CPAs help people
You've heard how accounting can influence profitability, but did you know accounting can also make an important difference in the lives of the people and businesses it serves? Find out more at:
www.startheregoplaces.com/kickstart/
allabout/people.asp
A hearty welcome ...
... to the following new TCPA members:
- From Patapsco High School: Greg Oveson
- From Patterson High School: Joe Cokrin and Nicole Whitehead
- From Seneca Valley High School: Jessica Furey, Kayla Greis and Evelyn Martinez
Thanks so much for joining Tomorrow's CPA.
Got money? Turn it into spending cash
You've got a nice check in your hand and you've got big plans for spending it. Now all you need is the hard cash. But turning a paycheck or a gift from your grandparents into pocket money can take you through a money-management minefield. Nearly every available option comes with fees or hidden costs that can quickly lighten your wallet.
www.wsjclassroomedition.com/archive/
04sep/cons_edsep.htm
Accounting word of the week: Z
Zero-base budgeting: Budgeting method for a corporation or government in which all expenditures must be justified each year, not just amounts in excess of the previous year. For more definitions, go to:
www.investorwords.com
Personal finance
Ten ways to make your friends wish they knew as much about money as you do: No. 7 — Focus on the relationship between risk and return on your investments. Huh? Simply put, the value of an investment can fluctuate up and down, and typically the younger you are, the more risk you can take because you don't have kids, a house or rent to worry about quite yet. There are two types of investing: short term and long term. If you need your money in, say, fewer than five years, make investments with less risk. If you don't need your money for 10-plus years, you can take greater risk. If you want to have money to buy a car in a year, don't go investing in the stock market to earn it; keep it in a savings account and let interest accrue slowly. This way, you know you will have the money when you need it. There will come a time in your life when stocks and other such investments will be important to you, so don't ignore this step. It could be the deciding factor in your wealth as an adult. For more personal finance tips, go to:
www.cajumpstart.org/tenways.htm
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Study accounting in college!
For a list of Maryland colleges and universities with accounting programs and Maryland community colleges with accounting courses, go to:
www.tomorrowscpa.org/highschool/
college.html
Play Money Might
Explore real-life situations while testing your financial skills by playing Money Might, a fun and easy game that places you in the seat of a financial planner.
www.ja.org/studentcenter/persfin/
money-might.shtml#
Bush and Kerry on the issues: Taxes
Find out what the candidates propose to do to make everyone’s lives, including CPAs, less miserable.
www.accountantsworld.com/desktop
default.aspx?page=newsstory&category=
newsstory&StoryId=h0914099.0ap
Curious about a CPA career?
These Web sites are full of information about the CPA and how to become one.
www.tomorrowscpa.org
www.aicpa.org
www.startheregoplaces.com
www.smartpros.com/accountingstudents.xml
TCPA member profile
Meet Gerald W. Kelly Jr., of the University of Baltimore
Graduation date: 2007 (I am pursuing the M.S. in accounting and business advisory services in the evening part-time.)
Hobbies: Accounting (I'm not kidding), radio control aviation, Windows computer applications
Favorite movie: “Casablanca”
Why I want to be a CPA: As a practicing tax attorney, I am often required to review financial statements. The accounting classes that I have taken have greatly enhanced my ability to understand those documents and, importantly, enabled me to have more informed and productive dialogues with the CPAs assisting me on certain cases. The practice of my law firm is concentrated in federal and civil tax controversies. My clients generally have unpaid tax liabilities, are being subjected to audits, or are the targets of criminal prosecutions. Many of the small and medium-size businesses that I represent could have possibly avoided an entanglement with the IRS if they had managed their business affairs properly. As a lawyer, I have developed an expertise in rescuing clients in the midst of a crisis. I expect that my accounting training will help me advise clients as to steps that can be taken to avoid the financial problems that ultimately lead to an IRS investigation. Finally, my wife, a CPA, regularly informs me that the CPA exam is more difficult than the bar examination.
Favorite course: Intermediate Accounting
Least favorite course: None
What people say when I tell them my career choice: Given that I am a tax attorney, many are not surprised to hear that I am now pursuing my CPA license.
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