January 2017


Happy New Year!

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JANUARY 2017 MEMBERSHIP MEETING
     
Speaker: Ann Escobar, Financial Advisor
Waddell and Reed



Presentation: Financial Strategies for Women


Date:
1/24/2017
Doors Open:
6:00 pm
Location:
The Biltmore Hotel
2151 Laurelwood Rd
Santa Clara, CA 95054


 


UPCOMING PROGRAMS



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There is an excellent line-up of programs for the Silicon Valley Chapter this year, 
and most of them qualify for CPE!  Check out the line-up as we have engaged some dynamic 
and outstanding speakers coming up for 2016/2017.

PROGRAM CHAIR: Tran Huynh
huynh.tranb@gmail.com 


January
1/24/2017
Topic - Financial Strategies for Women
Speaker: Ann Escobar, Waddell and Reed

February
2/28/2017
Topic -Tax Update
Speaker: Annette Nellen, SJSU

March
3/21/2017
Joint meeting with IMA Peninsula Silicon Valley
Topic - TBD

Speaker: TBD

April
4/25/2017
11th Annual Spring Gala and Scholarship Awards Night
Topic - TBD
Speaker: TBD

May
5/23/2017
New Board Installation 2017-2018
Topic - TBD
Speaker: TBD




THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!


In This Issue:

~President's Message~
~January News~
  • Turn your New Year's Resolutions in Actionable SMART Goals
  • 3 Must-Have Traits for Career Success in Accounting
  • Lose the Guilt: Work Life Balance May Never Happen
     
~Board of Directors~
~Committee Updates~
~AFWA Foundation~



PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Edronda Guiriba  
AFWA - Silicon Valley Chapter President
 
This year has just flown by!

Reflecting back on the past year and back to my first experience with AFWA Silicon Valley I am grateful for the opportunities and network I have built. From helping National with their LEAP (Lead Emerge Advance with Passion) council for young leaders voicing their needs and wants with AFWA, to hearing and connecting with great local speakers, getting great CPE value from the National Conference, and being awarded a scholarship when I was a college student, it has been a rewarding experience. 

As a former scholarship recipient I highly encourage supporting our scholarship fund, as it was a big help in my academic and professional career. Donate today! Click here to donate (do it before year end to include it as a tax-deduction on your 2016 tax returns!).

In January AFWA Silicon Valley will kick things off with a special presentation, "Financial Strategies for Women" from Ann Escobar, Financial Advisor with Waddell and Reed. What a perfect way to start the year. Hope to see you there!


JANUARY NEWS

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Turn your New Year's Resolutions into Actionable SMART goals.
Posted January 10, 2017 
By Melissa Sager, Corporate Controller at Dornier MedTech
 
_______________________________________________________________
 
Another new year, and new resolutions.   What was your resolution?  Diet? Exercise?  Daily prayer or meditation?  Learning or improving a technical skill?  How's your progress so far?  Have your good intentions already begun to fizzle into frustration, doubt or excuses why you can't achieve your goal.

Why do goals fail?   They fail when the goal is ambiguous or too broad.  They fail when there is no clear action plan.  They fail when there is a lack of commitment or accountability.  They fail when the goal is unrealistic.  Why are programs like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or Personal Trainers successful? While I'm not endorsing any program, I do want to recognizing the elements of these kind of programs that make them successful. They start with a clear plan, they provide support and create accountability.

3 Must-Have Traits for Career Success in Accounting
Posted January 11, 2017
Submitted by Accountemps, a Robert Half Company 

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What personal traits lead to career success in the world of finance and accounting? Many people think burning the midnight oil is the best way to impress management and advance their careers. Interestingly, most employers don't agree.

A recent Accountemps survey asked more than 2,200 CFOs what they think are the defining characteristics that lead to professional advancement. Only 7 percent of respondents cited working long hours as a success strategy. Too many hours can lead to a loss of productivity, mistakes and burnout.

Continue Reading

   
Lose the Guilt: Work Life Balance May Never Happen
Posted January 10, 2017 
By AFWA National President, Linda Harris, CPA 

Happy New Year!  I and the National Board hope 2017 is filled with love, laughter and peace for all.  By the time you are reading this, many of us will already be well into tax season. With each New Year, I resolve to handle tax season better than the last. However, it has taken me many years to realize, the only thing in my life that is going to balance is my balance sheet. No matter how hard I try there are always periods in my life when I am not in balance.


BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
2016-2017


Board President:
Edronda Guiriba

Program Director:  
Tran Huynh

Newsletter/Web Chair:
Julien LaCrosse

President Elect:
Nicole Sheets

Scholarship Director:
Open

Hospitality Director: 
Jeff Olevson

Treasurer:
Sue Stokke

CPE Chair:
Deborah Rosengarten

Hospitality Co-Chair: 
Barbara Lietzan

Secretary:
Julia Becklund 
Immediate Past President:
Eileen Perry


 
  
 


COMMITTEE UPDATES

MEMBERSHIP 
 
 
QUALIFICATIONS:
  • All Levels of Accounting & Finance
  • Bookkeepers
  • Corporate Accounting Finance
  • Public Accounting
  • Management & Educators
  • Recruiters
If you would like to join the Silicon Valley Chapter of AFWA, follow the link to our National website:
 
Please feel free to complete the application or forward a copy to someone you think would benefit from joining our Chapter.
  
  
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Prestigious status of professional affiliation
  • National contacts for networking and professional information
  • Forum for CPE
  • Scholarships
  • Leadership opportunities in supportive arena
  • Subscription to Accountability e-newsletter 
  • National and regional conferences at a discounted rate
  • Access to Career Center
  • Access to AFWA's LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter groups and National online membership directory
  • Discounted membership to the Institute for Management Accountants (IMA)
  • Discounted products and services through affiliation agreements (CPA review courses, CCH tax & accounting books, Long Term Care Insurance and Bank of America credit card)
Email Edronda Guiriba

HOSPITALITY/CPE COMPLIANCE
Hospitality Chair: Jeff Olevson
CPE Chair: Deborah Rosengarten, CPA



Reservation and cancellation policy:  
Reservations or cancellations are requested by noon on the Friday preceding each meeting.  Email Allyson- allyson.girardi@gmail.com to reserve or cancel. The goal is an accurate count for the hotel.  Unreserved members (not guests) incur a surcharge of $5.00.
 
Reserved members or guests who are no-shows will be billed if not cancelled by noon the preceding Friday. We do want you to come to the meetings and reservations are helpful but if you have to cancel let us know beforehand to avoid incurring the cost of the meal.

WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENT AT THE DOOR with higher cost. Online registration will close on Sunday before the event day. 
 
 
Volunteers are always welcome at our monthly membership meetings. Lend a helping hand to make our monthly events and meetings even more interesting while building a great network and forming new relationships.
 
CPE credit is available for participating in any of our qualified programs.  See Debbie for more details in person at the meeting.



NEWSLETTER
Chair: Julien LaCrosse

Send in your articles!

 

We encourage our membership to submit articles of interest for our monthly newsletter.  Please make your submission under the following criteria...

  • Prepared as a Microsoft Word document
  • Photos in JPEG format
  • Captions are okay, no imbedded text, please

The newsletter is prepared and distributed on a monthly basis.  Visit our web site at www.afwasiliconvalley.org.  If you have questions regarding articles to submit or about the newsletter, email the newsletter chair, Amrit, amrit@expertquote.com.

 

Amrit is interested in hearing about your latest achievements and activities too, she will include the appropriate content in next newsletter. 




ANNUAL CONFERENCE


2017 AFWA National Conference
Watch for details for the 2017 AFWA National Conference 
to be held  October 2017 in Washington DC!


The Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance Annual Conference is the premier networking and education event for professionals and students of Accounting and Finance. The event attracts hundreds of professionals from across the country for four days of educational sessions - providing up to 24 hours of CPE credit - presented by leaders in the industry.

  


AFWA FOUNDATION

The Foundation is all about us, accounting and financial professionals, we strive every day to make a difference in the financial world and in our communities. The Foundation is charged with raising funds for national scholarships, and educational advancement of our peers and rising leaders. 


 

The Foundation offers each of us the opportunity to support the future direction of the profession where we have gained our own personal successes.

 

It is important to support those entering the profession and working alongside us. Those that follow in our footsteps have much to teach us and much to learn from us. They embody the next generation of accounting and financial professionals. Our goal for you and AFWA is to lead the way in their development.

 

Mission

 

The Foundation promotes and advances education, career development and leadership in finance and accounting. Our vision is to guide women along the path to achieve success in finance and accounting.

  

 

 Founded in 1938, AFWA/ASWA provides  women in accounting and finance the  leadership, education and networking  opportunities needed to achieve their career  goals. Celebrating 75 years as the only  organization that solely represents the interest  of women in the entire accounting and finance  community. The organization's mission is to  enable women in all accounting and related  fields to achieve their full personal,
professional and economic potential and to  contribute to the future development of their  profession.