Channel Counties Chapter
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Archive for the ‘Chapter News’ Category
December 1st, 2009
We are looking for sponsors for our ABC Mixer. If you are interested, please contact chapter program associate Rita Williams via e-mail or call (805) 571-1558.
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December 1st, 2009
Do you know someone who has an interest in serving as a chapter board member, officer or director? Yourself, perhaps? If so, we’re accepting nominations. Article XI (4) of the chapter bylaws reads:
“Nominations by Members. Any member may nominate a candidate for Chapter Board officer or director. Such nominations must be filed with the secretary of the chapter not later than the 1st day of January in each year.”
Please forward all nominations to chapter program associate Rita Williams or call (805) 571-1558.
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November 2nd, 2009
Join us for this session on timely topics in fraud for local accounting and auditing practices. Among the topics to be discussed:
- Highlights of the ACFE 2008 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse
- Impact of fraud on an economic recession
- Overview of the fraud audit standard, SAS 99
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10
Register online.
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September 23rd, 2009
By Michael Franzen, CPA
Normally I would not be excited at the prospect of visiting Fresno in July. However, I jumped at the chance when I heard that the IRS was hosting a practitioner outreach event and tour of its Fresno campus.
The two-day program was held July 30-31 and 59 participants attended from throughout California and Nevada. The first day consisted of presentations by various sections of the IRS Fresno Campus, including Receipt and Control, Document Perfection, Automated Under Reporter, Correspondence Examination and Compliance Services Collection Operations. IRS most senior personnel made the presentations, with the initial welcome made by the Field Director for Submission Processing.
Following are a few highlights:
- The Fresno Campus receives and processes mail from 24 states and other IRS offices. Much of the mail cannot be identified by the mail processing equipment and must be sorted manually.
- The IRS stressed the importance of using the correct ZIP+4 number when mailing documents to the Fresno Campus. This saves a substantial amount of processing time.
- Surprisingly, the IRS stated that the volume of returns received just prior to April 15 actually slows down quite a bit. Then, of course, there are a large number of returns received that were mailed April 15.
- IRS personnel stated that when responding to an IRS notice, you should place the letter you are responding to on top of any other correspondence. This will help ensure it gets routed to the proper department. Otherwise, correspondence can easily get misrouted.
- For payments to be properly applied to the correct taxpayer’s account, the following information should be included on all payments: Name of taxpayer, SSN or EIN, year related to the payment and form number related to the payment.
- Two of the top reasons for delayed processing of returns is missing signatures and missing W-2s.
The second day consisted of a tour of the IRS Fresno Campus, which had not been open to the public since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The IRS occupies 14 buildings in Fresno. We toured the facility on Butler Avenue, the size of which is astounding. This particular property is on 47 acres and the building covers more than 13 acres.
What I also found remarkable is how quiet the building was. The end of July, of course, is not the IRS’ peak season, so much of the building was not being used. However, even when we toured areas that were fully staffed, the silence was prevalent. Many of the IRS personnel were at their workstations, with headphones on, working away.
Here is an interesting story to pass along, as told by the IRS Receipt and Control Operation Manager: The IRS has received various forms of payment from taxpayers over the years, such as cash, stamps, etc. One of the most unusual forms of payment, though, was when a taxpayer who mailed a gun with his return and included a note instructing the IRS to sell his gun to pay his tax liability.
The presentations were very informative. The campus tour itself was worth the trip, as I had never seen the facility. I would recommend attending this event if it is offered in the future.
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August 3rd, 2009
Santa Barbara CPA Discussion Group: Private Morality and Public Consequences
Don’t miss this event when Chris Hamilton will discuss three cases of financial fraud that demonstrate the impact of very “private” lapses of ethics and morality that had very profound consequences. These range from a case right out of the current news to a case in a small private company. In each case the financial fraud resulted in penalties for the person who committed the fraud but also resulted in ramifications far beyond what could have been expected. The stories are very interesting but, more importantly, provide lessons in how every fraud starts small. We will end by reviewing the simple steps that, if taken early on, can detect or prevent fraud.
Date: Tuesday, August 25th
Location: Santa Barbara Club
Cost: $20 Members; $25 Nonmembers
Ventura CPA Discussion Group: Technology Driven Fraud Detection
Join us a Richard Clements, VP, Senior AI Technology Department Manager at City National Bank, Security Pacific, Washington Mutual, Home Savings and Bank of America discusses fraud that is primarily driven by technologies.
Date: Thursday, August 27th
Location: Marie Callenders, Ventura
Cost: $13 Members; $15 Nonmembers
Contact Rita Williams to register for either of these events.
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August 3rd, 2009
The Good, The Bad and (See Schedule O for Continuation)
Tax Exempt Organizations are under increased public and private scrutiny, increased pressure to upgrade disclosures with respect to finance, management and programs, raise funds to support the increased need, and manage both the programs and the organizations in a more efficient manner.
Within this course, we will examine the new filing requirements of Tax Exempt Organizations and the related disclosures. We will examine the Form 990 including lessons learned from the most recent filing period and pitfalls within the form. We will also review the required public disclosures contained within the filing and how the filing will affect accounting and audit requirements.
- Legal Update
- Form 990 filing issues
- Lessons learned from the first Form 990 filing period
- Required public disclosures
- IRS audit implications of the Form 990
- Accounting effects of the Form 990
- Audit effects of the Form 990
To RSVP, email Rita at rita.williams@calcpa.org.
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June 23rd, 2009
The Santa Barbara CPA Discussion Group recently welcomed its newest member, Adrienne Huff, who joins committee members Mike Ray (chair), Monica McHugh and Patricia Krout.
During a recent planning meeting, the group reviewed new topic suggestions received from members, as well as prior year topics, for content and popularity.
Some of the upcoming topics that were decided upon include ethics and company fraud; new tax forms related to the Form 990; Adobe Acrobat; employment law; a QuickBooks topic; estate planning; long-term health insurance; and the ever-popular IRS liaison meeting.
If you would like to participate in the Santa Barbara CPA Discussion Group or suggest ideas for future events, please contact Mike Ray.
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April 23rd, 2009
Please note that the chapter’s office mailing and shipping address has changed. The new address is: 7127 Hollister Ave., #318; Suite 25A; Goleta, CA 93117. The phone and fax numbers remain the same.
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February 24th, 2009
From humble beginnings with 36 members and only a few hundred dollars in its coffers, CalCPA now boasts 33,000 members and has flourished to become the largest state CPA society in the nation.
To celebrate CalCPA’s centennial, the chapter is welcoming CalCPA Chair Greg Burke to our May 14 Awards Night, which will feature guest speaker Peter Khoury of Ovson Communications Group discussing “Coaching Skills and Different Generations.”
More details to come in future issues of the Bulletin. In the meantime, you can find more information on CalCPA’s centennial online.
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February 24th, 2009
Please take a few minutes to update your personal profile on our website and you also can indicate your preferred fields of interest. This will allow us to target your meeting announcements so you receive only those of most interest to you. (No more tax updates for auditors—unless you request it).
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