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Meet a CAI-MN Member
Interested in being a featured member? Contact Bryan Mowry at bryanm@cai-mn.com.
Sara Lassila, CPA, CGMA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor How long have you been involved in the CAI organization? I have been involved in the Minnesota CAI Chapter since 1988, except for a sabbatical from 1992 to 1999, when I worked in private industry. What do you do in the industry? I apply all my association and business experience to providing high quality accounting and tax services for homeowners associations, management companies, and individuals with real estate investments. My firm’s services include audited or reviewed or compiled annual reports, tax planning and tax return preparation, monthly or quarterly accounting and reporting, and QuickBooks software training and support. If you could improve one thing in our industry, what would it be and how would you change it? Education! Get the word out that there are organizations, like CAI, that provide extensive assistance and resources to Board of Directors of homeowners associations. I regularly recommend CAI seminars to my clients, but there is still so much misinformation out there. For example, recently I discovered an association who had obtained tax advice from someone who does not work with associations. The information they were given was incorrect for the tax situation this homeowners association was experiencing. Please get educated! Select your professional team of people experienced in the industry. “Low price” doesn’t always equal “low cost”; you could end up spending more to fix a problem caused by someone who was not experienced in the industry. List three things still on your bucket list? It is hard to pare this down to three things, but I think Fishing somewhere in the Northwest Territory, cruising the Mississippi on a paddlewheel from St. Paul to New Orleans, and taking a few months off to travel the circle tour of all the Great Lakes are my top items.
What retail store would you max out a credit card in? Not a retail store, but I could do large amount of damage if I were attending the February Gem and Jewelry show in Tucson. If you could have one super power, what would it be? Time travel. Do you prefer to read the CAI magazine in hard copy or online? A little of both; I usually check the titles online and then the hard copy gets read at intervals. One thing in this world you are most proud of? Personally, I am very proud of my husband, my kids by marriage and grandchildren. On the business side, I am proud of my ability to translate accounting jargon to layperson’s terms, so my clients and community managers I work with are better informed. What is your favorite tech tool? My very fast scanner. What is your biggest pet peeve? Delays in getting the information needed to complete the accounting or tax project. Different levels of service require different pieces of information to be obtained to get the project completed. An audit is very different from a tax return project. There is a reason why I ask for certain information; if there is ever a question about why something is needed, just ask, I will explain. Is there someone in our industry you would like to meet and have not yet? Gobs! I hope to attend the CAI National Conference next year, where I can meet them. What do you wish CAI offered that you haven’t found? I don’t think there is enough promotion of CAI in general. I continue to run into associations that do not know about CAI and its resources.
Favorite hobby? That’s a tossup; flower gardening or jewelry design and construction.
What industry job would you love to try for a day? I’d like to work with a landscape crew.
How do you recharge? Being outside.
What industry professional’s job would you not want to have? The accounts receivable clerk at any management company. I’m sure they hear more sob stories about why someone can’t pay their assessments on time than I could ever tolerate.
What is the strangest talent you have? This is a good talent for the industry I specialize in; I can spot differences in fund balances on financial statements and what is causing them almost immediately.
November | December 2016
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