Download your copy today and keep it nearby as you go through this busy season.

Review the qualifications and download nomination forms online. The nomination deadline for all awards is March 30.

My new promotional pens read “Peace of mind at tax time.” This will be my second year as a sole practioner and I hope there are many more to come. As I write this final article as our chapter president, I am thinking back of where I was a year ago and I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. Actually, I am beginning to see more than one light. That’s the feeling I get when I think about all the tax returns and other accounting projects I need to get done in the next couple of months. Yes it only has been a year for me as a sole practioner, but someone from above is looking out for me.

As you get into the tax season, keep in mind that nominations for officers and board members will be done later this month for the 2012-13 year. When you receive the email, please take a moment to cast your vote. Also, if you want to get involved with a committee or other chapter events, please don’t hesitate to contact Julie Jameson, our chapter’s program associate.

It has been another great year for our chapter. I have worked with many talented and dedicated individuals over the past five years that I have been involved on the board. And as our chapter goes into hiatus, I want to thank all the officers, board members, committee chairs, firms and chapter members who have contributed to our success.

May we all have a successful and blissful 2012 tax season.

by Oscar Axume

We will be hosting our second Wine Tasting Mixer at Imbibe Jan. 26. This will be our last event before the chapter goes dormant for the next three months, so invite your friends and come to have a glass of wine (or beer) and pasta. Let’s go out with a bang and be a part of this social mixer, back by popular demand.

CalCPA will host CPA Day at the Capitol Jan 18.  This is a great opportunity for members to get to know many of the new legislators who may not be familiar with our profession’s unique environment. So make an effort to be there. Many of the bills introduced each legislative session affect both our profession and our clients.

I want to thank all the officers, board members, committee chairs, firms and chapter members who have contributed to the success of our chapter. Our membership grew by 8 percent this year. But more importantly, participation in our events by member was 27 percent compared to 18 percent last year.

Congratulations and may we all have a successful and blissful 2012 tax season.

More information and applications are available online.

If state-level leadership isn’t your calling right now, there are plenty of opportunities at the chapter level—from board member to committee chair—to step up and showcase your skills. Find more information online.

Work with your peers on projects that increase members’ technical knowledge, enhance the profession’s image and draw the best and brightest into accounting—all while you build leadership skills and make valuable contacts.

The application deadline is Dec. 31 and committee appointments will be made in January.

Learn more and apply online.

How can your presence help? Take a look at our successful 2011 advocacy efforts for an idea and read about the experiences of past participants.

Don’t underestimate the importance of your presence!

Time really flies. It seems like yesterday when I started my term as chapter president. And here we are with less than two months before our chapter goes into hibernation mode again.

Most of us are likely in the year-end tax planning mode and getting ourselves ready for 2012 tax season. As we get busy in our jobs, let us not lose sight of what is most important, especially during the holidays: our families. Time spent with our families is the best investment we can make. Strong families create strong communities

May each and every one of you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and prosperous new year.

Be sure to register for our final mixer event—back by popular demand—before tax season: Jan. 26: Wine Tasting at Imbibe.

Participate in all of our events by sponsoring and attending, and at the same time giving back to our accounting students and future CPAs from Cal State Bakersfield and Bakersfield College. Keep checking our chapter’s website for additional events and dates.

As always, I thank you all for your time and commitment to our profession and our chapter. I look forward to your continued involvement. If you ever have any questions regarding our chapter, please contact me or our program associate Julie Jameson.

Work with your peers on projects that increase members’ technical knowledge, enhance the profession’s image and draw the best and brightest into accounting—all while you build leadership skills and make valuable contacts.

The application deadline is Dec. 31 and committee appointments will be made in January 2012.

Learn more and apply online.

Tax season has come and gone—at least for most of us—and it is now time to evaluate processes, procedures and, more importantly, the technology needs of our firms. Whether you are a large firm or a sole practitioner, you need to know what cloud computing can do for your practice thru software-as-a-service, or SaaS.

Cloud computing refers to the medium by which the software (service) is accessed by the users or customers. SaaS refers to the service offered by vendors whereby they provide software that is maintained and run on the internet or the cloud. For CPA firms, this means that we don’t need to have a server to run most—or all—of the software we use, and we can access it from anywhere and at anytime. This can save our firms time and money. Since the software and hardware are maintained by the service provider, we can focus more of our resources on servicing our clients—and obtaining more.

One important consideration that needs be dealt with is security, since our client data will be on the cloud. This, however, can be mitigated by choosing a vendor that has been around for a long time, has clearly defined privacy policies and is in compliance with the SSAE16 Auditing Standards, which is the latest standard for Reporting on Controls of Service Organizations. So there are risks associated with cloud computing, however, you may find out that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Five or so years ago, the “paperless office” and document management systems were the trend for CPA firms. With that came the need for multi-monitors and portable or fast scanners. And now we have cloud computing. As technology has evolved since then, so has our profession. As accounting and financial advisers, we need to be up to speed with technology to better serve our clients and still be profitable and competitive. With cloud computing we can do both and at the same time we will be positioning our firms to be a successful 21^st century accounting firm.

Save the date for our upcoming events during the year:

• Nov. 2: YEP & CSUB Accounting Alumni Social
• Nov. 15: Social Mixer
• Nov. 17: Lunch & Learn
• Dec. 22: Lunch & Learn

Participate in all of our events by sponsoring and attending, and at the same time giving back to our accounting students and future CPAs from Cal State Bakersfield and Bakersfield College. Keep checking our chapter’s website for additional events and dates.

I thank you for your time and commitment to our profession and our chapter. I look forward to your continued involvement. If you ever have any questions with regards to our chapter, please contact me or our program associate Julie Jameson.