San Francisco Chapter
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Archive for the ‘President’s Message’ Category
August 27th, 2010
By Karen Pfau-Martinez, CPA
Summer has arrived in San Francisco. After one of the coolest August I can remember, the last few days have seen sunshine and record heat. I sometimes wish we could just have 75 degrees and sunshine every day. And if it must rain, it would only be at night. OK, so I would like Camelot.
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July 28th, 2010
By Karen Pfau-Martinez, CPA
We are well into our summer months now. I traveled back to Indianapolis recently and experienced very warm weather and great summer nights. I have been in San Francisco for 30 years, but I still miss my warm summer nights.
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June 29th, 2010
By Karen Pfau-Martinez, CPA
I am happy to report we had a very successful chapter planning conference. I was so pleased to see many committee chairs participating in our discussions. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to make the chapter viable and providing relevant topics for our members. We have some good programs coming up this month; make sure you check them out under “Chapter Events” on the right. We expect great things from our energetic group.
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May 25th, 2010
By Karen Pfau-Martinez, CPA
In keeping with my theme from last month, here are a few ways that our chapter is trying to entice you to participate in the next few weeks.
Our chapter Installation Luncheon June 17 is an excellent way to get acquainted with other chapter members. This event is being held at One Market Plaza with an excellent menu. Our keynote speaker is Lisa Pantages, vice president of finance for the San Francisco Giants. She is going to tell us that the Giants are going all the way this year! Or maybe not. We also honor long-term members at this event. It is truly one of my favorite events of the year. Why would you not want to come?
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April 15th, 2010
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
So it comes to pass: my last chapter president’s message. It has been quite a ride; a journey that will stay with me in my fondest memories.
Along the way, we had several accomplishments, mainly brought about by selfless individuals who continue to serve our chapter. We now have a Tax Committee under the able leadership of Laura Ross, chapter vice president. We also plan to renew our Real Estate Committee within the next few months. The MAP Committee had several meetings during the year to help the practitioner community in San Francisco address succession planning, an issue that I expect to play a major part in shaping the next decade or so. For me, the highlight was CalCPA’s 100-year anniversary with San Francisco playing host to the pomp, pageantry and revelry.
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January 29th, 2010
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
A new year has dawned, and I sincerely wish our members, board of directors and all at CalCPA a very happy new year. I am sure that the next 12 months will bring a new set of issues, challenges and changes. As the saying goes, “The only constant is change.”
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January 4th, 2010
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
I am dedicating this month’s message to some of the activities that your chapter board is diligently working on.
After much discussion and following the lead of several other chapters, the board has decided to recognize our first chapter Distinguished Service Award. Just as we recently honored our first Young & Emerging Professional of the Year, we will now recognize a more senior member for his or her long and distinguished service to the chapter or for some extraordinary contribution to the profession. I hope this will underline the board’s recognition of our members’ accomplishments and encourage others to pursue similar achievements. The nomination deadline is May 31, and the award will be presented at our chapter lunch in June. Please consider nominating a fellow chapter member now—before our attention turns to tax season! You can download a nomination form online.
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November 24th, 2009
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
I am taking this opportunity to give thanks. CalCPA is an organization that serves more than 32,000 members who are organized into chapters that sponsor numerous committees and events. Such a mammoth organization, which now spans generations, can only survive the test of time if it has dedicated and selfless individuals who have a relentless passion for their profession and are generous with their time. Here in San Francisco we have the second-largest chapter of more than 3,300 members, who are served by the board of directors, committee chairs and CalCPA program staff. We host several activities every month to enhance member value. These events produce results, mainly due to the efforts of this core group of professionals.
We recently held our annual new member orientation. I participated at one of these meetings several, several years ago when I was a junior accountant. A few decades later, having had the privilege of standing at the lectern as chapter president, I can’t help but think how CalCPA has impacted and enriched my professional experience. I suggest to all my fellow members and peers to continue to encourage your staff to engage in our organization, especially the younger accountants who will be our future standard bearers.
Our profession will continue to evolve and change, but it will still depend on the commitment of its members. Please continue your support.
Wishing you all the very best of the season.
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November 2nd, 2009
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
One of my goals as president has been to enhance our standing and visibility among the various financial service organizations. An opportunity arose last week for me to represent the chapter at the inaugural meeting with board members of such organizations. The Coalition of Financial Services Group holds regular meetings and aims to make members aware of each other’s educational and social networking events. This effort is spearheaded by the San Francisco FPA group and has been in the offing for quite some time. The idea is to bring the various organizations together and, in time, share event information. I am hoping that this brings value to our members in forming their own networks and affiliations, and in turn leads to co-sponsorship of events and meetings.
In other news, our Oct. 22 annual ABC mixer was well-attended. The new venue at the City Club added greatly to the ambience. On behalf of the chapter, I thank all of our sponsors in making this event such a success. Attorneys, bankers and CPAs have a natural affinity, and these types of events continue to bring together the local financial community on a regular basis.
On the legislation front, the governor passed into law the licensing requirement for 150 hours of college education. This brings to an end the bad boy image of California not being a substantially equivalent state. Additionally, beginning in 2010, peer reviews will be mandated for California CPA firms, and details will be announced soon. On both fronts, we have progressed significantly in shifting legislation to stay in line with the needs of the profession, although I am sure that in both instances there is contrary thinking of sorts.
Globalization took a front seat at the recent AICPA Council’s meeting. AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon commented, “The globalization of the world’s economies will mean that the ability of CPAs to operate across borders will no longer refer to just state borders, but to international borders as well.” Also mentioned was the fact that the AICPA is working with NASBA to offer U.S. CPA exams internationally. Melancon added, “We are supporters of what we would call ‘IFRS pure,’ one set of standards applicable everywhere, not country-specific modifications to it.” This seems to be a tall order in my opinion, but it does reflect the prevalent thinking as to the direction of our profession.
Lastly, I draw your attention to our chapter meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 18, which is our new-member event. This meeting is perhaps one of our most important programs of the year and brings to the forefront the value that our chapter provides to our members. I have always found this meeting to be extremely informative, and I hope that you will encourage new CalCPA members on your staff to attend.
Have a splendid Thanksgiving with family and friends.
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October 1st, 2009
By Jamshed Behram Gandi, CPA
According to a new AICPA report, 2009 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits, our profession seems to have turned another corner. More than 60,000 students obtained a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in accounting, resulting in an increase of about 3.5 percent from June 2007. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of a trend that continues to allay some of the shortfalls of the past, the effects of which the profession is still feeling. At the same time, however, due to the vagaries of the economy, hiring seems to have slowed down considerably.
Not surprising also was the observation that 80 percent of the programs now offer courses in IFRS in anticipation of the globalization that I have discussed before.
And CPA Letter recently conducted a poll asking what aspects of an accounting career were most interesting to students. Topping the list of responses were job stability, career options and salaries. I think that these positive attributes are a welcome change from the past where they did not seem to influence entrants into the profession. Both the pulse and the heartbeat of the profession are very strong.
Closer to home, we had a sold-out golf event Sept. 22. It seems Harding Park is a favorite venue with the players, as this is our fourth year at this location (see photos below). This annual event is a major fund-raiser for our scholarship fund, and I request continued participation in the years to come.
Coming up Thursday, Oct. 22 will be our annual ABC Night. Given that we will be past the throes of the second filing season of the year, it would be encouraging to have a healthy turnout in getting these esteemed professionals together for a networking mixer, so please invite your attorney and banker colleagues.
We now have a plan for our resurgent tax committee under the leadership of board member Laura Ross who plans to hold the first meeting in early November. I sincerely request that firms consider lending support to this by having some of their staff attend this first meeting, as it will lay the foundation for the future of what I consider a very integral part of any chapter’s committee slate, the tax committee.
With the help of the MAP committee, I plan to put together a follow-up meeting to address some of the practical implications to succession planning. Our first meeting in May was well-attended, and this time around we hope to discuss some of the financial issues involved with internal buyouts and external mergers. As older CPAs reach retirement age, it can only help to tap into the successful experiences of others about how to pass the torch.
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