April 2008 | Silicon Valley San Jose Chapter Bulletin

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CalCPA NEWS

CPA Mobility

CalCPA supports AB 2473, which addresses CPA mobility issues in California. Contact your legislators today and educate them on the importance of this bill to you and the businesses and individuals with whom you work.

 

CHAPTER EVENTS

End of Tax Season Celebration

This is a great event to unwind your frazzled nerves, reunite with your significant other and mingle with your fellow CPAs who understand what you have been experiencing. Don’t miss this evening.  
Date: Tuesday, April 15
Time: 5–8:30 p.m.
Location: Paolo’s Restaurant; 333 W. San Carlos St.
RSVP: Online 

Silicon Valley Forum: 2008 Asia Business Forum

“China: Strategic Implications, Challenges of Doing Business in the World’s Hottest Market” will explore the various ways that economic, accounting, tax and legal developments in China have influenced the opportunities of doing business for both Asian and global business interests.
Date: Saturday, May 17
Time: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (tentative)
Location: Sun Microsystems; Santa Clara
RSVP: Contact Jane Dunbar, San Francisco/Peninsula Silicon Valley Chapter program associate.

SVSJ Attorneys, Bankers & CPAs Springfest

Please join us for one of the most popular networking events of the year. More than 300 attorneys, bankers and CPAs will meet at History Park for an evening of delicious hors d'oeuvres and profitable conversation. With 27 original and reproduction homes, businesses and landmarks, History Park highlights Santa Clara Valley's past—complete with running trolleys for your pleasure and entertainment.
Date: Tuesday, May 20
Time: 4:30–7:30 p.m. 
Location: History San Jose; San Jose
RSVP: Online
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Another Plug and Goodbye

By Roger Laux

The chapter’s fiscal year has flown by. The part I dreaded most about being chapter president was writing the monthly message for the newsletter, and what do you know, this is my last one.
   We accomplished some things during the year and, of course, left many other things undone. You need to have something to prime the pump for next year, after all. It took a bit of weeding out from our chapter membership to arrive at true, paying membership rolls, but I’m happy to report that we experienced positive membership growth this year.
   I found working with the professional and accepting group of people on the chapter board thoroughly enjoyable. The menu of meetings and sessions that are offered each year are the result of much dedication and hard work by the chapter’s committee chairs, co-chairs, members and our program associate. It is their commitment that keeps our chapter a viable source for networking and information, especially for our many small firms, sole practitioners and industry members.
   Of course, I can’t say sayonara without sharing my opinion and a suggestion. The home mortgage crisis has hit all of us, whether or not we are involved in a home buying/selling transaction. As a consultant, I can see the valley’s economic pace being affected by this huge implosion. A number of factors may have played into the mortgage dilemma, including housing price declines, perhaps greedy mortgage brokers and lenders, etc. But I think a large part of it was the borrowing public not understanding (or ignoring) the risks of mortgage financing.
   Adjustable rate mortgage percentages were great—if you could ride them forever. Unfortunately, you can’t. A lot of people got into homes and mortgages that depended on being able to continue riding the housing wave. When the wave crested, the ride was over, and it was a rude awakening for many people.
   You’ve heard the adage about leading a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Well, we still can’t make them drink, but CalCPA is trying to lead them to the water and has been promoting a financial literacy program for several years. Our chapter has given financial literacy presentations to many groups, including senior citizens and college, high school and even elementary school students (never too early to start). If you or a group you know is interested in these presentations, contact one of our chapter representatives.
   CalCPA is also presenting the California Summit on Financial Literacy in Sacramento April 23. The price is right (free) and provides five hours of CPE credit. Human nature dictates that some people will know and understand the financial risks and still choose to roll the dice. At least informed gambling is a step or two above uninformed gambling.
   That’s it. Enough preaching to the choir. The next message will be written by my successor David Veyna. David is a good man—and probably looking forward to writing the monthly message.
   Thanks. It’s been fun.
—Roger Laux
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CHAPTER NEWS

New Members

On behalf of the Silicon Valley San Jose Chapter’s officers, directors and members, we extend our warmest of welcomes to our new members:

Licensed CPAs
Thomas Crotty , CBIZ Accounting Tax & Advisory Svcs
Astrid Eichner-Sato , Ernst & Young LLP
Andrew Housley, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Elizabeth Jenkins, San Jose State University
Sarvesh Mathur , Ernst & Young LLP
Ralph Pepper 
Robert Shepherd, UC Santa Cruz
Karen Tyler, Ernst & Young LLP

Candidate Members
Allison Bagley, Hutchinson and Bloodgood LLP
Nicole Bennett, Vasona Financial & Tax Services
Gordon Brooks 
Jeffrey Grabow, Ernst & Young LLP
Kyungsoo Ha, Jeffrey J Lee CPA
Kristen Laubscher, Symantec Corporation
Elise Levine, Grant Thornton LLP
Chia Fui Liau, Seiler LLP
Carrie McBride, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Keanolani Noa, Petrinovich Pugh & Co LLP
Celso Vianna, Ernst & Young LLP
Linda Wilczewski, Allied Waste Services Inc

Candidate Members Converted to Licensed CPAs
Charlotte Chang, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Vaishali Dhamankar 
Varsha Gupta, International Game Technology
Dana Ingols, Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP
Michael Johnson, Abbott Stringham & Lynch
Michael Jurewicz, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Yang Li, Abbott Stringham & Lynch
Nicole Nadvornik, CresaPartners
Adrianne Phillips, Vavrinek Trine Day & Co LLP
Joy Upalakalin, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Ravindra Vora 
Jennifer Windmueller, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Mei Yang, Fannie Mae

Student Members
Dhiren Mistry, San Jose State University
Long Nguyen 

Member Anniversaries

One–Five Years
Deepak Agrawal, Amy Ainsworth, Naoko Arai, Edwin Barclay, Mohammed Bhuiyan, Manny Bulotano, Gregory Campbell, Anson Chan, Charlotte Chang, Brian Chong, Kitty Chung, Tracy Cook, Inderjit Dehal, Abhilash Deshpande, Niki Doctor, Michael Duva, Elaine Erickson, Juan Escobar, Shelly Fang, Fariba Faridmoayer, Shawn Fernandez, Kathleen Fujita, Mark Garfield, Pete Godbole, Melissa Hardaway, Linda Henke, Julieta Johnson, Marie Jones, Michael Jurewicz, Ty Kanaaneh, Richard Kent, Mary Korn, Caroline Krumel, Sanjay Lambah, Nancy Lee, Thomas Levendowski, Beatrice Lui, Nadia Marquez, Phuong Mayer, Daryl Miller, Arghya Mukherjee, Seryun Oh, Steve Oldroyd, Rochelle Ramos, Robert Rible, Elizabeth Rojas, Deborah Rosengarten, Pradeep Samantaray, Shirpa Sampson, Suzy Seandel, Mehdi Shahabi, Ajay Shenoy, Nipun Soni, Cary Stover, Gower Suen, Kendra Verhaege, Danielle Villasenor, Earl Wilson, III, Raymond Young

Six–10 Years
James Anderson, Raghav Bhargava, Karl Detweiler, David Faulk, Jeanne Gonzales, Cindy Hughes, Patricia Kaufman, Anthony Mancini, Bruce McFarlane, Meredith Park, Nicola Sandars, Jasbir Sekhon, James Sepe, Lisa Silva, Trevor Thomas, Michael Wagner, Sheryl Wiggins-Barros

11–15 Years
James Collar, Leslie Davis, Cristy Deich, John Kawamoto, Teresa Lau, Jaryl Lore, James Martin, Arthur Romero, Paul Silverglate, Calvin Van Ruler, Katrina Viborg, Bradley Wall, Nina Wang

16–20 Years
Wen Chen, Eunhye Choi, Kevin Crabtree, Gary Dang, Pamela Darling, Robert Davies, Lily Kawafuchi, Patrick Scheufler, Eric Sorensen, Michael Steele, Joe Talley

21–30 Years
Stephen Amass Jr., Michael Angel, Dennis Bishop, Neil Bray, Erling Breckan, Maria Carlucci, Cathy Cha, Carol Chang, Godfrey Cheung, Allen Crist, Roland Carlota Jr., David Davis, Gail Delorey, Charlene Dickey, George Donnelly II, Lisa Erling, Ann Estrella, Shirley Falk, Kenneth Hall, Gregory Hawker, Crystal Henzi, Leslie Hill, Carla Hudson, Gerald Hunt, Andrew Jean, Tsao-Lin Kuei, Sharon Kuwada, Robert Lee, Jay Leite, Clayton Leong, Howard Letherwood, Roberto Maragoni, William Matusich, Marcia Modisette, Gary Nemetz, Evert Offereins, Frank Pasacreta, Geoffrey Phillips, Roy Seghetti, Gregory Snow, John Talia, Donna Tombor, Jan Vanderbilt, Michael Welch, Gerard Wen, Nicholas White, Kent Williams, Marty Zimmerman

31–40 Years
Robert Cazale, Donna Erickson, James Eustice, Phillip Goodman, James Leggate, Richard Luker, J. Michael Patterson, Edwin Pinto, John Wiens Jr., Michael Willett

More than 40 Years
Robert Asmussen, Robert Bullard, Ralph Coole, Ronald Domingues, Don Irvine, Reuben Levy, S. Stephen Nakashima, Jay Oliff, Tad Sekigahama

Meet the Board: Rhonda Richards

Rhonda Richards’ first career ambition was to be a partner at a CPA firm. She admits that it may not be glamorous, but this is from someone who has been working tax seasons since she was a junior in high school.
   “A career counselor came into one of my business classes and asked if anyone was interested in office work,” she recalls. “My dad said, ‘Rhonda, business would be a good career for a woman.’ That was the start of it.”
   Richards has achieved her ambition and is a partner at Dunham CPAs. She obtained a bachelor's degree in business, with an emphasis in accounting, from CSU Chico. Her first job was entering tax data from input sheets into a “huge, monstrous computer,” she says, in the late 1970s. “There were no PCs in those days,” she says. “Sometimes I think nothing has changed since then but the size of the computer. Apparently taxes are here to stay.”
   Not only does Richards want to be remembered as helping others with their taxes, but she also wants to be remembered as someone who cares about people. “You know, the social side of life …,” she says. Along those lines, Richards believes the key to being a good CPA is having people skills.
   Richards says helping others with life’s struggles inspires her. Toward that end, she does fund-raising for the YWCA’s crisis intervention programs and is a member of the YWCA’s finance and audit committees.

Is Technology Your Forte?

While some of us barely know how to operate the on/off button on our computer, others flourish by exploring the fascinating world of technology. As the accounting profession surges forward with faster and more efficient ways to process and analyze data, we need a fearless leader to pave the way. If you are that person, contact chapter program associate Stephanie Stewart to discuss starting a Technology Interest Group in your area.

Santa Cruz Discussion Group: We Need You!

We are excited to announce the start of a discussion group that will serve our members in the Santa Cruz area. Among his other ideas, chair Mike Lorilla from UC Santa Cruz has plans for a quarterly speaker series and would welcome members to join him on a steering committee to plan this group’s future. If you are up for this engaging challenge, e-mail Mike.

CalCPA NEWS

Don't Miss This Year's California Summit on Financial Literacy

CalCPA and the California Jump$tart Coalition are hosting the second California Summit on Financial Literacy at the Sacramento Convention Center Wednesday, April 23. And given the current credit crisis facing the state and the nation, the timing could not be better.
   Participants will connect with a variety of programs, organizations and dedicated individuals working to improve the level of personal financial education of all Californians.
   As the most trusted adviser, CPAs have a responsibility to address this important issue, and the Summit will offer ideas for everyone concerned.
   More program information can found at the California Summit on Financial Literacy homepage, along with registration information and a video from the highly successful 2006 Summit.

CPA Day at the Capitol

Help legislators understand key issues facing California CPAs including the importance of CPA mobility and achieving substantial equivalency in our state. California is a part of a national effort to remove unnecessary barriers to providing services across state lines, which is unjustly costly to the clients of CPAs and may in fact interfere with consumer choice.
   The connections you make will prove to be crucial in educating legislators and their staff before they vote on issues important to you as a California CPA.
   You will establish meaningful relationships that ultimately will create a more favorable business environment for CPAs throughout California.

Date: Tuesday, May 13
Time: 9:30 a.m./registration; 10–11 a.m./issues briefing; 11 a.m.–3 p.m./appointments with legislators; 3:30–4 p.m./debrief
Location: Sheraton Grand Sacramento; Sacramento
RSVP: Online 

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Silicon Valley San Jose Chapter Leadership