President’s Perspective

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MAY/JUNE 2018 Volume 31, No. 3

Managing Editor Jill Edmonds disclosures@vscpa.com

Contributing Editor Chip Knighton cknighton@vscpa.com

Public Affairs & Communications Director David Bass dbass@vscpa.com

Editorial Task Force Olaf Barthelmai, CPA Adam Chaikin, CPA Cheri David, CPA Genevieve Hancock Alesia Lewis, CPA Harold Martin Jr., CPA David Peters, CPA Mark Plostock, CPA Barbara Sukramani, CPA

Disclosures is published six times a year by the Virginia Society of Certifi ed Public Accountants (VSCPA). The magazine’s mission is to communicate information of value to VSCPA members, including professional issues and VSCPA initiatives. The materials and information in Disclosures are offered as material only and not as practice, fi nancial, accounting, legal or other professional advice. Statements of fact and opinion are made by the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of VSCPA offi cers, members or editorial staff. Publication of an advertisement in Disclosures does not constitute a VSCPA endorsement of the product or service. Copyright © 2018 Virginia Society of CPAs.

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president’s perspective

Where VSCPA2025 stands in 2018

May 1 marks the first anniversary of the launch of our VSCPA2025 strategic framework, aimed at helping our members navigate a period of exponential change. I wanted to provide an update on where we stand in implementing our new mission — empower our members to thrive — and our four bold strategies:

• Create a culture of learning • Drive innovation and vision • Infl uence students to become CPAs • Advocate for members’ interests

The 2025 rollout, starting with the 2017 Leaders’ Summit in Williamsburg, went beautifully. We had tremendous buy-in from our members, with lots of excitement and affirmation that we were on the right track. We polled numerous groups of members and got feedback that we hit the right things. We’ve gotten positive feedback from staff and our colleagues in CPA societies across the country. While we’re eager to hear from more members, we feel like we found the proper priorities and are building and preparing to launch forward-looking initiatives based on our research.

A key initiative this year is a big push to drive CPA relevancy through innovation, with a focus on technology and talent. We’ll be launching a Center of Innovation where members will learn about resources, information, peer recommendations, and provide benchmarking and other tools that will increase innovation in your organization. It will also provide resources on growing leadership skills and competencies in yourself and your staff.

Another key initiative for 2018 is our youth outreach program, called CPAs in the Classroom. Members all over Virginia will be armed with presentation materials about CPA career information targeted to younger students in middle and high schools. Our goal will be to reach hundreds of young students this year and teach them about the exciting opportunities in pursuing accounting as a career. In addition to launching new programs, VSCPA2025 marks a cultural shift for the Society. We need to do some things differently. We need to be more agile, nimble and technology-focused in order to be more responsive to member needs. It will take a shift in the way we approach our jobs, and members, leaders and staff may need to learn to see things differently. Our programs, services and structures may need to change, and we will need to be open to evolving in new ways.

One aspect that will not change is that success will require a tremendous amount of member engagement. Whether you’re helping us determine the direction of the Center of Innovation and Leadership, speaking to students, or engaging with legislators, your involvement is a crucial ingredient in achieving our vision.

The message here is success of VSCPA2025 depends on you — your voice, your engagement in new programs, and your openness to making changes in your organization. Your first step is to know what’s happening. Visit vscpa. com/2025 to learn more and to let us know what you think. We will only succeed and reach 2025 together. n

Stephanie Peters, CAE, has served as VSCPA president and CEO since 2007.

speters@vscpa.com @StephPeters connect.vscpa.com/StephaniePeters