JOIN US:
June 10 – 12, 2021
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AT THE BEAUTIFUL WESTIN CAPE CORAL RESORT
AT MARINA VILLAGE!
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Come enjoy all the resort has to offer while earning 18 CE credits from nationally recognized speakers. Enjoy networking opportunities and relaxing social events with colleagues! |
SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE AVAILABLE!
The FSEA Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships to offset the registration cost for the education programs offered at the FSEA Annual convention in June. This is a great way to attend the conferences and get your registration fees paid!! Not to mention all the education credits you will receive! Stay tuned for more details...
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Attention FSEA Board Members... |
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Most of you are aware of FSEA’s support for the Teddy Bears for Kids program. Every year Jerry Joyce, EA, loads the bEArs that have been donated and brings them to convention for distribution. Although that distribution venue was not available to us this year, it didn’t stop the collection of 1,400 bEArs!
We are counting on you as FSEA Board members to spread the word to your chapters and facilitate getting these bEArs distributed to the organizations in your area.
Please reach out to Jerry Joyce at 813-877-8853 and make arrangements to pick up as many bags of bEArs that you can.
Let’s show our support for this program and Get out the bEArs!!
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FSEA CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
2021-2022 GOVERNANCE YEAR
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The Florida Society of Enrolled Agents is accepting nominations for the 2021-2022 Executive Committee. We are looking for individuals who wish to have a direct impact on the future of our organization and are willing and able to serve in a leadership position on our Board of Directors. Our professional organization is constantly striving to improve and now, more than ever, is such an exciting time to serve our members!
The benefits provided to the members and the strength of our organization begins with dedicated leadership. We need leaders who will also promote the EA profession, as they lead us into the future.
If you know someone who would be an asset in a leadership position, or if you are interested in serving, please fill out the below form and return it by Thursday, November 5, 2020.
Please confirm the individual’s interest in serving on the board before submitting a name.
You may submit the form below by email or fax. Please email the nomination form to laura@taxnoticehelp.com or fax to 813-320-0992. I will acknowledge receipt of all nomination forms, therefore, if you do not receive an acknowledgment within 24 hours, please resend or contact me at 813-924-4226.
Sincerely,
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Laura M. Vensel, EA, NTPI Fellow
Chair, FSEA Nominating Committee 2020-2021
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A word from FSEA's
Social Media Committee
These days even people who don't use social media to keep up with friends and family need to be aware of it. Social media is having an unprecedented effect on all kinds of institutions, and FSEA is no different.
As an EA with a fairly diversified practice, I've found it useful to use LinkedIn and Facebook, of course. I accompany these posts with news and tips about changes to the tax code, and also any number of changes to federal regulations and new and updated federal laws, which can mean such big differences for clients. You've probably explored the same strategies, and more. But have you considered security?
Social media has made it much easier to keep clients up to date, and to suggest new and improved strategies for them, but it also means potential dangers. We all know how easy it is for hackers and other bad actors to "hack" Facebook accounts. Maybe you or someone you know has had this happen. It's a royal pain, but there are some very simple steps you can take to make your social media presence more secure.
That's right, I'm talking about passwords. It is essential to have "strong" passwords, composed of long strings of unrelated numbers, letters, and special symbols. An example of a "strong" password is mjsuJ5VchtTbI7W*bK9bsL@^9Z That's 26 characters long! The longer the better.
But that's not enough, we also have to change these passwords regularly. Security experts, like James Therry of Verity Associates, recommend changing your social media (and other) passwords monthly. Monthly! Now that would be a huge task, but there is help. There are many password manager apps available, and some of them are free! They keep track of all your passwords and they can even change them automatically, without your having to keep track. All you have to remember is one master password, which allows you to administer the password manager software. There used to be only a few on the market, but now they are common. Some of the most popular are Lastpass, 1Password, and Password Boss. Have a look around and find one that matches your needs. Again, some of these are free or have a free option.
Remember, social media is not only a powerful advertising and client relationship & education tool; it's also a serious vulnerability. But it's a vulnerability that can easily be managed and reduced.
Sincerely,
Marina L. Martin, EA, MBA, NTPI
Chair, Social Media Committee 2020-2021
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Gleim and the Florida Society of Enrolled Agents have partnered together to offer excellent benefits to members!
Save 10% percent on Gleim Premium Review Systems for Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Enrolled Agent (EA), as well as on CPE packages.
Help support the EA profession by encouraging tax professionals and college students to join FSEA!
Contact your Gleim coordinator, Courtney Sefjack,
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From the desk of the FSEA Education Chair
Your FSEA Board of Directors along with the Education Committee, have been busy establishing new procedures to provide Virtual CE for the State and Local chapters. These CE events will meet the guidelines established by the IRS to meet their approval for credit. The FSEA determined that this was a need that we could help meet in these different times! Elizabeth Barnes, the EVP of FSEA, will be the point of contact for the Chapters in setting up these virtual events. There are several templates that have been designed and approved to facilitate these events.
We intend to keep this project throughout the remainder of 2020 and then re-evaluate to see if this is something that we would like to continue into the future. Most of our traditional forms of obtaining CE have gone to virtual with the Covid pandemic. This CE will be provided at a very reasonable rate of $7.50 per hour for FSEA Members and $10 for non-members. Let your fellow EAs that are out of state know about our virtual CE events. Notices of upcoming events will be emailed to our membership and posted to FSEA social media accounts.
If you have a topic that you would like to receive more information on, contact your local Chapter or our EVP at evp@fseaonline.org, and we will try to get that topic covered.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Higgins, EA
Chair, Education Committee 2020-2021
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Happy fall, y'all!
I just want to remind everyone that Individual spam filters vary and it is important that you add evp@fseaonline.org to your safe-sender (white list) email address book to avoid missing any FSEA Communications.
It has also been reported that some individuals are unable to download from links in our FSEA email blasts. Please be sure to update your firewall settings to allow for these downloads.
Have a grEAt fall season!
Sincerely,
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Elizabeth Barnes
Executive Vice President
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