Parting Thoughts

By Joseph A. Forlenza, CPA

In today’s tumultuous and treacherous times, people need the advice of a competent CPA to help them navigate the noise and deception out there. As our clients’ trust dwindles with the loss of monetary value and personal values, CalCPA helps us to be that trusted adviser. By being a part of this vibrant and ethical organization, we benefit from the contributions of a community of professionals of unprecedented quality and stature.

Through CalCPA’s education and outreach initiatives, such as financial literacy, leadership training and the nurturing and development of emerging professionals, and by providing technical education in an increasingly complex environment, we develop a culture par excellence. By being part of CalCPA, I believe we become better professionals by getting out of the office and broadening our horizons. By leaving the box behind, we have rewarding professional experiences. This leads to our greatest potential, success and, often, personal fulfillment. So please seize the opportunity by renewing your membership today. It is well worth it!

As the economic uncertainty persists, I suspect tensions will run higher than normal. When differences arise, we will need to pursue a path of co-creation. In his book The Magic of Conflict, Thomas Crum recommends embracing the change. If we move off of our position and truly listen to the other party, we diffuse the situation by being empathetic with the other person’s position.

This results in an acceptance of common goals with various solutions being presented. However, this is not a process of giving in. As stated in the book: “It is valuable to note the distinction between co-creation and compromise. Roger Fisher tells a story which illustrates this difference. There are two people who each want a single orange. They fervently debate who is entitled to the orange. Being fair-minded people, they finally divide the orange in half. The first person, sort of happy that he has half an orange, goes to his house, peels the orange, throws away the peel, and eats the fruit. The second person, sort of happy that he has half an orange, goes to his house, peels the orange, throws away the fruit, and uses the peel to bake a cake.”

By truly listening and being willing to change, we open many more opportunities for ourselves and release the need to win at all costs.

I look forward to serving CalCPA and our chapter in my new position as past president. I also look forward to supporting Melody Thornton in her term as our incoming president. Melody brings great experience and leadership skills to the board. She goes out of her way to help and is especially passionate about developing the next generation of CPAs. I look forward to a fulfilling and productive year ahead.

After the tax season dust settles, join us for some networking and CPE events. I look forward to meeting our newest members at the New Members Luncheon May 5. Be sure to check out LaJolla/Life’s a Beach Discussion Group May 6 with Dick Maches for lunch, as well as the Young and Emerging Professionals Networking event at Cozymel’s in the evening. Also, mark your calendars for the following events: Accounting Day—May 10, Chapter Installation—May 12 and the Annual U.S.-Mexico Conference—May 21. Remember to have some fun and live your dream, because life is more than time spent at work.

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”— Albert Einstein

This entry was posted on Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am 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.