person or e-mail us directly from the links at CalCPA’s website.
Working on Your BehalfJune 30th, 2009
By Jenny Bolsky
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.
Recognizing CommitmentMay 22nd, 2009
The dinner, attended by CalCPA CEO Loretta Doon and CalCPA Chair Greg Burke, among others, demonstrated our appreciation for the dedicated volunteers who lead these groups. Our chapter’s nearly 30 technical committees and discussion groups address a broad spectrum of topics that CPAs want and need to expand their knowledge, increase their technical expertise and connect with fellow professionals. Chairing a technical committee or discussion group requires time, energy and commitment. What this effort gives back is an opportunity to build relationships with top professionals in accounting, auditing, tax and related fields. Some of our leaders have been performing this labor of love for close to 25 years. They have some interesting stories to tell about their experiences as group leaders, from receiving guidance in starting an accounting practice to helping connect a fellow professional to someone who could assist with a difficult career move. Those stories illustrate some of the advantages of participating in the numerous events that CalCPA offers. The chapter’s technical committees and discussion groups provide one of the most accessible benefits of CalCPA membership. Subject matter ranges from specific technical topics in audit and tax, to technology, management of an accounting practice and young and emerging professionals. Our groups and committees offer top-quality CPE at a very reasonable cost, as well as provide access to the best professionals from a variety of institutions and agencies. Our chapter is always working to identify new technical topics delivered in a variety of geographic areas to benefit our members. Chapter board members Mark Pribble and Beth Bayer recently teamed to launch the Torrance Discussion Group, which serves members who live and work in the South Bay. In the San Fernando Valley, we have joined forces with the SFV Bar Association to create a new CPA/Attorney Discussion Group. When you think of what CalCPA can do for you, please consider the myriad discussion group and technical committee meetings that take place each month. In these difficult economic times, the reasonable member cost of CPE at a chapter discussion group or technical meeting can’t be beat. (A while back I met a CPA who gets all of his annual continuing education by attending these groups!) We host meetings all over the greater Los Angeles area, covering a broad range of topics important to the practicing CPA. Whether you require a few hours of CPE to renew your license, education on a technical topic or an opportunity to exchange ideas with your peers, technical and discussion group gatherings can meet your needs. I encourage you to go online and review upcoming technical committee and discussion group meetings.
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I want to remind you of some of the ways CalCPA serves our community. Needless to say, it is our member volunteers—who selflessly give their time and energy—that make these programs work.
