June 2008 | OCLB Chapter Bulletin

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FEATURED EVENT

Specially discounted ANGELS tickets for OC/LB members only available NOW!
Tuesday, July 1—Angels vs. Oakland “A’s” (only $10 per ticket!)
Friday, July 18—Angels vs. Boston Red Sox—Sold Out!
Sunday, Aug. 10—Angels vs. Yankees (only $20 per ticket!)

For tickets, please contact Larry Lamb by email at homerun@lmpg.net or (949) 752-5400 ext 33. Tickets sold on a first-come first-serve basis.
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Upcoming seminars

Whittier Law School Event and the Fall Seminar Series

Friday, June 20: 2008 Annual Income Tax Seminar, Whittier Law School
Click here to download registration flyer

Tuesday, Sept. 16: Fall Seminar Series #1, 6 p.m.–10 p.m. Irvine Marriott

Friday, Sept. 19: OC/LB Chapter Class: Fraud – Exposures & Solutions in a Non-Audit Environment. 8 hours CPE. Location TBA.

Tuesday, Sept. 23: Fall Seminar Series #2, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott

Tuesday, Sept. 30: Fall Seminar Series #3, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott

Tuesday, Oct. 7: Fall Seminar Series #4, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott

Tuesday, Oct. 21: Fall Seminar Series #5, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott.

Tuesday, Oct. 28: Fall Seminar Series #6,6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott

Tuesday, Nov. 4: Fall Seminar Series #7, 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Irvine Marriott
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Interest Groups

OC/LB Technology Interest Group

Topic: Remote Access
Speaker: Jeff Lenning
Date: Friday, June 13
Time: Noon–1 p.m. (registration at 11:30 a.m.)
Location: Click Consulting; Irvine
CPE: 1 hour
Cost: $20 members/$25 nonmembers (early-bird discount less $5 by Friday, June 6)
Register online

OC/LB Business and Industry Interest Group

Topic: Fair Value Measurement Studies
Speaker: Cary Potter
Date: Tuesday, June 17
Time: 11:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (registration at 11:15 a.m.)
Location: Zmario Restaurant; Irvine
CPE: 1 hour
Cost: $38 members/$43 nonmembers
Register online

OC/LB Estate Planning Interest Group

Topic: IRA and Qualified Distribution Rules
Speaker: David Allen Brown, JD
Date: Wednesday, June 18
Time: 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. (registration at 7 a.m.)
Location: Holiday Inn; Costa Mesa
CPE: 2 hours
Cost: $35 members/$45 nonmembers (early bird discount less $10 if received by Saturday, June 14)
Register online

OC/LB Financial Planning Interest Group

Topic: Business Succession Planning
Speaker: Roger L. Neu, CPA
Date: Thursday, June 19
Time: 7:30 a.m.– 9:30 a.m. (registration at 7:15 a.m.)
Location: Jagerhaus; Anaheim
CPE: 2 hours
Cost: $20 members/$25 nonmembers and walk-ins
Register online
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Talking About Education

By Monica Rebella, CPA

Fellow CPAs,
   As you could probably tell from my first “President’s Message,” I am passionate about sharing knowledge and experiences. This can take many forms. In this issue I will highlight how we can share our knowledge and experiences through education.
   For this column, I am using the word education in its broadest sense and am not just referring to formal education at a school or university. Education also can refer to training and education through your company or firm, a seminar or interest groups meeting, as well as some one-on-one, sit down time. I believe we all benefit from never losing our desire to learn. Education in this sense, refers to continuous learning. [read more]
   I find that our chapter’s young, new CPAs have as much to teach us more mature CPAs, as we have to share with them. I encourage all of us to be open to healthy learning and exchange.
   We have a group in the OC/LB Chapter called Student Outreach. The whole point of this group is to reach out to our chapter’s new, bright minds and give them some pointers and advice on the profession and where it can take them, as well as to share some basics of finance. If you are interested in this group, I encourage you to look for its activities or let me know of your interest.
   The exciting news is that, according to the AICPA, colleges and universities are experiencing the highest levels of new accounting graduates in 36 years, and many schools are reporting the highest levels of new accounting students entering this fall. Publicity about accounting issues has created much interest in our profession. But we need outstanding accounting professors to teach these new students. This is an issue not only for those in public accounting, but also for our colleagues in industry.
   I want to share some statistics that may surprise you. Over the next five to seven years, it is estimated that 67 percent of our Ph.D. accounting professors will retire. This is both a problem and an opportunity. Finding good Ph.D. candidates is hard to do. Many accounting academics are finding they do not need a Ph.D. in accounting to get out in the world and make a good living. So we have a great shortage of Ph.D. accounting professors. Additionally, housing prices and the cost of living in California, makes it difficult to get good Ph.D. candidates to relocate to our state.
   Ahhh … the opportunity. Many colleges and universities are becoming very creative in encouraging people to teach at their schools. For example, many colleges and universities still require a master’s degree for adjunct faculty, but not all. Additionally, more schools are open to professionals coming in and teaching one class or on a part-time basis. Some are open to allowing people to teach a part of a class in the subject matter that relates to that individual’s special knowledge. This is a great opportunity for those of us who have thought about teaching or have reached some level of career maturity, and teaching could be the next step. Reach out to your local college or university, or contact me, and I can lead you to a contact.
   But we still need more professors.
   You should know and be proud that the OC/LB chapter awards almost $40,000 in scholarships to accounting students every year. The scholarship money comes from an additional amount you can designate when renewing your membership, the OC/LB Chapter Fall Seminar Series and a couple of other events held during the year. For those of you who are parents, you need to know this: We award scholarships to accounting students at two-year colleges, as long as the student is moving on to a four-year school, and also to accounting students at four-year colleges and universities.
   The scholarship amounts are $1,500 for a two-year college student and $2,500 for a four-year college student. Here is the really great news: If the accounting student is the child of a CalCPA OC/LB Chapter member,the amounts increase to $2,500 for two-year students and $3,500 for four-year students. Additionally, students who are children of members can submit their application directly to the OC/LB Careers in Accounting team and can be attending college anywhere in the United States.
   If interested in the scholarship process, contact either Larry Lamb, who heads up our Careers in Accounting group, at homerun@lmpg.com, or me.
   Encourage your children and other young people to explore the outstanding profession of accounting. As an OC/LB member you can get assistance with the cost of accounting education for your child. Accounting is the basic primer to business. It is the foundation for whatever road the individual may take. No other business degree allows someone to graduate and immediately begin a great career in their major.
   I wish you all a terrific June.
   Your humble president,
—Monica Rebella, CPA
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CHAPTER NEWS

New Members

On behalf of the Orange County Long Beach Chapter’s officers, directors and members, we extend our warmest of welcomes to our new members: Timothy Choy, Robert Cunnane, Rex Dulin... [see all new members]

OC/LB Chapter Mixer and Officer Installation at Kimera Restaurant Held May 8

OC/LB Chapter leadership team for 2008–09: (l-r) Directors Sherry Radmore, Jennifer McCasland, Dolores Lara, Linda Fitz and Carolina Camacho; Treasurer Jeff Lenning, First Vice President Brian Rush; Past President Wendy Richards; and President Monica Rebella.

State Technology Committee Meets in Yosemite

By State Technology Committee Chair Jeff Lenning

The May 2008 CalCPA statewide Technology Committee meeting was held in Yosemite. The committee meets quarterly, and the annual May meeting is typically a two-day meeting. Yosemite was wonderful this time of year, and the waterfalls were really cranking. The committee invited SageWorks (sageworksinc.com) presenters to demonstrate their ProfitCents product (profitcents.com). ProfitCents is a Web-based application that imports financial data from client accounting packages or Excel and converts the raw data into plain language reports for your clients.
   After the presentation, the committee got to work on its business, including providing updates on new technologies used by committee members and their firms, setting the calendar for the upcoming year, providing chapter updates, holding its traditional RAM session and discussing the CITP challenge. In addition, the committee looked at ways it can increase value to members, and, as a result of those discussions, is working through some exciting new programs. We’ll keep you posted as we proceed.
   As chair of the Technology Committee, I’d like to invite you to participate in our local chapter Technology Interest Group meetings. At these monthly meetings we discuss relevant and practical technology issues. Let’s face it, technology is used in your business today, and it is important than ever to stay current. Following is a list of our 2008 Technology Interest Group meetings. If you'd like to attend, please register through calcpa.org. If you know of someone who would benefit, please feel free to invite them, as these meetings are open to all.

Meetings held on Fridays:
June 13: Remote Access
July 25: Firm Websites
Aug. 22: Internet communications
Sept. 19: CAMICO – Electronic Document Retention
Oct. 24: SageWorks
Nov. 14: Wireless
Dec. 12: Planning meeting

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at jeff@clickconsulting.com or to sign up visit www.calcpa.org/oclb.
   Thanks,
Jeff Lenning. CPA, CITP

39th Annual OC/LB Golf Tournament

Thanks to our sponsors for helping to make the 39th Annual OC/LB Golf Tournament held May 20 a success!
Alliant Group,
Arxis,
Camico,
CompuPay,
Intuit
Wealth Management Network
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CalCPA NEWS

Register Online

Register and pay for CalCPA events 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit CalCPA.org’s Master Calendar to search for CPE and other events by chapter or key word. Explore the possibilities online.
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