November 2012 Newsletter
Bethe Davis, floating the Chena River
President's Message
Finally, we have reached the time of year when those of us involved in the tax side of things can take a breath and look around. Of course, as soon as we do, we notice the holidays are roaring down like a freight train, political debates everywhere, and (sigh) the snow is on the ground to stay. This year as I take that breath and look around, I am reminded of the old Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times” and these times are interesting to say the least.
I tell my kids I grew up in a time when national political debate was not predominated by what the other guy did or did not do, when grown men did not interrupt each other incessantly on TV in front of the entire world. Maybe I am romanticizing, but not a whole lot. As a financial professional I try to help my kids understand the current fiscal problems so they can evaluate the validity and sense of the proposed solutions. I hope they spread the word and discuss that understanding with their peers… after all, this is their future that is being spent. I urge you all to do the same with your children, with your family, and with anyone who will listen. I know I am not alone in feeling we are reaching a critical point in our own history. At the October AICPA fall council we were given a presentation by a representative of the Fix the Debt movement that was impressive, as well as easy to understand and communicate. The organization asks for our voices to help communicate the facts of the national situation and the reality of the numbers involved. This movement is bipartisan, education focused, and committed to promoting understanding and moving toward viable, sensible solutions. I urge you all to look into the movement, review and sign the citizen’s petition, look at the toolkits and spread the word. Please visit www.fixthedebt.org to learn more.
Looking at the enormity of the problems we face as a nation in terms of balancing the budget makes our own crisis seem a little small in comparison. But although small in comparison to the larger world it does loom large in the minds of your chief volunteers. While I am glad to report that we are already close to meeting our revised budget goals in terms of revenue and will likely be in range for the expenses it is by no means a balanced budget. We will continue to look into ways we can raise revenue to offset our overhead and cut expense, provide value to our members, and understand and plan for our role in the future. To that end we are going forward with our firm visits.
Firm visits are being scheduled now. Several members of your board of directors have volunteered to schedule outreach meetings with the various firms in their regions. We would like to provide an opportunity for members to voice opinions and provide feedback on the direction and future of your society, to address concerns or ask questions you may have, and discuss some of our plans and goals for the future. Our strength lies in our membership and participation and we want to hear from you. Due to the number of practices and the size of our state we will not be able to visit everyone but if you would like the opportunity, and have not been contacted, please let Linda know and we will be in touch.
On other fronts, times are indeed interesting; we had a preview of some changes at the fall council as the AICPA continues to advance towards practical solutions for smaller entity financial reporting. While the FAF’s Private Company Council seems to be focused on the existing standards, the AICPA is going forward with a new framework that will be developed and will fall under their regulation as an alternative reporting framework (OCBOA type). It is my understanding they are working to develop standards that will satisfy users such as bankers and bonding companies while making sense for the small/medium non-public entities (SME’s) and will be providing tools for members to come up to speed and to educate potential users. As you may have already read, some highlights include the use of historical cost, simplified lease accounting, and omission of provisions for VIE’s. After approximately 30 years, are we finally going to have an accepted alternative? Additionally, it appears the IFRS convergence is now on the back burner. Pretty interesting times indeed.
The exposure draft is available for review and comment on a new page dedicated to it at: www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/FRC/AccountingFinancialReporting/PCFR/Pages/Financial-Reporting-Framework.aspx
Please take a moment to visit the websites mentioned in this article and also to consider any questions or feedback you may have in relation to the society that you would like to address during our firm visits. I look forward to speaking to some of you and benefitting from your input.
Lance Bodeen enjoying Afognak Island, Alaska with his wife, Rachel, and friends.
Spending time with my kids, Ramsey and Lauren.
By Lance Bodeen
I definitely enjoy family life and being a CPA, but trying to balance family, friends, community, and profession does become a challenge. This article will focus on community.
I believe it is the responsibility of any professional to give back to his/her profession as well as to the community around them.
Alaska offers a fantastic opportunity to volunteer your time and talents. Whether you are volunteering planting trees, building homes, teaching kids, dancing at the senior center or communicating with your peers through the AKCPA, there are needs everywhere.
My goal, although it can happen easily, is not to spread myself so thin that I am not enjoying my community time. I pick a few areas of the community that I would like to be involved with and dedicate my time and energy to those activities.
I know there are many more generous people than myself, but you do what you can do and what your spouse can tolerate. After you have received a few lectures, you know it is time to ensure the family balance needs more time and energy; you need to accommodate.
This is a very demanding profession and our clients are equally demanding; I know that all my CPA colleagues work very hard at their craft, but please consider sharing your talents with others. It is well worth the time and effort.
If your talents include communicating with your fellow CPAs, the Alaska Society of CPAs has awesome opportunities to convey your knowledge. As I am still a young buck, I enjoy opening my ears and listening to what the older more mature and better looking CPAs have to say. It is all of our profession and we need to demonstrate the value of being a CPA, so I definitely urge you to get involved.
By the way if your talent involves being a sheep or goat hunting guide, please let me know, as you will receive a lot of my time and energy.
Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy Report
Melody Schneider, Board Liaison
The October meeting of the Board of Public Accountancy in Anchorage addressed a number of administrative concerns. A handful of items which may carry substantive merit were discussed, but all were deferred to later meetings. One such item was the question of attest required in reciprocity licensing agreements – it was discussed but no conclusion was drawn, citing additional need for research.
Travel is limited again due to State imposed budget constraints. The Chair will discuss this with the legislatures to see about modification. Additionally, the State has reevaluated and removed a substantial portion of the surplus the Board of Public Accountancy has carried for many years, as a result the licensing fees are expected to rise.
Continuing Education audits are ongoing with 40 plus audits still having potential compliance issues. Consent Agreements including fines and mandatory continuing education audits for future renewals were signed as a result of Continuing Education audits for the following individuals:
John Jay Rush, case no. 2012-001012, lacking 4 hours of required Alaska specific ethics.
Kevin Clem Kerr, case no. 2012-000981, lacking 4 hours of required Alaska specific ethics.
Sheila M. King, case no. 2012-001022, lacking 4 hours of required Alaska specific ethics.
Darlene J. Dotzler, case no. 2012-001017, lacking 4 hours of required Alaska specific ethics.
Michael C. Facer, case no. 2012-000969, voluntarily surrendered his CPA license as a result of a Continuing Education audit associated with a lack of required Alaska specific ethics.
The agreements are posted as a matter of public record. The investigations summaries may not be current (they are not under the management of the Board), but may be viewed nonetheless via the following link http://commerce.state.ak.us/occ/pub/CPA_Investigations_Summary.pdf.
Additional information regarding any consent agreement considered part of the public record may be obtained through the Executive Administrator Cori Hondolero. Her contact information is:
Atwood Building
550 West 7th Avenue, Ste. 1500
Anchorage, AK 99501-3567
It was noted that the 15th floor office area, where Cori’s desk is located, is not well suited for meetings or consultations due to the fact that there is no privacy (the allotted cubicle is open to a busy public space).
The next meeting will be held in Juneau on February 4-5, 2012. This will be the last meeting attended by Elaine Williamson and Carla Bassler. Their service has been of great benefit to the Board, and we wish them well in their endeavors. Applications for these two positions are currently being accepted.
Financial Literacy Committee
Josh McIntyre, Chair
The Financial Literacy Committee participated in the United Way's Financial Fitness Fair. Rita De La Torre(pictured), Jacque Briskey, Lance Bodeen and Josh McIntyre manned a booth at the event on October 20th. The event was a success and the committee gave out numerous magnets to the public on 20 Ways to Feed the Pig. Check out the Financial Literacy website at www.360financialliteracy.org/.
Join us for Christmas in Spenard
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Limited number of tickets available through November 26th.
Make your reservations NOW!
Tickets $23 per person
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
NAME____________________________GUEST_____________________
PHONE___________________ Amount enclosed __________________.
Check if you are interested in dinner before the show __________
Please call, email or fax your registration to—AKCPA Phone: 562-4334 Email: akcpa@ak.net Fax: 562-4025.
AICPA Announces 2012
Leadership Academy Graduates
34 Person Class of CPAs Under Age 36 to Help Lead the Accounting Profession into the Future
NEW YORK (Oct. 11, 2012) - The American Institute of CPAs today announced the 34 CPAs who comprise the 2012 Leadership Academy graduating class. During an intensive four day program held last week in Durham, N.C., these rising stars in the professi on learned to apply cutting-edge leadership theory to handle complex management challenges.
Now in its fourth year, the AICPA Leadership Academy was established to inspire, nurture and empower the next generation of CPA leaders by providing them with advanced leadership training, access to well-connected professional networks and opportunities to exercise leadership within the profession.
“The Leadership Academy showed me that there is more to being a leader than a vast knowledge of technical skills. Collaboration and communication are the skills that define successful leaders, and the Institute has done a fantastic job bringing together experts in these fields to share their knowledge with us,” said Tim Lyons, CPA, a supervisor with Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC and part of this year’s graduating class. “The opportunity to learn from these individuals is invaluable from a career development standpoint.”
This year’s class discussed the pressing issues facing the profession and charted the direction CPAs need to take to remain a dynamic and active participant in the global marketplace. Attendees participated in leadership development sessions with some of the profession’s most influential leaders, including AICPA Chairman Greg Anton, CPA, CGMA, Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the Institute’s president and CEO, Janice Maiman, AICPA senior vice president of Communications and Media Channels and Jeannie Patton vice president of Students, Academics and Membership.
“The future of the profession will depend largely on the ability of young CPAs to harness their passion and develop into effective leaders,” said Anton, CPA, CGMA, AICPA Chairman. “The 2012 class of the Leadership Academy is a diverse group of talented CPAs who will continue the proud tradition their predecessors have set and impact the profession for years to come.”
The AICPA selected the 2012 Leadership Academy from more than 90 candidates recommended by their employers, state CPA societies or both. Candidates submitted resumes which included work history, licensure information, professional volunteer activities, community service and awards and honors. Candidates also supplied a statement explaining why participating in the Leadership Academy would be important to them personally.
Details for the 2013 Leadership Academy will be available online in early 2013.
The full 2012 Leadership Academy class is below:
Aaron Lee Ackerman, REDBACK Energy Services, LLC - Oklahoma City, OK
Travis Paul Armstrong, Hemming Morse, LLP - San Francisco, CA
Evan Benson, PCAOB - Kennesaw, GA
Rob Berger, Anders Minkler & Diehl LLP - St. Louis, MO
Nina LoConte Chmura, WithumSmith+Brown - New Brunswick, NJ
Shelley Coleman, Doctors Community Hospital – Lanham, MD
Amy Kellum Cooper, University of Alaska Fairbanks - Fairbanks, AK
Chris Ekimoff, Duff & Phelps Corporation – Washington, DC
Michael James Elliott, Dittrick & Associates, Inc. - Burton, OH
Kristin L. Ferch, Trek Bicycle Corporation – Waterloo, WI
Chris N.Flynt, Daniels, Means & Flynt – Bentonville, AR
Mandy Kay French, HoganTaylor LLP - Oklahoma City, OK
Debbie Hale, Stoy, Malone & Co., P.C. – Towson, MD
Kayce LaRae Halley, Eide Bailly LLP - Fargo, ND
Andy Hayes, Kahn, Litwin, Renza and Co., Ltd. – Providence, RI
Alicia Ann Holland, Beaufort County – Beaufort, SC
Ben Hrouda, UDR, Inc - Highlands Ranch, CO
Kristine Marie Hull, Omaha Performing Arts – Omaha, NE
Lisa Gene Johnston, Custom Accounting & Tax PC - Cave Creek, AZ
Waylon Jones, Liberty Mutual Surety - Seattle, WA
Kevin Daniel Laird, Edgen Group - Baton Rouge, LA
Tim Lyons, Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC – Atlanta, GA
Katie Marion, Cox Communications – Phoenix, AZ
Rudy Alexander Mayoz, Baumann, Raymondo & Company – Tampa, FL
Trisha Nami Nomura, PKF Pacific Hawaii LLP – Honolulu, HI
Tony Pires, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP - Boston, MA
Jared Plummer, North Carolina State University – Raleigh, NC
Paris Powell, Perkins & Company, P.C. – Portland, OR
Misty Roberts, Dollar General Corporation – Goodlettsville, TN
Will Robinson, Arnett & Foster, PLLC – Charleston, WV
Rachael Katherine Sarson, Craighead, Lange & Hough PC CPAs – Michigan City, IN
Brent A. Simer, Deloitte LLP – Washington, DC
Jaymie Lyn Steiner, Rothstein Kass - New York, NY
Heather Zundel, Presbyterian Healthcare Services – Albuquerque, NM
