September 2006
In This Issue:President’s Message: Time to Fill Those Calendars
Chapter News Event Highlights Chapter Events View all East Bay Chapter Events
Member Anniversaries
Welcome New Members
SF Chapter/ADP Fourth Annual Golf Tournament
Annual Advanced Estate Planning Symposium
BARE/Low Cost Education 8-Hour Class
BARE: Searching for Fraud: Assessing Risks and Addressing Red Flags
Tax Issues in Divorce Mini-conference
Bankers Night Becomes ABC Night
YEP Series
Low-cost Fall Event
California CPA Education Foundation CPE in the East Bay Chapter
Committee Meetings CalCPA News CalCPA Committee News Resources President’s Message Event Highlights Annual Advanced Estate Planning Symposium [PDF] BARE/Low Cost Education Eight-Hour Class BARE–Searching for Fraud: Assessing Risks and Addressing Red Flags[PDF] Tax Issues in Divorce Mini-conference [PDF] Welcome New Members Licensed Members Candidate Members Chapter Events Low Cost Fall Event [PDF] Committee Meetings Mark your calendars for future PFP meetings: South Bay Discussion Group Fall Series Date: Wednesday, Oct. 11 Date: Wednesday, Dec 13 Date: Wednesday, Jan. 10 Cost: $100 for the series or $35 for each session CalCPA News Dear Quandary: Foundation Honors Instructors CalCPA Committee News Resources
Contra Costa Discussion Group
Personal Financial Planning
North Bay Discussion Group
South Bay Discussion Group Fall Series
A&A Answerline
Foundation Honors Instructors
BIC Audio Conference: Exempt or Nonexempt?
Time to Fill Those Calendars
By Bob Johnston, CPA
Summer 2006 is drawing to a close and school is back in session. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer vacation. Soon you will fill up your calendar and there will be no flexibility in your schedule.
However, I’m reminded of a saying I’ve heard: “What you do with your billable time determines your current income, but what you do with your non-billable time determines your future.’
The East Bay Chapter has a tremendous schedule of events for you to choose from—including some new events I think you will find interesting, informative and helpful. So, place an event (or more) on your calendar. Your participation will be a good use of your non-billable time.
ABC Night will be held Tuesday, Sept. 19. This event replaces Bankers Night and is a reception that has been expanded to include attorneys, bankers, CPAs and financial/brokerage firms. We have 19 sponsors and Scott’s Seafood in Walnut Creek is the place to be from 5–8 p.m.
Please don’t forget about financial literacy—it’s a great opportunity for you or someone in your firm to help high school students understand finances.
Also, the Young Emerging Professional Committee will hold the first of three roundtable discussions Thursday, Sept. 7, 6:30–8 p.m. It will be a discussion of careers in auditing and held at the Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek.
Be sure to check this Bulletin and the East Bay website, www.calcpa.org/EB, for details on the programs of the North Bay, South Bay and Contra Costa discussion groups, as well as the details of the PFP Committee programs. And, of course, be sure to find out what’s up with the QuickBooks Users Group.
The chapter is also sponsoring a Student Outreach Luncheon in October for students and prospective employers. It will be held at Scott’s Seafood in Oakland. And the second iteration of the East Bay Chapter Booklet, which lists all chapter committees and committee members, in addition to the board of directors, will soon be available. Thank you Joelyn Carr-Fingerle.
Finally, a note about opportunity. Soon, the Nominating Committee will be choosing nominees to fill director and officer positions in our chapter. This is an opportunity for you to serve your profession, the business community and the community. You can make a difference. So, step up and ask to be considered for a leadership position within CalCPA’s East Bay Chapter—your professional organization. For more information, contact Nominating Committee Chair Hank Levy at hank@hanklevycpa.com.
—Bob Johnston, CPA
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SF Chapter/ADP Fourth Annual Golf Tournament [PDF]
The East Bay and Peninsula Silicon Valley chapters are co-hosting this event.
Date: Monday, Sept. 25
Location: Harding Park
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Location: Round Hill; Alamo
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Speaker: Noelle Allen
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007
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Speaker: Eugene Horwitz, CPA, formerly with the SEC
Date: Thursday, Oct. 19
CPE: 8 hours
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RSVP:Online
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Cathleen Armstrong, Rubens Nunnemaker LLP
Susan Barnes, Arbor Building Group
Joshua Brown, Kodak Gallery
Kristie Carvalho, Leibowitz Shumaker Berger Rubens LLP
Margaret Chand, Cropper Accountancy Corp
David Crandall, Larson and Company
Dianne Forde
Karen Herreid
Chun Li, Harb Levy & Weiland LLP
Matthew Mercier Equity Office
Lesly Mohr
Iryna Oreshkova, Deloitte & Touche
Alfred Schwartz
Laura Stark, Uboldi, Heinke & Co CPA's, LLP
William Vinson
Meseret Zeleke, Meseret Y Zeleke CPA
Jin Zhang, Axa Rosenberg Investment Mgmt
Angel Zhao, Wily Technology Inc
Anica Ashbourne, Burgess & Company CPAs Inc.
Timothy Compton
Farah Feizollahi, BDO Seidman LLP
Sonia Gerard
Carla Gold
Deanna Hall, Zainer Rinehart Clarke DFKCPAs
Susan Hottinger
Liang-Kun Hsia
William Joenaidy, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Joon Lee, Sweeney Kovar LLP
Emma Livingston
Kelly Mendoza, Green Point Mortgage Funding, Inc
Marjorie Mira
Steven Perry, California Teachers Assn.
Tom Sher
Garson Soe, Garson C Soe Atty at Law
Vai Seo Tran
Iana Zemniakova
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The chapter's premier networking event of the year will be Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Walnut Creek. Formerly known as Banker's Night, this event has been renamed ABC Night in honor of the Attorneys, Bankers and CPAs that attend this very special gathering of our community's movers and shakers. There will not be a speaker or CPE for this event because the focus will be on networking and fine food and drink. ABC Night is generously supported by 19 local firms in the accounting, legal and financial communities. Don't miss this event! Make your reservations now.
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A series of roundtable discussions hosted by the Young/Emerging Professionals Committee begins this month. The goal is to provide fun and interesting events for the young emerging professionals in the East Bay. Panelists will answer questions about the profession’s current and future, and why you should choose a career in auditing, tax or business and industry.
Topic: Auditing Career Roundtable
Date: Thursday, Sept. 7
Time: 6:30–8 p.m.
Location: Pyramid Alehouse; Walnut Creek
Cost: By Sept. 4: $10/members ($15 after Sept. 4)
RSVP:Online or call (925) 926-0189
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Hear from the experts on negotiations, A&A update and in-depth tax review of AMT and sales of residences.
All proceeds benefit the East Bay Scholarship Fund.
Anyone wishing to help on the Low-Cost Education Committee can contact Jamie Menasco at (510) 741-6058. Our programs have been determined for the year, but there are still details to finalize. Serving on a committee is a great way to get to know fellow members.
Speakers: Timothy Dayonot, instructor, U.C. Berkeley's MBA program and former member of the California Board of Accountancy; Carl Arntzen, sole practitioner specializing in audit work, consulting for CPA firms and assisting firms with their inspections and monitoring, San Francisco; Karen Brosi, EA, CFP, tax planner, Palo Alto.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 28
Time: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Location: San Ramon Marriott
Cost: By Oct. 18: $125/members (two sessions and lunch) or $70 for either the morning or afternoon session; $160/nonmembers (both sessions and lunch) or $90 for either the morning or afternoon session. (Add $ after Oct 18).
CPE: 8 hours (2 hours of A&A)
RSVP: Online
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Contra Costa Discussion Group
Topic: Retirement Plans Update
Speaker: Angelo Cabral, Merrill Lynch
Date: Thursday, Sept. 14
Time: 12–2 p.m.
Location: Massimo’s; Walnut Creek
Cost: By Oct. 5: $25/members; $30/nonmembers (add $5 thereafter)
CPE: 1 hour
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Topic: Clues, Cues and Resources—How You Can Help Clients with Elder Care Challenges
Speakers: Sandy Cohen and Roger Cormier, Cohen Cormier Group
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 20
Location: Massimo’s; Walnut Creek
Time: 12–2 p.m.
CPE: 1 hour
Cost: By Sept 15: $25/members; $30/nonmembers (add $5 thereafter)
Oct. 18 and Jan. 17
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Topic: To Assess or Not to Assess, That is the Question!
Speaker: John Tuteur, Napa County Assessor
Date: Thursday, Sept. 21
Time: 7:45–9 a.m.
Location: Downtown Joe’s; 902 Main Street; Napa
Cost: $11 (make checks Payable to Harvest Financial, LLC)
CPE: 1 hour
RSVP: By Sept. 19 to Amy, (707) 257-7281.
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Date:Wednesday Sept. 13
Topic: 1031 Exchanges
Speaker: Scott Haislet
Topic: Cost Segregation
Speaker: The Alliant Group
Topic: Business Valuations
Speaker: Jeff Faust, Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co, LLP
Topic: IRA Issues
Speaker: Joe McKissack, The Senna/McKissack Group
Location: Massimo’s; Fremont
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A&A Answerline
Dear Answerline,
I’m really in a quandary as to what files and workpapers I have to return to a former client. I know that I am not required to return my own work product, but it’s confusing as to what represents client records.
—In a Quandary
Client records fall into three categories:
With regard to these categories:
These requirements only apply to records not previously provided unless the client lost them as the result of some natural disaster. You may provide the records in any format usable by the client and you may charge a reasonable fee and require it be paid before providing the records.
The A&A Answerline is a free member service that can be accessed at (800) 922–5752, Ext. 2355.
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BIC Audio Conference: Exempt or Nonexempt?
As employers increasingly face lawsuits and government audits regarding the misclassification of employees for overtime status, make sure your company is in compliance during CalCPA’s Business and Industry Committee’s Sept. 19 audio conference. The Employers Group, a human resources management company, will lead the discussion.
Topics include the financial liability that companies face for misclassifying employees; exemption principles; and common classification mistakes, among others.
The audio conference will be held noon–1 p.m. To participate, dial (800) 376–6136 and reference pass code 857406.
To help us better facilitate the call, RSVP to Patti Sustin at patti.sustin@calcpa.org.
Stay tuned for future audio conference topics, including forensic accounting and fraud prevention; electronic document retention; IT and internal controls for SOX; valuation of intangibles; and cost segregation.
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East Bay Chapter Leadership
Contact Chapter Coordinator Soco Davenport
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