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Below is the list of programming. Click on the event link for details on registration pricing as well as the link to the online registration form.
- Affordable Care Act
Presented by Gear up, Speaker – John Stevko June 21, 2013 at Holiday Inn in Everett, WA
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Around the State
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Chapter Events
We have four active chapters around the state. These chapter officers have been diligently working to bring relevant education to the chapter members and with creating a quality collaborative peer meeting environment.
Go to www.waa.org/chapters to find out what is happening in your chapter.
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Chapter Listservs
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All WAA members have been subscribed to their chapter listserv based on the chapter listed in their profile. Download these listserv instructions to learn how to subscribe if you do not currently have a chapter affiliation listed on your profile, to unsubscribe, or to change the email address you want subscribed to the listserv.
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In Memorandum
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If you are aware of a WAA member who has passed on please contact [email protected].
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| Advertising |
This newsletter is distributed to over 300 accountants in Washington State.
New rates coming soon!
To advertise, please email the WAA office at [email protected].
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Editorial Content
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The principal aims of this publication are the advancement of the accounting profession and communication among our members. Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual writers and not necessarily those of WAA or the Editor. Please submit articles and comments to [email protected].
The deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month preceding publication.
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The mission of the Washington Association of Accountants is to promote and protect the right of every member to practice accounting and taxation; to provide the services and professional education necessary to maintain and improve professional competence.
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From the President
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 by Jerry Gintz
Running to Keep Up:
Whew! Glad to be done for another season! Let’s get right to it – do you know how many pennies you have if you double one penny for thirty days (starting with day one)? That would be: $10,737,418.24, for you bean-counters who like to be exact with everything. So, keep that in mind as you think about the first hard-drive being put into use in 1956, weighing about 2 tons, the size of two conventional refrigerators, with twelve disks the size of pizzas and with the capacity to hold as much digital data as an average mp3 song. Ever since 1956, the three core computer technologies that relate to hard-drives (storage capacity, processing speed and through-put) have doubled, on average, every 18 months (yes, it’s Moore’s Law). So, for 50 years of that going on, we have an equivalency to 30 days of penny doublings. Now, think of the number you get when you double $10,737,418.24 for another 30 days. A big number, right! Now think about those three core computer technologies doubling for another 50 years, starting from 2006 (think of hard-drive size and capacity in 2006 compared to 1956). Fortunately we won’t need to understand all of it - we’ll just get to use it! Exciting times for us all!
Okay, so now we tax-pros have the Affordable Care Act to deal with. It’s kind of like doubling pennies, no? The amount of information we are going to need to sort out and digest and then put in place prior to next January is enormous! Those serious about coming in on this new legislation with working knowledge and in position to accurately advise clients will be sitting in on more than just a few training sessions over the next 8 months. No, not all, or even most of this legislation will apply to most of our clients, but, we still need to get to the point where we have a working understanding of what does and what does not apply.
This is exactly the kind of situation where this association (WAA) excels at working harder than most at providing you with opportunities to get up to speed. Whether it’s new legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act or other legislative and tax code updates, we provide you with opportunities to learn that fit your learning style.
For those of you who like live, interactive Q&A, peer attended events, we have a premier opportunity for you this coming June. Go here to find out more and to register. Don’t be a penny short of knowledge when it comes to the Affordable Care Act!
See you there!
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Education
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Friday, June 21, 2013
This is the one CPE course you CAN’T MISS this year!
John Stevko, national Gear Up Speaker, will be presenting the many tax implications of this far-reaching legislation that will impact almost all of our clients – individuals and businesses. Space is limited, so sign up early. Register today at www.waa.org.
CPE Credits: 8-Hour CPE
Date: June 21, 2013
Location: Holiday Inn, Everett, WA
John is one of the preeminent tax speakers in the country. He presents seminars and webinars to thousands of tax professionals throughout the United States including some of the largest CPA firms.
He is very concerned about the Affordable Care Act, with regard to what it requires of those professionals needing to work with it. He has a deep sense that many are lagging in understanding of both scope and content. He is excited to bring us this seminar, as he sees the importance in being out in front of what will more fully unfold starting January 2014.
Even though this event is directed toward the professional accounting and tax community (there will be other tax legislation being discussed in addition to the Affordable Care Act), anyone having to know any part of the Affordable Care Act will find this event extremely valuable. You just won’t want to miss this opportunity to get in front of one of the finest presenters in the country, on this subject. Register now, as seating is limited and we expect to fill up fast! Go here now to register!
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Membership
 by Kathy Jolly
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
WAA’s Annual Membership Conference is Thursday, June 20, 2013. The day’s events include:
- Annual Membership Meeting
- Chapter Officers’ Recognition Luncheon
- Announcement of Chapter of the Year and Officer of the Year
- Election of State Officers and Board Members
- Installation Banquet with Gear Up’s JOHN STEVKO as our Keynote Speaker
- Lots of “catching up” and fun in the Hospitality Suite
This year’s event is hosted by the Northwest Chapter and will be held at the Everett Holiday Inn. Click here for more information and registration.
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Leadership
 by Charles Grass, Vice President
Leadership - an Exceptional Opportunity:
One of the very best, yet least understood opportunities WAA has to offer their members is its leadership development track. This is one of the finest and most user friendly leadership tracks one could engage in. Many of us accountants (owners of small firms) don’t have the opportunity, or take advantage of the opportunity, to grow in areas where we are actually well equipped to play roles and should play roles. WAA’s leadership track is just that opportunity. Especially for the younger accountant (Generation X / Generation Y), this is an outstanding entry point into making a difference and honing leadership skills; all the way from running a meeting to becoming a leader who can inspire.
WAA has an annual, invitation only, Leadership Conference every spring. This highly acclaimed conference occurs this year on May 17th & 18th, starting with an informal meet and greet the evening before (May 16th) and is followed immediately by Committee Daze (an opportunity to apply what you have learned) on Friday, May 17th & Saturday, May 18th. The location this year is the Renton Holiday Inn. Historically, Leadership has covered topics including History of WAA, Chapter Management, Long Range Plan, Education Update, a spirited contest (based on what you have learned), as well as technology updates regarding our website. Read More of Charlies Thoughts!
WAA Job Board Has Launched!
We are excited to have officially launched WAA's Job Board! For use by both those looking to hire or to be hired. The new job board allows you to search jobs and resumes or post your own.
New job postings are visible only to WAA members for the first 3 days before going public to all job board users. Post a single job for $300 that lasts for 60 days or buy a Network posting that gets your posting seen on all the sites within the Job Board Network.
Looking to get hired? Post your resume for just $35. Click here to learn more and see current jobs and resumes.
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NSA Update from The State Director
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by Astrid Arola
Just wanted to remind you all of one of the great resources of an NSA membership: Our “Tax Talk” Forum. Whether it’s during busy tax season or the somewhat calmer part of the year, when you have questions you can post them on Tax Talk and get responses quickly from many members. You can also help fellow preparers by answering questions you happen to have dealt with already.
Here are some stats from the busy months:
- There have been 836 new discussion threads
- 4248 discussion replies
- That’s 5084 Total Messages!
Also on this page:
Members can easily search the discussion archives by keyword, date or author.
http://connect.nsacct.org/NSACCT/Communities/Discussions/AdvancedSearch/
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Awards
by Sonia Smith
Our Annual Meeting & Banquet is June 20th in Everett at the Holiday Inn. This is the time we honor our members with annual awards. We would like your help in the voting process. Think of members in your chapter or at the state level that deserve these awards.
Below is a list of the awards that will be given. For each award, choose a person andplease state the reason why that person should be given the particular award. Then by June 7th, submit your votes to your local chapter President or to the Awards Chair via an email at [email protected]. All votes will then be tabulated and awarded at convention.
1) JOE McREYNOLDS AWARD
For their commitment, service and dedication to the community, their colleagues and to the accounting profession.
2) GRAND AWARD OF EXCELLANCE
For their endless time and effort to make their Chapter or State Organization more effective. Taking on additional Responsibilities.
3) OUTSTANDING SERVICE BY A MEMBER
For their work as a committee chair/member working to make WAA the leading accounting organization within Washington State.
4) MERRILLEE RAPLEY AWARD
For their dedication and tireless long term work in making WAA a stronger player in the professional development of its members. Taking on additional duties as needed.
PLEASE SEND YOUR VOTES BY JUNE 7TH. THANK YOU.
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Chapter News
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Compiled by Janet Fix
Northwest Chapter
Every tax preparer gets interesting requests and comments. Here are four from NW Chapter:
Client: Don't I get a refund???
Preparer: NO, remember last year when you started your new business I told you that you would need to send in money to cover your taxes?
Client: Yes
Preparer: Because when you work for a company, they take out the taxes before they give you your paycheck. But when you own the company you have to send in the taxes yourself.
Client: I remember you said that.
Preparer: Did you send anything in during the year?
Client: No
Preparer: That's why there's no refund. It’s like a bank account. If you don't put anything in, you can't get anything out.
Client: But I don't want to pay. I want a refund.
Preparer: Don't we all!
Client: Hey, I got a higher refund last year!
Preparer: I told you last year that when your son moved out and your daughter got married that you would lose those deductions.
Client: Can't I claim them anyway?
Preparer: No, you didn't support them, and they didn't live with you. Also, you had less taken from your paycheck this year.
Client: But I need more money. Can't you make my refund higher?
Preparer: Not legally, no.
Client: Maybe another tax person could get me a better refund.
Preparer: Go ahead. Have a nice day.
Read More from the Northwest Chapter!
Puget Sound/Tacoma Chapter
by Pam Cody
Whew! I’m sure you all are as relieved as I am that tax season is over (except for all those extensions, of course). I hope you had a great one.
Mark your calendars for the Puget Sound/Tacoma Chapter’s upcoming meetings. Tuesday May 7, we will have a speaker on health care reform. Even if you are planning to go to the education at convention, this will be a great introduction, and give you some things to think about before the more detailed one-day conference.
June 4 we will be hearing from Andy Landis, a specialist on the topic of Social Security. He will unravel the mysteries of: What is my full retirement age? How do they calculate my benefit? How much will my spouse get? And much more.
Finally I want to thank Shawn Gagnon, Jordan Knoben, Diane Martin, and Yet Sok, for agreeing to be nominated for chapter board next year. These are all stellar people who have a heart to serve our chapter members. Come to our May meeting to vote for them, or nominate yourself if you want to give them some competition!
Spokane Chapter
by Hazel Flynn-Parkison
Our 2nd 2013 Tax Season Roundtable meeting was held in March. Some of the discussions were about sale of rental property, partner draws and loans, and other tax issues.
Education, Networking & More …
The next Spokane Chapter WAA Bisk Study Session will be held later in May.
View Monthly Meetings, Mini-Seminars and Register for Education Events on WAA.org website under Education>Calendar of Events.
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