The WashingtonCPA - May/June 2010

Attracting Students to Profession with Interactive Web Site

Effective Job Search Strategies from a Corporate Recruiter’s Perspective

May/June 2010 Volume 52, Number 6

3426 Need a Break from Being the Finance Expert?

New CPE Formats - Try It for Free

www.wscpa.org

16 Bizarre Legislative Session Produces One Sure Thing for Profession

washington

CPAStudeNt iSSue

3www.wscpa.org WashingtonCPA May/June 2010

www.wscpa.org • [email protected] Tel (425) 644-4800 • Toll free in WA (800) 272-8273

Fax (425) 562-8853 902 140th Ave NE

Bellevue, WA 98005-3480

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Carmen J. Aguiar Chair James R. Ladd Vice Chair David E. Katri Secretary Mark A. Hugh Treasurer Julleen J. Snyder Immediate Past Chair Richard E. Jones President & CEO

Robert M. Cole, Jr. Mary D. Marino Anthony J. Cook Russell D. Price Jolene G. Cox Thomas A. Pucci Lori E. Field Lisa J. Sunderman Audrey L. Godwin Randy L. Wells Michelle H. Gretsch William L. Wells Susan E. Legel Glenn G. Wisegarver Lucy L. Liu

CHAPTER PRESIDENTS Dean A. Granholm Bellevue Area

Joseph Crowther Central Joseph M. Reid Central — North Seattle Richard E. Helke, II Northwest Lawrence E. Siminski Olympia — Peninsula — Pierce County Dora K. Leung Sammamish Valley Connie L. Griffith Seattle Candace W. Charlwood Snohomish County Michael K. Briggs South King County John Vogel South Sound Industry Trayson J. Harmon Southwest Casi R. Densley Spokane

— Wenatchee Jeff S. Buege Yakima

Jeanette Kebede Editor

The WashingtonCPA is published by the Washington Soci-ety of Certified Public Accountants for its members. Views and opinions appearing in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the WSCPA.

The products and services advertised in The Washington CPA have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Wash-ington Society of Certified Public Accountants, its board of directors or staff.

The WashingtonCPA (USPS 009754) is published six times annually by the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants, 902 140th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005-3480. $12 of members’ annual dues goes toward a subscription to The WashingtonCPA.

Periodicals postage paid at Bellevue, Washington and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER:

Send address changes to The WashingtonCPA,

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DEPARtmEntS

CPAwa s h i n g t o n

4 Leadership Lens14 News Briefs16 Advocacy18 Industry Voice24 Events

26 Financial Literacy29 CPE Digest37 Registration Form38 ClassifiedAds39 MemberProfile

CoNteNtS

Student Issue6 Start Here, Go Places. Website Offers Greater

Interactivity for Students

10 For Students, Graduates and CPAs: Effective Job Search Strategies from a Corporate Recruiter’s Perspective

15 Washington CPA Foundation Awards $41,000 in Accounting Scholarships

16 Bizarre Legislative Session Produces One Sure Thing for Profession

19 Blue-Ribbon Panel May Lead U.S. to Different Accounting Standards for Private Companies

22 New Compilation and Review Standard Addresses Many Small Firm Issues

34 New CPE Formats: Try Webcasts, Webinars for Free

4 WashingtonCPA May/June 2010 www.wscpa.org

LEADERSHiP LENS

the Engaged Board. the Engaged new Professionals. the Engaged Washington CPA Foundation. the Engaged CPAPAC. the Engaged member.By Carmen Aguiar, CPA, Chair

A year ago, your Board of Directors during its June retreat celebrated the successes of the past few years that led

the Washington Society of CPAs to a new level in governance. The 21 members serving on the board of directors set goals for the year that focused on the vision of being essential to the success of our members.

As with every journey, challenges arose and doors to oppor-tunities opened. The key to success was the engagement of every director, every staff member, and every member.

it is the vision, along with the collaboration and the commitment of all those involved, that leads this organization to be stellar.

For almost 20 years, i have been involved in leadership at the WSCPA and the AiCPA. The opportunities with these two organizations led me to involvement with other organizations. This past March, i attended the AiCPA Regional Council meet-ing in Los Angeles. How energizing to see your Washington delegation continue to demonstrate the legacy as one of the most active and influential societies in the nation. Our Society’s commitment to being proactive and visionary is evident in our involvement at not only the state level, but also the national and international levels.

The Annual Meeting in Seattle on May 5 with speaker, Barry Melancon, President & CEO of the American institute of CPAs, demonstrates the respect between the WSCPA and the AiCPA. Barry will also address numerous Beta Alpha Psi accounting stu-dents from around the state at the University of Washington on May 4 and meet separately with your Board of Directors. As always, Barry is a wealth of knowledge on issues affecting our profession.

A snapshot of the 2009-2010 engaged leadership:

Our members invested in the future through the Washington CPA Foundation…

• Designing and implementing a development plan to create more opportunities to fulfill their mission

• Achieving a record year of fundraising, making the Foundation financially independent

• Awarding $41,000 in scholarships to 21 accounting students for the 2010-2011 year, with a goal to award $60,000 annually to 20 students [See page 15 for a list of 2010-2011 scholarship recipients.]

• Supporting the Accounting Doctoral Scholars (ADS) program, $10,000 a year

• Providing financial support for the WSCPA Financial Literacy program

Our members invested in legislative efforts through the CPAPAC…

• Successfully serving as your voice to maintain the independence of the Board of Accountancy from transference to the Department of Licensing.

• Monitoring proposals and bills of importance to our profession, educating legislators and clearly being on the forefront. Lisa Thatcher, our lobbyist, has been instru-mental in these efforts.

• Building relationships with legislators in their local districts and sharing knowledge and perspectives.

Our members invested in continuing professional education…

• Actively working with other state societies to meet the changes in the world of CPE by offering full-day webcasts.

• Delivered webinars for the first time with outstanding participation.

Our members value their investment in the WSCPA …thank you…

• Despite economic challenges, membership remained at record levels, over 9,600.

• New professionals represent 23% of the membership, up from 7% four years ago. Young professionals (and their employers) are committed to engaging in their profes-sional association and developing their leadership skills.

• 237 student members received their CPA licenses and became CPA members.

Thank you for providing me with the privilege and honor to serve as Chairman of your Board of Directors. i could not have worked with a more engaged board. We set goals, delivered and i hope had fun along the way. Many thanks to Rich Jones, our President and CEO and the amazing WSCPA team. i look forward to the future of our profession and our organization.

Be engaged. Encourage your aspiring and experienced CPAs to be engaged.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Harold R. McAlindon

Register for the WSCPA Annual Meeting with Professional Issues Update webcast online at www.wscpa.org

(search for WAM in the CPE/Event catalog). This qualifies for 1.5 hours of CPE.


LEADERSHiP LENS

i xfirst met Roy and Linda Polley about four years ago when Linda called the

Society offices to inquire about making a gift to the Washington CPA Foundation. i was new in my job at the WSCPA but knew that we had a small scholarship fund in Roy’s name on the books of the Foun-dation. That’s about all i knew about Roy. i of course returned Linda’s call and since then we have all become friends. Since then, i have learned a lot about Roy’s career as an educator and the incred-ible number of people whose lives he has touched. And i discovered how much Roy loved teaching accounting, no matter the venue. So as i thought about whom i would honor this year with the President & CEO award, Roy’s name came immedi-ately to mind and it stayed there. i could think of no one more deserving. Let me tell you a little bit about Roy.

Roy was born on May 19, 1932 in Tacoma, Washington. Except for ser-vice during the Korean Conflict, he has lived in Tacoma ever since. He graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma in 1950 and went to work at Northern Pacific Railway in Tacoma as a Clerk. in 1952 he was drafted out of the National Guard and into the Army and sent to Korea, where he was assigned to the Railway Transportation Corps. He was honorably discharged from the Army as a Staff Sergeant in 1954 and returned to Tacoma. in 1955 he enrolled in College of Puget Sound, from which he graduated in 1959 with a BBA, with majors in Eco-nomics and Business Administration and a minor in History. Four years later Roy received a Diploma from the interna-tional Accounting Society in illinois. Then in 1964 he received his MBA degree in Business Management from University of Puget Sound.

Roy began teaching at University of Puget Sound in 1963 as a Teaching Fellow and taught there until May 1999, when he retired as a Full Professor. Since then,

President & CEO Award Recipient: Roy PolleyBy Rich Jones, CPA, President & CEO

several former students who were pres-ent to see Roy receive the President & CEO’s Award, everyone present had a story to tell about how instrumental Roy had been in creating in them an interest

in accounting as a career and how he had helped each of them get their first job, including his wife Linda. The picture of this presentation is above. it is also on the WSCPA website at WSCPA Community/Member Spotlight/Awards. Roy’s former students in the picture are Michelle Gretsch (current member of the WSCPA Board of Directors and the Washington CPA Foundation), Bill Caddey, Cleveland Futch, Doug Collier and Linda Polley. As you can see, Roy was in the hospital at the time, but that did not prevent the group from discussing the many changes in the accounting profession over the

Roy continued to teach accounting on a part time basis at Pierce College and Tacoma Community College, until he had to quit in 2007 due to health reasons. Roy and Linda have kept records of all

of his classes over the years and report that Roy has taught accounting classes to about 15,000 college students. One of those accounting students was his wife, Linda, who Roy met through school and married on June 6, 1970. However, Linda was quick to point out to me that she and Roy did not date while she was his stu-dent. Linda worked in public accounting and in industry as an accountant and has been the Chief Accountant for the Polley family for the 40 years of their marriage.

Roy tells everyone how much he loved being an accounting professor. it defined his life. And he got involved in the lives of his students. At a recent gathering of

President & CEO Award recipient Roy Polley with Michelle Gretsch, Bill Caddey, Cleveland Futch, Doug Collier and Linda Polley

continued on page 15


COVER STORY STUDENTS

Start Here, Go Places. Website Offers Greater Interactivity for StudentsBy Heather Bunning and Erin Curtis, AICPA Academic & Career Awareness Team

Providing information to students about the numerous career paths in accounting is a fun and very important

aspect of what the AiCPA and the WSCPA do as professional associations. Whether doing classroom presentations or using online resources, you have the opportunity to share your CPA story and make a difference in a student’s future.

The AiCPA encourages Washington CPAs to get involved. You can share your story with students in an effort to raise awareness of accounting as a profession and career choice and be profiled in the Real-Life CPA section on the site. Featured CPAs also have the opportunity to respond to students’ questions about accounting, classes, the CPA exam and much more in the Ask A CPA section.

The institute encourages you to take a few minutes to complete the online questionnaire located at http://aicpa.org/CPAprofile and help inform and inspire the next generation of CPAs.

The AiCPA created the Start Here, Go Places. program in 2001 to encourage high school and college students to pursue careers in accounting and ultimately to become CPAs. Through a combination of online and print activities, the program pro-vides students, parents and educators with accounting-related career resources. The campaign has continued to be successful, increasing awareness and understanding of the CPA profession. in the fall of 2009, the AiCPA’s Academic & Career Awareness team launched an updated version of the Start Here, Go Places. website to inspire the next generation of CPAs.

“Over the past 10 years, the number of students interested in the field of accounting has grown rapidly. The tools and resources on the Start Here, Go Places. website were devel-oped to stay in touch with the ever changing CPA profession and to provide guidance to students interested in the field of accounting,” said Jeannie Patton, Vice President of AiCPA Students, Academics and Membership.

With the number of accounting majors on the rise and the overall popularity of the CPA profession increasing, the new site meets this demand head-on, building on the program’s exist-ing momentum, while providing an even more interactive and robust experience. Start Here, Go Places. continues to be the online destination for early exploration of accounting careers.

“The Start Here, Go Places. website is a place for students to realize the incredibly rich possibilities of a career in account-ing,” Patton said. “As more college students graduate with

Start Here, Go Places. website provides guidance to students interested in the field of accounting.


StudeNtS COVER STORY

degrees in accounting, younger people are increasingly intrigued by the field. Start Here, Go Places. is designed to be their guide to this rewarding profession. The site offers a more personal-ized experience for students to explore an accounting career, breaking stereotypes and featuring real CPAs.”

The Start Here, Go Places. website lays the groundwork for students to discover exactly what a career in accounting means, and gives them the opportunity to apply their own interests and values to finding a career that’s right for them. Among the many helpful resources located on the website, recent enhancements include:

• The FutureMe™ feature allows students to create a future vision of themselves by choosing a specific career in accounting and a road map to get there. When first visiting the site, students are presented

with questions to discover career paths that best suit their needs. FutureMe™ — the central feature of the site — lets students assume the persona of a CPA complete with the job, salary, location and perks of their choosing. Students build a FutureMe™ by navigating a rich Flash interface and identifying their likes and dislikes. Behind the scenes, the site builds a custom personality model that delivers a shortlist of jobs they are best suited for. Potential FutureMe™ jobs range from CFO for Tiffany & Co. to special agent for the FBi. Students save their FutureMes™ in the form of a customizable profile.

• Real-Life CPAs, which can be sorted by interest. included are audio/video and print profile testimoni-als from CPAs around the country. This feature allows students to see real life careers in action and provides

insight on what their life in accounting could be like. • Salary & demand information for

dozens of careers. Not surprisingly, this is a very popular section. The site now features a new interactive salary widget, “$alary $napshot.” With vibrant graph-ics and interactive, pop-up characters, the tool provides insight to the salaries CPAs can earn in different interest areas.

The Real-Life CPAs feature allows students to see real life careers in action and provides insight on what a career in accounting could be like.

(Above) Real-Life CPAs includes Washington CPAs Philip Bayley, Bob Bunting, and Bryce Hansen. You can get involved, too. Go to http://aicpa.org/CPAprofile and complete the questionnaire.

“As more college students graduate with degrees in accounting, younger people are increasingly intrigued by the field. Start Here, Go Places. is designed to be their guide to this rewarding profession. The site offers a more personal-ized experience for students to explore an accounting career, breaks stereotypes and features real CPAs.”



• Detailed information for each step of the journey to get from point A to point CPA: high school (job shadowing), college (school & scholarship searches) and post college (CPA Exam & licensure information). State-specific information is also included in the Get-ting There section to help students understand their own state requirements to become a CPA.

• Facebook Connect capability, which allows students to post and share content from Start Here, Go Places. to their personal Facebook profiles.

All of these enhancements were developed to keep students engaged when exploring potential career paths. in addition, the website was designed to help CPAs offer an interactive career presentation when invited into the classroom to speak with high school students. No more PowerPoint needed. Simply con-nect to the internet straight from the classroom and navigate the site along with the students.

Since its re-launch, the website has outpaced the previous site’s average time on site by visitors by 52% (Current site aver-age = 5:30 minutes / previous site average = 3:36 minutes) and has had over one million page views from registrants represent-ing all 50 states including District of Columbia, America Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin islands, india, China, as well as other countries. Additionally, visitors are viewing an average of 6.71 pages during their visit, with a steadily growing number of visi-tors connecting to the site through mobile devices.

CPAs respond to students’ questions about accounting, classes, the CPA exam and much more in the Ask A CPA section (above) of Start Here. Go Places.

How You Can HelpThe institute encourages Washington CPAs to get involved.

You can share your story with students in an effort to raise awareness of accounting as a profession and career choice and be profiled in the Real-Life CPA section on the site. Featured CPAs also have the opportunity to respond to students’ ques-tions about accounting, classes, the CPA exam and much more in the Ask A CPA section.

The AiCPA encourages you to take a few minutes to complete the online questionnaire located at http://aicpa.org/CPAprofile and help inform and inspire the next generation of CPAs.

To learn more about the AiCPA student initiatives, contact the AiCPA’s Academic & Career Awareness team at [email protected].

Heather Bunning is Senior Manager - High School and Community College Initiatives with the AICPA Academic & Career Awareness Team.

Erin Curtis is Coordinator - Student Initiatives with the AICPA Academic & Career Awareness Team.

Take a few minutes to complete the online questionnaire at http://aicpa.org/CPAprofile and help inform and inspire the next generation of CPAs.

The Getting There section shares everything students need to know to get from point A to point CPA.



DiscoverCPA.org Offers Resources for Future CPAs

“Students want to know: How much will i make as a CPA in Seattle? Spokane? Vancouver?” said Mark Peterson, WSCPA Academic & Student Relations Coordinator.

Students can learn what CPAs take home and what it takes to become a CPA in Washington at the WSCPA student website, DiscoverCPA.org.

What CPAs Take HomeOn DiscoverCPA.org, students can

compare average CPA salaries for different locations and download details on aver-age salary ranges for accountants working in Puget Sound, Eastern Washington or the Portland/Vancouver area.

What It Takes to Become a CPADiscoverCPA.org shares vital information

on why and how to become a CPA, includ-ing:

• education and steps required to sit for the CPA exam;

• discounts on CPA exam review courses;

• scholarship applications;• internship leads and tips;• WSCPA networking opportunities;• what to do after you’ve passed the

CPA exam to get a license;• WSCPA student member benefits;• and much more!

Students are invited to answer a few questions about themselves in the highly interactive FutureMe™ section. After the short quiz, the site suggests jobs that fit the students’ lifestyle and future bank accounts.



You have spent hours online search-ing job boards for open positions

and have applied for hundreds of open-ings. You are exhausted, but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. is there anything else you should be doing? Absolutely! Like with anything, the smarter your job search strategy is, the more effective it is going to be.

While working as a corporate recruiter, i had a front-row opportunity to see how candidate’s different job search strategies worked out. if the company i worked for extended an offer to a candidate, i back-tracked several key factors, including how the person found out about the job, how their resumes looked, how they inter-viewed and how they followed up. Now a business owner and career coach, i share that information with my clients. One of the first questions my clients want to know is how to find a job. in this article, i am going to share that advice with you.

Where Do You Want to Work?Start your job search by choosing 15

- 20 companies for whom you think you would love to work. They can be employ-ers you have heard great things about from friends that have worked there, businesses you have read about in the news, companies that are geographically convenient or employers who make a product or service that you love. They should meet your “hard” criteria too; they should be of a size likely to provide you with the type of employment oppor-tunities you seek, for example. This is a list you will add to and subtract from, as you gain more insight.

Apply NowDon’t wait for an opening to be posted

to apply. Some open positions can’t be

Effective Job Search Strategies from a Corporate Recruiter’s PerspectiveBy Jill Walser, Owner, I got the job! Career Service

posted, the person leaving may not know it (performance termination) or may not announce it publicly (planning a move), for example, but often the recruiter or hiring manager has already started looking. if your resume were to land on their desk before they needed you, you would likely get more attention than if you applied when they posted the job.

Research, Research, ResearchOnce you have selected your target

companies, start your research and record your findings on Excel. For each company, assign a worksheet and add information gained from news articles, blogs, company websites or word-of-mouth. Search your Linkedin contacts for people you already know that can offer insight into the

For StuDEntS,

GRADuAtES &

CPAs



company’s culture, hiring process, oppor-tunities, etc.

Use LinkedInNot on Linkedin? Join! Linkedin

provides a great place to keep track of your network. these are people that you work with or used to work with, friends, family, neighbors and fellow group members. The first step to using Linked in is to create a profile. You will enter information about where you have worked or volunteered, where you went to school, and the groups you are a member of. Then, start adding contacts; i suggest you only add people that you know, like and trust.

Lost track of some people? Linkedin has several ways to find people with whom you have lost touch. You can look up an old employer and see all of the people who have identified that place as their current or past employer. if you remember them, add them. in addi-tion, Linkedin has a feature where it will “look” in your email and tell you who you already know that is signed up on linked in. Alternatively, you can type in someone’s name and see if they have an account. in any case, the person will get an email from you asking if they would like to connect. Once they do, you will be able to see their profile and that is when the magic happens!

Let’s say you connect with 100 people on Linkedin and they have worked an average of five jobs each. That is poten-tially 500 employers where you now have an inside connection. The beauty of Linkedin is that you can also see friends of friends, raising your potential inside connections exponentially. You will know right who to go to to get the inside scoop on a particular company.

Linkedin has a few other terrific fea-tures and i have learned a few job search strategies that they do not talk much about. in addition to a terrific Q&A sec-tion and job board, you can learn a lot from looking at the profiles of people who hold your “dream job.” Wonder-ing what industry affiliations to join?

Check what groups that people hold-ing the jobs you want are members of. Wonder what your ideal employer is looking for in a candidate? Look at the profiles of recent hires for clues on certi-fications, volunteerism and education.

Build Your Network with Professional Organizations

Join and attend professional organi-zations. Typically, they meet once per month and you will often find that there is a guest speaker, they may offer snacks or a meal, and there is usually time for networking. Set a goal to talk to two or three people at each meeting. More than that and you will forget with whom you spoke. Ask for the cards of the people you converse with and jot down some notes about the conversation on it after your talks. Then, follow up – add them to Linkedin and arrange a coffee meeting if your conversation went particularly well. Folks i have worked with have had great luck with alumni associations, so consider joining those as well. Many have a charter to provide services to job seekers.

Keys to Finding a Job through Your Network

Treat your network connections as

you would your friends. Always ask about how you can be helpful to them, for example, to ensure they do not feel as if you are purely contacting them to see what they can do for you. Since the best networking is always done in person, casually ask if you can chat with the person in their office, short of that, a coffee meeting or other gathering is fine. Phone contact is next best, but try for a face-to-face meeting if logistically pos-sible.

The best networkers never ask for a job. They know that someone who knows, likes and respects them will be alert to potential opportunities without having to be asked. The key is to keep your network responding to you in the “yes” mode – Yes, i can tell you what i like about the company – instead of the “no” mode – No, we don’t have any openings. Don’t encourage your network to avoid you because they don’t want to say no.

Did you get a “yes, you can stop by” response? Let them know you will have five questions prepared and that you won’t take more than 15 minutes of their time—then stick to that. Make it clear when you have reached the end of your

“The best networkers never ask for a job. They know that someone who knows, likes and respects them will be alert to potential opportunities without having to be asked.”

Find the WSCPA company page on Linkedin at: www.wscpa.org/Content/networking.aspx



questions and observe the time, this will help them gain trust that you stick to your word and are not taking advantage of their kindness in seeing you. Quite likely, they will want to extend the conversa-tion and at this point, it will become more of a conversation and less of a favor they are doing for you. Even so, be respect-ful of their time and they will feel more confident in referring you to talk with someone else. Your tone should be curi-ous and positive while asking questions. Make notes during the meeting, add new information to your Excel worksheet and follow up on leads.

in addition to asking about what the person with whom you are talking likes best about the company, other great questions include, “What was your first position with the company?” “What is the hiring process like?” and “What advice might you have for someone in my situation?” Also, ask what groups or industry associations they are active in; consider following up on those groups to see if they might be a good fit for you. During your job search, strive to meet two people per week and join two groups that meet monthly.

Be sure to triangulate information whenever possible and don’t dismiss a job opportunity just because you hear nega-tive comments from one or two people. They may be disgruntled, had a bad boss who is no longer there, or were bad employees. Even the happiest employees will bring their own skewed perspective; just keep that in mind.

Where you cannot seem to source a “warm” connection to a particular target company, be sure to drop the name of the place into your conversations with people. Chatting with your neighbor? Toss in, “i wish i knew someone from XYZ. it seems like an interesting place to work.” if they know someone there, and if they know and trust you, they will introduce you. Don’t pressure them by asking out-right whom they know; you want your network to say “yes” to you and you want

it to be their idea, so they’ll take owner-ship of it down the road. Consider the difference: “Here’s that great controller i was telling you about,” vs. “John asked me to ask you if there were any openings for a controller.” The best connections come from a mutual party’s desire to make a match, not a desire to get you off their back.

Want AdsYou may have noticed that i have

not mentioned answering want ads yet. That is mostly because the numbers are against you. As a warm contact referred by someone that the hiring manager knows and trusts, you are much more appealing than a stranger answering an ad on the internet. This factor alone explains the reason why 70% of all open positions are filled by someone who knew some-one who knew the hiring manager. Sure, that leaves 30% of all jobs, but would you rather be one of 3-4 people personally referred for a position, or one of 300 – 400 who apply for a position posted on Monster?

By the time most jobs make it to Mon-ster, they are picked over. The company’s recruiter has exhausted their network of strong candidates as well as the networks of everyone that works for the company and is forced to go fishing with a large net. instead of taking the work of some-one she trusts that the candidate being referred is sane, smart and motivated, she has to shuffle through hundreds of

“Don’t be overly concerned about not being completely qualified for the positions that interest you. An 80% skill match is close enough for most places as they are also interested in hiring people that are a good culture fit and show enthusiasm for the company.”

anonymous resumes to try to find the best candidates. if answering ads on the internet is part of your job search strat-egy, try to keep it under 15% of your search time.

StaffingServicesConsider using staffing services, espe-

cially if your network is skimpy in your industry or if you are new in town. Know that it is thousands of dollars more expensive to hire you through a service than if you found the job yourself, so if you have leads on certain companies, be sure to let your recruiter know not to refer you to those places due to the com-missions involved. Wonder which service to contact? Check the Linkedin profiles of people working where you want to work for prior involvement with staffing agen-cies. Or, contact the HR departments of your target companies and ask if they are contracted to work with a certain com-pany. When you meet with the staffer, talk about temporary, temp-to-hire and permanent placement options.

Be PreparedYou never know where your next job

will come, so take advantage of every opportunity and be prepared. Practice a brief “elevator speech” about what kind of job you want and why you are a valu-able candidate. Tell a story about a time where you “saved the day” in some way in your last role. Don’t be overly con-cerned about not being completely quali-fied for the positions that interest you. An 80% skill match is close enough for most places as they are also interested in hiring people that are a good culture fit and show enthusiasm for the company.

Jill Walser, of I got the job! Career Ser-vices, is a former corporate recruiter now sharing inside secrets with her clients. www.igotthejob.us

To find upcoming Career Workshops led by Jill Walser, visit www.wscpa.org and click on Education and CPE/Event Catalog. in the Keyword search enter CW. Sessions are held at the WSCPA from 12:00-1:30 pm.


NEWS BRiEFS

CPA Referral Serviceif your firm is currently enrolled in the WSCPA Find a CPA Referral Service,

it is renewal time. The cost of the enrollment is still just $175 and covers your listing through June 30, 2011. Look for your firm’s renewal in early June.

if your firm is not currently enrolled and you are looking for ways to build your client base, look no further than the WSCPA Find a CPA Referral Service. The WSCPA referral service is a great source of new clients looking for services in industries that match your firm’s expertise. Rather than using directory assis-tance to find a CPA, potential clients feel comfortable about their referral from the WSCPA because they are able to view information about services offered by your firm. Learn more at www.wscpa.org (click on “Find a CPA,” and to enroll, click “Enroll online today”). Questions? Contact Jennifer Ayoub at (800) 272-8273, ext. 1142 (toll free inside WA), (425) 586-1142 or [email protected].

You should have received your WSCPA membership renewal invoice in

April. The invoice covers membership from June 1, 2010-May 31, 2011. Payment is due no later than June 1.

Paying your dues on time helps strengthen your professional organiza-tion by using the substantial dollars and resources saved in support of the profes-sion and your membership.

Renewing your membership by June 1 is easy and convenient:

DUES RENEWAL OPTiONS

Thank you for renewing your membership by June 1, 2010

: ONLINE at www.wscpa.org. Click Pay Dues

%CALL (425) 644-4800 or (800) 272-8273 (Toll-free in Washington) with a credit card

ÊFAx your membership renewal statement to (425) 562-8853

* MAIL with payment to WSCPA, 902 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005-3480

time to Renew Your membershipDon’t miss your chance to win the opportunity to read, play or getaway!

Pay early and get the chance to win big. The WSCPA will hold drawings for three different prizes giving you the opportun-tity to read, play and getaway.

1. Pay your dues by midnight April 30 and be eligible to win prize 1, 2 or 3 listed below.

2. Pay your dues by midnight May 15th and be eligible to win prize 2 or 3 listed below.

3. Pay your dues by midnight June 1st and be eligible to win prize 3 listed below.

The fun prizes in the read, play or getaway drawings are:

1. READ - Kindle and a $25 Amazon gift card to get you started!

2. PLAY - a Wii Ultimate Bundle.3. GETAWAY - $300 Visa gift

card. Use your gift card for a mini vacation or anywhere Visa is accepted.

As an extra bonus, if you pay your membership and update your profile by June 1, you will earn an extra entry into the drawing for the $300 Visa gift card!

To update your membership profile visit www.wscpa.org, log in and click Update Profile. Don’t forget to update your segment information — this cus-tomizes the information you receive from the WSCPA.

Thank you in advance for your prompt payment and for your continued mem-bership in the WSCPA.

READ, PLAY OR GETAWAY

Renew your WSCPA membership early and you could win:

READ Kindle and $25 Amazon gift card

PLAY Wii Ultimate Bundle

GETAWAY $300 Visa gift card.BONUS Renew your membership

and update your profile by June 1 to earn an extra entry into the drawing for the $300 Visa gift card!


NEWS BRiEFS

Washington CPA Foundation Awards $41,000 in Accounting ScholarshipsThe Washington CPA Foundation recently announced 2010-2011 scholarship recipients. Congratulations!

Laurel Berry-Huff Western Washington UniversitySamantha Bowman University of WashingtonNita Chang Central Washington UniversityMelissa Cheesman Seattle UniversityJordan Chester University of WashingtonPitichoke Chulapamornsri University of WashingtonKirsten Dezellem Gonzaga UniversityMegan Garber University of WashingtonAries Gomez-Gonzales Eastern Washington UniversityKirsten Hansen University of Puget Sound (Roy J. Polley Accounting Scholarship)Amanda Hehr Central Washington UniversityMatthew Herring University of WashingtonKevin Huynh Seattle Pacific UniversityEmily Kulm Washington State UniversityCarly McPherson Gonzaga UniversityMichael Plengrat University of WashingtonAymeric Prieur University of WashingtonLisa Rindal University of Washington - TacomaAnna Root Washington State UniversityAshley Thomason Western Washington UniversityJong Seok Won Washington State University

Past Scholarship Winner to Pursue Doctorate

Ryan Guggenmos, a 2007 Washing-ton CPA Foundation Scholarship

winner and 2008 Seattle University grad-uate, has been accepted at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, to pursue a PhD in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Ryan will begin the program in September 2010.

A CPA, Ryan has been employed with Deloitte & Touche, LLP, in the audit prac-tice for two years.

His interest in auditing supplies his doctoral studies focus. He stated that he has always been interested in questioning why people do the things that they do and plans to apply that question to the audit process. Through this pursuit, Ryan wants to contribute to the betterment of the accounting profession.

“i ultimately would like to land a research position at a major university. i would love to, someday, return to the Seattle area,” said Ryan.

The WSCPA and the Washington CPA Foundation congratulate Ryan on this impressive achievement and wish him well in his studies. We are happy to have invested in his education through the scholarship program.

Learn about WSCPA Members in the Spotlight at www.wscpa.org.

past many decades and also remi-niscing about their days as students in Professor Polley’s classes. Asked by Linda how he enjoyed the presen-tation of his award, Roy was his usual man of few words as he responded “it was impressive.” in case you are wondering why Mickey Mouse is in the picture, it is because Roy used to tell his beginning accounting classes that if they thought this was going to be a Mickey Mouse class that they were in the wrong classroom. That began a lifelong relationship between Roy and Mickey Mouse.

i have met very few professors in my life who have such a love for

teaching their students and whose love is returned so effortlessly by those students as they stay connected for many years into the future. You can’t fake that…it is very real.

Roy and Linda do not have children, unless you count the thousands of young people whom they have helped raise. They plan to leave a major por-tion of their estate to the Washington CPA Foundation for accounting schol-arships so that future college students will be able to complete their degrees and enter the world of accountancy. What a tremendous legacy for a wonderful couple. Roy (and Linda), you are my Man of the Year.

President & CEO Award Recipient: Roy Polley continued from page 5


ADVOCACY

Bizarre Legislative Session Produces One Sure thing for ProfessionBy Judy Love, WSCPA Director of Advocacy

the 2010 legislative session may well be characterized more in terms of

what did Not happen rather than what DiD happen for the profession.

State Board of Accountancy WILL NOT move into the Department of Licensing

The State Board of Accountancy will remain a stand-alone agency. WSCPA staff, lobbyist and literally hun-dreds of grassroots volunteers around the State communicated with their legislators about the Society’s opposi-tion to the Governor’s bill to move the State Board of Accountancy into the

Department of Licensing. The legislation died in both the House and Senate.

The Society’s position was supported by NASBA, the AiCPA and recom-mendations and comments highlighted in a report from a 2008 U.S. Treasury Advisory Committee on the Auditing

“if there is any good news to be gleaned from whatever tax increase comes out of this session it is that legislators never seriously considered imposing a sales tax on professional services.”

The WSCPA Advocacy Center at www.wscpa.org is the source to help you keep track of proposed changes to laws and regulations, contact legislators, and be an active Grassroots Volunteer.


MEMBERS ONLY

Bizarre Legislative Session Produces One Sure thing for ProfessionBy Judy Love, WSCPA Director of Advocacy

Will Your Profession Be the Same Tomorrow?

Still time to Register for Annual meeting and Professional Issues update, may 5

Profession urging “states to create greater financial and operational independence of their state boards of accountancy.”

The report cited additional concerns “about the financial and operational independence of state boards of accoun-tancy from outside influences, such as other state agencies, and the possible effect on the regulation and oversight of the accounting profession. A number of state boards are under-funded and lack the wherewithal to incur the cost of investigations leading to enforcement. in addition, some state boards fall under the centralized administrative ‘umbrella’ of other state agencies and lack control of financial resources and/or opera-tional independence necessary to carry out their mandate of public protection.” No Sales Tax on Professional Services

if there is any good news to be gleaned from whatever tax increase comes out of this session it is that legislators never seri-ously considered imposing a sales tax on professional services. WSCPA staff, lobby-ist and members with state and local tax expertise began providing input to key budget writers as early as October about the inadvisability of looking to a sales tax on professional services as a remedy for the State’s budget shortfall.

As of this writing, the seemingly endless 2010 legislative session leaves undecided how lawmakers will settle dif-ferences in order to balance the State’s budget. The only sure thing is an increase in taxes. Which taxes and how large an increase have a few key decision-makers in a deadlock. An increase in the B&O rate on services is likely.

The WSCPA invests heavily in its advo-cacy efforts on behalf of the profession. As you renew your membership dues for the coming year, keep in mind the value of that investment.

Many of the events behind daily news headlines have the potential to fundamentally change the CPA profession and your job. What does this

mean for you? Join with other members of the WSCPA for this year’s annual meeting via live webcast Wednesday, May 5 to take a closer look at this question and learn what the possible answers mean for your job.

The WSCPA is pleased to have the very informative and engaging Barry C. Melancon, CPA, as the keynote speaker for WSCPA Annual Meeting: Update on the Profession.

Barry Melancon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American institute of Certified Public Accountants (AiCPA), the national professional orga-nization of CPAs with 350,000 members. He directs the institute’s operations in New York; Durham, NC; Washing-ton, DC; and Lewisville, TX. As head of the largest body of CPAs in the world, Melancon is called upon to repre-sent the institute with state, national and international organizations and is sought after by key opinion leaders for his expertise.

Mr. Melancon’s knowledge and expe-rience will make attending this meeting via live webcast a worthwhile and engag-ing experience as he guides participants through a fast-paced, up to the minute look at issues, changes, challenges and opportunities—both national and international—facing the profession. Learn about the status of iFRS conver-sion efforts, changes to the CPA exam, progress report on international admin-istration of the CPA exam, tax strategy patents, the latest bills in Congress that affect CPAs and more.

Learn more about where your pro-fession will be tomorrow—register today for this live webcast and partici-pate from the comfort and convenience of your own desk.

Register in the CPE/Event Catalog at www.wscpa.org (enter WAM in the keyword search).

MEMBERS ONLY WEBCAST - Annual Meeting and Professional issues Update

KEYNOTE SPEAKERBarry Melancon, CPAAiCPA President and CEO

DATE Wednesday, May 5TiME 7:00 - 9:30 a.m.CPE 1.5 technical creditsFEE $15

ReGiSteR at www.wscpa.org (enter WAM in the CPE/Event Catalog keyword search)

This webcast will give you a look behind the headlines and into the future: international account-ing standards, GAAP for small companies, internationalization of the CPA exam, the iRS pro-posal to license tax preparers and more. Melancon’s presentation will be preceded by the 30-minute WSCPA Annual Meeting.


iNDUSTRY VOiCE

WEBINAR: Understanding the Changing Retirement Plans Landscape (WNR17) May 19 | Your Desk You know as well as anyone that keeping current on the many changes seen in qualified and non qualified retirement plans over the years is tricky. Join us for a refresher that has a little something for everyone:

• Review the retirement plan market place; • Find out which plan and service arrangements make

sense for your clients; • Learn what to look for when consulting with your

clients;• And much more.

Washington State Tax Conference (WSTC) May 20 | Cedarbrook Lodge, Seattle

Changes to Washington State law affect your CPA practice, your clients and your employer. The Washington State Tax Conference, designed for CPAs and other finance profession-als, will explore and examine the essential tax topics for 2010. The conference includes these sessions:

• Why Washington Should Not impose a Sales Tax on Professional Services;

• New Washington Tax Court Cases; • New Washington Tax Legislation and Significant

Department of Revenue issuances; • The Year in Review and Future initiatives from the

Department of Revenue’s Perspective;• Apportionment of Revenue from Service Activities; • Taxation of Digital Products; and• Hot Topics in Washington

Property Tax.

WEBINAR: The New Form 5500: EFAST2... Are you Ready? (WNR18) May 26 | Your Desk

The DOL has made significant changes to form 5500. Retire-ment plan sponsors are now required to file forms electroni-cally. How will it work? What new information is required? How will the iQPA audit report be filed? Will the DOL be ready to accept thousands and thousands of electronic filings? Join us for an informative session answering these questions and more:

• Learn how to assist your clients to file electronically. • Find out whether your clients are eligible to use the

5500 Short Form. • Review the new fee disclosures on Schedule C.

• Discover how to obtain credentials from the DOL to submit iQPA audit reports electronically.

• And much more.

A Quick Look at QuickBooks Pro (QBP) June 9 | Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue

Although QuickBooks is generally labeled as an “entry level” accounting solution, it is an extremely powerful product with features and capabilities of which many users are either not aware or don’t know how to utilize effectively. This course is designed to help you get more out of QuickBooks and to resolve the issues with which even experienced QuickBooks users often struggle.

PerformanceAnalysis:IdentifyingProfit Improvement Opportunities (PA) June 14 | WSCPA Learning Center, Bellevue

Discover ways to make your company more profitable. This fast-paced, interactive seminar will teach you how to use operational auditing and performance analysis techniques to identify and implement cost saving opportunities and processes.

Audits of 401(k) Plans (AFKP1) June 16 | Hampton Inn, Spokane

401(k) plans have become a popular option for employee benefit plans, so you must have the skills to audit these plans effectively. This course will cover every aspect of how to audit a 401(k) plan and prepare financial statements that satisfy ERiSA and SEC requirements. Tap into ways to plan and conduct 401(k) audits more efficiently and effectively, and understand the differences between 401(k) audits and other employee benefit plan audits.

Creating a Positive Work Culture with Performance Feedback (CPW1) June 23 | WSCPA Learning Center, Bellevue

Do you ever wish one of your reporting employees wouldn’t come to work? Would you like to fix the problem so you can look forward to that employee being there and contrib-uting? Most likely an effective fix will require providing some performance feedback. This seminar will explain the keys to creating a positive work culture with performance feedback and build an organizational culture that embraces perfor-mance feedback. Learn about additional seminars for CPAs working in business and industry at www.wscpa.org.

On Fire CPEFor Industry CPAs


ACCOUNTiNG STANDARDS

the AiCPA and the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF),

with support from the National Associa-tion of State Boards of Accountancy, have formed a blue-ribbon panel to explore the future of standard setting for private companies, including whether separate, standalone accounting standards for pri-vate companies are needed. The FAF is the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The panel is expected to make recommenda-tions this fall.

Most of the recent discussions con-cerning financial reporting standards have centered on international Financial Reporting Standards (iFRS), specifically on whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will endorse the pro-posed roadmap released under the previ-ous administration that could lead to all U.S. public companies being required to use iFRS on a phased-in basis beginning as early as 2014. Yet even if the SEC eventu-ally mandates the use of iFRS to replace U.S. generally accepted accounting prin-ciples (GAAP), the requirement would apply only to the approximately 15,000 public companies in the United States.

But what about the 29 million private companies that will continue using U.S. GAAP?

“We need to take a fresh look at how U.S. accounting standards can best meet the needs of private company financial statement users, and that’s what this blue-ribbon panel will do,” says Rich Jones, President & CEO of the Washington Soci-ety of CPAs. “i expect the panel’s recom-mendations to be an extremely positive development for our state’s many private companies and the CPA firms who serve them.”

in early January, Rick Anderson, CEO of Moss Adams LLP, was named chairman of the panel. Anderson currently serves on the FAF Board of Trustees, was a member of the AiCPA governing Council

for three years and is the immediate past chair of the AiCPA Major Firms Group. The panel’s other members will repre-sent a cross-section of financial reporting constituencies, including lenders, inves-tors, owners, preparers and auditors.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses employ more than half of all private sector work-ers and are responsible for 44% of the private payroll in the United States. They also have produced 64% of the new jobs created during the past 15 years. Many of these companies are small and medium-sized organizations that report

to a narrow range of financial statement users, such as lenders, venture capitalists and insurers.

“Small business has also been instru-mental in creating new innovations and are an important element in our eco-nomic recovery,” says Robert R. Harris, CPA/CFF, chairman of the AiCPA Board of Directors. “We need a financial report-ing system that provides financial state-ment users and small business owners with information they can truly use and understand. We CPAs know full well that the financial reporting needs of our pri-vate company clients or employers and

Blue-Ribbon Panel may Lead u.S. to Different Accounting Standards for Private Companies

Even if the SEC eventually mandates the use of iFRS to replace U.S. GAAP, the requirement would apply only to the approximately 15,000 public companies in the United States. What about the 29 million private companies that will continue using U.S. GAAP?


ACCOUNTiNG STANDARDS

their financial statement users are differ-ent from those of public companies. it’s time for accounting standards to reflect this difference, where appropriate.”

in recent months there have been many calls within the accounting profession for a new and comprehensive evaluation of private company account-ing. included in those calls was the voice of the Private Company Financial Report-ing Committee (PCFRC), a joint initia-tive of the AiCPA and the FASB. For the past several years, the PCFRC has been monitoring standard setting and speak-ing out on behalf of the needs of private

companies and the CPAs who serve them.

“The goal is to bring valuable infor-mation to the users of private company financial statements without burdening those companies and their CPAs with requirements that have no relevance to their investors, lenders and other finan-cial statement users,” says Harris. “By doing this, we should also be able to help control financial reporting costs, some-thing i know our members in business and industry will appreciate.”

“The time has come to address accounting standards for the majority of

“We CPAs know full well that the financial reporting needs of our private company clients or employers and their financial statement users are different from those of public companies. it’s time for accounting standards to reflect this difference, where appropriate.”

America’s businesses at the policy level and the recently created blue-ribbon panel will do just that,” said Rich Jones.

Source: AICPA. Printed with permission.

Washington society of

certified Public accountants

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COMPiLATiON AND REViEW

Other ChangesAnother important change made by

SSARS No. 19 is that the new standard separates the compilation guidance from the review guidance. For the large number of small firm practitioners who perform compilations but not reviews, this makes the compilation guidance much easier to use. Other significant changes include:

• A discussion of how the accountant obtains limited assurance through the performance of review procedures.

• introduction of the term review evidence to the review literature.

• A discussion of tailoring the review procedures based on the accountant’s understanding of the client’s industry, knowledge of the client, and awareness of the risks that he or she may unknowingly fail to modify the review report on materially mis-stated financial statements.

• A discussion of materiality in the context of a review engagement.

• A requirement that an accoun-tant document the establish-ment of an understanding with management through a written communication (e.g., an engage-ment letter) regarding the services to be performed.

• The establishment of enhanced documentation requirements for compilation and review engagements.

New Standard Differs from Exposure Draft

There are a couple of differences between the exposure draft released for comment in April 2009 and the final standard that was issued. Most notably, the proposal to allow an accountant to

At its final meeting of 2009, the AiCPA’s Accounting and Review

Services Committee (ARSC) approved Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) No. 19, a new compilation and review standard that includes the most significant changes to the SSARSs since 1978. An over-arching goal of the new standard was to address issues that had emerged over years with small CPA firms and their small busi-ness clients.

For example, one of the major changes reflected in the new standard is to allow, but not require, CPAs to disclose in the compilation report the reason(s) why they are not independent when per-forming a compilation service. CPAs always had been permitted to perform compilations when not independent but were prohibited from including in the

new Compilation and Review Standard Addresses many Small Firm Issues

report an explanation regarding the lack of independence. The standard is effec-tive for compilations and reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2010, with the exception of the new provision on the compilation reporting option which may be implemented early. With SSARS No. 19’s issuance on December 30, 2009, the compilation reporting option became available.

“This change has long been supported by many CPAs from small firms, as well as by those who use their compila-tion reports,” says Rich Jones, President & CEO of the Washington Society of CPAs. “Allowing CPAs to explain the rea-sons why they are not independent will provide transparency to users and flex-ibility for CPAs.”

One of the major changes reflected in the new standard is to allow, but not require, CPAs to disclose in the compilation report the reason(s) why they are not independent when performing a compilation service.


COMPiLATiON AND REViEW

Three Seminars for Peer Review Firms and ReviewersHow to Conduct a Review Under the AiCPA Practice-Monitoring Program (HCRPM), June 7-8, Bellevue

Upcoming Peer Review: is Your Firm Ready? (SNPR), June 9, Bellevue

Learn more or register at www.wscpa.org. AiCPA’s Advanced Workshop: Practical Guidance for Peer Reviewers (#07682), June 10, Beaverton, OR

Learn more or register with the Oregon Society of CPAs at www.orcpa.org.

perform a review engagement when the accountant’s independence was impaired due to the performance of internal con-trol services to the client was deferred. Based on comments on both sides of the issue, the ARSC decided to conduct additional outreach with key stakehold-ers to glean more insight on such review engagements.

More information about the recent changes to the SSARSs, including an Executive Summary of Compilation and Review Engagements – SSARS No. 19 and guidance on the compilation report-ing option, can be found at www.aicpa.org/reliability.

Source: AICPA. Printed with permission.


eVeNtS

2010 new Professionals networking Events

SPONSORS Event fees are low thanks to these sponsors: FOR ONLY $20/PERSON (unless noted otherwise), each event includes: networking with young CPAs, bankers and lawyers; activities, prizes, appetizers and drinks.

REGISTER and learn more at www.wscpa.org (search for NP in the Education & Events Catalog) or call (425) 644-4800. Locations subject to change. Check online at www.wscpa.org for latest event details.

SPOKANE EVENTSJUNE 17 Lake Coeur D’Alene Cruise (NP02),

The Coeur d’Alene ResortAUG 13 New! Scavenger Hunt (NP05),

downtown SpokaneoCt 21 New! Billiards Tournament (NP07),

Far West Billiards

PUGET SOUND EVENTSMAY 14 New! Horse Races (NP13), Emerald Downs,

AuburnJuNe 9* Billiards Tournament (NP01), Jillian’s, SeattleJULY 16 BBQ Picnic (NP03), BellevueAUG 11 Argosy Cruise (NP04), Seattle, $30SEPT 16* Members’ Reception (NP06), Rock Bottom

Brewery, Bellevue, complimentaryoCt 28 New! Whirly Ball (NP08), SeattleNOV 17* Casino Night (NP09), Redhook Ale Brewery,

Woodinville

* One lucky eligible attendee will win a CPA exam review prize.


eVeNtS

TUKWILA South King County Chapter CPA/Student Bowling Slam | February 6

Photo AlbumEvents for students around the state...

SPOKANE Spokane Chapter E Clair Daniels Event: Best Practices in Accounting & Auditing in the inland Northwest | February 10

TOPPENISH Heritage University Success Skills Event | February 18


FiNANCiAL LiTERACY

need a Break from Being the Finance Expert? By Amy O’Donnell, WSCPA Financial Literacy Program Manager

Are you the local financial expert in your circle of friends and family?

You may have found yourself helping someone with basic questions and real-ized that they need more information than you can provide or have the time for. Fortunately, there are great resources to help them become their own financial expert.

How do you determine which resources to recommend? A web search can yield lots of results—some will be fan-tastic resources and others may be selling a product or even worse, a front for a scam. The key thing to look for is that the information on the website is not biased and, whenever possible, non-commercial. Websites with interactive components, such as calculators, are another factor to consider. These tools provide feed-back for the user to know where they are lacking in funds, education or both. To help you sift through the websites, below are some suggestions. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

Managing MoneyThere are several websites that help

individuals manage their funds on-line and create easy to follow displays of cur-rent spending levels, where savings can be made and target for spending categories. Using these tools can be a real eye opener and quickly identify spending leaks. Some websites to consider:

• Mint.com: Mint gathers finan-cial information from your bank accounts and downloads them into a Mint account. Mint then does the bookkeeping and cre-ates graphs to display assets and debts. it also provides tips on where you can save money and reminders to pay your bills.

• GoSimplifi.com:Sophie (an online guide) helps users review their finances and make plans.

• Lifetuner.org (from AARP): Provides tools for reviewing your finances and education resources. AARP also has a Money section on its main web-site with information for those who are retired or getting close to retirement.

Range of TopicsFor general financial education or

websites with an array of topics, consider recommending:

• AICPA’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy (360financialliteracy.org): This site provides financial topics by life stages in simple concise language. Recently redesigned, this site includes new tools for consumers, such as a blog.

• Feed the Pig (feedthepig.org): Find savings tips and calcula-tors to help consumers evalu-ate spending habits and make goals. includes a new section for tweens (4-6th graders).

• Bankrate.com: Consumers can search for the best rates on mortgages, savings accounts, and credit cards. Financial education and videos are also available.

• Washington Department of Financial Institutions Clear-inghouse (www.dfi.wa.gov/financial-education.htm): Con-sumers can review resources by topic. The site also offers information for parents and educators, along with links to other helpful websites. Down-load DFi’s series of booklets on the basics of investing, created in partnership with Kiplinger’s.

Need a break from being the finance expert? Encourage your friends and family to use the “Ask the Expert” sections of 360financialliteracy.org and Lifetuner.org.


FiNANCiAL LiTERACY

Every quarter the women at Grace Covenant Community Church hold a seasonal dinner party. Women are invited to attend a formal dinner fol-lowed by playing bunko or doing crafts. in March, they had an evening on Finances. i was invited to speak to the women about financial issues in a tough economy and where to find answers to their concerns.

Honestly, i was not expecting many ladies would come out to such an eve-ning. i was pleasantly surprised when i was greeted by eighty “church ladies” that were not even fazed by the use of “casino” cards to “raffle” door prizes. These women knew how to have “fun” in a dys-fun-ctional financial world.

After dinner, the ladies started their evening with a group lip-sync of “Money Makes the World Go Around.” This was followed by me being intro-duced as Money Harmon. i then presented in the most light-hearted manner possible basic financial con-cepts such as managing credit card debt, home finances, and consumer spending.

Following dessert i was allowed to conclude with a Saturday Night Live video clip with Steve Martin (www.commoncraft.com/friday-funny-snl-dont-buy-stuff-you-cannot-afford).

These church ladies made an evening of learning financial issues into a fun event. When it was time to leave, they were well stocked with web addresses like www.feedthepig.org and great resource materials provided by the WSCPA.

i have been invited to return to discuss with the young women and their husbands on educating their children on finances. Amy O’Donnell ([email protected]) provided all the support and boxes of handouts for the event above. You can bet i will be contacting Amy before this next presentation.

How about you? is there a group that could benefit from your knowledge of financial literacy?

Who Said Church Ladies Can’t Have Fun?Olympia Church Discusses Financial Issues at Seasonal CelebrationBy Monty Harmon, CPA, Harmon Consultants, Inc

• Choose to Save (www.choos-etosave.org): General education, retirement resources and a comprehensive list of websites are provided through this site. The Ballpark Estimator helps individuals identify how much they will need for retirement.

• Many news organizations, such as PBS, MSN and CNN, have money sections that cover a range of financial topics.

• Magazines like Kiplinger’s have websites with general resources for the public as well. For the basics of investing, a few to check out are FiNRA and investor Protection Trust.

• Government and regulatory agencies such as the Depart-ment of Treasury, FDiC, Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Financial Literacy Educa-tion Commission also provide consumer education.

if you are looking for supplemental materials for a presentation, any of the websites listed above are great places to check.

Need a break from being the expert? Both 360 Degrees of Financial Liter-acy and Lifetuner.org have an “Ask the Expert” section. You can let someone else field the questions for awhile.

Staying current on the latest news on personal finances and their effect can be challenging. There are several ways to stay up to date that require minimal efforts on your part. Using RSS feeds, Google Alerts, following a blog of a favorite finan-cial guru, columnist or organization, and e-newsletters. these methods allow you to quickly scan what the current topics of interest are, changes to laws or rules and how they may affect you.

WSCPA members may request financial literacy curriculum for

adults, elementary and high school students. these can be downloaded at www.wscpa.org under the Financial Literacy tab.

Amy O’Donnell, WSCPA Financial Literacy

Program Manager, writes the WSCPA FL Blog, where she highlights financial resources and shares financial literacy news and vol-unteer opportunities. Visit the FL Blog in the Financial Literacy section of www.wscpa.org.

“these women knew how to have “fun” in a dys-fun-ctional

financial world.”


eVeNtS

May 17, 2010 1:00 p.m. start Register today! Registration deadline: May 10

In addition to CPAs and their clients, bankers and lawyers, friends and family are welcome to attend.

Don’t miss this opportunity to golf at Bear Creek, an exclusive club.

Special price break for 2010: $110/person, $210/two people, or $420/team of four

Along with golf, this event includes cart, lunch, dinner, drinks, reception and prizes!

Registration Call (425) 644-4800 or (800) 272-8273 (toll-free in Washington).

Questions? Please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (425) 644-4800.

13737 202nd Ave NEWoodinville, WA 98077www.bearcreekcc.com

D2 Productions

Golf tournament


CPE Digest Education and Event Listing .....page 30Registration ................................. page 37

Try it for free!

Webcasts and webinars

for members... see page 34

What’s your CPE style?

Prefer seminars and conferences?As a member, you can save $75 on 8-hour seminars or conferences. Plus, save even more with a Season Ticket. See page 30 for the hundreds of programs. Look for this symbol to identify WSCPA conferences.

Self study your speed? Take advantage of new WA Pros annual subscriptions starting at $175(+tax). Check out WSCPA self-study discounts online at www.wscpa.org.

Want CPE at your desk? Choose from more than 100 WSCPA webcasts and webinars. You can try it for free—see page 34 for details. For a full list of webcasts and webinars, search for WEB and WNR in the CPE/Event Catalog at www.wscpa.org.

Prefer self-study? Like taking webcasts at your desk? Enjoy seminars and conferences? As a WSCPA member, you can save on seminars, conferences, self-study, webcasts and webinars. Which one fits your CPE style?

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EDUCATiON AND EVENT LiSTiNG Register at www.wscpa.org or page 37

Full day courses are from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and qualify for eight credit hours unless otherwise noted. ç New | non-tech credits | E Ethics credits | 4 credits | Conference | Y Yellow Book | C CFP | l Chapter event | Networking Event | S Season Ticket and Coupons N/A

Fees date Course Code WSCPA

MemberFee

Non- Member Fee

AiCPA Member Discount

FacilityFor more information, enter code in catalog at www.wscpa.org


MemberFee

Non- Member Fee



EVENTS BY LOCATION

WSCPA education and events scheduled for May - September 2010 are listed below, chronologically by location. if you are looking for a program in another location, it may be scheduled for later in the year. Using the online CPE/Event Catalog at www.wscpa.org, you can search by location.

Locations in this CPE Digest issue

Bellevue p. 30 Kent p. 33

Bellingham p. 32 Port Hadlock p. 33

Chelan p. 32 Seattle p. 33

Coeur d’Alene p. 33 Spokane p. 33

Kennewick p. 33 Woodinville p. 33

Your Desk - Webcasts and Webinars p. 34

LEARN MORE To view complete course details, please visit the CPE/ Event Catalog at www.wscpa.org.

ICONS

ç New

l Chapter event or meeting

Networking event

S Season Ticket and Coupons N/A

2010-2011 EVENT SCHEDULE To view the complete schedule of events through May 2011, refer to the CPE/Event Catalog at www.wscpa.org or the 2010-2011 Washington Professional Education Catalog (mailed to members in mid-May). To request a copy of the catalog, call (800) 272-8273 (toll-free in Washington) or e-mail [email protected].

Need help finding a seminar or webcast? Call the WSCPA at (800) 272-8273 or (425) 644-4800 to speak with a Member Services Representative.

Auburn

May 14 S Horse Races - New Professionals Networking Event 6:30-8:30 pm NP13 20 20 0 emerald downs

Bellevue

May 11 S Financial Literacy and Presentation Skills 9 am-4:30 pm CtVFL08 35 35 0 WSCPA

May 13 DATE CHANGE Excel Pivot Tables XPT3 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 14 DATE CHANGE integrating Microsoft Office Applications iMOA3 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 17 Crystal Reports: introduction CR13 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 18 identifying Fradulent Financial Transactions FeFFt 265 340 -30 WSCPA

May 18 Ratio Analysis with Excel 12:30-4 pm XRA41 130 165 0 WSCPA

May 18 Working Trial Balance with Excel 8-11:30 am XWTB41 130 165 0 WSCPA

May 19 Data Analysis with Excel XDA2 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 19 internal Control Deficiencies: Assessment and Reporting Under SASs 112 & 115

iCDAR 265 340 -30 WSCPA

May 20 DATE CHANGE Financial Statement Analysis: Basis for Management Advice FSABM2 265 340 -30 WSCPA

May 20 introduction to Excel Visual Basic Macros XVBM3 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 20 S l New Washington Tax Developments 7:15-9 am CHBA08 35 40 0 Maggiano’s at Lincoln Square

May 21 DATE CHANGE Critical Skills for Creating Great Budgets: Maximizing Profit and Power

CSCB 265 340 -30 WSCPA

May 24 importing Data into QuickBooks Pro iDQBP2 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 25 Personal Financial Accounting: A Prescription for Achieving and Managing Wealth

PFA3 285 360 0 WSCPA

May 26 Compilation and Review Standards Update and Review CRUR7 285 360 0 WSCPA

May 26 introduction to OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) OLAP2 230 305 0 WSCPA

ç May 27 GAAP Update and Review for Small and Medium-Sized Entities GuRSMe 285 360 0 WSCPA

May 27 introduction to XBRL XBRL3 230 305 0 WSCPA

May 28 Auditing Standards Update and Review AUUR3 285 360 0 WSCPA

May 28 Crystal Reports: intermediate CR23 230 305 0 WSCPA


Register at www.wscpa.org or page 37 EDUCATiON AND EVENT LiSTiNG


MemberFee

Non- Member Fee




Jun 2 introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint COMPP1 230 305 0 WSCPA

Jun 3 Excel Pivot Tables COMEX1 230 305 0 WSCPA

Jun 4 e CPE in Ethics: A Requirement in Washington State 8-11:30 am CENRW401 175 210 0 WSCPA

Jun 7-8 How to Conduct a Review Under the AiCPA Practice-Monitoring Program HCRPM 425 540 -60 WSCPA

Jun 9 QuickBooks for Accountants QBP 265 340 0 Meydenbauer Center

Jun 9 Upcoming Peer Review: is Your Firm Ready? SNPR 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Jun 10 excel Based dashboards eBd1 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jun 11 Outlook for Accountants: Get Organized Today! out 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jun 14 Make Money for You and Your Clients: Surgent McCoy’s Top individual Tax Planning Strategies

iTPS 275 350 0 WSCPA

ç Jun 14 Performance Analysis: identifying Profit improvement Opportunities

PA 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jun 15 Profit improvement: 10 Tips for a Better Bottom Line PiTT 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jun 15 Surgent McCoy’s Handbook for Mastering Basis, Limitation issues for S Corporations, LLCs, and Partnerships

HMBi 275 350 0 WSCPA

Jun 17 Audits of 401 (k) Plans AFKP2 265 340 -30 WSCPA

ç Jun 18 Y Audits of 403 (b) Plans: A Challenging New Audit Area FotB 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Jun 22 C Tough Times: Best Tax and Financial Planning Strategies for a Bad Economy tSBe 265 340 -30 WSCPA

ç Jun 23 Creating a Positive Work Culture with Performance Feedback CPW1 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Jun 24 R&D Tax Credits: Calculation and Documentation RdtC 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Jun 25 Cost Segregation Studies: Do it Yourself? CSS 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jun 29 What Board Treasurers Need to Know About Not-for-Profit Accounting 8-11:30 am

WBTN41 110 110 0 WSCPA

Jul 6 Compilation and Review Standards Update and Review by Walter Haig CRuR1 295 370 0 WSCPA

ç Jul 7 GAAP Update and Review for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SMEs) by Walter Haig

GuRSMe1 295 370 0 WSCPA

ç Jul 12 Financial Management Workshop: What Public Accounting Didn’t Teach You FMW 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jul 13 Accountant’s Guide to Fraud in Compilations/Reviews/Audits AGF 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jul 13 Corporate Finance Tune-Up: Putting the Right Skills in Your Analytical toolbox

CFt 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Jul 14 Y Auditing: implementing the NEWLY Revised Risk Assessment Standards RiSK10 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jul 16 S BBQ Picnic - New Professionals Networking Event 7-10 pm NP03 20 20 0 WSCPA

ç Jul 22 Effective Business Development Skills in Today’s Recession 8-11:30 am eBS41 140 170 0 WSCPA

ç Jul 23 inside the iRS - A Tour for CPAs, EAs and Accountants iti 265 340 0 WSCPA

Jul 26 Excel for Windows Advanced COMEX2 230 305 0 WSCPA

Jul 27 Word Tips Tricks & Techniques COMWO1 230 305 0 WSCPA

Jul 29 The Top 50 Mistakes Practitioners Make and How to Fix Them: individual Tax and Financial Planning

iNBB 275 350 0 WSCPA

Jul 30 The Best S Corporation Limited Liability and Partnership Update Course by Surgent McCoy

BCPE1 275 350 0 WSCPA

Aug 2 Excel Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Accountants EXL 265 340 0 WSCPA

Aug 3 internal Controls for Small Business Accounting Systems itCB1 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Aug 3 Rock Solid Tax Strategies That Will Mesmerize Your Self-Employed LLC, “S” Corporation, and Schedule C Clients

RStS 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Aug 4 Fresh New Tax Planning and Compliance ideas That Take Advantage of Recent Tax Acts and iRS Pronouncements

FNTP 265 340 0 WSCPA

Aug 4 Paperless Office PPO 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Aug 5 Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery BuS 265 340 0 WSCPA

Aug 5 Guiding Surviving Spouses, Heirs, Beneficiaries, Estates, Trusts and Dece-dents on Tax, Estate and Financial Planning - Forms 1040, 1041, 706 and 709

SSAR 275 350 0 WSCPA

Aug 10 Personal Financial Accounting: A Prescription for Achieving and Managing Wealth by Walter Haig

PFA1 295 370 0 WSCPA





MemberFee

Non- Member Fee



Aug 11 Compilation and Review Standards Update and Review by Walter Haig CRuR2 295 370 0 WSCPA

ç Aug 12 GAAP Update and Review for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SMEs) by Walter Haig

GuRSMe2 295 370 0 WSCPA

Aug 16 e CPE in Ethics: A Requirement in Washington State 8-11:30 am CENRW402 175 210 0 WSCPA

Aug 17 Washington B & O and Sales Tax WSTX1 265 340 0 WSCPA

Aug 18 Thirty-Plus Practical Tools and Techniques for Making Your Key Financial Decisions

ttMd 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Aug 19 Negotiating Skills for Finance Professionals: Get What You Want When You Want it

NSFP 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Aug 23 Excel Functions Tips Tricks Techniques COMEX3 230 305 0 WSCPA

Aug 24 introduction to SQL COMSQ1 230 305 0 WSCPA

Aug 25 Crystal Reports introduction CoMCR1 230 305 0 WSCPA

Aug 25 Troubled Times - Current Economic Crisis: Critical Accounting & Auditing Considerations

tteC 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Aug 26 Cash Flow Statement: Preparation, Presentation and Use FCFS 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Aug 30 Y Revised Yellow Book: Government Auditing Standards EOYB2 265 340 -30 WSCPA

ç Aug 31 Y Right The First Time: Cases in Not-For-Profit Accounting And Auditing CNFP 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 1 Excel Pivot Tables COMEX4 230 305 0 WSCPA

Sep 2 introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint COMPP2 230 305 0 WSCPA

Sep 3 Crystal Reports intermediate CoMCR2 230 305 0 WSCPA

Sep 8-9 S Northwest Accounting Educators Conference 7:30 am-4:10 pm NAEC 175 175 0 WSCPA

Sep 10 Compilation and Review Standards Update and Review by Walter Haig CRuR4 295 370 0 WSCPA

ç Sep 13 Acquisitions to Grow the Business: Structure, Due Diligence and Financing AGB 265 340 0 WSCPA

ç Sep 14 Driving Corporate Performance: The CFO’s Role in Developing Competi-tive Advantage

DCP 265 340 0 WSCPA

Sep 16 S Members’ Reception - New Networking Event Must be 21 or older to attend 6-8:30 pm

NP06 0 0 0 Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Bellevue

Sep 21 Y Form 990: AiCPA’s Answer to Unlocking the Tax Complexities eoF9902 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 22 How to Guide Your 60+ Clients on Tax, Long-Term Care, Planning, Estate, Social Security, Medicare, and Eldercare Strategies

GYEC 265 340 0 WSCPA

Sep 22 Real Estate Accounting and Auditing REAA 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 23 Construction Contractors: Accounting, Auditing and Tax CAAT 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 23 C Tips and Traps for Dealing with the iRS: From Start to Finish diRS 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 24 Closely Held Business Taxation: 49 Practical Ways to Cut Taxes CHBT1 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 27 Cash and Tax Basis Financial Statements - Preparation and Reporting CtB1 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 27 Excel Budgeting and Forecasting Techniques eBt 265 340 0 WSCPA

Sep 28 Microsoft Word: Essential Tools and Techniques for Accountants WOR 265 340 0 WSCPA

Sep 28 Public Company Update: SEC, PCAOB, and Other Developments PCOU 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Sep 29 Excel PivotTables for Accountants - Part i 8-11:30 am PT141 140 170 0 WSCPA

ç Sep 29 Google Apps for Accountants - An Alternative to Microsoft Office 12:30-4 pm

GAP41 140 170 0 WSCPA

Sep 29-30 SEC Reporting SeCR 425 540 -60 WSCPA

Sep 30 Security for Accountants: New Legal Requirements and Practical Solutions SeC 265 340 0 Meydenbauer Center

ç Sep 30 Surviving and Growing Your Company in Difficult Times: Essential Skills for the Finance Team

SGYC2 265 340 -30 WSCPA

Bellingham

Sep 8 Compilation and Review Standards Update and Review by Walter Haig CRUR3 295 370 0 Hampton inn Bellingham

ç Sep 9 GAAP Update and Review for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SMEs) by Walter Haig

GURSME3 295 370 0 Hampton inn Bellingham

Chelan

Jul 8-9 Accounting and Reporting Standards Annual Update and Review by Walter Haig

ARSUR1 485 600 0 Campbell’s Resort on Lake Chelan




MemberFee

Non- Member Fee




Coeur d’Alene

Jun 17 S Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruise - New Professionals Networking Event 6:30-8:30 pm

NP02 20 20 0 Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises

Aug 19-20 Accounting and Reporting Standards Annual Update and Review by Walter Haig

ARSUR2 485 600 0 Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort

Kennewick

Jun 15 The Revised Yellow Book: Government Auditing Standards EOYB1 265 340 -30 Hilton Garden inn Tri-Cities/Kennewick

Aug 19 Farm Tax Conference FARMC 220 295 0 Three Rivers Convention Center

Kent

May 20 S l How to Find and Keep Good Employees 8-9 am CHSK12 20 20 0 Golden Steer Restaurant

Jun 17 S l Protecting Your Network / Tech Q&A 8-9 am CHSK02 20 20 0 Golden Steer Restaurant

Jul 15 S l Asset Allocation in Today’s Market 8-9 am CHSK01 20 20 0 Golden Steer Restaurant

Port Hadlock

May 13-14 Accounting and Reporting Standards Annual Update and Review ARSUR4 455 570 0 inn at Port Hadlock

Seattle

May 13 Business & industry Conference BiC 225 300 0 Washington State Convention Center

May 14 international Tax Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm iNtC 225 300 0 Bell Harbor international Conf Center

May 20 Washington State Tax Conference 8:30 am-4:40 pm WSTC 225 300 0 Cedarbrook Lodge

Jun 9 S Billiards Tournament - New Professionals Networking Event 7-10 pm NP01 20 20 0 Jillians

Aug 11 S Argosy Cruise - New Professionals Networking Event 7:30-9:30 pm NP04 30 30 0 Argosy Cruises

ç Sep 23 The LLC and LLP Supercourse - How to Guide Families, Professionals and Closely-Held Clients on Limited Liability Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships

LLSC 265 340 0 Hilton Seattle Airport

ç Sep 24 Today’s Complex Real Estate Tax Planning Strategies for Distressed Real Estate, LLCs, Contractors/Builders, investors, Homeowners, and Like-Kind exchanges

DREP 265 340 0 Hilton Seattle Airport

Sep 28 Accounting for income Taxes: Applying SFAS No. 109/FiN 48: A Whole New Ballgame!

AiT 265 340 -30 DoubleTree Guest Suites Southcenter

Spokane

May 12 S l Computers and the Workplace/Current Hot Topics and Significant Devel-opments in Employment Law 12-2 pm

CHSP16 40 40 0 the Spokane Club

May 13 S l Navigating Through the Accounting Standards Codification 7:30-9:30 am CHSP20 50 50 0 Gonzaga University COG

May 20 S l The Future of Commercial Lending 7:30-9:30 am CHSP22 50 50 0 Gonzaga University COG

May 27 S l Employment Trends for the Accounting Professional 7:30-9:30 am CHSP21 50 50 0 Gonzaga University COG

Jun 16 Audits of 401 (k) Plans AFKP1 265 340 -30 Hampton inn Spokane

Aug 13 S Scavenger Hunt - New Professionals Networking Event 4:30-7:30 pm

NP05 20 20 0 TBA

Sep 20 Y Form 990: AiCPA’s Answer to Unlocking the Tax Complexities eoF9901 265 340 -30 Hampton inn Spokane

ç Sep 29 Surviving and Growing Your Company in Difficult Times: Essential Skills for the Finance Team

SGYC1 265 340 -30 Hampton inn Spokane

Woodinville

May 17 S 2010 Golf Tournament 1 pm GoLF01 420 420 0 Bear Creek Country Club

Take CPE from the comfort of your home or office. Turn the page for new webcasts and webinars. à





MemberFee

Non- Member Fee



Your Desk - Webinars and Webcasts

ç May 5 S WEBCAST: WSCPA Annual Meeting with Professional issues Update MEMBERS ONLY 7:30-9:30 am

WAM 15 15 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç May 17 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 3: internal Control Consider-ations 11 am-1 pm

WEBA1 79 109 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç May 19 S WEBiNAR: Understanding the Changing Retirement Plans Landscape 9-10 am

WNR17 20 35 0 Webinar, Your Desk

ç May 24 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 4: Assessing & Responding to Risk 11 am-1 pm

WEBA2 79 109 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç May 26 S WEBiNAR: The New Form 5500: EFAST2à Are you Ready? 9-10 am WNR18 20 35 0 Webinar, Your Desk

ç Jun 1 WEBCAST: Oil and Gas Taxation: Fundamentals 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB01 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 2 S WEBiNAR: Reseller Permits: Making Sense of Sales Tax - Complimentary to members. 9-10 am


ç Jun 2 WEBCAST: Oil and Gas Taxation: Advanced and Update 8:30 am-4:30 pm

WEB02 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 3 C WEBCAST: Retirement Plans Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB03 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 4 WEBCAST: Similarities and Differences Between U.S. GAAP and iFRS 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jun 7 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 5: Substantive Testing 11 am-1 pm


ç Jun 7 WEBCAST: Fundamentals of Partnership Taxation 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB05 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 9 S WEBiNAR: The Taxpocalypse! New Taxes from the 2010 Washington State Legislature 9-10 am


ç Jun 11 WEBCAST: Valuation for Mergers and Acquisition Transactions 8:30 am-4:30 pm



MemberFee

Non- Member Fee



Get your CPE credits from your home or office or anywhere there’s an internet connection. See below for webcasts and webinars scheduled from May-September 2010.

WSCPA WEBCASTS: Like You’re in the Classroom, Only Better...

• Choose from 1.5-, 2-, 4-, or 8-hour CPE programs

• Numerous hot accounting and niche industry topics

• Over 100 webcasts• interactive Q&A included

TRY IT FOR FREE: Webcast: Professional issues Update November 9, 9-10:30 a.m. To register, enter “WEB” in the CPE/Event Catalog keyword search at www.wscpa.org.

WEBINAR WEDNESDAYS: Double the Value, Double the Convenience

• One CPE credit each• Only $20 for members

($35 for non-members)• Offered on Wednesdays• interactive Q&A included

TRY IT FOR FREE: Webinar: Reseller Permits - Making Sense of Sales Tax June 2, 9-10 a.m. To register, enter “WNR” in the CPE/Event Catalog keyword search at www.wscpa.org.

Online CPE the easy way...Webcasts & WebinarsMembers Only, TRY IT FOR FREE

View the

full schedule at

WSCPA.org.




MemberFee

Non- Member Fee




ç Jun 14 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 6: Engagement Wrap-Up 11 am-1 pm


ç Jun 15 WEBCAST: Key Ratio Analysis 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB07 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 16 S WEBiNAR: 2010 Roth iRA Conversions - What You Need to Know Before Your Clients Ask 9-10 am


ç Jun 16 WEBCAST: Entertainment industry Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB08 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 18 WEBCAST: Fraud in Audit, Accounting and Tax Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jun 21 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 7: identifying, Evaluating and Communicating internal Control Deficiencies 11 am-1 pm


ç Jun 23 S WEBiNAR: New Developments in GAAP & Tax Law impacting Not-for-Profits 9-10 am


ç Jun 28 S WEBCAST: Auditing Bits in Bytes: Session 8: Quality Control Considerations 11 am-1 pm


ç Jun 28 WEBCAST: Fraud: Essential Audit Tools and Techniques 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB10 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jun 30 S WEBiNAR: Badges of Fraud: An Accountant’s Guide to Tax Crime 9-10 am


ç Jun 30 WEBCAST: intellectual Property institute 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB11 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 6 WEBCAST: Measure What Matters to Customers: Using Key Predictive indicators 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 8 C WEBCAST: Estate and Trust Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB13 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 9 WEBCAST: Business Valuation Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB14 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 12 WEBCAST: Private Foundations Tax Primer 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB15 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 13 WEBCAST: Private Foundations - Advanced Tax Topics 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB16 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 14 S WEBiNAR: Unclaimed Property - Making Claims and Getting Claims 9-10 am


ç Jul 14 e WEBCAST: Accountancy Laws, Ethics (CA ONLY), Taxes and Financial Reporting Review 8:30 am-3:30 pm


ç Jul 19 WEBCAST: Legal and Financial Aspects of Restructuring and Liquidation 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 20 WEBCAST: Finding and Evaluating Frauds: A Case Study Approach 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 21 WEBCAST: Advanced Fraud Case Study 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB20 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Jul 22 WEBCAST: intro to XBRL and New Opportunities for CPAs 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 28 WEBCAST: New Federal Tax Law- individual and and Business Current Developments You Need To Know 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 29 WEBCAST: iRAs--Contributions and Distributions Distributions for Tradi-tional Roth, SEP, and SiMPLE iRAs 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Jul 30 C WEBCAST: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Medicare, Tax Favored Health Care Plans & Medical Expenses 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Aug 4 S WEBiNAR :Protecting Your Clients, Your Business and Your Good Name 9-10 am


ç Aug 9 WEBCAST: Tax Planning Based on the 1040 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB25 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 10 WEBCAST: Tax Planning for investors 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB26 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 11 WEBCAST: Ready, Set, Change: Today’s Real Estate Laws 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB27 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 13 WEBCAST: Applying A-133 to Nonprofit and Governmental Organizations 8:30 am-4:30 pm

WEB28 305 355 -30 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 17 C WEBCAST: Tax issues in Divorce 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB29 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 18 WEBCAST: FASB Update 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB30 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 19 WEBCAST: Searching for Fraud: Assessing Risk and Addressing Red Flags 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Aug 23 WEBCAST: Preparing Form 5500 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB32 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 24 WEBCAST: Partner’s Audit Engagement Documentation and Review 8:30 am-4:30 pm






MemberFee

Non- Member Fee



ç Aug 25 S WEBiNAR: Accounting 101 : How HR Affects the Bottom Line 9-10 am WNR08 20 35 0 Webinar, Your Desk

ç Aug 25 WEBCAST: Compilation & Review Update 7 am-3 pm WEB104 195 225 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 26 WEBCAST: FiN 48--Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Aug 30 WEBCAST: Corporate Liquidations and Dissolutions 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB35 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Aug 31 WEBCAST: FiN 46R Variable interest Entity Consolidation Rules: Not Just a Big Company issue! 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Sep 1 WEBCAST: S Corporations Workshop 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB37 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Sep 15 S WEBiNAR: Cash Reporting: Hazards for the Accountant and Business 9-10 am


ç Sep 22 WEBCAST: Farmers Tax and Accounting Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB38 255 295 0 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Sep 23 WEBCAST: Federal Taxation of Partnerships and LLCs Part i: Formation, Operation and Allocations 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Sep 24 WEBCAST: Common interest Realty Associations Conference 8:30 am-4:30 pm


ç Sep 29 WEBCAST: Audits of HUD-Assisted Projects 8:30 am-4:30 pm WEB41 305 355 -30 Webcast, Your Desk

ç Sep 30 WEBCAST: Fraud in the Governmental and Not-For-Profit Environments: What a Steal! 8:30 am-4:30 pm


Needhelpfindingaseminarorwebcast? Call the WSCPA at (800) 272-8273 or (425) 644-4800 to speak with a Member Services Representative.

View the complete list of WSCPA courses at www.wscpa.org.


Register at www.wscpa.org REGiSTRATiON

Code Title Date City Fee1

3

WSCPA CPE policies apply to all programs in the CPE Digest. Review the CPE policies at www.wscpa.org.

Register online at www.wscpa.org or:

Questions? E-mail [email protected] or call (425) 644-4800 or (800) 272-8273 (toll-free in Washington).

2

2


CLASSiFiED ADS

Detailed advertising information is available online at www.wscpa.org. Classified Ads are $40 for 40 words or less and $1 for each additional word. Active e-mail and web site addresses count as two words and are $10 additional each. Positions available ads are for magazine placement only. Contact Sharon Olene-Marander at (425) 586-1138, (800) 272-8273, Ext. 1138, or [email protected] for more information. All ads must be pre-paid.

Positions AvailableEstablished Bellingham CPA Firm is seeking experi-enced auditor to join our team of professionals. 5+ years of audit experience required. Collaborative working envi-ronment, excellent advancement opportunities and salary and benefits package. Submit resume and cover letter to Varner Sytsma & Herndon, CPA’s, 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 205, Bellingham, WA 98226, Attn: H/R

Long Established Company in Wenatchee seeks experienced Accountant. Requires expertise in accounting, income tax, investments and trusts. Must have BA in Accounting and minimum of 3 years experience, including tax. CPA preferred. To apply please send resume to [email protected]. Ref:GFA

Established Bellingham CPA Firm is seeking experi-enced CPA to join our team of professionals. 3+ years of tax experience required. Collaborative working environ-ment, excellent advancement opportunities and salary and benefits package. Submit resume and cover letter to Varner Sytsma & Herndon, CPA’s, 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 205, Bellingham, WA 98226, Attn: H/R

Mergers & SalesCPA Looking For $150,000-$250,000 size practice to purchase in the Bellingham area. Cash purchase. Please respond to Tom by phone, (707) 545-0701 or email, [email protected].

Local Firm Looking for Practice. Are you thinking of retiring or selling your practice soon? We are a Redmond based CPA firm looking to purchase another firm. We are looking for a firm with revenues between $200,000-$1,000,000. Most of our work is with business clients and high net worth individuals. We have purchased practices before and are very familiar with how to transition a client base. Please call Bruce Sult at 425 883-3111 or email [email protected] if you are interested in discussing a sale. You can review our website at www.falcosult.com.

Considering Selling Your Practice? Consider all your options. We do the work. Confidential. We have buyers actively seeking practices. Call Mark Hause at 877-345-7722 or visit our website at www.accountingpracticesales.com. Accounting Practice Sales. We make dreams happen!

IBA Sells Privately Held Companies. do you represent a client who is ready to retire or has taken a company as far as they want to or can? iBA is the Pacific Northwest’s oldest business brokerage (M&A) firm. We are professional negotiators with over 4000 completed transactions. Please contact us if we can be of assistance at (800) 218-4422 or www.ibainc.com.

We Sell Practices!--- ProHorizons has been help-ing CPAs sell their practices since 1995. Confidential, prompt, professional and stress free. Call for a FREE sales

package and confidential consultation with our regional representative, Ken Berry at 888-729-9476 or visit www.prohorizons.com.

PRACTICES FOR SALE

Contact Mark Hause at Accounting Practice Sales by e-mail at [email protected] or call 877-345-7722 for more information on the following practices:

Anacortes CPA Firm for Sale: This CPA firm is a traditional CPA firm with income tax, write-up, along with financial services to round out the practice. The firm revenue mix breaks out 76% tax, 18% write-up, and 6% financial services. The buyer will have the opportunity to retain the current office location indefinitely as the Seller owns the building. With a loyal client base and good fees, this firm offers opportunity to a firm looking to expand or a CPA wanting to be on their own.

Blaine CPA Tax Firm for Sale: This CPA firm located close to the Canadian border is primed for a new owner and has wonderful potential. The firm is the only CPA firm in town and receives referrals from all types of professionals including banks and real estate agents. The practice revenues are predominantly from tax services with that segment of the business generat-ing approx. 86% of total revenues for the firm. The balance is split almost equally between write-up and consulting. With opportunities for cross border tax and consulting services along with traditional income tax services, this firm is a solid opportunity for any accountant who wants to own their own firm or a firm looking to expand or open a branch office.

Bremerton, Port Orchard, Silverdale Area CPA Firm for Sale: This outstanding CPA firm (single location) with an excellent fee structure and solid cash flow is for sale. The firm is a tax practice with no auditing and enough write-up work to balance out cash flow over the course of the year. The firm client base composed of long term loyal clients is the product of the owner’s long term commitment to the community coupled with top of the mind name recog-nition when seeking professional accounting services. This firm is further enhanced with knowledgeable staff, no concentration of clients either by fees or segment of the local economy. All of the foregoing creates an opportunity for any firm or practitioner to acquire a firm that is a proven entity.

Kent Tax Practice for Sale: This firm caters to the Hispanic community by preparing income tax returns and providing accounting services for the balance of the year. The revenue stream consists of 65% income tax preparation and 35% accounting services. The firm employs schedule billing for all individual income tax returns which causes the average fee to equal many franchise tax providers. The firm value is further aug-mented by the staff that assists the owner in providing quality professional services. The ideal buyer would be one who possesses Hispanic communication skills that will enhance the loyalty and boost the value of services rendered to the firm’s clients.

North Seattle Firm for Sale: This CPA firm located in North Seattle has been in the business of providing top drawer professional services for over 30 years. The firm is a full service practice offering all

traditional accounting services including attestation. The revenue mix breaks out 73% income tax, 10% write-up, 14% auditing, 3% reviews and compilations with excellent per return and/or engagement fees. The practice has a significant number of business returns that will require a good business minded accountant that is comfortable with rendering advice and counsel on a variety of business related matters. The firm has great staff, established methods and procedures which make this a turn key practice. All of these qualities combine to make this firm a must see for any accountant or firm looking for an acquisition.

Volunteer OpportunitiesThe Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restora-tionCertificationcertifies companies in the cleaning and restoration industry. Seeking someone to oversee an annual audit of financials, to review and recommend to Board an audit firm, and to review/approve annual audit report. Contact Seth Wilkinson, [email protected].

Tisbest Philanthropy is the leading provider of charity gift cards. Seeking a board member/volunteer treasurer to provide general financial guidance. Board meets quar-terly in Seattle. Contact Jon Siegel, (206) 501-3005 ext 6, [email protected].

the Arc of Tri-Cities Foundation is seeking new board members. Generates, administers, invests and disperses contributed funds and properties in support of The Arc. Meets on 4th Weds. at 5:15 pm. Three-year, staggered terms. Contact Tawney Carrier, [email protected].

Washington Water Trust works to improve and protect stream flows and water quality in Washington. Learn more at www.washingtonwatertrust.org. Seeks board member to attend quarterly meetings, provide financial expertise. Term of service: 1-3 years. Seattle and Ellensburg offices. Contact Susan Adams, [email protected], (206) 675-1585 ext. 101.

Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House - 91-1873550 501(c)3 inc. 1996. Seeks general financial advice including yearly budget procedures. Contact Sandi Ackerman, [email protected], (425) 836-8925.

the International District Housing Alliance (iDHA), a 501(c)(3), seeks board members with accounting skills to fund development. iDHA provides housing services, financial education, citizenship and ESL education, and leadership development to low-income families. One year commit-ment. Meet Wed.evenings. Contact Sharyne Shiu-Thornton, (206) 623-5132, [email protected].

Theater Puget Sound aims to nurture a healthy and vibrant theatre community, develop strong ties among the region’s theatre professionals, raise visibility of the region’s theatre scene. Seeks board members with financial back-grounds. Quarterly board meetings. Contact Karen Lane, [email protected].

New Moon Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary is a non-profit animal shelter in Arlington. Need a CPA with non-profit experience to point out opportunities/benefits available to non-profits, plan finances, and help with books. Contact Ellen, [email protected].

Learn more about these and other volunteer opportunities at www.wscpa.org (Enter volunteer positions in the search box).


MEMBER PROFiLE

Sarah Ozanne is looking forward to some time off.

A senior at Whitworth University, Sarah will graduate this month with a bachelor of arts degree in accounting and theology.

Sarah, who grew up in Everett, Wash-ington and attended Cascade High School, knows to consider all the possibilities before making important decisions.

“After high school i took a year off and explored some different career possibili-ties. i volunteered at a local church and was an intern at the American Cancer Society,” said Sarah.

Once she started at Whitworth, she decided to pursue a degree in business management.

“As part of the business core i took financial accounting. Halfway through the class i knew this is what i wanted to do. i had always loved numbers and math but was never exactly sure how i would use that in a career. Accounting was what i had been looking for. i re-declared my major and began taking more accounting classes that spring,” said Sarah.

Sarah’s next move was to combine her newfound love of accounting with her interest in theology.

“i have always held an interest in the-ology and chose my time in college to explore that in a deeper way. Throughout the past four years i have found my two majors to be a good intellectual balance of concrete and abstract thought.”

You would think that Sarah’s double major wouldn’t allow time for other activities, but that’s not the case.

Sarah made time for volunteering. While at Whitworth, she volunteered with local churches, a retirement community, and TaxAide (a tax service offered by AARP for low income, elderly, and disabled per-sons). She also continued to volunteer with the American Cancer Society.

“What began as an internship with the area Relay For Life director turned in to much more. After working on a local event for a few months i was hired to help with extra administrative support needed, especially in the area of process-ing monetary donations. i was able to learn not only about the local event i was helping with but also how the organiza-tion functioned as a whole. The next two summers i returned to the office to work as an event recruiter for the local breast cancer walk. in this position i met with a number of companies and organizations in the Seattle area to see how they and the American Cancer Society could work together on various events. When i came to Whitworth i continued to volunteer with the Relay For Life held at the uni-versity, chairing the event my sophomore and junior years. This year i serve on the planning committee and as an advisor to the current chair.”

in addition to interning with the American Cancer Society, Sarah also held accounting internships.

“i can’t say enough about the internship experience. i would recommend this to every accounting student. i and a number of classmates have found that internships can teach us more than we ever imagined about the world of accounting. For some it has confirmed what they thought they wanted to do and others have found that a different area of accounting or busi-ness is really what they are interested in as a career. i would also say to keep an

open mind about what position you will have after you graduate. Some of the jobs that have worked out and are perfect for people are jobs they never imagined.”

For Sarah, a recipient of Washington CPA Foundation scholarships in 2008 and 2009, that perfect job will be in the world of public accounting. She has accepted a position with a local accounting firm in Spokane, DeCoria, Maichel & Teague.

Before she starts working full time in July, Sarah plans to take a few weeks off to spend time with family and perhaps travel with friends. And study.

“i plan to begin studying for the CPA exam in June, hopefully completing the entire exam by December 2010.”

Hopefully, Sarah will also find time in the next few weeks to read a novel by Jodi Picoult, her favorite author, or visit the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park, one of her favorite Puget Sound beaches.

The little bit of time she has off is well deserved for this future CPA.

new Graduate Prepares for a Little time OffSarah Ozanne

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The WashingtonCPA - May/June 2010

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