Happy Holidays

By Patrick D. Rogan, CPA

’Tis the season to be happy! I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season.

Last month I presented the most recent legislative gains CalCPA garnered. What I did not know at the time I wrote the article was that the victory had been achieved along very difficult roads. This illustrates that the dedication and hard work of CalCPA’s government relations staff, friends of the profession and many CalCPA members made this long and difficult process a successful endeavor.

One item of note I did not pass on last month was that continuing education requirements are changing effective Jan. 1, 2010. These changes include:

• Four hours of continuing education on ethics for every renewal period;
• A two-hour regulatory review course every six years covering the California Accountancy Act, plus California Board of Accountancy regulations and enforcement actions; and
• A minimum of 20 hours of continuing education (with a minimum of 12 hours in technical subject matter) each year of the two-year license renewal period as part of the 80-hour CE requirement.

More information on the new CPE requirements is available on CalCPA’s website.

As I write this message, the chapter’s annual student event at Sacramento State is sold out. What a tremendous response we’ve had from students, educators and professionals. This type of showing reflects how CPAs truly are interested in the future of our profession. Next month I will report on the success of the event.

The second annual ABC Night is fast approaching. Save the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 2, when attorneys, bankers and CPAs will gather at the Sutter Club to network and share stories. Last year’s event sold out and more than 250 people attended. This year we anticipate hosting more than 300 attendees. Don’t be left out in the cold—register early for this important networking function. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Rob Wallace or David Motes if you are or someone you know is interested in sponsoring this event.

The Estate and Financial Planning Committee will meet Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the Hard Rock Café to discuss the investment environment in 2010. See our chapter events calendar for more details.

CalCPA’s Technology Committee plans to host a free webcast Friday, Jan. 8, to discuss ways to protect your data. We will provide more details next month.

I welcome your comments and suggestions and would like to hear from you. Contact me via e-mail. I read each comment and respond.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:18 pm and is filed under President's Message. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.