TX Young CPAs Conference: Generational Dynamics - Jerry Love

Jerry Love, CPA is the CEO of the Davis Kinard accounting firm in Abeliene, Texas. He is a former Chairman of the TSCPA.

There are now four generations in the workplace.

Silent
Baby Boomer
Generation X
Generation Y

These generations each have different defining events and characteristics. The mixture of these different characteristics in the workforce can be challenging. However, the key is communication and understading of the differences between the generations.

Baby Boomers are work-a-holics. They can view Gen X and Y's desire for less work hours as laziness or not working hard. Boomers need to understand that someone can do a good job and not work 3,000 hours per year.

Tips for dealing with Baby Boomers:
Communication is the key. This requires an investment of time to understand where they are coming from.
Understand what you can get from your boss, so you can make reasonable, actionable requests for mentoring
Make a list of skills and knowledge you want to accumulate.

Before approaching the Boomer Boss for changes.
Identify what you want to be different:
Compose your thoughts
Research and document support
Identify options to implement
Prioritize the items
Rehearse what you plan to say

Identify who among management is most open minded to hear your suggestions.
You want an open dialogue, not "labor negotiations."
Begin and end your discussion with sincere acknowledgement of the things thy are doing right.

Are there policies and procedures in your firm that are only there because someone wrote them in the 50's? Sometime status quo for status quo's sake exists in today's firms. The key to changing the status quo is having an open, respectful dialogue.

We need to give positive, sincere feedback - going both directions.
Ask for what you want.
Accept each other as human beings
Learn each generation has strengths to offer
Be quick to forgive their weaknesses
Be quick to admit when we are wrong
Be patient - "Rome was not built in a day"

Little Abner expected everything to go wrong -- and his expectations were met. We need to expect things to go right.

Jerry has substantial insight, and has studied this subject extensively. He successfully transferred some of this knowledge to the group.

TX Young CPAs Conference: Technology Update Bryan Wilton

Bryan Wilton, CPA, CITP presented an update of the current technology trends and their applicability to the accounting profession.

Bryan's presentation focused on the practical application of the current hardware and software options available. Below are a few of the items discussed:

Notebook computer options:

Sony -- Generally are priced at a premium, lightweight, and reliable

Apple -- Apple has gotten into the business notebook sector. The MacBook Air is ultraportable. These days, Apple computers can run any software that a PC can. Apple computers generally are also marketed at a premium price point.

Lenovo -- Formerly IBM. These computers have good pricing and are good quality machines for business.

HP -- Very high quality graphics, generally higher failure rate, higher priced.

Dell -- Good quality and competitive pricing. They now have some ultraportable models. Dell is begining to branch out on design and offer models other black or gray notebooks.

Laptoplogic.com is a good source of independent reviews for notebook computers.

SAAS -- Software as a service. "Cloud Computing" provides several advantages over traditional hardware and software configurations. These strengths include adaptability, reliability, increased productivity, price, back-end integration, longevity, ecosystem. System outages used to be acceptable, but they are not acceptable any more.

Broadband access is pervasive these days. Before, this was a limiting factor for SAAS, but the limitation has gone away.

SAAS Vendors:

Salesforce.com

Microsoft CRM Online

Hosted Microsoft Exchange

Oracle

SAP Business One

Online backups:

Why should you do backups online? Peace of mind, someone else is responsible, data is safe (?). The important features of online backup are around the clock support, mapped drive support, web based controls, cross platform support.

Personal online backup options:

Microsoft Skydrive offers 25gb of free storage.

Adrive.com offers 50gb of free storage.

Questions you should ask an online storage company: How long do you keep my data? How do I get my data restored?

A few online storage companies for business include:

Amerivault, Ibackup, Mozy Pro, Backupmyinfo

MOSS is Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server. This provides substantial search functionality. MOSS is a supercharged outlook that integrates VOIP, Mobile Apps, faxing, live meeting, video conferencing.

Texas Young CPA's Conference -- Cybercrime -- E. Adrian Hawkins

The Texas Young CPA's and Emerging Professionals Conference is approaching quickly on May 22nd. There are still spots left, so sign up soon. You can earn up to 6 hours of CPE at a cost of $95 for CPAs and Candidates. That's a great value.

Based on suggestions from our conference last year, we are adding a session on Cybercrime. E. Adrian Hawkins, an FBI Special Agent, will present this session.

Mr. Hawkins entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the University of Dallas - Irving with a Bachelors and MBA with a concentration in Information Systems. In the military, he specialized in information technology and communications. After 4 years in the Air Force, Mr. Hawkins joined the FBI. In this role, he has conducted investigations of computer intrusions, internet fraud, and child pornography. Mr. Hawkins served as the Houston InfraGard Coordinator. This program is a partnership between the FBI and a wide range of members in the private sector which is focused on information sharing and analysis. Mr. Hawkins is currently a computer intrusion investigator for the Houston Area Cyber Crimes Task Force (HACCTF).

It seems that Mr. Hawkins has some interesting experience in this area, and I look forward to the insight that he can provide as well as the advice that he can share on how to best protect ourselves from becoming victims of cybercrime.

Register at for the conference here.

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Young CPA's Conference -- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution -- Dr. Blaine McCormick

Dr. Blaine McCormick is one of the featured speakers at the Young CPA and Emerging Professionals Conference. Dr. McCormick spoke at our inagural conference last year, and he was a highly rated speaker. His pragmatic message on negotiations and conflict resolution resonates with Young Professionals.

Dr. McCormick is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. He is a nationally recognized scholar on the business practices of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Dr. McCormick is interviewed frequently across all forms of media including the New York Times, CNN, public radio, and ABC World News Tonight.

Since there was standing room only during his concurrent session last year, he is speaking this year during a general session so that no one will miss out on what Dr. McCormick has to say. 

The session will improve your negotiation skill set by teaching us about making offers, making concessions, and what should happen during the first five minutes of a negotiation. This session is designed to empower participants to be more effective negotiators and resolvers of conflict by using both practical and scientifically valid tools and techniques. You will walk away with 10 negotiation tools you can use.

As you can tell, I am excited to hear what Dr. McCormick has to say, and I look forward to seeing you there.

TSCPA Financial Literacy Social Media Outreach Day Thursday, April 30

A message from the TSCPA:

Dear TSCPA Member:

Since the economy has slipped into a deep recession, more Texans are searching for personal finance information as evidenced by the recent surge in traffic (nearly 32,000 visitors during the last three months) to TSCPA’s consumer Web site at ValueYourMoney.org. As TSCPA members, let’s leverage the power of social media to reach out to as many people as we can with the financial literacy message.

Please join me and participate in TSCPA’s Financial Literacy Social Media Outreach Day Thursday, April 30 so we can further spread the word about ValueYourMoney.org’s free information and resources and Texas CPAs’ role in financial literacy.

Whether you’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or you just have e-mail addresses, TSCPA would like you to send the following message or a similar one of your own to your friends, connections, followers, or distribution list this Thursday:

Looking to improve your personal finance I.Q. or know someone who is? Visit the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants’ consumer Web site at www.ValueYourMoney.org.  

To measure our reach, please e-mail Jennifer Nimmo at jnimmo@tscpa.net by 10 a.m. Friday, May 1 and let her know the number of people to whom you sent the message.

As CPAs, we know we help our clients and employers on a daily basis. Through ValueYourMoney.org and TSCPA’s other financial literacy resources, we now have an opportunity to showcase the profession’s public service platform to a broader audience.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes this Thursday and participate in the Financial Literacy Social Media Outreach Day. That’s what CPAs do best. We help people.

Sincerely,

Steven R. Goodman, CPA

Chairman 

AICPA Leadership Academy

The AICPA Leadership Academy is an initiative of AICPA Chairman Ernie Almonte. The first Leadership Academy will be held this summer in Chicago, July 7-9. During these three days, 25 selected Young CPAs from across the nation will participate in a program designed to provide personal development and leadership training. The Academy aims to create a pool of engaged young CPAs who will become future leaders within their organizations, the AICPA, the CPA profession, and other voluntary non-profit organizations.

I believe that Chairman Almonte is right on in his vision for this program. He visited the TSCPA Young CPAs Committe at our last meeting in Austin, and his passion for this program and leadership development is evident.

A unique aspect of this leadership development program will be the follow-up. A goal of the program is to establish mentorship relationships between the program participants and AICPA mentors, who would include former AICPA chairs, board members, or other leaders within the profession.

The application deadline is May 1. More information can be found on the AICPA website, here.

28 Days Until the Young CPAs Conference

Now that the tax professionals among us have caught up on their sleep (hopefully), it's time to think about CPE. The Young CPAs and Emerging Professionals Conference is a great place to brush up on those soft skills that help you get ahead in the workplace, add value to your career, and increase your client service abilities.

There is something for everyone, with topics like:

Generational Dynamics

Wealth Building: Personal Financial Planning

Client Relations and Practice Development

Business Skills for the Workplace

Cyber Crime

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

Professional Issues, Federal Tax, and Technology Updates

In our field, it is not often the lack of technical skills that prevents people from realizing their full potential. It is most frequently underdeveloped non-technical (soft) skills. So, make a small investment ($95 for TSCPA members, up to 6 hours of CPE) in your or your employees future and register for the Young CPAs and Emerging Professional's Conference -- May 22 in Houston, TX.

Conference Details and Agenda

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