Personal Financial Planning

2020–22 Chair:

  • Lynette Atchley

    Staff liaison: Emily Ku

2020-2021 PFP Committee Members
Robert Ades, Robert Ades AC
Timothy Anderson, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors
Mark Astrinos, Libra Wealth
Lynette Atchley, CPA Financial Advisors, Inc.
Michael Baird, Fred A. Marcussen CPA
Mark Berkman, Mark G Berkman & Company
Robert Bleeck, Bleeck Financial Management, Inc.
Jean-Luc Bourdon, BrightPath Wealth Planning, LLC
Ralph Bovitz, Ralph Bovitz, CPA A/C
Gina Chironis, Clarity Wealth Management
Patrick Chu, Marrick Wealth
Greg Desmond, Desmond Consulting
Steve Dougherty, Dougherty CPAs
Michael Eisenberg, Squar Milner Financial Services LLC
Elizabeth Flores, Sterling Advisory Services LLC
Joseph Forlenza, Skycity Advisors LLC
Glenn Freed, Fortress Wealth
Mitchell Freedman, MFAC Financial Advisors Inc.
Robert Fromson, Fromson & Scissors
Mary Geong, Mary M Geong, CPA
Karen Goodfriend, WealthValues, LLC
Bob Jones, Collins Mason & Co LLP
Bruce Kajiwara, Kajiwara Wealth Advisors
David Koehler, Koehler & Associates, CPAs
John Levy, John Levy CPA
Jerry Nightingale, Nightingale Financial Advisory
Joy Puyear, Intersect Capital LLC
Brooke Salvini, Salvini Financial Planning
James Sullos, Windes
Montgomery Taylor, Montgomery Taylor Wealth Management
Daniel Thomas, Thomas & Thomas CPAs
Marleen Thudium, Marleen Thudium, CPA
Michael Trank, Wertz & Co LLP
Michael Velazquez, The Accountancy
Phillip Winslow, Phillip S Winslow CPA
Leonard Wright, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Mngmnt Co.


Mission: To promote the personal financial planning core service and enable California CPAs to provide preeminent and profitable personal financial planning services.

* This is a state committee with corresponding chapter committees.

2020-21 Goals:

The committee continues to approach its mission through the use of three sub-committees, each with its own goals.

Communications Sub-committee

  • Primary goal is to communicate on a regular basis with CalCPA leadership: Chair and vice chair to meet annually with the CEO and create an opportunity to address the CalCPA Board or Council.
  • Members to produce three articles for the June issue of California CPA magazine each year.
  • Present at chapter meetings, universities, chapter discussion groups. Focus on profession/CPA. Promoting career path, why choose PFS, etc.
  • Continue gathering/creating toolkit (templates, tagline, elevator speech, press releases) that everyone can use.
  • Continue free webcasts on PFP topics. In cooperation with the Education Foundation, the State PFP Committee is producing a series of one-hour webcasts that discuss such subjects as retirement planning, investment planning and practice management. The first webcast in the series was held in September, and additional webcasts are scheduled on a monthly basis.

Professional Growth Sub-committee

  • Launched mentoring program in August with three pairs.
  • Actively seeking additional applications.

Practice Management Sub-committee

  • Goal is to research and present cutting edge practice management ideas for CalCPA financial planners and to communicate those to the committee, to the chapters and to CALCPA membership at large.
  • The two broad subjects of focus for the next two years are:
    • Communicating and differentiating our value as CPA financial planners to clients and to our community.
    • Addressing the problem of practitioner burnout and how to streamline practices to prevent this.

In addition, the committee is continuing other goals:

  • Enhance the reach and impact of CPAs in the financial planning community through active roles in leadership positions in the investment community.
  • Involvement with CalCPA chapters’ personal financial planning committees will be seen as an essential element of being a successful CPA financial planner.
  • Continue to contribute content to CalCPA communications.