CPA Day at the Capitol is a Huge Success

By AJ Major

There is something powerful, impressive and inspiring when you walk the halls of the state Capitol building. As cynical as I am about politics these days, I was again magically transformed into an optimist for CPA Day at the Capitol Jan. 18.

It was an impressive turnout of more than 200 individuals, including approximately 15 students, from across the state. The morning began with a live feed of the governor’s state of the state address, which really helped get the juices flowing. Whether you agree or disagree with his statements and proposals, Gov. Brown does know how to write a speech that gets his point across in a relatively short amount of time.

My group then called upon the freshman Assemblyman Luis Alejo from the 28th District (Salinas area) and Sen. Mark DeSaulnier representing the 7th District (Walnut Creek Concord area). The two issues we focused on in our meetings were mobility and potential sales tax on services.

Each representative was personable and engaging, and appeared to be empathetic to CalCPA’s positions, asking pertinent questions to get a clear understanding of the pros and cons and the nuances of these important issues.

At the end of the day I was left with a sense of hope and plan on bringing a few of my staff to the event next year. I would ask you all to do the same. It’s quite a sight to see more than 200 CPAs flooding the halls of the Capitol. Image what 500 would look like—and the influence it would bring.

The CalCPA Council meeting provided comfort that CalCPA remains dynamic and financially solid. I am looking forward to the new program for creating online communities, as well as efforts to foster membership growth.
An impressive radio advertisement for CalCPA was piped in during the meeting, and there was much discussion on innovative ways to increase both the student and professional membership levels. However, I believe the most effective way to increase and maintain membership is for current members to remain active and sell to nonmembers. If you know CPAs who aren’t members, share the benefits and ask them to join. Please do your part to continue making CalCPA the largest state CPA society in the U.S.

Congratulations to Charlie Burak for taking home the inaugural East Bay Chapter Emerging Professional of the Year award. Charlie is chapter chair of the Information and Technology Committee, and a frequent speaker at chapter events. A personal thanks to Charlie for all he does for the chapter—and all that he will do in the future.

More than 100 CPAs and attorneys attended the Litigation Committee’s annual Tax Issues in Divorce Mini-Conference Jan. 19. Thanks to Leslie Dawson and her committee for all their hard work and delivering another excellent program.

The votes are in so congratulations to the 2012-13 board. Thanks to all of them for volunteering their time to serve the chapter. We look forward to their installation in the spring.

Hope to see you at a chapter event soon.