Visions Newsletter - February 2024

February Newsletter

President's Message

by Max Duplant, CPA

Have you registered for Convergence 2024 yet? Our registration has been open for about a month, and enrollment has been brisk. Before you get too far into tax season and all the other activities that occupy us as the new year begins, I would encourage you to take a moment now to sign up for our annual CPE conference. This year the conference will take place at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in downtown Dallas on May 10. If you’ve attended in the past, you know what an outstanding value this event is, and if you’ve never been, there is no better time to treat yourself to the experience! Seventy-five dollars is the Dallas Chapter member price for a day of incomparable education, networking and eight hours of CPE credit! But like all good things, this pricing, too, will come to an end. On March 31 this low, Early Bird price will increase to $110, so take advantage now and sign up for the very best educational value available to the North Texas accounting and financial services industry. Be the Early Bird…Register Now!

Our Annual Meeting of Members was held January 30 at The Clubs of Prestonwood and provided a great kick-off to the calendar year. Our keynote speaker Chris Bhatti, Assistant Vice President and Associate Dean at the University of Texas at Dallas, enlightened and inspired us with his insights and experiences in the field of fundraising. A new slate of Chapter leadership was elected for the 2024-25 year, and five deserving TXCPA Dallas members received recognition for their outstanding contributions to the organization. We congratulate all of these remarkable individuals on their accomplishments! You can read about the newly-elected officers and award winners below.

February offers a couple of excellent opportunities for socializing and community service. There will be a chance to help feed the area’s hungry and disadvantaged on February 10 at Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano. Minnie’s is an extraordinary association whose mission is not just to provide food but also health and financial education that will assist families in gaining long-term food security and a higher quality of life. Join us and lend a hand to a worthwhile organization.

If you’re interested in taking a break from the rigors of business this month and enjoying some down time with your peers, we hope you’ll join us on February 15 for our Thirsty Thursday Social Hour at Blue Mesa Grill. It’s always a great time when friends get together, and we hope you’ll come out and have a great time with us at one of our most popular events.

Coming up in March, we will begin a virtual, three-part Cash Management CPE Series on the 14^th when Bill Moss, one of our favorite business management experts, presents a one-hour session titled, "Best Practices in Working Capital Management". On March 25, our Business & Industry Committee has organized another Behind-the-Scenes Tour to the Buzzballz facility in Carrollton. Registration for the Behind-the-Scenes event will open soon so watch our website calendar and your inbox!

Have a great February and don’t forget to register for Convergence 2024 by March 31!

Max Duplant, CPA

2023-24 Dallas Chapter President

CPE / EVENTS

For more information and to register for these events,

click on the event title.

F REE CPE: Professional Issues Update

Wednesday, February 7, 2024; 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Format: Virtual

CPE Hours: 2; Fee: $0

Sponsor: Goodman Financial

Community Outreach Event:

Minnie's Food Pantry

Saturday, February 10, 2024; 7:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Minnie's Food Pantry, Plano

CPE Credits: 0; Fee: $0

February Thirsty Thursday Social Hour

Thursday, February 15, 2024; 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Blue Mesa Grill - Montfort Drive

CPE Credits: 0; Fee: $0

Online Cash Management CPE Series:

Best Practices in Working Capital Management

Thursday, March 14, 2024; 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Format: Virtual

Credits: 1; Fee: $10/Member, $20/Nonmember

Speaker: William R. Moss, CPA

Ethics for Texas CPAs

Thursday, May 9, 2024; 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Dallas Sheraton Hotel (Downtown)

CPE Credits: 4; Fee: $75

Speaker: Kathryn Kapka, CPA

SAVE THE DATE

Behind-the-Scenes Tour Event: Buzzballz

Monday, March 25, 2024; 4:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Buzzballz

Credits: 1; Fee: $20

CONVERGENCE 2024

!!! REGISTRATION IS OPEN !!!

TXCPA Dallas

invites you to register for

Friday, May 10, 2024

Sheraton Dallas Hotel

Join us for the

premier accounting CPE event

in North Texas!

Early Bird pricing is available

through March 31, so

Thank You to Our Convergence 2024 Sponsors!

We welcome our newest sponsors:

Financial Executives International, JustWorks

and Thomas Edwards Group

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TXCPA Dallas Announces

2024-25 Chapter Leadership

TXCPA Dallas announces its 2024-25 leadership :

President

Donovan Miller

President-elect

Isreal Miller

Immediate Past President

Max Duplant

Treasurer

Aaron Borden

Treasurer-elect

Chris Hes

Immediate Past Treasurer

Robert Goudge

Executive Board Members

Angela Banks * Taylor Caton

Favor Lee * Kyle Ratliff

Kyle Wakeland * Austin Waugh

Nominations Committee Members

Neely Duncan * Chris Hes

Terri Hornberger * Rebecca Manrriquez

MEMBERSHIP

PAC Notes...

Your Contribution to the PAC is Vital

As we begin the 2024 election cycle, TXCPA PAC is more important than ever. Your contributions were instrumental in TXCPA having a very successful 2023 legislation session. We addressed some CPA pipeline issues - allowing students to test at 120 semester hours and expanding the accounting scholarship program. We still have more to do to address vital pipeline issues and to protect the profession from ever-increasing regulatory attacks that threaten the CPA license. With many legislative retirements and some longstanding legislators seeking other opportunities, TXCPA PAC will be hard at work in 2024, supporting our friends still in the legislature and making new friends in open races. If we want to continue our successes, your contribution to the PAC is vital. Please go to https://www.tx.cpa/advocacy/contribute to make your PAC contribution. Reach out to Kenneth Besserman, kbesserman@tx.cpa, for more information.

Welcome, New Members!

Allyson Abbey, CPA

Tabitha Adams, CPA

Aaron Aguilar, CPA

Usman Ali, CPA

Jevon Atkinson, Student

Michelle Baccheschi, CPA

Isoel Banda, Student

Bryan Bellanca, CPA

Blake Berrier, Student

Ian Brenner, CPA

Timothy Busbee, Student

Ross Cameron, CPA

Peyton Campbell, CPA

Rachel Caprio, CPA

Zackary Chastain, CPA

Sarah Clancy, CPA

Michael Cochran, CPA

Miranda Cochran, CPA

Mackenzie Compton, CPA

Cody Conway, CPA

Michael Corse, CPA

Lauren Cottrill, Student

Mary Cowan, CPA

Katelyn Curtis, CPA

Jessica Tate, CPA

Horacio Estrada, Student

Trevor Freeman, CPA

Dalys Gonzalez, CPA

Raul Gonzalez, CPA

Beatrice Gonzalez, Student

Wei Guo, Student

Sarah Hand, CPA

Leslie Hernandez, Student

Robert Hillsley, CPA

Nehemiah Jaeger, CPA

Dohyun Jou, CPA

Matthew Keys, CPA

Kurtis Klingbeil, CPA

Yanawut Klinkasorn, Student

Jae Lee, CPA

Alynson Lippincott, CPA

Landon Lott, CPA

Kamal Manik, CPA

Meaghan Martinez, CPA

Joseph Matschulat, CPA

Cristina McKown, Student

Alishah Merchant, CPA

Abhishek Mohnot, CPA

Salvador Monzon, III, CPA

Sy'Quoria Moore, CPA

Lila Murphy, CPA

Morgan Mzyk, CPA

Alexander Navarre, CPA

Lanie Ngo, CPA

Andrew Ngo, CPA

Jason Nunez, CPA

Julio Nunez, CPA

Fabian Ortega, CPA

Keygan Perkins, Student

Aaron Perry, CPA

Matthew Phillips, Student

Allison Powell, CPA

Abigail Randall, CPA

Elizabeth Reid, CPA

Richard Reiner, CPA

Pierce Rendall, Student

Mary Ridley, CPA

Orin Roberts, CPA

Hannah Rogers, CPA

Terrai Runnels, CPA

Emily Russell, Candidate

Keaton Schenfield, CPA

Claire Smith, CPA

Kayla Stemmer, CPA

Sadie Swan, CPA

Cole Thomas, CPA

Varughese Thomas, CPA

Ryan Tsao, Student

Taylor Ulrich, CPA

Amy Van Burkleo, CPA

Kade Van Meter, CPA

Victoria VanVorst, Student

Shelby Wainwright, CPA

Daniel Weinand, CPA

Cooper Westbrook, CPA

Kim Williams, CPA

Sean Witecy, CPA

Brennan Youngblood, CPA

Hairong Zhou, Student

Lacy Linda Zolton, Student

Congratulations Are in Order!

The following individuals were honored

at the TXCPA Dallas Annual Meeting of Members

on January 30 for their exceptional contributions to the

Dallas Chapter and the accounting profession:

CPA of the Year

Jennifer Johnson

Stanley J. Scott CPE Award

Neely Duncan

Young CPA of the Year

Kyle Ratliff

Outstanding Committee Chair

Austin Waugh

Outstanding Committee Member

Brenda Wilson

Congratulations and Thank You All from TXCPA Dallas!

Member Benefit: Discount on Job Postings

TXCPA Dallas’s Career Center provides members with a discount on job postings to help fill their open positions. In a talent shortage crunch, TXCPA Dallas’s Career Center will amplify your posting to local members and on TXCPA’s career centers across the state. Internship postings are always FREE. Visit the Career Center today and use the code DALLASFREEPOSTING to add your open positions and attract new hires!

Limited-Time Bonus Months Membership Offer:

Encourage Colleagues to Join TXCPA!

Now is the perfect time to encourage your non-TXCPA member colleagues to join our organization! Through February 29, TXCPA and TXCPA Dallas are offering bonus months of membership for the 12-month rate. Those who are interested can join online and use code NewYear2024 at checkout to seize this exclusive offer. Join us in promoting membership and inviting others to experience the wealth of benefits our valuable organization has to offer!

Professional Group Membership – Is Your Organization Included?

Our Professional Group Membership offers special benefits for TXCPA members who work together for the same organization. If you’re interested in learning more about Professional Group Membership, contact membership@tx.cpa.

Visit TXCPA Exchange for Member-to-Member Advice

Our online community, TXCPA Exchange, is a great place to get advice and feedback from fellow TXCPA members on a variety of topics related to tax season, software recommendations and more! Remember to browse through previous discussion posts and offer your knowledge/input where applicable.

Get Social with TXCPA Dallas

TXCPA Dallas invites you to join our Facebook Social and LinkedIn Groups. Keep up with current Chapter events and make new friends. Join us!

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Dallas Foundation Presents

Annual Professional Advisor Seminar

The Dallas Foundation will hold its annual Professional Advisor Seminar on February 23. Speaker Susan Schoenfeld will talk on "The Influence of Affluence: Helping Your Clients Navigate Family Wealth Dynamics". For more information and to register, click here.

State Bar Association Tax Section Presents

Online Conference: Tax Law in a Day

The State Bar Association Tax Section will present its annual conference Tax Law in a Day on February 8 and 9. Click here for more details and to register.

CLASSIFIEDS