Knoxville Chapter Newsletter

For CPE opportunities in the Knoxville area, visit: www.tscpa.com/chapter/knoxville/cpe.aspx

March 9 Chapter Meeting

Mini-Seminar 1
Time:	2 - 4 p.m.
Location:	Crowne Plaza
Topic:	Exploring Professional Liability for CPAs in 2010
Speaker:	Ron Parisi, CPA, J.D.
CPE:	2 hours M
Fees:	$10 for members; $20 for nonmembers. Please pay at the door.

Mini-Seminar 2
Time:	4 - 6 p.m.
Location:	Crowne Plaza
Topic:	Lean Accounting - What Does it All Mean?
Speaker:	Robert L. Webb
CPE:	2 hours M
Fees:	$10 for members; $20 for nonmembers. Please pay at the door.

Dinner
Time:	6:30 - 8 p.m.
Location:	Crowne Plaza
Topic:	The Revised SBA Loan Program This session will explain the services available from the SBA and provided by United Community Bank (a "Certified SBA Lender") and the local area-wide development corporation.
Speakers:	Tim Brew, Shelia Greene and Don Woods, United Community Bank
Fees:	No charge for members; $20 for nonmembers. Please pay at the door.
CPE:	1 hour M
Menu:	Roast sirloin of beef, twice-baked potato, chef's choice vegetable dish, spinach salad, choice of strawberry labomba or chocolate confusion torte for dessert.

Registration Information

Register by noon on Friday, March 5

Click here to register online, or call the TSCPA office at 1-800/762-0272.

Your online registration is not confirmed until you receive an e-mail confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation within 15 minutes of completing your registration please call the society office.

Note: Members who register to attend the mini-seminar and/or dinner and fail to attend without properly canceling will be billed a no-show fee of $10 for each mini-seminar and $30 for dinner.

Important Note - Chapter Meeting Changes Coming in May!

Beginning with the May 2010 chapter meeting, the board will implement several changes to the chapter meeting location and meeting registration system, with the intent of improving the quality of meetings and overall member satisfaction with the chapter meeting registration process.

Location Change
In response to the results of the membership survey conducted last year, the regular chapter meeting location will change to Rothchild's Catering, located at 8807 Kingston Pike, beginning with the May 2010 meeting. Look for more details in upcoming newsletters.

Registration Process Change
In an effort to expedite and increase the convenience of the chapter meeting registration process, you will be able to pay chapter meeting fees online, in advance of the meeting, beginning in May. Payments can be made online using a Visa or MasterCard via the link in the newsletter, or you may call your registration in by phone and mail a check for payment to the TSCPA office. Payment will be due at the time of registration, and we will not be able to invoice attendees for payment. For more information on the upcoming changes in the registration process, please click here.

President's Message

Chapter Members:

It is hard to believe, but this will be my last President's message. Where has all the time gone this past year? It seems that just yesterday I started this position and here it is time to pass the torch for a new year. I cannot tell you how blessed I am to have had this opportunity that you bestowed upon me. I have met many new faces and gotten reacquainted with some old faces as well this past year. It has truly been an honor to represent you and the Knoxville Chapter both locally and at the state level. I have met many people around the state from the other chapters, and can honestly tell you that you should be proud of what we have in the Knoxville Chapter. This chapter and its membership are highly regarded around the state. This is not simply due to the current board or past boards, but to the individuals that encompass the membership of this chapter. There are no finer professionals than the ones that make up this chapter.

I would also like to thank everyone who has served with me on the current board. You have each made my job much easier, and have simply been a joy to work with. You each brought different talents and insights to the board, which helped to strengthen this chapter and move it into the future stronger than before. I have grown as a professional this past year with you by my side, and hopefully will take a little of each of you with me as I continue to grow in this profession. I could not have asked for a better group of individuals to help lead this chapter this past year, and am truly indebted to each of you. I will miss serving with you this coming year, but know that the chapter is in good hands.

Please do not forget that the chapter meetings will be moving to Rothchild's Catering beginning with the May meeting. The only change to the meetings will be the location. The date and time of the mini-seminars and dinners will remain the same. So mark your calendar for the May meeting change.

The annual Committee Day lunch will be held on May 20 from Noon - 1:30 p.m. at Calhoun's on the River. More details will follow, but I wanted to remind you now. This is one of the best ways to get involved with your chapter and to help make a difference in an area of your choice.

One of my favorite movies is The Sound of Music. In the movie Maria states that "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." As I close the door behind me as my presidency comes to an end, I am excited to see what window to the future will open for me at the local or state level of this great profession. It is always hard to say goodbye so I will simply bid you adieu.

I as well as the other board members are here to serve you. Please do not hesitate to let me or a board member know of any concerns or suggestions you may have.

Benjamin M. Alexander
Knoxville Chapter President

2010-2011 Proposed Slate of Knoxville Chapter Officers and Propsed Budget

Below is the link to the Knoxville Chapter Nominating Committee's proposed slate of officers for the 2010 - 2011 year.

The slate of nominees proposed by the chapter nominating committee will be elected by acclamation at the annual membership meeting in March.

Click here to view the 2010-11 Slate of Officers, as approved by the Nominating Committee.

The proposed 2009-2010 budget is available to view online by clicking here. The budget will be adopted by the chapter at the March meeting.

Save the Date - Knoxville Chapter Committee Day

This year's Committee Day is planned for Thursday, May 20 from Noon - 1:30 p.m. at Calhoun's on the River. If you wish to become involved with a committee at the chapter level this is a great opportunity to have lunch and become acquainted with other committee members. Further information, including a list of committees and registration information, will be provided in upcoming e-mails.

Mini-Seminar Speakers

Mini-Seminar 1
Ron Parisi is national program director for CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company. He services CPA firms with complex professional liability risks and exposures. His work experience encompasses Big Four public accounting and professional liability underwriting and claims management. Prior to joining CAMICO, Parisi was the director of accountants liability for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in Chicago, where he underwrote accountants professional liability insurance for Top 100 accounting firms. He began his career in 1991 with the business assurance group of Coopers & Lybrand in the New York metropolitan area. He then worked in the international business - tax planning department of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, in New York City, before joining the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, in Chicago, where he provided business consulting and transaction advisory services. He then launched a Manhattan-based law firm specializing in legal issues involving venture capital, transaction services and client relationship management, prior to joining Fireman's Fund. Parisi earned a bachelor of science in accounting from The University of Scranton and a Juris Doctor from The University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Mini-Seminar 2
Robert L. Webb is the founder of Robert L. Webb & Associates, a transition management firm that provides financial, operational and organizational leadership to family owned and privately held companies. He is also the president of Lean Management Solutions, LLC, where he specializes in high-impact lean manufacturing and lean accounting implementations. Webb has 30 years experience in Fortune 500 companies, subsidiaries and privately held companies including accounting, financial, operational and senior management roles. He has served industries including industrial and consumer products manufacturing, custom engineered products, contract manufacturing and distribution services in 20 states, Europe and Mexico. His business includes managing privately held and family owned company transitions by serving in interim senior management positions. He also provides executive coaching and training, along with rapid improvement initiatives that result in productivity improvements, plant optimizations and relocations, due diligence, acquisition integrations and the on-site management of distressed businesses. Webb is an advocate, teacher and coach of lean management / lean accounting techniques, a 1980 graduate of the University of Tennessee, a licensed CPA in Tennessee, and is married with one daughter in college.

Dinner Speakers

Tim Brew is a graduate of Frostburg State (MD) College and had a thirty year career in banking, including 18 years in small business lending in Maryland and Pennsylvania before joining Areawide Development Corporation (ADC) in 2004. Brew's primary role with Areawide is to market, package and process loan applications for small businesses under the four loan programs administered by ADC.

Shelia Greene is a graduate of West Georgia College with a B.B.A. in finance. She has been involved in U.S. small business administration lending for more than nineteen years, along with other government financing programs on the federal and state level. Prior to joining United Community Bank as an SBA Specialist in 2005, Greene was president of the Economic Development Corporation, a SBA Certified Development Company. She has received national recognition by the Small Business Administration for her assistance to small businesses throughout Georgia.

Don Woods has been director of Areawide Development Corporation since its beginning in 1982. The company markets and services small business administration section 504 loans and loans made through several other state and federal programs. After graduating from Tennessee Tech University with a degree in accounting, Woods worked as a cost accountant and a plant comptroller for two auto parts suppliers before joining East Tennessee Development District, Areawide’s sister organization, where he was fiscal manager and later, director of administration before becoming Director of Areawide Development Corporation.

February Meeting Photos


Chapter members Jennifer and Andy Schoerner at the February 9 dinner meeting.	TSCPA member G. Robert Smith, "Smitty", presented a GASB update during the second mini-seminar.

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TSCPA Member Benefit - Save 30% on Top Accounting & Auditing Titles from CCH!

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Upcoming Area Seminars

#	Title	City	Subj.Code	Hours	Date
370	AICPA's Annual Update for Controllers	Brentwood	M	8	3/15
371	Advanced Controller and CFO Skills	Brentwood	M	8	3/16
372	FASB Review for Industry	Brentwood	A	8	3/29
373	Fair Value Accounting: A Critical New Skill for All CPAs	Brentwood	A	8	3/30

Upcoming TSCPA Conferences

Employee Benefit Plans Conference	Spring Industry Conference
April 30 • Cool Springs Marriott, Franklin	May 17 • TSCPA Meeting Center, Brentwood

Young CPA Conference	Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference
May 20-21 • Hilton, Downtown Nashville	June 3-4 • Willis Conference Center, Nashville

2009-2010 Knoxville Chapter Officers and Directors

Ben Alexander, CPA, President: 862-6507, balexander@lbmc.com
Thomas Booker, CPA, President-Elect: 546-0021, thomasbooker@decosimo.com
Angela Sparks Godel, CPA, VP- Education: 862-6536, asparks@lbmc.com
Christine Bell, CPA, VP - Membership: 862-3050, cbell@lbmc.com
Carrie Greening, CPA, Treasurer: 637-4161, cgreening@cj-pc.com
Laimon W. Godel, Jr., CPA, Assistant Treasurer: 690-2662, cpa@godel.com
Sean W. Brewer, CPA, Secretary: 769-1649, sbrewer@pughcompany.com
Ed Lay, CPA, Communications Director: 583-0580, edwinlaycpa@aol.com
Shirley Harris, CPA, Director-At-Large: 546-2300, harris@bhspc.com
Jackie Griswold, CPA, Director-At-Large: 673-5745, jackie.griswold@regions.com

This message is provided courtesy of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Society of CPAs. You (or someone using your e-mail address) are a member of the TSCPA and have asked to receive chapter newsletters by e-mail. If you prefer to receive your newsletter via mail, click here - and the next issue will be mailed to you. Please contact TSCPA at chapters@tscpa.com if you wish this to go to another address.