President's Message

John Rodgers, AKCPA President

The old saying must be true, “time flies when you’re having fun”.  It’s been a quick sixteen years since I made the decision to become a CPA, yet it seems like only yesterday.  For some of us sixteen years is just a chapter or two, yet for others it’s almost a lifetime.  Whatever your portion is you have to admit living in society today is anything but boring.

This past weekend was our annual meeting, which was held in Juneau.  The weather was spectacular: very little rain, warm sunshine, and some time to get out and enjoy it.  We had members, spouses and guests gathered for Society business, some CPE, and various activities that Juneau had to offer.  It was a lot of fun!

Visiting former AICPA Chair, Ernie Almonte and his wife Kathy, embraced all that Alaska had to offer.  When they were not at our conference events the pair could be found hiking, riding trains, and fishing for kings.  Ernie gave us a very heartfelt presentation about our current industry and the importance of integrity and other core values.  He is certainly an individual who stands by his honorable beliefs.

Our CPE presentation, done by Mac McClelland of K2 Enterprises, gave us an interesting perspective on the use of technology, PDF files and emails.  His presentation was at times controversial and argumentative but he held his ground to illustrate his point of view.  He has seen the dark side of litigation and emphasized the importance of an email retention policy and how it should be enforced.  He made the class very entertaining.

The first letter from the President should illustrate some goals for the upcoming year, so let’s get down to business.  First is the release of the Society’s new web site, http://www.akcpa.org/.   I logged on yesterday and was impressed at the speed and ease of use.  I was able to update my profile, sign up for CPE and review upcoming events.  This web site will be of great service for our members and others looking for CPA services within our state.  We will continue to monitor and make changes to this site as needed.  I would like to offer my congratulations to Linda Plimpton and our web site committee for their great work.

The second goal for my term is to promote and protect our State Society and profession.  With all the changes occurring in our profession we need strong representation to protect our interests. We are seeing increased scrutiny from the IRS and other regulatory groups as others try to position themselves to get a piece of our brand.

My third goal is to engage our younger population and show them what a great career this is.  They will need mentoring from those who have weathered the storm as the CPA certification is no easy task.  I hope to get more involved with the University of Alaska, and would like to see increased scholarship awards through our Society.

If you have some thoughts or ideas on how to accomplish these goals, or have some ideas of your own, I would welcome an email or phone call.   I must warn you, I am a card carrying member of the club that thinks if you have a great idea, you will be asked to help launch it! Do it anyway: Come serve your Society, the people I have met and worked with here are incredible!!

Finally, I would like to thank our current board of directors and committee leaders willing to serve this year.  They are a great bunch of people dedicated to their profession and our Society.

Enjoy the summer!

Best regards,

John Rodgers

President