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February 2010

AWSCPA Newsletter

December Banner

In This Issue

Upcoming Events

Special Thanks

Job Forum

Welcome to AWSCPA

Upcoming Events

April 21, 2010 - Identity Theft and How to Prevent It

May 19, 2010 - Arizona income tax update

June 16, 2010 - To be determined

Special Thanks

The Tucson AWSCPA would like to thank the following firms for their generous contributions to our affiliate:
-         Beach Fleischman & Company for hosting our TechCasts. Without their sponsorship, we may not have won a Silver Star award at the 2007 and 2008 Joint National Conference.
-         Arizona Lithographers for preparation of our member directory. Any member who has not received their directory this year or has any corrections can contact Chris Elzy.
-       The Melting Pot for providing their gift certificates for our raffle, which allow all raffle proceeds to go to the scholarship fund.

Job Forum

The Tucson AWSCPA affiliate strives to develop more networking opportunities for our members and meeting attendees. As part of this networking, we are providing the forum for employers with positions available to match these opportunities with individuals seeking employment. This will be a confidential service if you are seeking employment.

For those with positions available, contact any Board member to announce your opening at a monthly meeting or in our newsletter. (NOTE: Newsletter postings must be received by the 5th of the month for inclusion in that month. Ads must be 200 words or less - no logos or tables. All postings may be further edited as needed for space limitations.)

PLEASE communicate this employment connection to your employers for future employment opportunities for others. This is a FREE service for those looking for great CPA's - that's you!

If you have any questions or need additional information, contact Kelly or Kristen.

Job Openings

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - Assume a broad role with one of the worlds' largest non-profit social services organizations, specifically with a local organization that is serving the Tucson community and Southern Arizona. Perform a broad range of financial analysis, accounting and management functions as a key member of the executive team. Duties and responsibilities include all facets of finance/accounting, including general accounting, budgets, taxes, internal and external auditing, and ensuring sound fiscal policy. This position reports directly to the organizations' president and CEO. The ideal candidate would have a broad financial background and experience, including the non-profit sector, and an above average knowledge of the Tucson business community. To apply, please forward a resume and summary of qualifications to:
Fred Novick
The NOVICK GROUP
Email: fnovick@TheNovickGroup.com
Fax: 866-415-8161

Forensic Accountant - The FBI Tucson office has a vacancy for a forensic accountant - GS 11/12 position. The job description and application are available at usajobs.gov under Announcement Number: PX-2010-0026. The posting closes on 2/4/2010.

Please contact us if you have a job opening to be posted.

Welcome to AWSCPA

AWSCPA is dedicated to serving all women CPAs. As a member of this national organization, you will find yourself in a supportive environment with valuable resources to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. You will also find rewarding opportunities for leadership,networking,and
education.

Membership in the AWSCPA is open to all individuals (male and female) who are or who are aspiring to become certified public accountants. If you would like more information and a membership application, please contact Nancy Hall. You may also speak to any board member at our monthly luncheons.

We appreciate your support and attendance at our programs! Please feel free to contact any board member if you have questions, concerns or suggestions! You may also visit the website of the AWSCPA National Office at www.awscpa.org.

AWSCPA Mission

The American Woman's Society of Certified Public Accountants (AWSCPA) is a national organization dedicated to serving all women CPAs. The AWSCPA provides a supportive environment and valuable resources for members to achieve their personal and professional goals through various opportunities including advocacy, networking, leadership training, education, and public awareness.

We Want Your Input

As you can see, we're using a new format for our newsletter. And we want it to be useful for all of our readers. Please let us know if there is anything you like or dislike about this new format, and we'll work to improve it!

Please send your comments to awscpatucson@cox.net.

Dear Kim,

081909luncheon1
Well another meeting is under our belt. In January, we had a global update from Vance Falbaum. There was plenty of audience participation. Thank you, Vance! Also, two of our scholarship recipients were there so we could meet and congratulate them. Overall we had a wonderful time. We didn't have a gift certificate from the Melting Pot this month due to computer problems. We will, however, have one next month. So don't forget your contribution to the scholarship fund.

We are starting our search for new members for the board of directors. There will be several positions open for committee chairs, committee members, and officers. There are only 4 board meetings a year so think about taking an active part in this wonderful organization. If you might be interested please contact any of the board members to hear about the fun we have together.

This month we will have a speaker to help reduce the stress of tax season. Hope to see you all there.

Sincerely,

Laura Foley

President

AWSCPA - Tucson Affiliate

February Program

Stress Management

Presented by: Steve Ross, MA

2010 busy season is upon us... We all know what it means and how it affects every one of us and our families...

This February we would like to try something unique and special. With Steve Ross, MA we will learn optimal breathing techniques for ourselves and the people we love and serve; learn about the physiology and psychology of proper breathing; and understand the connection between proper breathing and stress reduction.

Steve Ross, MA, is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist now living in Tucson. Steve earned his BA in English Literature at Stanford University and his MA in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University West, with a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since coming to Arizona in 2002, he has taught stress reduction and breath work at Sierra Tucson, Sunstone Cancer Healing Center, Miraval Resort, and Canyon Ranch.

Please join us for a great lunch combined with a fascinating and useful presentation!

Meeting Information

Stress Management

Date & Time: February 17, 2010 11:30AM - 1:30PM

            (Please allow time for check-in, lunch served at 12PM)
Cost:            $30 members / $35 non-members / $10 students
CPE:            Counts as one (1) hour of CPE
Place:          El Parador, 2744 E. Broadway

Menu:

(1)    Carne Seca Chimichanga, cheese enchilada & refried beans
(2)    Traditional Topopo Salad, a traditional Mexican salad in a flour tortilla floret filled with refried beans. Greens and mixed vegetables tossed with house dressing trimmed with fresh avocado slices, tomatoes, cheese, and grilled marinated chicken breast
(3)    Flautas Del Mar - Shrimp, scallops, and crab in a three-cheese blend. Rolled in a flour tortilla and lightly fried. Topped with cilantro-chardonnay sauce
(4)    Chili Relleno, cheese enchilada & refried beans

Reservations: Contact Lisa Gundvaldson at lgundvaldson@cox.net by noon Friday, February 12th.

Note: Participants who sign up but are unable to attend will be billed unless they notify Lisa of the cancellation 24 hours in advance of the luncheon.

Announcements

AWSCPA Members Staff Hotline - On February 8, AWSCPA Tucson members Laura Foley, Lynnae Fritz, Lori Hoby, Deborah Hutchinson, Susan Pina, and Svetlana Pitman will participate in the 20th annual Arizona Illustrated Tax Tips Hotline, an Arizona Public Media (KUAT) program hosted by Bill Buckmaster. The nightly segments feature tax tips from certified public accountants from February 8 through 11. Viewers have an opportunity to call the experts on KUAT's Tax Tip Hotline for free answers to their questions from 6:30 to 7pm throughout the week. Jan Flanagan, CPA of the Flanagan CPA Group PLLC will be Buckmaster's guest on February 8. The members represent prominant CPA firms in the community such as Beach Fleischman, Peto and Company, and Clifton Gunderson, as well as the Center for Planned Giving at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.

AWSCPA Virtual Mall - AWSCPA has partnered with several companies, who will donate a portion of each purchase made through the AWSCPA Virtual Mall to the CPE Foundation, which provides national scholarships and helps affiliates with their scholarship programs. See the Virtual Mall on www.awscpa.org (from the home page click the "Useful Links" button, then choose "AWSCPA Virtual Mall") for a complete listing.

Kaplan CPA Review, a long-time affinity partner with AWSCPA, is dedicated to helping CPA candidates pass the exam. Student or professional members of AWSCPA are entitled to a 25% discount on all of Kaplan's Complete Learning Systems and live classes. This discount alone will more than pay for your annual AWSCPA membership investment! To learn more about this discount, contact AWSCPA at info@awscpa.org.

Charitable Endeavors

In an effort to give back to the community, the AWSCPA Tucson affiliate has started a tradition of collecting donations for select charities and other charitable endeavors each year. We also have our own scholarship fund through which we have given scholarships to deserving college students - we awarded three $750 scholarships last year and two $500 scholarships in each of the prior three years. We have also collected clothing for the YWCA Your Sister's Closet. This year we have plans to help the community as follows:

YWCA Your Sister's Closet This worthy organization provides unemployed women with clothing that is appropriate for job interviews and to begin employment. They need professional clothing that is stylish, clean and preferably ON HANGERS. Clean out a closet and bring your gently used items to our next luncheon. You'll receive a receipt for your contribution, and we'll take care of delivering them to the YWCA. Find out more about this organization by visiting their website at www.ywcatucson.org/.

SCHOLARSHIPS The Tucson AWSCPA has a scholarship program for female accounting students who have taken a non-traditional path to their education. We have awarded four scholarships of $750 each this year.

There are several ways you can help fund these scholarships:

$$$ Give and receive... participate in the 50/50 raffle at each meeting - one ticket for $1 or six tickets for $5. The proceeds are split - half to the winner and half to benefit the scholarship fund. OR you can purchase tickets for the next raffle by sending your check (made out to AWSCPA) to: Chris Elzy, AWSCPA Treasurer (fbo scholarship), P.O. Box 41361, Tucson, Arizona 85717-1361. Please indicate "Raffle tickets" and the number of tickets on the memo line.

In addition, you can help this cause through a tax-deductible contribution directly to our scholarship fund at The University of Arizona Foundation. Please contact a board member for information on how to contribute directly to the fund.