2012 Scholarship Extravaganza
Celebrates Mardi Gras Madness
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Billy and Donnelle Atkinson
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Please join us for the 2012 Houston CPA Society Scholarship Extravaganza on February 18, 2012 at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel. Come celebrate the season, catch up with old friends and make some new ones. Enjoy a hosted reception at 6:29 PM followed by an exciting silent auction – including the popular Big Board – and a sumptuous seated dinner with wine selections. Show off your carnival beads while dancing to the soulful sounds of Commercial Art, a local dance band that has been creating a party atmosphere since 1985.
One hundred percent of the net proceeds will benefit education by supporting current and future scholarships to financially challenged, outstanding accounting majors at the eight colleges and universities within the geographic boundaries of the Houston CPA Society, and underwriting the Society's CPAs Helping Schools program. This program assigns financial grants to public schools and educators for special projects, provides support for disadvantaged children to meet basic school requirements, and recruits CPAs to serve local schools as tutors and mentors.
Houston TSPCA Foundation Accounting Scholarships and CPAs Helping Schools, which have been the recipients of almost $1 million used to fund more than 200 Accounting scholarships and numerous Kindergarten through Grade 12 programs, is joined this year by an additional beneficiary – the Accounting Scholarship Endowment - which is designed to ensure the longevity of the Society's scholarship program.
Honorary Co-Chairs for the 2012 event are Billy M. and Donnelle Atkinson. Billy and Donnelle have devoted thirty years to furthering the CPA profession and the Houston CPA Society by serving at the local, state, and national levels. Billy and Donnelle have expressed a strong interest in using this event to engage younger professionals. Honoring them at our event is an opportunity for Houston-area members of the profession to recognize and show appreciation for the Atkinsons' personal dedication to our Society and at every level of the profession.
Tickets for this limited seating event are $150 per person and can be purchased by completing and returning the sponsorship/ticket form on page 2, calling the Society office directly at 713.622.7733 with your credit card information, or ordering online at www.HoustonCPA.org. Sponsorship levels begin at $500. To receive recognition on the invitation, please complete and return the fillable PDF sponsorship/ticket form via fax to 713.622.0522 on or before Friday, January 6, 2012.
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LAST CHANCE TO RSVP…Annual Membership Meeting... Officer and Director Election
Join current and incoming members of the Society's leadership at the Annual Membership Meeting from 6:00 to 9:00 PM on January 12, 2012 at The Junior League of Houston. This meeting will provide members with the opportunity to socialize, elect new officers and directors, ratify Bylaws changes (see slate of nominees and proposed Bylaws changes in the November 2011 issue), and earn one hour of CPE as Charles E. "Chuck" Cummings, Jr., CPA, CFP, shares his views on how to Get A Life - a lively and entertaining presentation on how to be successful even in the midst of adversity.
Be sure to register early as the first 100 members to register will receive complimentary registration – which will include a reception, plated dinner and reconnecting with friends and colleagues. Late member registrants, nonmembers and non-CPA guests and spouses may attend for a fee of $35. All absent preregistered complimentary attendees will be charged a $35 "no-show" fee. Go to the Society web site CPE Calendar at www.houstoncpa.org for complimentary registration. All others contact Shelly Smallwood at the Society office (713.622.7733; ssmallwood@houstoncpa.org) to submit your registration fee. Registration information can also be found in the November 15 CPA CPE Circular distributed mid-month.
The agenda for the evening includes a reception from 6:00 to 7:00 PM, the seated dinner and business meeting from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, and presentation from 8:00 to 9:00 PM.
To RSVP, MEMBERS may login and register online at www.houstoncpa.org; all others must contact Shelly Smallwood at the Society office (713.622.7733; ssmallwood@houstoncpa.org; You will receive an email confirmation within seven working days).
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Parking at New Office Building
777 Post Oak Boulevard (Parking entrance on Hollyhurst, southwest side of building)
Visitor Parking is on lower level of garage. If that area is full, return to first level and proceed up ramp to second level where there is a card access box with a push button. Depress the button and tell whoever answers that you are visiting the Houston CPA Society offices and need a parking spot. They will raise the gate so that you can proceed to an upper level (third or fourth floor) to park. Special needs accessible parking is also located on the garage second level.
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TSCPA: Connecting. Protecting. Advancing.
Year-Round Recruitment and Retention Campaign
Do you know a CPA who would benefit from the resources available from TSCPA? Help them join the Texas Society of CPAs. Whether they’re in Public Practice, Business and Industry, Education, Government, or just starting out on their own, TSCPA offers the resources and support that Texas CPAs need to succeed.
Every individual who joins TSCPA lends another voice and vital support to an organization whose overriding principle is connecting one CPA to another, and connecting CPAs as a whole.
To make it easier for current members to reach out to those who haven’t joined yet, this recruitment campaign will continue throughout the fiscal year.
Want to invite a CPA, non-CPA employee, candidate, student, or other affiliate to join us? Start recruiting today!
For more information about the campaign, contact Catherine Raffetto at TSCPA (craffetto@tscpa.net; 800.428.0272 x216).
Questions about membership categories, dues, or benefits can be directed to TSCPA Member Services (membership@tscpa.net; 800.428.0272 x260).
To learn more about recruiting activities by the Houston CPA Society, contact Executive Director Nancy Rutledge (nrutledg@houstoncpa.org; 713.622.7733 x280).
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 WI-FI now available in the CPA Society Training Facility. Access Code and Passkey Cards available at coffee bar.
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CPA Referral Services: It's A Client Magnet
The Referral Service receives requests daily for referrals and provides member CPA referrals as a public service to the Houston area client base. For the first nine months of 2011, 274 calls were received from potential clients generating 639 total CPA referrals! No wonder member firms have been more than pleased with their investment. Just imagine what the service could do for your practice.
The AT&T Yellow Pages advertisement generates 98 percent of all calls. Through the computerized Referral Service, prospective clients receive referral information within 24 hours. Referrals are made based on: (1) zip code zones; (2) client's needs; and (3) ability of the firm to meet those needs. Analysis of statistics indicates referrals are evenly distributed among the registered practice units.
Another benefit extended only to Referral Service member firms is a networking service. This network aids firms seeking assistance in specialized areas to locate other member firms with a particular expertise.
By joining now, your firm will be entitled to an entire year's membership for only $125.00. If your firm did not participate in 2011 please contact Carla Sanders at the Society office (713.622.7733 x310; csanders@houstoncpa.org) to receive a detailed application and registration form. All firms that participated in 2011 received an invoice in early December. The Referral Service operates on the calendar year; so join today to take advantage of the busy tax season!
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Computer-Based CPA Exam
Testing Window Opens
The next testing window for the computer-based Uniform CPA Examination is January 1, 2012 through February 29, 2012. There is no filing deadline. Candidates may schedule and take each section of the CPA Exam only once during a testing window.
The CPA Examination is currently comprised of four sections.
AUD - Auditing & Attestation
BEC - Business Environment & Concepts
FAR - Financial Accounting & Reporting
REG - Regulation
Uniform CPA Examination Updates
Content Specification Outlines (CSO) and Skill Specification Outlines (SSO) changes effective July 1, 2011 can be found on the AICPA web site at www.AICPA.org behind the Become A CPA/CPA Exam tabs. Note that the changes will only affect the references. The technical content and weight allocations in the CSOs will remain unchanged.
Behind the Become A CPA/CPA Exam/Examination Overview tabs is the latest information about CBT-e – the collective name for the many CPA Examination improvements that were implemented on January 1, 2011 – is summarized on this page. CBT-e information will continue to be updated as announcements are released.
Also to be found through this section of the website is information on candidate guidelines, examination content, passing rates, and psychometrics. This site also offers helpful tips for exam candidates and a tutorial each candidate should review.
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AICPA Offers Tips for CPA Exam Candidates
Preparation for the computerized CPA Exam requires more than command of accounting and business knowledge. Important tips on the exam's navigation, functionality and content are now available. If you have staff members planning to take the exam, be sure to pass along the following web address: How To Prepare (http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/how_prepare.html).
Becker CPA Review Discount Program Available To Member Firms
As a member of the Houston CPA Society, your firm is eligible to participate in the Becker CPA Review direct bill program. Under this program, the firm can save $600 per staff member by paying Becker directly for the review course. This is the same direct bill program used by nine of the Top 10 Public Accounting Firms in the US to attract the best talent for their staff. Level the playing field!
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