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PROGRAMS
– What You Missed!
April
2010
Forensic
Accounting/Fraud
Manpreet Grover, Managing Partner
and CFO of SOAProjects presented us with an
indpeth look at some of the fraud issues facing
our business community. She not only gave
examples of some of the findings she has identified,
but the entire group interacted with some
examples they have faced. Manpreet was able
to bring this all together to give us an awareness
of the characteristics and motivations of
business associates involved in fraud.
March
2010
Employment
Law
Rona Layton of Sims & Layton
Attorneys at Law, gave us a current update
of the latest in employment law. Rona represents
client before the Labor Commissioner, Department
of Fair Employment and Housing and many other
groups and Federal courts. She presented the
business side as well as the employee side
of some of the most recent topics,
February
2010
The
Economics and Value of IT Security
Dr, Eugene Schultz, Chief Technology
Officer at Emagined Security, an information
security consultancy based in San Carlos,
California brought us up to date with the
latest news related to It Security. His lecture
provided us with not only the latest in IT
security but, he also introduced us to security
related to Computing in the Cloud. He presented,
not only his fndings from his own research,
but actual examples to make this critical
subject applicable to the accounting field.
He brought this essential subject to us with
excellent content through a lively presentation
with real life examples.
January
2010
Tax
Update
Sheba Dalaney, CPA and Principal
at Abbott, Stringham & Lynch kept us on
the edge of our chairs as she presented the
new and upcoming tax laws. Sheba offered a
broad range of tax information and zeroed
in on those of most importance in both federal
and state tax arenas. She provided the background
and resources for all of us as we go into
the new tax year, whether as tax professionals
or for our personal tax application.
December
2009
2009
SILICON VALLEY ASWA HOLIDAY PARTY
We celebrated the holiday season
with a wonderful time of eating, drinking
and fun at Bella Mia in downtown San Jose.
The cuisine was excellent and the evening
was filled with fun as we exchanged our gifts.
November
2009
GENERATING
NEW BUSINESS IN A DOWNTURN
Chris Pajerea, CBC and Principal
of LeadGenaires offered us excellent advice
on making a difference in the competitive
world we live in today. He delivered six ways
to enrich your sales delivery. He also stressed
the need to know who you are and what your
objectives are. According to Chris, credibility
is a key ingredient of a successful sale.
You went away from the meeting with some fresh
ideas for 2010.
ANNUAL
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISING AUCTION
An exciting
time was enjoyed by all as we previewed and
bid on the selection of gifts available for
the auction. There was much activity as everyone
scurried to make sure they did not lose their
bid position. Not only did we have a fun time
making our selections, but the networking
and visiting was unlimited. Plus, all this
was for the benefit of our 2010 Scholarship
Program.
October
2009
DECLUTTERNG AND ORGANIZING
Charlotte Scott
has an incredible gift of resourcing, and
her organization specializez in relocation
with Professional Organizers by creating a
customized, caring more experience for your
family. She presented us with many great ideas
and suggestions for organizing for a move.
She also included tips for organizing your
home or office.
September
2009
REAL ESTATE INVESTING
John Weisenberger
of Keller Williams gave us a powerful message
on Seven Ways Millionaire Real Estate Investors
Think. He provided us with the background
for determining value, opportunity and deals.
He also presented a great model for determining
if, how and when we should invest in real
estate. Included were examples of risks, tools
and resources. You can check out John's website
at www.johnweisenberger.com.
August
2009
ESTATE PLANNING
We were privileged
to have John Melton, CPA, Partner with Abbott,
Stringham and Lynch lead a discussion on Estate
Planning. He walked us through for those of
us without a plan, and reminded those of us
who do, that we must be up on it. He made
us laugh as well!
July
2009
PRESENTATION PRESENCE!
Wanda Royse of WR Communications
Consultants (WRCC) led an audience interactive
session on how to make your presentation memorable,
effective and to how to exude confidence in
a variety of settings! She explained how her
TV, Theatre, and Business Setting strategies
have worked for her and left us with many
good tips that we are sure to remember!
American
Society of Women Accounts National Association
Has Launched A New Website
ASWA is proud to announce the launch of our
new website at www.aswa.org and we encourage
you to visit our redesigned site as soon as
possible to utilize our online resources.
You will notice right away that the new site
is visually pleasing, and that it captures
the essence of ASWA through our use of actual
ASWA member photos and their testimonials.
The previous ASWA website vendor redirected
users of www.aswa.org to www.aswa.org/i4a.
However, the new website vendor does not do
this. As a result, if the old site is saved
as one of your "favorites," it will
not take you to the new site. To work around
this, please be sure to type, or cut and paste,
www.aswa.org directly into your browser and
save that address to your "favorites."
Coming Attractions...
The following enhancements will be added
to the site over the next few months:
· Confirmation emails will be sent to members
upon renewal of membership dues
· Confirmation emails will be sent to individuals
donating online to The ASWA Educational Foundation
· Chapter dues will automatically update
upon chapter president submission of online
change form
Please visit www.aswa.org
soon and see all that the website has
to offer.
State
Tax Issues?
If your company does business in more than
one state, you likely have “nexus” or taxable
presence, in those
jurisdictions. Have you correctly registered
to do business and file income tax returns?
Are you properly collecting and remitting
sales/use taxes? Have you been notified of
an impending audit? Have you considered the
Sarbanes-Oxley of state tax reporting? Are
you overwhelmed by the rules in different
states? Or even just California?
With over 40 years of experience,
the professionals at Labhart Miles can help
resolve these and other state tax
related issues and reduce your tax burden.
Call Monika Miles at 408-266-2259
or visit them at www.labhartmiles.com
Monika has been an ASWA Member for over 13
years.
American
Society of Women Accounts has teamed with
BDO Seidman, LLP
ASWA is thrilled to enter into this relationship
with BDO Seidman, LLP, which will support
ASWA in all facets of our organization including
their commitment as a platinum-level sponsor
of our national conference, through active
member participation, and through member access
to BDO corporate resources. BDO Seidman, LLP
is a national professional services firm providing
assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting
services to a wide range of pulicly traded
and privately held companies. Contact: Jerry
Walsh at jerry@prwalsh.com
2009
Wine Tasting Gala Sponsors!
Wine Sponsor: Labhart Miles
Consulting Group, Inc.
Diamond: Deloitte
Gold: Accretive Solutions,
Inc. and Volt
Silver: Abbott, Stringham
& Lynch, Lynda R. Boman, CPA, Johanson
& Yau Accountancy Corporation and PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Leading
in Uncertain Times
By: Cheryl Leitschuh, Ed.D., RCC
What happened? Almost overnight we have
moved from a growing economy to uncertainty
in direction and solutions. We can evaluate
the what, why and how but it leaves us needing
to lead and navigate in uncharted waters.
There are five key steps that leaders need
to take to move through this challenging
time.
Step 1: Understand Human Motivation
Yes, step #1 is to become part psychologist.
You need to understand what is happening
to you, your team and your customers in
order to move forward in an effective way.
It frames everything you do during this
time. Let’s look at Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. The bottom of the pyramid focuses
on safety and security needs. Someone who
is concerned about safety and security will
not be able to move to the next level of
social acceptance (e.g. team work) unless
they have their safety and security needs
met.
As we move up the pyramid, we have self-esteem
and self-actualization which are areas of
confidence, self-motivation and productivity.
During times of success and economic growth,
individuals, teams and organizations were
at the self-esteem/self-actualization levels
of the pyramid. As a result of uncertainty,
individuals, teams and organizations have
moved to the safety and security level of
the pyramid.
What does this mean to you as a leader?
You need to provide different leadership
to individuals, teams and organizations
at the safety and security level versus
the self-esteem/self actualization level.
Individual, teams and organizations at the
safety and security level need reassurance,
simplicity and frequent communication. Individuals,
teams and organizations at the self-esteem/self-actualization
level need challenging assignments, freedom
to grow and clarity of the strategic direction.
If you provide the same leadership provided
during the growth times, you will experience
behavior such as lack of productivity, anger,
push back on ideas, and demands for new
information. All are signs that you have
not shifted your leadership to meet the
current needs.
“But my business is doing fine so I don’t
need to change.” Even if your business is
doing fine, your employees, customers and
vendors are being affected by the current
economic state. It may be their family members
have been laid off, their 401K has shrunk,
they can’t make their house payment, or
numerous other outside events that affect
their needs when they come in the door to
work. So recognizing the other factors will
be critical to you leading effectively.
And what about you? Where are you on the
hierarchy? Are you taking care of your needs
so you can respond and take care of your
organization’s needs? Leadership can be
a lonely job. BUT you set the tone for your
team or organization. So awareness and strategies
to take care of your needs will influence
how you lead your team.
Step 2 – Have a plan!
During times of uncertainty, plans need
to be nimble, shorter in time focus and
evaluated frequently. You may need to re-structure
your planning team to make it more responsive
and proactive. During growth times, we can
have a 3-5 year strategic plan being evaluated
annually that is developed with a large
group of leaders in your organization. During
uncertain times it is more effective to
have a 6-9 month plan being evaluated bi-monthly
with a small team of key leaders.
This plan needs to be communicated frequently
with specific action steps that align all
individuals and teams in your organization.
Everyone needs to be walking the same path
and focus to ensure survival of the organization.
Step 3 – Move closer to your customer/clients
and vendors
Now is the time to create stronger partnerships
and work to solve issues together. Customer
loyalty – not just satisfaction – will be
an important aspect to current survival
and future recovery. But recognize that
most of your customers/clients and vendors
have moved down Maslow’s hierarchy as well.
They need reassurance, a plan, simplicity
and frequent communication. Establish a
calendar and plan of regular contact with
these important
partnerships for your organization.
Step 4 – Move closer to your employees
Your employees are the other important
component of your leadership success. They
are now being asked to do more with less
at the same time as they are dealing with
their own uncertainty. Often, companies
cut too deep in a response to a financial
downturn, leaving your employees stretched
too thin when the recovery occurs. They
need the same thing your customers/clients
and vendors need – reassurance, a plan,
simplicity and frequent communication. Individual
conversations during a performance review
are not enough. Bimonthly, if not weekly
touch bases need to occur. Establish a similar
calendar of frequent communication and regular
contact.
Step 5 – Improve, innovate and stabilize
process
Now is the time for greater efficiency.
Questions to ask:
• How can we simplify our process for clients/customers?
How can we make it easier to do business
with?
• How can we simplify our process for our
employees? How can we make it easier and
more efficient for them to do their job?
Invite your clients/customers and your
employees as a part of this questioning
process. This is an opportunity to create
greater efficiencies for the recovery ahead.
My experience is that most leaders will
prefer to start with improving process (step
5), then plan (step 2), then spend more
time with their customers (step 3) and ignore
addressing the changes in motivations (step
1) and spending more time with their employees
(step 4). It is easier to deal with steps
5, 2 and 3 than steps 1 and 4. But recognize
the steps are put together for a reason.
Your success in leading through the uncertainty
will be directly related to starting and
Step 1 and moving systematically to Step
5. This is a different time and a different
need. Embracing the process will build an
effective foundation for your business now
and as you return to growth and stability
in the future.
Dr. Cheryl Leitschuh, Ed.D.
is a coach and consultant creating environments
of success for individuals, teams and organizations.
For information on services and resources
for individuals and organizations, email
cheryl@career-future.com or visit www.career-future.com
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