WINTER 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS - FICPA
Transcript of WINTER 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS - FICPA
WINTER 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS ..................................................................... 2
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR ................................................................................................................ 2
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR-ELECT ..................................................................................................... 4
2015-2016 CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER FICPA BOARD ........................................................................... 5
A MESSAGE FROM OUR ANNUAL SPONSOR- USA PAYROLL ................................................................... 6
SOLAR BEARS SOCIAL ............................................................................................................................... 7
CPE SCHEDULE .......................................................................................................................................... 8
PRACTITIONERS FORUM MEETING SCHEDULE ........................................................................................ 9
CPAS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE SCHEDULE .................................................................................................... 9
LITERACY TASK FORCE UPDATE .............................................................................................................. 10
2015 FICPA STUDENT FIELD DAY ............................................................................................................ 11
ADVERTISE IN THE FICPA NEWSLETTER ................................................................................................. 15
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FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR
Dear Members,
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to what this year will bring and hope you are too! Please make sure you
mark your calendar for our upcoming chapter social on Thursday, February 18th. It's a great networking
opportunity with light hors d'oeuvres and cocktails at Harry Buffalo from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Then, we'll watch the
Orlando Solar Bears play Indy Fuel at the Amway Center. Stay tuned and watch your inbox for the upcoming fun!
In November, I had the opportunity to join other
young FICPA professionals from our area and
throughout the state at the Accel YCPA
Leadership Forum and Capitol Day. Justin Thames,
FICPA Director of Governmental Affairs, gave us a
reminder of the governmental process and
introduced us to the FICPA’s lobbyists and several
Senators and Representatives. We learned about
the impact the FICPA is making with recently
The FICPA Vision
The Florida Institute of
Certified Public
Accountants is the premier
professional organization
representing Florida's
Certified Public
Accountants.
The FICPA Mission
We serve the diverse
needs of our members;
enhance their competency
and professionalism;
support professional
standards; promote the
value of our members and
advocate on behalf of the
profession.
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passed legislation. One bill, as introduced, required automatic auditor rotation on governmental audits; but does
not anymore due to the FICPA’s efforts. Another recently passed bill now includes CPAs on the list of professions
that judges are able to order compensation for in cases involving certain types of fraud. We were also pleased to
learn that we currently have four CPAs serving us as representatives in the State Legislature.
Challenge yourself this year to make a commitment to enhance your career by involving yourself in your
profession through the FICPA and in your community by casting your vote in the local, state, and federal
elections. To provide any feedback or suggestions to help our Chapter continue to meet its goals and/or improve
your experience, please contact me directly at 407-644-7455, or at [email protected].
Alicia Ruttinger
FICPA Central Florida Chapter Chair, 2015-2016
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR-ELECT
For many of us CPA’s, a new year signifies the beginning of a demanding and stressful busy season. However, it is
crucial to remember that our role as trusted advisors is as important as ever. We cannot forget that our
profession contributes immensely to the success of countless businesses and individuals, and that the hours we
spend will contribute to maintaining the accountability and financial health of many different industries.
As always, our members can be rest-assured that our Chapter Board will continue to do its best to provide high
quality events consistent with the current needs of our profession. I am thrilled to share with you that
throughout this year, we will be promoting new initiatives to stay on trend and keep our members engaged. We
highly encourage that you join us by attending our CPE classes, social networking events, and considering
becoming part of the Chapter Board or committees.
In this day and age, I could not be more proud of being a CPA and a member of one of the strongest FICPA
chapters in Florida. I invite that you take advantage of your membership by connecting and sharing your
knowledge and skills with us. I look forward to meeting all of you at our next events!
Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2016!
Karen Vergara
FICPA Central Florida Chair-Elect/Treasurer, 2015-2016
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2015-2016 CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER FICPA BOARD
Chair – Alicia Ruttinger
Chair-Elect – Karen Vergara
Secretary - Larry Herring
Treasurer – Karen Vergara
CPE Liaison – George Fender
Past Chair & Nominating Committee – Andrea Riesen
Legislation – Mia Thomas
CPAs in Private Practice – Larry Herring
Practitioner’s Forum – Martin Prague
Accounting Careers – Andrea Riesen
Financial Literacy Taskforce – Tarsha Jacobs
Membership – Scott Wagner
UCF Faculty Liaison – Lynda Dennis
UCF Campus Ambassador & Liaison – Weiting Li & Adam Martinez
Young CPAs – Kirsten Burbridge
Newsletter & Website – Lisa Wells
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR ANNUAL SPONSOR - USA PAYROLL
Payroll solutions that make sense since 1994
USA Payroll is proud to be the 2015-2016 annual sponsor for the third consecutive year of the Central
Florida Chapter of the FICPA. We are proud to be continuing our scholarship program. With your help,
we can do great things for those who chose to become future CPA’s.
USA Payroll will donate 10% of all commissionable revenue for twelve months for every referral that
becomes a USA Payroll client. All you need to do is let us know the referral is through the FICPA and the
funds will be designated specifically for college scholarships. Also, any FICPA member client starting by
November 30th will get their year-end reporting and W-2’s at no charge. We look forward to another
great year working with the Central Florida FICPA and its members.
Shawn Knapp
307 Cranes Roost Blvd.
Suite 1010
Altamonte Springs, Fl. 32701
Ph: 321.282.6158
Fax:321.282.6159
Mobile:407.227.7711
www.usapayroll.com
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SOLAR BEARS SOCIAL
CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER Social and Happy Hour
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Happy Hour at Harry Buffalo’s* 5:30pm-6:30pm
FICPA providing light hors d'oeuvres & 2 cocktails
Orlando Solar Bears vs. Indy Fuel Amway Center
7:00pm Members $10 each, Non-members $20 each
*15% Dinner Discount to members returning with their
armband after the game Request armband at Happy Hour
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CPE SCHEDULE
Topic Location Date Time Credits
Annual Tax Update Doubletree Hotel 01/21/16 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm 3 hours
Social Bear Social Harry Buffalo’s Amway
02/18/16
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
---
A&A Doubletree Hotel 03/17/16
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm 3 hours
No Meeting in April
Ethics Doubletree Hotel 05/12/16
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm 4 hours
For the most current information about our CPE schedule, please visit our website www.centrafloridaficpa.com
or contact George Fender at [email protected].
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PRACTITIONERS FORUM MEETING SCHEDULE
Date Topic Speaker Committee Member
1/19/16 Social Security/Retirement Benefits Scott Thomas Marty Prague
2/16/16 A&A Lynda Dennis Marty Prague
3/22/16 Self-Directed IRA Tyler Carter Shep Burr
04/2016 No Meeting
5/17/16 Human Resources/Generational Issues Don Rogers Sharon Agee
6/21/16 Investments Dennis Michaels George Fender
7/19/16 Small Business Lending Tim Hendricks Shep Burr
8/16/16 Choice of Entity Gary Forster Richard Ornstein
** A&A
CPAS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Date & Topic Speaker Credit
1/27/16 - Individual Tax Update Richard Ornstein TBA
2/24/16 - ACA Update George Royal TBA
3/23/16 - Investment Update Jim Dorman TBA
4/20/16 - TBA TBA TBA
5/25/16 - A&A Update Ed Hofma TBA
6/22/16 - Governmental Accounting Update Tom Reilly TBA
7/27/16 - Property Appraiser of Seminole County TBA TBA
8/24/16 - Social Security Scott Thomas TBA
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LITERACY TASK FORCE UPDATE
The objective of the Financial Literacy Committee is to educate students on financial literacy before they
graduate high school. Volunteers from the FICPA partner with teachers in Orange and Seminole County to
conduct sessions that cover budgeting, debt management, investing, protection of assets, and savings.
Our committee began the year with a presentation at Blankner Middle School. Volunteer, John Byrne gave a very
successful presentation to students about buying a car.
The next challenge was to present at Evans High School for four consecutive weeks. Each class had about 25
students. With the help of our volunteers: Linda Howard, John Byrne, Chaynae Price, and Nick Lebredo, we were
able to accommodate this request and present financial literacy modules on budgeting, managing debt, and
savings. The students were very engaged and receptive to this information. We look forward to returning for
more presentations during the year.
The last presentations of the year were given to students in the “Steps to Success” program. This program is
geared towards female juniors and seniors at local high schools. It strives to encourage, expose, and inform these
young ladies to various career opportunities. Linda Howard and I met with these students and focused our
presentation on budgeting and managing debt; two key areas we felt would be the most beneficial to them at
this stage of their lives.
Thank you very much to the volunteers that have given their time and effort to make the first half of our year
such a success. I look forward to continuing this great work throughout the year!
Tarsha R. Jacobs, CPA
Chair, Financial Literacy Committee
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2015 FICPA STUDENT FIELD DAY
2015 STUDENT FIELD DAY
The Central Florida Chapter of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants hosted its annual FICPA
Student Field Day on Wednesday November 11, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Orlando.
The event allowed students from DeVry University, Florida Southern College, Keller Graduate School of Business,
Seminole State College, Stetson University, University of Central Florida, Valencia College and Bethune-Cookman
University the unique opportunity to get an inside look at the companies as well as a real world feel of the
accounting industry. The event once again proved to be a success providing over 100 students the opportunity
to visit the offices of Central Florida accounting firms and one company.
The day began at the Crowne Plaza where breakfast was served to the students and participating companies.
This year we added Speed Mentoring whereby the students partnered with a CPA to ask and answer any
questions they had. The Chapter’s Chair-Elect, Karen Vergara, assisted by expediting three short rounds. We
received positive feedback that this icebreaker was of value and should continue.
The students were paired with their assigned company and were then transported to their morning session
where they spent roughly two hours learning about the company and different aspects of the profession.
Everyone came back to the Crowne for a luncheon where this year we had 2 guest speakers: David Dennis,
Partner of KPMG, and Thomas Blake, Becker Professional Education, who spoke on the value of maintaining a
CPA license and the future changes to the CPA exam, respectively.
Scholarships were also awarded on behalf of the FICPA Educational Foundation to:
Amy Askren
John Hakimi
Nam Pham
Robert Trautman
Andrea Vargas
Tessa Woodcock
After the luncheon, students were paired with a different company, where they were transported to for the
afternoon session.
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2015 STUDENT FIELD DAY
This event would not be possible without the generous support of our local firms. We would like to thank the
following participating firms:
Averett Warmus Durkee
Borcheck and Gase
Carr, Riggs and Ingram
Glickstein Laval Carris
KPMG
Moore Stephens Lovelace
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Prince CPA Group
RSM
Verizon
Vestal & Wiler
In addition, Becker Professional Education has continued to be our annual sponsor and we are thankful for their
participation.
For more information on the event please contact Andrea Riesen at [email protected].
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ADVERTISE IN THE FICPA NEWSLETTER
Lisa Wells Andrea Riesen, CPA
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