September 2012 Newsletter

August 31, 2012

 

President’s message

Bethe Davis, CPA

Report to membership.  Budget deficit

The AKCPA’s board of director’s first quarter budget review revealed a large deficit.  Some of you may have received calls from our CPE committee asking questions about your participation in society sponsored CPE.  As you all know, the society periodically pursues feedback in a number of areas to be able to better serve you, but these calls were driven by more weighty concerns. 

We are currently in a budget deficit estimated at approximately $80,000, almost entirely due to the decline in CPE revenues this year.  CPE is chosen carefully and booked in the year prior by our CPE committee.  These committee members are volunteers from the local areas, and we strive to get as many firms and practitioners as possible to participate in choosing courses that will best serve the local area (they always welcome new members).  From our survey feedback, we know that the class scheduling and selections, as well as many firms taking more web based CPE, are the issues impacting this fiscal year.

The board and the Executive Director have revised the budget to minimize our impact on reserves.  We believe our projections for the final three quarters of the year allow us to operate partially on reserves and we will continue to look for ways to minimize costs and generate revenues.  CPE revenues are instrumental in supporting many of our programs and project costs as well as offsetting a large portion of our overhead.  We will keep the membership posted as the year progresses.

What can you do to help? 

If the remaining live class offerings listed on the website at http://www.akcpa.org/cpe/catalog are not what you are looking for, and you are considering a web based class, please take a look at our web based offerings.   

We understand the decline in CPE revenues is a national issue for most state societies and we have been proactive in working to develop partnerships to offer web based courses that will provide members with the flexibility and specificity they may need while allowing them to continue to support our local society.  We receive a percentage of the revenue for our referrals to our partners at no cost to you.  Many times we are also able to negotiate a discount for our membership as well.  You may have recently received an email from Linda showing a small fraction of the web based courses with CalCPA.  Please take a look at the full course offerings at http://www.calcpa.org/Content/26753.aspx.   For more information or other questions contact Linda at 907 562-4334.  Other web partners are listed here http://www.akcpa.org/cpe/.  We will continue to highlight different partners throughout the year and we are working on better delivery of options and information to our members.

 Why should you support your society?

Your society provides a number of benefits outside of classroom CPE, many of which are behind the scenes. The items listed below are not comprehensive but rather a refresher on a few of our organizations activities as well as opportunities available to members.

Legislative action:  Via our lobbyist and our legislative committee we are able to be informed advocates of the profession.  This combination allows us to monitor and react to situations timely and allows us to alert the membership when issues arise. 

Liaison to the State Board:  Keeps our members in touch with our state board concerns, and through them, in touch with national licensing concerns.

Ethics and arbitrations:  This position assists the state licensing investigator in understanding our specific licensing and ethical issues as CPA’s.

Interaction with media and public promotion of the profession:  Our office receives and forwards calls from the media and the public, and our website and Facebook pages provide information and referrals to the public, membership, and media. 

National exposure and networking:  Via our link and participation in our national level society (AICPA),  Alaskan members can maintains currency and awareness on issues that impact us, have the ability to make their voices heard during venues such as AICPA regional council meetings and Capitol Hill visits, and have representation at events such as National IRS conferences.  Reports, calls to action, and other information are provided to the membership to keep you informed and able to react.

Leadership development:  By participating in AKCPA events, committees, or Board service, members can benefit from rewarding opportunities to develop or enhance their leadership skill sets.  AKCPA is also working toward a formal leadership program/training to benefit members and their firms by fostering leadership and growth in Alaska’s best and brightest.

Accounting student support in the form of speakers, financial support of student groups, scholarships, student level membership and opportunities to interact with members in a variety of ways are just a few ways our society supports our accounting students. 

School Has Begun!

Amy Cooper, CPA

What does this mean for Alaska Society of CPA members?  For me, an accounting instructor at University of Alaska Fairbanks, it means gearing up for fall semester, preparing syllabi and class lectures, and getting excited about recruiting new accounting majors. 

All of us know we should give back to our profession.  Connecting with college students and showing them how much fun accounting can be is one of my favorite ways of giving back to our profession.    Granted, it is easier for me than most of you to make this connection.  That is part of my job…make that connection and show them the light.  But for a lot of you, reaching out to students, whether at the high school or college level, is easier than you think.  We all know that cultivating a bright, talented and committed future for the accounting profession is crucial.  The students want to hear from you, those who practice in accounting every day.  At the academic level, we try to give them the tools to understand the accounting theories.  We need the society members to give them the tools to understand how those theories become real life.

If you are interested in getting to know college students, the following are contacts for University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Southeast.

  1.  University of Alaska Fairbanks – Amy Cooper, 907-474-5745, akcooper@alaska.edu.
  2. University of Alaska Anchorage – Stasia Straley, 907-786-4137, scstraley@uaa.Alaska.edu
  3. University of Alaska Southeast – Vickie Williams, 907-796-6363, vickie.williams@uas.alaska.edu,

If you are interested in speaking to high school students, please contact Linda Plimpton at 907-562-4334.  She will place your name on a resource list to be available to accounting high school teachers who are looking for professionals to speak in classes, at career fairs, etc.

Spotlight on Web CPE

Check out the links below to our web based CPE Partners. Choose the offerings that best fit your needs and register today.

Thanks for your support of all AKCPA CPE sponsored programs!

Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy Report

Melody Schneider, Board Liaison

The summer meeting of the Board of Public Accountancy in Fairbanks was essentially business as usual.  Since this is the only meeting the Board holds in Fairbanks, it provided an opportunity for the Fairbanks CPAs to have a luncheon with the Board.  Topics included CPE audits and possible regulatory projects.

Cori Hondolero, the new Executive Administrator, has officially moved to Anchorage:

Atwood Building

550 West 7th Avenue, Ste. 1500

Anchorage, AK 99501-3567

cori.hondolero@alaska.gov

Based upon numerous factors including the recent revisions to the Uniform Accountancy Act regarding inactive licensees and the guidelines currently implemented in many states, the board members decided to move forward with a regulation project regarding retired and inactive licensees and the use of the credential “CPA.”

Additionally, the attest experience regarding application for reciprocity is being considered as it relates to license by exam and the possible inequity that may exist in the current regulations. The Board is not currently moving forward with any proposed changes; however, this issue will be on the agenda again in October.

Continuing Education audits are ongoing, and the results may create disciplinary actions for those found to have been less than forthright on their applications.

The investigations summary has been updated and may be viewed via the following link:

http://commerce.state.ak.us/occ/pub/CPA_Investigations_Summary.pdf.

A Consent Agreement was signed with Robert Thaggard for practicing on a lapsed license.  The terms of the agreement are a matter of public record and may be viewed online at the investigations link above.

The next meeting will be held in Anchorage on October 18-19, 2012.

 

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