January 2016

     
 MEMBERSHIP MEETING:
 
  Date:  Tuesday, January 26, 2016
  Doors Open:  6:00pm
  Location:  Biltmore Hotel & Suites
    2151 Laurelwood Road
    Santa Clara, CA 95054
  

January Membership Meeting
  
 
GAAP Update
 
 
Susan Malone    
Hood & Strong LLP
 
Susan has been with Hood & Strong for more than 20 years and is an integral member of the firm's Not-For-Profit Service Group. She has worked with a broad array of clients across a spectrum of industries that includes higher education, arts and culture and philanthropy. In 2009, Susan was named one of the Bay Area's 150 Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times.

Susan is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. She serves on the Board of Directors and is vice chair of the Hamilton Family Center. She is also a board member and past president of the San Francisco Arts Education Project. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from Ohio State University.
 
Please Note: Get registered online early since the registration will close the Sunday before the meeting.  Cost at the door the day of goes up for guests AND members. 
________________________________________________________________________  
   
  



THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!


In This Issue:

~President's Message~
~January Membership meeting~
~January News~
  • Improve your habits, not your goals 
  • How the most successful women gain confidence
  • Interview questions you should ask potential employers

~Board of Directors~

~Committee Updates~

~AFWA Foundation~

~Annual Conference~

 

 


PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Eileen Perry 
AFWA - Silicon Valley Chapter President
 
 
Happy 2016! Hope everyone had a great holiday and a wonderful start to the New Year! The time has flown by! I noticed that there are only five more board meetings and five more member meetings before the new board will sit and strategize for their term. I am very excited for what 2016 has in store for our chapter. January and February will be our GAAP update and tax updates respectively. Soon, our nominating committee will be formed and on the hunt for new board members! If you are interested in being on the board, please attend a member meeting soon and let us know what position you would be interested in.

Also, we are making plans to have a joint meeting with IMA at the Biltmore the third Wednesday of March. Stay tuned for more details on that. In April, we will be awarding our scholarship winners. Anyone interested in helping our scholarship chair, please contact Julia Becklund. Last but certainly not least, May will be our 10th annual Spring Gala. The Gala helps to raise a substantial part of our scholarship funds, so we hope to see many of you there this year!
(It is my favorite event of the year)

With all that, I am looking forward to 2016 and I hope you all are too!
 
 

JANUARY NEWS


 
Improve Your Habits, Not Your Goals
By Colene Elridge, Life & Success Coach

We've all see the New Year's Resolutions that are not successful. I've been there too. What is missing from the process of setting random resolutions? Commitment. Clarity. Creativity.
 
Before I set any goals, I always ask myself "Who do I want to become" and "Does this move me closer to that"? This helps me to insure I'm setting a goal with the highest integrity to myself. It serves me no purpose to set goals that are not in direct alignment with who I am, and more importantly, who I desire to become. When people are not successful with goals, it usually stems out of a lack of integrity to their goals alignment to self (or vision of self). When your goals are aligned, the passion will follow.
 
Many times, women will tell me, "I just need to set better goals." Here's a hard truth: You don't need better goals, you need better habits.
 
continue reading this article



 
How the Most Successful Women Gain Confidence
By Lisa Evans in The Fast Company

Women are constantly being told to "lean in" in order to be successful, but what happens when women try to lean in but lack confidence?

Grace Killelea, author of the new book The Confidence Effect, says simply leaning in isn't enough. She argues that women need to work on boosting their confidence first. "Having confidence leads to other behaviors; like speaking up, raising your hand, taking risks, having a voice at the table," she says. Having confidence, Killelea argues, opens opportunities to women to be real leaders. So, how do the most successful women gain confidence? By faking it.

We've all heard the expression, "Fake it till you make it." Killelea says women who lack confidence can use this strategy to gain the confidence they need to get noticed and achieve the success they deserve. "Faking it" doesn't mean being inauthentic, but consciously practicing a skill until it becomes natural. "It's like muscle memory. You have to practice, you have to get through the fear part of it, until it becomes a natural habit," says Killelea.

Here are five steps you can take to "fake" your confidence:

1. Look the Part
2. Find your Voice
3. Stop Apologizing
4. Don't Underestimate your Abilities
5. Disqualify Negative Self-talk 

 
more details here


   
Interview Questions You Should Ask Potential Employers

  
The prospect of the job interview can cause understandable anxiety for any job seeker. The good news is there are ways to keep your jitters from interfering with your ability to make a good first impression. For successful job interviews, knowing the requirements of the position is a start. Candidates also must be familiar with the company, its customers and some of the challenges it faces. But even the most prepared candidates should take additional steps to ensure they navigate the job interview process effectively.

Read more on
- phone interview
- in-person job interview
- common questions
- pitfalls to avoid
- video interviews...at the following link


BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
2015-2016


Board President:
Eileen Perry

Program Director:
Nicole Sheets


Newsletter/Web Chair:
Amrit Dhaliwal

President Elect:
Edronda Guiriba

Scholarship Director:
Julia Becklund

Hospitality Director: 
Allyson Girardi

Treasurer:
Sue Stokke

CPE Chair:
Deborah Rosengarten

Hospitality Co-Chair: 
Barbara Lietzan

Secretary:
Lois Vega 
Membership Chair:
Fiona Stephenson, ACA

Immediate Past President:
Nicole Letellier

 
  
 


COMMITTEE UPDATES


PROGRAMS
Chair: Nicole Sheets


sunny-business-place.jpg

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.

January
01/26/2016
GAAP Update 
Speaker: Susan Malone CPA

February
02/23/16
Tax Update
Speaker: Annette Nellen

March 
Date: TBD
Speaker: TBD


MEMBERSHIP 
Fiona Stephenson, ACA
 
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 Fiona- fiona.stephenson@rhmr.com

HOSPITALITY/CPE COMPLIANCE
Hospitality Chair: Allyson Girardi
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: Amrit Dhaliwal

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. 



 
INTERESTED IN EXPANDING YOUR COMPANY'S VISIBILITY IN THE COMMUNITY?
 
BE A MEMBER MEETING SPONSOR!
 
There are three sponsor levels of contribution established for the scholarship fund:
 
 
Silver 
Sponsorship up to $150.00 
 
Gold
Sponsorship up to $200.00 
 
Platinum
Sponsorship $350.00 or more
   
*********************

Share  the information! 
See Julia Becklund for more  details.
(Please contact Julia for information about our annual May Gala sponsor prices.)
 
Contact- julia@pcnt.com   

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.