Focus...

This is a busy week here at the GSCPA office. We have two pretty big seminars happening today, the Auditors are in all week finishing their field work and our board is meeting Thursday and Friday to do Strategic Planning that will carry us at least the next two years and possibly three years. And at around 11:30 this morning, our building was evacuated. A “suspicious package” was found across the street at the Marta station. It is amazing how quickly and orderly this building emptied out. No playing around with this sort of thing! We stayed outside a little over 30 minutes and then back in. Have not heard what the package was but they took it away.
Strategic Planning is an interesting time and an intense time. Harrison Coerver, a nationally prominent consultant on strategic planning will be here to guide us through the process. Harrison works with at least 20 state societies and has worked with the AICPA; he knows state societies and is well aware of the issues facing the profession and non-profits and their boards. Harrison worked with us here in Georgia in 2001, 2004, and 2007. He knows us!

The time is intense because it is so important for us to do well in staying current with the changing trends for CPAS, and for CPA societies. These current economic times certainly do not make it any easier to look forward and know where we want to go and where the profession is going to be in two to three years. However, it is important that we have organizational goals so that all of our leadership will be working towards the same goals; the boat that has everyone rowing together goes smoother than if each paddler is trying to go in a different direction. The continuity from one chairman to the next is also smoother as we have large goals in place to move towards and each new Chairman does not need to re-invent the society. We’re all moving together towards the same goals.
The new fiscal year is really beginning to move. Last week Bob Prator and I met with the Section Chairs and that was a productive time. Sections are continuing to grow and having more and more events, adding webcast, and their Section online areas are housing more and more information. Everyone needs to be a Section member; it is free and easy to join. Just go to GSCPA.org and click on the Section that interest you. The Vision for Sections is a product of our 2001 Strategic Planning session and I’m pleased that the vision has continued to grow.

Hope you are enjoying these blogs! It is fun to write and our Facebook page is continuing to grow. Join us there for dialogue and always updated information on upcoming events.

See you soon!

GJ