In This Issue
How Networking Can Earn You Free Membership!
Gender Issues and Business Case
Women's Global Leadership Summit
Wiley-CPAexcel/CMAexcel Campus Representative
Make Work Fun
Do You Want Input on the FASB Agenda?
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In the News

The Bonadio Group is one of the top accounting firms for female CPAs who want to advance their careers, according to the new MOVE Report, sponsored by AWSCPA and AFWA. Read More.
 
The Accounting Profession Needs More Women Leaders according to Lisa Tierney and Accounting Today. The gender scale of the workforce that makes up the accounting profession has officially tipped in favor of women, with more than half of all accountants being women (53%). What has not yet tipped in women's favor are the statistics around women holding leadership positions. Read More

The Houston and South Florida AWSCPA Affiliates will be meeting on August 21 with the topic of the Affordable Care Act on the agendas. The Georgia Affiliate of the AWSCPA will be having a "Fun in the Sun Picnic" on August 23 while the Tampa Bay AWSCPA Affiliate will be hosting a social on August 26.
 
Who is your favorite leader and why? Follow this discussion for some leadership lessons for every state of your career.  Read More.

AWSCPA Teams with The Business Source

The AWSCPA has teamed up with The Business Source to offer concise summaries of books you need to read. Each month learn best practices and gain powerful insights from leading-edge thinkers, industry experts and world renowned business gurus. And best of all, we've arranged a special price exclusively for AWSCPA members - 70% off the regular price!  Watch your email inbox each month for details from AWSCPA. Click here to see a preview: The Business Source - Overview.

New Members

Inna Genzer, KPMG

Jennifer Hamway,
Carr, Riggs & Ingram

Joanne Holt,
Ernst & Young

Patricia Mitchell,
J&P Mitchell Accounting, CPAs

Joan Njagu,
Njagu Consulting Services, LLC

Mary Anne Olmstead,
Virginia Mason Medical Center

Katherine Osbourne,
Morrison, Brown, Argiz and Farra, LLC

Nikki Pham,
Raymond C. Cahill, CPA, PA

Dana Santos,
Ernst & Young

Naci Sigler,
Lacy Socks and Boots II

Linda Smith,
Smith, Sullivan & Brown, P.C.

Cynthia Spensieri,
UC Los Angeles

Rebecca Wells,
Wells + Tarkington, LLC 

Affiliate 20-Minute Huddles

The Society's Vice President Affiliates, Marie Caputo, will be hosting monthly (third Wednesday of the month) 20-minute "Huddles" specifically designed for leaders of the AWSCPA Affiliates. Each call will include a topical update and opportunity to share best practices and information. The next call is scheduled for:

Wednesday
August 20, 2014

2:40-3:00 PM ET

The month the topic will focus on membership growth and retention.

If you did not receive an invitation with access information, contact AWSCPA for details and to be added to the invitee list. 

The Dirty Dozen:
Things You Never Knew About Taxes 

Every month, visit this column for a tax trivia question, courtesy of Claude Renshaw, CPA. The answer will appear in next month's edition.

A: From July's issue: How many tax forms are available for individual taxpayers? 890.

Q: What was the highest individual tax rate in 2013? 

National Corporate Sponsors



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American Woman's Society of CPAs
136 S. Keowee St.
Dayton, OH 45402
(800) AWSCPA1
Fax (937) 222-5794
How Networking Can Earn You Free Membership!
By Bonnie Mackey, CPA, CSEP, MBA, AEP, Levin, Silvey, Zelko & Mackey, PA

The Society's goal is to involve as many members as possible, include all member types and have FUN! This goal is related to the 2014 Peer Recruitment Campaign running until October 31. While you have time to participate, don't procrastinate as time flies! Watch your inbox for more details and some tools to make recruiting more effective. A quick look at the campaign:
  • Members who recruit a new member to the Society will receive some really cool stuff!
  • The Society will assist by sending out personal letters referencing your name to help facilitate the recruitment.
  • New members can simply include your name as the "referral" on membership applications . . . keeping it simple!
  • When the new member is welcomed, the member who recruited her will receive notification and something fun!
For recruit #1, the recruiting member will receive an AWSCPA beach towel, for recruit #3 members will receive 1/2 off their national membership dues and for recruit #5, free national membership dues for a year!  And the new member not only receives the benefits of being a member but will have her initiation fee waived ($25 value).

There is something for everyone and this campaign will be a win-win for the Society, increasing networking opportunities! Start identifying your recruits today! 

 

 Gender Issues and Business Case
What is the progress of women in the accounting profession?
For the past 20 years, women have represented about 50% (1) of new CPAs in the accounting profession. Yet today, women account for only 14.3% (2) of Executive Officer positions in business and industry and 19% (1) of partners in CPA firms nationwide.

Why is this issue a business imperative?
The progress of women within the profession is a business imperative significantly tied to organizational sustainability, because:
  • Profession demographics are changing and baby boomers will be retiring in significant numbers during the next 10 years.
  • Sustainable growth models are at risk if a significant portion of the accounting profession is not maximizing its potential.
  • Viable exit strategies are impacted as women represent more than 50% of the profession but less than 25% of the owners.
  • Research shows a need for diverse talent to effectively address increased complexity in business.
  • Demographics in the marketplace are shifting to increased numbers of female business owners and decision makers and requests for proposals requiring a diverse team.
  • Firms are losing a significant portion of their eligible, talented candidates for partnership and succession.
  • Firms' inability to create a family and gender-friendly environment is known to be detrimental to both staff and client retention.

AICPA's Focus on Women
The Women's Initiatives Executive Committee's roots in the AICPA date back to 1989 when the AICPA created the Upward Mobility of Women Task Force. Over the years, that task force evolved into what is now the Women's Initiatives Executive Committee (WIFoEC), the AICPA's driving force for women's progress in the profession. Today, WIEC consists of 13 volunteers, both women and men, who work with and in the CPA profession in a variety of ways. This group is dedicated to executing WIEC's mission. The WIEC's mission is to promote within the accounting profession an environment that provides opportunities for:

  • Equal engagement of women and men in leadership of the accounting profession
  • The advancement of women to positions of leadership
  • The successful integration of personal and professional lives

To accomplish this, the WIEC provides workshops, webinars, articles, a speakers bureau, women's network and research to educate and support both individual women and organizations.
________________________________________
1. AICPA 2013 Trends in Supply and Demand
2. Catalyst, unpublished data, 2013 

 Women's Global Leadership Summit
Join Summit Sponsor, AWSCPA in October! 

The AICPA Women's Global Leadership Summit is inspirational and unique - offering perspectives from women finance and accounting leaders in firms, business and industry, government, not-for-profits and academia.  Attendees will gain direct access to new ideas, prominent role models and deep, expanded professional networks. Throughout the summit, you will also be rewarded with valuable insights from global women leaders. The annual summit is designed to help you learn, grow and prosper professionally with new skills, knowledge and relationships gained every year.  Take this opportunity to enhance your leadership and business skills, learn best practices and bring great value to your organization.To learn more, click here for a brochure.
Wiley-CPAexcel/CMAexcel Campus Representative
Wiley-CPAexcel/CMAexcel is looking for junior or senior accounting or finance majors to fill Campus Rep Scholarship positions across the country.

The Campus Representative responsibilities are simple and will not take much time from your schedule at school. The primary role is to be the contact on campus for students that will be taking the CPA exam and/or CMA exam and need information on how to best prepare to succeed and pass the exam. In return, the campus rep will receive a full scholarship for one of our courses.

Wiley-CPAexcel Campus Reps receive benefits that are unique in the review course industry:
  • Immediate access to your review course. Use it as a resource to study for your college exams.
  • Course access and software never expire until one year after you pass the CPA exam.
  • Our course technology allows comprehensive CPA review to be realistically priced for your fellow students while also providing more features and support materials.
  • Free, automatic content updates to your course until you complete the CPA Exam.
If you are interested, please forward your name, school, and contact information so that we can discuss it further. Please send an email to Linda Jones
Make Work Fun
By Peter Margaritis, The Accidental Accountant

Work is, well work...for most of us it is not all fun and games. Even people who do "fun"for a living have stress, anxiety and conflict at work. Can you imagine how stressful it is to do a standup comedy routine or be a party clown? Makes accounting look like child's play!

I don't advocate taking the "work" out of your office (you would most probably go out of business) but rather finding ways to put some fun into every day. How you and your team define fun is the first step. Here are a few suggestions that may help:
  • Create an atmosphere where camaraderie can flourish. Genuine kindness and friendliness most often set the tone for a more relaxed office attitude. Friends joke around with each other, work colleagues...not so much.
  • Encourage everyone to share funny things: cartoons, antidotes, silly things clients or kids have said. One CEO I know starts every meeting with a funny story. His staff feels absolutely free to cheer or jeer, and even pass on stories for him to share. All tasteful and G rated, he never wants to alienate anyone with possibly offensive material.
  • Silliness can be appropriate. Sometimes you just gotta be goofy!
Some of the funniest people I know in accounting (that is NOT an oxymoron) are also some of the savviest managers I know. They all understand that creating great teams means fostering trust, respect, support, communication -some of the same skills comedians use!

One of my workshops, Building Stronger Teams by Using Improvisational Comedy, is all about creating strong teams through humor and improvisation. It isn't rocket science but it does take commitment and a bit of work. And a commitment to letting personality and humor into your office.

My friend and colleague, Judy Carter, wrote about the 5 Steps to Bring Humor Back to the Workplace. She shares comedy tips that can help every office or work setting. Check out her article for more ideas. Judy is a great source of inspiration and has been a great coach in helping me develop my business -thanks, Judy!

 

Do You Want Input on the FASB Agenda?
AWSCPA is helping to identify a few good candidates . . .

Every year at this time the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) begins the process of soliciting nominations for candidates to serve on the FASAC effective January 1. They approach the AWSCPA to help identify outstanding candidates. Council members are appointed by the Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation and are eligible to serve four one-year terms.  The Council is seeking nominations from the following areas:
  • From the corporate (preparer) community, with a preference for chief financial and chief accounting officers. They are also seeking candidates from the technology sector and from large private companies.
  • From the user/investor community (those who use financial information to make investment, lending, contribution, or rating decisions). Candidates could have skills as a buy-side investor, a debt or equity analyst, a major grant maker or giver, a hedge fund or private equity investor. Candidates may reside with a public or private company or not-for-profit organization.
  • Other qualified candidates, including from the investor relations community.
The Council is also seeking a candidate who is a senior partner in a large international accounting firm.

Click here for a copy of Fast Facts about FASAC. If you are interested or know of someone who may be, contact Alicia Posta at (203) 956-5207 or by email.

 

August 2014