Bakersfield Chapter
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Archive for the ‘President’s Message’ Category
March 13th, 2009
By Martin Goni, CPA
If you are reading this message, and you’re still at the office even though the sun has long since gone down for the day, chances are the dreaded tax season monster has made another appearance in your life this year. Yes, my friends, it is here … the thing that ranks right up there with going to the dentist and cleaning out the gutters on life’s fun-o-meter for a CPA. However, take heart, as this too shall pass. It always does, and it passes faster and faster every year. I’m sure you probably don’t want to stay one minute longer at the office than you have to, so I will keep my message this month short and simple.
I wanted to introduce you to Keith Kershner, the IRS stakeholder liaison designated as the point of contact for our chapter. His primary job is to keep members of our organization informed of IRS key messages affecting our local, small-business, taxpaying community. He also is our contact for any issues or concerns that we, as CalCPA members, may have regarding IRS procedures and policies. He will relay our concerns to proper IRS contacts for resolution. Kershner can be reached at (213) 435-8755 and via e-mail.
Kershner suggests that the best way to stay current with what is happening at the IRS is to use its free products and services. He suggest that we also check out the following on the IRS website:
I hope this information proves useful to you during this busy time of year. With that, I will say so long until next month and wish you many happy returns until then! As always, if you have any questions concerning our chapter, please do not hesitate to contact me, Kay Coffin, or any chapter board member.
— Martin Goni, CPA
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February 11th, 2009
By Martin Goni, CPA
I recently returned from one of CalCPA’s biggest events planned for this year: CPA Day at the Capitol, which was held in Sacramento Jan. 21. For those of you who didn’t attend, you missed out on a great event! Hundreds of CPAs from across the state converged on the Capitol to attend team meetings with their local legislators.
Wearing bright blue buttons with the number “150” emblazoned on them, CPAs worked the hallways of the Capitol to bring awareness to the issue that California needs to conform to the licensing requirements in effect in 46 other states and enact legislation instituting a 150-hour-only pathway to licensure. It was great to see legislators on both sides of the aisle take the time to meet with all of us.
At the debriefing session held later that day in the Sacramento Convention Center, it was announced that our meetings were a success. However, the announcement was unnecessary, as the success could be seen radiating from the faces of all of the CPAs in the room who just returned from their visits. I met with Roy Ashburn’s field director, while others met with Jean Fuller, Dean Florez and other representatives from our local area. I agree that it was a successful day and enjoyed getting to see CalCPA members networking and taking action.
A nice update to the events of CPA Day came the next day at the CalCPA Council meeting, when it was announced that the 150-hour legislation did have an author and would be presented as an official bill within the next couple of weeks. Also at the meeting, chapter representatives gave their feedback on how their chapters were implementing CalCPA’s strategic plan unveiled by the CalCPA Board this year. Our chapter is doing well in terms of meeting our goals related to both student outreach through our Annual Student Night and in attracting young and emerging professionals through our YEP group activities. Some of the strategic plan items that our chapter board would like to address in the coming year include hosting activities with related professional organizations and making sure that we are meeting the needs of our chapter’s sole practitioners and members from smaller CPA firms.
It was announced at the Council meeting that 2009 marks CalCPA’s 100-year anniversary. You will no doubt see a lot of mention of this anniversary in subsequent issues of California CPA magazine, as well as in various other correspondences. A 100th Anniversary Gala is planned for Friday, June 19 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. This black-tie event will feature a gala reception, silent auction and dinner dance. Start thinking about your travel plans now if you would like to attend. It will definitely be a great night! You can find more information on the gala and CalCPA’s history online.
Also, ballots with the chapter’s proposed slate of officers for the 2009–10 year will arrive shortly. Be sure to give these a look and return them with your vote.
I hope that you are having a good start to your busy season! As always, if you have any questions concerning our chapter, please do not hesitate to contact me, program associate Kay Coffin or any chapter board member.
See you next month!
— Martin Goni, CPA
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January 12th, 2009
By Martin Goni, CPA
Hope your 2009 is off to a great start!
January is going to be a busy and important month for CalCPA as we prepare for our CPA Day at the Capitol Wednesday, Jan. 21. CalCPA members from all across the state are converging on Sacramento to meet with our respective legislators and discuss with them the importance of taking action during this term on issues facing our profession, mainly, as you have heard me mention before, the 150-hour license pathway requirement and financial literacy.
The Bakersfield Chapter has already started letting its voice be heard on these issues locally. A contingent of chapter board members recently met with representatives from Assemblywoman Jean Fuller’s office and had great success in discussing these issues and opening a dialogue for future involvement and support to generate results. The board will continue to have these one-on-one meetings with various local legislators, and I will keep you posted on these as they occur.
Looking ahead, our busiest time of year as professionals is fast approaching. Although our chapter activities go dark during this season, you will still be hearing from us regarding the slate of officers for the upcoming year, as well as our work to establish a formalized strategic plan for the Bakersfield Chapter that will be reported to the CalCPA Board before the year is up.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to contact Kay Coffin or any of our board members. I wish you a very happy and successful busy season!
Until next time, full speed ahead!
— Martin Goni, CPA
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December 12th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
It’s that time of year again! The time for twinkling lights, sugar cookies and festive carols. I won’t add year-end planning work for our clients to that list because I don’t want to spoil the pretty picture the previous list has painted in your mind just now.
CalCPA does have an exciting event coming up Jan. 21—CPA Day at the Capitol—that I would like to encourage all of you to attend. It is a very important day that will allow all CalCPA members across the state to join together in Sacramento and let our voices be heard on issues that are important to us as California CPAs. Those in attendance will have face-to-face meetings with the applicable legislators from their districts to discuss the issues. Let’s have a big Bakersfield presence in Sacramento, shall we? Below is a little preview describing the event.
California law does not meet the national standard for CPA licensure, and California CPAs are at risk of losing the ability to serve their clients’ interests outside of California. However, the solution is simple: California must adopt the 150-hour educational pathway as its only pathway to licensure. More than two-thirds of new California licensees choose the 150-hour pathway—what’s more, that percentage has grown every year since the option was introduced in 2002.
New legislation will be introduced in January to help move this effort along. We need you as constituents to meet with your legislators Jan. 21 and urge their support.
All existing CPAs and those licensed before 2012 would be grandfathered in.
Help communicate this to your legislators in Sacramento. Register today for CPA Day at the Capitol.
With that, I would like to wish all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season! I sincerely hope that you will all be able to take some time out of the busy month and enjoy those lights, cookies and carols with family and friends. See you in 2009!
— Martin Goni, CPA
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November 18th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
Busy season. Two words, which given just a single utterance, are guaranteed to get a CPA’s heart pumping a little faster. And yes, my friends, busy season is getting closer, whether we want it to or not. With its approach, many of us will soon be attending our year-end tax update seminars and become engrossed in the throes of year-end planning for our clients. As you begin to get busier, your Bakersfield Chapter begins to wind down. Having just come off of our chapter’s busiest October in recent memory, I can say that our Golf Tournament and Student Night events were definite successes for our chapter.
We know that your schedules tend to fill up quickly this time of year, so I want to remind you about a few events. Our Young and Emerging Professionals (YEP) Committee leader, Lindsay Grudt, is planning a fun-filled evening at a Bakersfield Condors hockey game. More details will be forthcoming once the plans are finalized. Lindsay has done a great job of helping to ensure our YEP members get a chance to network by combining some of the past monthly YEP events with events sponsored by the United Way and the Kern County Junior Bar Association. Lindsay also is organizing our chapter’s attendance at the CalCPA YEP Conference in June. These are exciting events for our young and emerging members, and I would like to thank Lindsay for her involvement. I encourage all YEPs in our chapter to come out and participate in these events.
Another event that I want to inform you about is CalCPA’s Women’s Leadership Forum, scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3 in Los Angeles. From tips and strategies for attaining leadership positions within the profession, to ideas on handling difficult situations, mentoring and public speaking, this event designed by women CPA leaders features top speakers dedicated to helping women advance their careers. I know that our chapter’s program associate, Kay Coffin, is heavily involved in this event, so I encourage those of you who are interested to check out the website.
In keeping with the season, I thank everyone who has helped our chapter during this past year and wish all of you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!
— Martin Goni, CPA
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October 16th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
Welcome to October! Autumn has officially blown into town, and with it came a whirlwind of chapter events.
Our first Bakersfield Chapter Golf Tournament was held Sept. 29 and was a success. The event drew more than 70 participants, who spent a relaxing day enjoying the greens at the Stockdale Country Club. I hope everyone who attended had a chance to mix and mingle with some new acquaintances, including our wonderful event sponsors. I would like to thank Dave Denham (Denham Resources) and Jason Pine (Paychex) for their assistance in organizing the tournament. I also would like to thank our sponsors for their support, as well as the volunteers from the CSUB University Accounting Association and other organizations that came out to help run the registration area and raffle. All net proceeds will benefit our chapter scholarship fund. We hope that you will spread the word to your colleagues and friends so that next year’s golf tournament can be even more successful! Start thinking about your teams now.
Read the rest of this entry »
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September 15th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
As CPAs, whether we are tax accountants, litigation specialists or auditors, many of us are used to our daily work lives (and most often our personal lives, too) revolving around some sort of checklist. Therefore, I thought it would be nice to change my message this month and arrange it in a format that is no stranger to any of us.
Bakersfield Chapter Golf Tournament
Monday, Sept. 29; Stockdale Country Club
Have you reserved this date on your calendar? Formed a four-person team to be ready for the shotgun start at noon? Sent in your early-bird registration form with the $150/team registration fee to program director Kay Coffin so she receives it by Sept. 25? Made note that the registration fee increases to $175/team after Sept. 25? Prepared yourself to enjoy a fun day that includes 18 holes of golf and a cart, lunch, a gift pack, prizes and awards, and dinner? Spread the word among all of your friends, colleagues and associates? Thought of an organization that would like to be a sponsor for the event and submitted that information to Kay? Kept in mind that net proceeds benefit the Bakersfield Chapter Scholarship Fund for Bakersfield College and CSU Bakersfield students? Register online.
Bakersfield Chapter Student Night
Wednesday, Oct. 1; Four Points Sheraton Hotel;
Have you made plans to attend this event and represent our profession to the numerous accounting student attendees from Bakersfield College and CSU Bakersfield? Made note that CalCPA Chair Greg Burke will be our keynote speaker? Thought about contacting Kay and letting her know that you would like to host some students at your firm or business earlier that afternoon so they can experience a taste of what it is like to be an accountant? Thought about contacting Kay to become a sponsor for the event? Prepared yourself to congratulate this year’s Les Watts Memorial Scholarship recipients, who will be introduced that evening? Register online.
Local Member Featured in California CPA Article
Have you noticed that chapter member Marie Ebersbacher appeared on the cover of California CPA’s September 2008 issue? Read her article “Behind Closed Doors: The New Certified in Financial Forensics Credential”? Perused the remaining articles that keep you up to date on issues affecting us as professionals?
There you go! I hope this checklist wasn’t as hard to fill out as some of the other ones you’ve had to complete lately. I sincerely hope to see all of you at our upcoming events. Be sure to check the remainder of this Bulletin for a full report on all of the above. As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me, Kay Coffin or any of our board members. Thank you.
— Martin Goni, CPA
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August 11th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
Can you believe it? It seems as if summer just started and now it is starting to fade. August is officially upon us, bringing with it that “back-to-school” and “back-to-work” mentality. I sincerely hope that everyone has enjoyed their summer so far and has had a chance to get in some good rest and relaxation.
Our season of activities is about to begin, and I wanted to give you a rundown of what is in store for us in the coming months.
- Saturday, Sept. 6—Our chapter will once again participate in the United Way’s Day of Caring. The Day of Caring is a chance for chapter members to spend a Saturday performing community service for various local charity organizations and to show that CPAs care! Last year’s event included a breakfast catered by Hodel’s at Stramler Park and a morning and afternoon of various improvement projects at the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter and the Bakersfield Rescue Mission. You can participate individually, as a group with co-workers or with your family members. Additional information will be forthcoming. Hope to see you there!
- Monday, Sept. 29—Our chapter is sponsoring a golf tournament at Stockdale Country Club. The tournament will be a scramble consisting of four-member teams. I encourage each of you to form a team and sign up to participate. Teams do not have to be comprised of only local CPAs. This also is a great networking event for bankers, attorneys, insurance agents and other business professionals in our community. So be sure to pass on the date to those folks, as well. Tournament proceeds will support our scholarship fund for local students who are pursuing an accounting education. As such, we are actively looking for event sponsors from our local business community. We offer various levels of sponsorship with different levels of benefit. If you would like to be an event sponsor or know of someone who would, please contact me, Kay Coffin or any of our board members. Additional information about the event will be forthcoming. We are very excited about hosting our golf tournament this year and know that, with your support, it will be a great success!
- Wednesday, Oct. 1—Our biggest event of the year, CalCPA Student Night, returns to the Four Points Sheraton Hotel. This event is a great opportunity for local accounting students to learn what opportunities await them in the accounting field upon graduation. The event starts in the afternoon with students visiting various businesses (public and private) to get a feel for what a day is like in the life of a CPA. It concludes with a dinner at the hotel and a panel presentation. This year, CalCPA Chair Greg Burke will attend and share his experiences with our students. We are looking for additional speakers, as well as sponsors, for the event. If you have any suggestions for either, please be sure to contact us.
In addition, our Young and Emerging Professionals Group has been quite active during the past few months. Lindsay Grudt, our YEP Committee chair, has done a great job of organizing monthly social events that have been well-attended, including some Pizookie Nights at BJ’s Restaurant. I know that Lindsay has some exciting plans for our YEP group in the coming months, including a bowling night and a Condors hockey night, so watch for those e-mail invitations and be sure to sign up to attend. If you would like additional information about the group or have any suggestions for events, please feel free to contact Lindsay.
Well, that about does it for this month and now … on with the show!
— Martin Goni, CPA
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July 8th, 2008
By Martin J. Goni
CalCPA is really a whole lot bigger than our Bakersfield Chapter. Nowhere was that more evident than at the Annual Members Business and Council meetings held in Hawaii a few weeks ago. Joel Bock, our chapter’s first vice president, and I recently returned from attending these meetings where we had the chance to see up close and personal how we are part of the largest state association of CPAs in the nation.
The meetings provided a great opportunity to meet a lot of new people and get in touch with the leadership at the state level. From our discussions it was easy to note that we are all CPAs facing the same day-to-day issues that we face here in our local chapter. It also was nice to attend the luau and see everyone knows how to have a good time just like us.
During the meeting, many important issues were discussed, and many new initiatives were highlighted. The exciting part is that we are going to get the chance to be involved in many of these initiatives at the local level. Examples include getting in touch with your local legislators to promote CPA mobility and the 150-hour requirement, as well as sponsoring an accounting doctoral program.
If you haven’t yet read your current issue of California CPA magazine, I strongly encourage you to do so, especially the article by our new state chair, Greg Burke. In his article, Greg highlights all of the initiatives he hopes to accomplish this year with all of our help. I will be sure to keep you informed of ways you can get involved as soon as events are scheduled.
And now … on to July! This is the month to celebrate what makes this country great. It’s the month to take a little break, a little vacation or just a little siesta. Here’s wishing you a great month. Our year’s events start soon. Be sure to check out your upcoming newsletters so you don’t miss a beat!
—Martin J. Goni
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June 9th, 2008
By Martin Goni, CPA
Welcome to June. Many of us will be attending various graduation ceremonies this month to celebrate completions of journeys from preschool through college. However, for the graduates, these ceremonies signify not only an ending, but also a new beginning to whatever lies ahead. What an exciting time for them.
And what an exciting time it is for the Bakersfield Chapter as well, as our year also is just beginning. Your officers and board of directors started out the year with a planning retreat at beautiful Bass Lake a few weekends ago. The event was unique this year in that it was a joint planning retreat with the officers and board members from the Fresno Chapter. It was definitely a treat to meet these folks and shares ideas and concerns related to our chapters and our profession in general.
During the retreat, we discussed plans for some of our upcoming events. First is the community service Day of Caring to be held Saturday, Sept. 6. This will be followed by our first annual golf tournament at Stockdale Country Club to be held Monday, Sept. 29. Our biggest fall event, CalCPA Student Night, is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 1. Additional information about these upcoming events will be communicated in future Bulletins, but you may want to save these dates on your calendar now.
At the planning retreat, we also discussed the importance of membership, since Bakersfield currently has the lowest number of members out of all of the state chapters. Although this is not necessarily a bad thing, it certainly does give us the impetus to reach out to prospective members, whether they are students interested in an accounting career, newly employed associates working on acquiring their license or seasoned veterans who are not CalCPA members. Becoming a member is easy, and membership provides numerous benefits, as you all know.
In a few weeks, Joel Bock and I will attend the annual CalCPA conference in Hawaii. In our next Bulletin, I will be sure to communicate with you any insight I gain or issues we discuss. So for now, I wish you a great start to your summer. I hope you are able to take some time to enjoy all it has to offer. As always, if you have any ideas concerning our chapter or would like to get involved in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the board members.
— Martin Goni, CPA
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