Date: Monday, Nov. 17
RSVP: Online

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 12
RSVP: Online

National experts can help you make sure your succession plan is on track and that you maximize the value you have created in your firm.

Register today for the Education Foundation’s 2008 Succession Planning Conference:
Nov. 11: San Francisco

• 2009 U.S. Master Tax Guide (Expected ship date, late December): $49.95/members; $69.95/nonmembers.
• Guidebook to California Taxes 2009 (Expected ship date, late January): $44.95/members; $64.95/nonmembers.

Order today.

You can find more information by downloading our chapter’s bylaws.

Malekhedayat, who joined the firm in 1996, has more than 16 years’ experience and is chair of the chapter’s Estate & Trusts Committee, a member CalCPA’s Estate Planning Committee and a member of the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council Board of Directors.

Tombor joined the firm in 2007 and has more than 10 years’ experience.

By the time you read this newsletter, the elections will be over and, I hope, the results will be final with no hanging chads or ballot boxes floating in the Bay.

I don’t know about you, but I am glad this process is finally done. We now have our new leaders and regardless of whether or not we voted for them, they are our representatives and they work for us. It is our responsibility to make sure that they are informed and know how we feel about the issues that affect our country, state, community and profession. I hope you didn’t think that all you had to do was vote, and that once elected, our politicians would automatically make everything better. I believe our elected representatives have good hearts and want what is best for their constituents. But like any of us, they can become misinformed and make bad decisions based on bad information.

What can we do?
Being a CalCPA member and supporting CPA-PAC is a great start. CPA-PAC is CalCPA’s independent, voluntary, nonprofit political action arm that supports candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, based on their ability to make a difference for California CPAs and businesses.

I suggest that you communicate with your representatives and keep them informed about the issues that affect you and the profession. As CPAs, we need to make sure our representatives support initiatives that will enhance our ability to serve our clients or employers. This communication can be done in many ways, but the most effective way is to meet your representative face to face. Take advantage of a tremendous opportunity to do so Jan. 21, by joining other CalCPA members for CalCPA Day at the Capitol when you can meet with local representatives to discuss current issues.

You also can get involved with our Financial Literacy program. CalCPA’s Dollars & Sense workshops provide the opportunity to partner with local legislators and community leaders to improve financial literacy by educating the public on how to better manage money, improve savings and investment strategies, and save on taxes. Recent economic events should have driven home the importance of proper money management, and, as CPAs, we are best fit to provide that education.

Lastly, encourage your colleagues and staff to take these actions as well. It is much easier to effect change when we work together.

— David F. Veyna, CPA

Oct. 30: Making Informed Capital Investment Decisions:
Topics include how to select income statement and balance sheet items that are important for valuation; basic theory of project evaluation; using discounted cash flow and no-arbitrage methods of pricing and how to choose between them; making appropriate adjustments for risk; and incorporating tax effects into a valuation. Register online.

Nov. 14: Acting Ethically and Detecting and Preventing Accounting Fraud:
Topics, among others, include, common types of misstatement/fraud; assessing the impact of accounting misstatements; evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls; and developing ethical rules and guidelines for a company, division or operating unit that apply to accounting and finance situations. Register online.

The CalCPA Nominations Committee is accepting nominations until Dec. 1 for 2009–10 CalCPA officers and council members at large.

Learn more and download an application.

Plus, a lunchtime celebration will feature winners of CalCPA’s first Women to Watch Awards presented in cooperation with the AICPA. Learn more or download a nominations form.

Then join other women as they finish the successful day of networking at the Women’s Leadership Forum with a networking dinner.