June 2008 | Channel Counties Chapter Bulletin

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CHAPTER EVENTS

Chapter Retreat/Installation of Officers, Directors

Date: June 6–8
Location: Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe; 111 Country Club Drive; Incline Village
RSVP: Rita Williams or by phone (801) 571-1558

Financial Statement Disclosure for the Tax Practitioner

Date: Monday, Aug. 18
Speaker: Al Partington
Location: TBD
CPE: 8 hours
RSVP: online
Hosted by the Education Foundation, $50 of each VP registration will go to our chapter scholarship fund.

 

DISCUSSION GROUP MEETINGS

AP&AS (Santa Barbara)

Date: Thursday, June 19
Info: Interest Group Chair Tim O’Keeffe

AP&AS (Ventura)

Date: Wednesday, June 25
Location: Soares, Sandall, Bernacchi & Petrovich
Info: Raj Acharya or (805) 485-7965

Conejo Valley Discussion Group (Thousand Oaks)

Info: Interest Group Chair John Jackson

Santa Barbara CPA Discussion Group

Topic: California Sales and Use Tax Update.
Speaker: Laraine Sliwoski, auditor, Board of Equalization
Date: Tuesday, June 24
Info: Interest Group Chair Mike Ray at mray@bpw.com or chapter program associate Rita Williams.

Ventura CPA Discussion Group

Date: Thursday, June 26
Info: Interest Group Chair Garry Jones at (805) 778-1858 or chapter program associate Rita Williams.

 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Big Goals

By Thomas Letus, CPA

When I think of goals in the month of May, my mind wanders to the hockey playoffs and the battle for the Stanley Cup. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of a playoff hockey game when the home team scores the winning goal in overtime. Even better is the overtime goal that wins the play-off series. I was at Staples Center with my youngest daughter and my friend Dave and his daughter when Adam Deadmarsh of the Los Angeles Kings scored the series clincher against the Detroit Red Wings in 2001. That was a goal I won’t forget.
   As your incoming president, I have a couple of my own goals for the chapter this year.
   I feel like my first goal has already been scored with the assists going to our last two chapter presidents, Juan Soto and Cindy Young. They got the ball (or puck) rolling last year as we held our first Young and Emerging Professionals meeting in Thousand Oaks. This year we’ve scored again by installing our first YEP committee chair, Tania Dadayan, of Soares, Sandall, Bernacchi & Petrovich. Tania attended the YEP Conference with many other young professionals May 9 in Los Angeles. I look forward to attending other local YEP events the committee will be planning and meeting some of our future chapter leaders. Please contact Rita, Tania or me if you want to get involved with this new and exciting group.
   Last September, CalCPA surveyed state council members and among the questions asked was: “What are three areas/programs that could improve the value of CalCPA?” The leading answer was to continue marketing to the YEP group. The next two top answers were to increase business and industry membership and to improve the inclusion of and service to members in industry. This leads to my next goal for the year, which is to increase participation for members in industry. CalCPA and the Education Foundation recently developed the Financial Leadership Forum to enhance support for industry members through tailored programs and resources. They’ve scheduled many excellent courses and conferences this year that are geared toward industry members. The schedule looks so good; it may be difficult to choose which course(s) to attend.
   As a CalCPA industry member, I am interested in earning CPE at the local level and I plan to see if there is any interest in starting a chapter committee for industry members, as I’m not sure we are doing all we can locally for this segment of our membership. I’ll also work with board members and discussion group chairs at our planning conference to find ways that we can attract more industry members to our chapter events and the local discussion group meetings. Once again, please let us know your ideas, what issues you want to have addressed and discussed or if you want to get involved on a committee for members in industry.
   After a busy May with the planning conference, the hockey playoffs and our annual awards night (where we awarded $12,000 in scholarships to six excellent accounting students), we start off June with the chapter’s annual retreat at Lake Tahoe June 6–8. At this event, we will install the 2008–09 officers and board members. As always, I am sure we will have a great time at our retreat.
   Finally, I want to thank Cindy Young for a great job this past year serving as our chapter president and the 2007–08 leaders for their dedication to serving the members of our chapter.
   Let me know if there is something you would like to see in our chapter or if you have a spare ticket to a hockey game next season.
—Thomas Letus, CPA
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CHAPTER NEWS

New Members

On behalf of the Channel Counties Chapter’s officers, directors and members, we extend our warmest of welcomes to our new members: Gina Forliti, Bryan Martinez, Matthew Morgan... [see all new members]

Leadership Institute

By Jeff Dottl, CPA

Last fall a friend mentioned to me that I should look into the CalCPA Leadership Institute. When I did, the application deadline was mere moments away. Thanks to some fancy footwork and a few well-placed e-mails and phone calls, my application was accepted. Little did I know what a benefit these five sessions would prove to be.
   The class is limited to approximately 25 people, so that the benefit to each participant is maximized. The participants’ backgrounds vary from CalCPA staff and CPA firm partners and managers to CPAs from various industries, such as consulting, government, manufacturing and import/export. With such a diverse class, the collective abilities of the group only served to enhance the knowledge base of instructor Bill Reeb, CPA. Bill is one of the most engaging speakers I have ever heard. For many illustrations, Bill reflected on his own experience, whether it was as an IBM rep, the owner of a women’s clothing store, the owner of a software store or even his more recent work as a business consultant to businesses across the fruited plains.
   Each class session focused on a particular piece of business-related leadership. Some key topics discussed related to leading and following how to identify abilities. We also talked about partner compensation, formulated a model that produces a firm’s desired results, and discussed the how emotions affect your role as a leader.
   Since attending the Leadership Institute, I have gained an ever-increasing network of peers across the state. I also have gained the tools necessary to catapult my own career and have been able to provide some new insights to my firm’s partners. The time commitment to the Leadership Institute may seem a bit daunting at first, but it is definitely time well spent.
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CalCPA NEWS

And the Winner Is ...

Congratulations to Jerry Butterfield of the San Joaquin Chapter, who won the free VP membership courtesy of the Education Foundation. And thank you to everyone who has renewed.
   If you haven’t already renewed—your dues were due May 1—now is the perfect time.
   It only takes a minute, www.calcpa.org/renew

2008 National MAP Survey: New and Improved

Find out how your firm stacks up against others by taking part in the PCPS/TSCPA National MAP Survey, which covers key practice management issues, from billing rates and salaries to services as a percentage of fees.
   Survey results will allow you to compare your firm’s management policies and financial results to other firms; gain strategic guidance to build a more profitable and rewarding practice; and help make core business decisions.
   Changes to this year’s survey include 40 percent fewer questions; targeted and “user-friendly” results; a free summary results report for all participants; and results made available months earlier than in previous years.
   The summary report will contain an extract of the survey’s key performance metrics, such as number of hours charged/compensated, major income statement statistics and more. The comprehensive report, available for purchase and free to PCPS members, will include all of the performance metrics crossed against many relevant comparison groups, as well as additional ratios and statistical analyses.
   The survey is open through July 11.
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