MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
This has certainly been a year of firsts. First time in my life that I remember living through a pandemic. I believe that it is also the very first, and I hope he very last, time that the ASCPA has had a virtual board chair. This pandemic started at the end of the term for my predecessor, Dennis Sherrin. At that point in time, we had already begun some of the stay-at-home orders and started the “quarantine” process. Last June our annual meeting was not held in person for the first time that I remember, and I recall taking over as the ASCPA Chair from a condo at the beach. As much as that sounds like a great place to start my term, I can promise you that I would have much rather it be in person. Having some technical difficu ties that day did not help either. But I promise you that it did not dampen my enthusiasm for the opportunity that being your chair has presented to me. I have said it before and I will say it again, I have never been prouder to be a part of the CPA profession and particularly a part of the ASCPA. The CPA profession has met this pandemic head-on and has thrived in the face of many challenges. Our membership has been resilient with the changes that have been handed to us. Just think back to the challenges of the past year: tax deadlines moved, the inability to meet in person, accounting and reporting standards put on hold, off-site peer reviews and extensions, and no CPE in person. I could keep going on,
but what I really want to get across is the fact that we did not let all those issues knock us down. Our members excelled in the use of technology to make things happen when we could not do anything in person. We really earned the title of the most trusted advisor this past year. I never thought we could invent more acronyms than we already use, but now we have PPP, ERC, and on and on. What a great time to be a CPA. I also want to brag on the staff at the ASCPA. As a membership organization, they work tirelessly for our members, and this past year they worked overtime. From CPE, peer review, governmental affairs, and communications, they truly lived up to the cornerstones of our Society. Protect, educate, and connect. Even through all of the challenges in the past year, the Society staff has continued to provide top-notch educational opportunities, taken on additional states to administer the peer review program, provided thousands of dollars of scholarships, and kept us all up to date with communications of the ever-changing government programs. Those are just a few of the things they have done. I am a bit biased, but I truly believe the ASCPA has the best team! Finally, thank you as members of the ASCPA. Through this pandemic, it seems as if at times the focus might have shifted from you all to how do we make it work from the inside. I promise you all this when James Moody takes
over as chair after my term, he will ensure that the focus is squarely on our members and what we can do for you. One of the great things I have missed this year is being able to go out around the state and visit with you all. Just recently, we have been able to get out just a bit to visit and it has just brightened my day so much. What a true honor and blessing it has been for me to be able to serve you all, even if it has been mostly in the virtual setting. Here’s looking to a bright future and thank you all for allowing me to serve!
Michael
May/June
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