Tulsa Chapter OSCPA News

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1 July 2017 Volume 5, Issue 06 Tulsa Chapter OSCPA News July Luncheon & Introduction of Scholarship Winners July s luncheon will be at the Warren Place on July 20, The speaker will be Megan Williams, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Megan will discuss the U.S. and Oklahoma Economic Outlook. The cost of attending the luncheon is $25 for members, and $30 for non-members. Online reservations are encouraged as spots fill up quickly, walk-ins are always welcome. Inside this issue OSCPA YAP Conference...2 Scholarship Recipients...2 Chapter Items...3 Senior Safety Lifestyle Fair...3 To register, CLICK HERE Annual ERISA Seminar Presented in part by the Tulsa Chapter of the OSCPA, Hogan Taylor is sponsoring a complementary Employee Benefits Plan Seminar. The Seminar is worth up to 4 CPE hours. Hogan Taylor has assembled a nationally acclaimed team of ERISA experts to help you unlock the current challenges and complexities of today s benefit plan environment. This seminar provides practical illustrations and an overview of issues and trends currently impacting employee benefit plans while providing useful information to help attendees understand the various compliance requirements in the administration and oversight of employee benefit plans. Crime Prevention Network...4 Member Highlight...5 Calendar July 18 Senior Safety Fair July 20 Luncheon July 26 YAP Conference Oct/Nov Spin Classes Oct/Nov Fall Clusters Date: August 30th Time: 8:00 12:00 Where: Renaissance Tulsa Contact Stacy Mendenhall at

2 Scholarship Awards The Tulsa Chapter of the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants (TCOSCPA) is proud to award $10,000 of scholarship awards to Tulsa area students for their efforts to make accounting their career. Several factors were considered, including leadership skills, performance, financial need and willingness to commit to settling in Oklahoma. We had a very strong group of scholarship applicants and are happy to announce the following Scholarship Award winners. Brianna Mainord $2,500 James Small Award Winner Mary Don $1,750 Itzel Chavez $1,500 Siera Dysart $1,000 Michael Limentato $1,000 MyLinh Luu $1,000 Jenna Vavra $1,000 Haley Salthouse $250 Only Accountants Can Save The World...Through Peace, Goodwill and Reconciliations Young Accounting Professionals Conference 2 Join young accounting professionals from around the Tulsa area on Wednesday, July 26 at the Marshall Brewing Company. Gain insights into how leadership and failure work hand-in-hand and increase your ability to negotiate effectively to leverage your ideas. Past speaker for the AICPA's EDGE conference, Joseph Rugger, CPA, CGMA, will explore how successful leaders make use of their failure by responding and rebounding. He will also equip participants with the major factors of negotiation, including a step-by-step plan to negotiate agreement without giving in. Attendees can also stay for the "perfect pair" networking session after the CPE sessions, which is sure to tap into your taste buds. Each event is recommended for three hours of CPE credit and is a valuable resource for all new CPAs who wish to make connections and build their leadership skills.

3 Chapter Items We would like to thank everybody who came out to the OSCPA Annual Members Meeting on June 9th. A great time was had by all. Steve Milam, Julie Stewart, Deanne Nunn, James Small Mickey Shackelford and other members Senior Safety & Lifestyle Fair LIFE Senior Services, a nonprofit United Way organization, and the Tulsa Police Department s Senior Services Unit have partnered together to host the 2017 Senior Safety and Lifestyle Fair. The event will be held Tuesday, July 18, 9 a.m. 3 p.m. at Central Park Hall at Expo Square. Lori Fullbright (KOTV) will emcee everything and will personally give a presentation on Cons & Scams, which is currently scheduled for 10:45. OU Physicians will be offering free health screenings and geriatrician Dr. John Carment will be there between Noon and 3 p.m. for Ask a Geriatrician. AND, there will be a special door prize drawing exclusively for CPAs and financial planners, a $100 Amazon gift card! Merely visit the LIFE Senior Services booth at the front of the venue and drop your business card in the specially designated jar or box. Write CPA or Financial Planner on the card if it is not already indicated. 3

4 Crime Prevention Network Summer Fundraiser We are collecting cash donations to support the Crime Prevention Network and its main program, Tulsa Metro Crime Stoppers. Please consider donating to this good cause as they are in need of additional donations at this time. They have been blessed with the opportunity to create a Community Center to assist the public in providing safety education, materials, resources and assistance in assuring public safety. The building they are able to lease for only $1 a year is in need of renovation so they are trying to raise $80,000 this summer and fall to complete the renovation and make it available to the public. All checks should be made payable to CPA Run and either mailed to 1241 S. Tamarack Ave., Broken Arrow, OK or brought to the July or August CPE Luncheon. Alternatively, checks can be mailed directly to the Crime Prevention Network (a 501(c)3 organization) at 2121 S Columbia Ave., Tulsa, OK All donations received through August 31st will be presented to the Crime Prevention Network in September and will be greatly appreciated. Please join us in supporting this worthwhile organization which helps to make Tulsa a safer city. Tulsa Metro Crime Stoppers brochures are still be available at the luncheons for anyone who wants to learn more about this great organization. Volunteer Opportunities The Tulsa Chapter is always seeking committee members for this very active Non-Profit Board. If you would like to learn more about these volunteer opportunities please contact Mark Owen at admin@tcoscpa.org 4

5 Member Highlight Every month the Tulsa Chapter turns the spotlight on a member who is making an impact in their professional accounting field and around the Chapter. These members exemplify the mission of the Tulsa Chapter of Oklahoma Society of CPAs in their professions and communities. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured please contact Deanne Nunn at ydunn@cox.net. July 2017 Highlight Chas Craig Tulsa Chapter Member since May 2015 What was your first job after passing the CPA Exam? I have been a somewhat unconventional CPA. Whether it s true or not, I d like to think this fact is more of a feature than a bug. I earned dual degrees in accounting and finance from Oklahoma State University and initially set out to find a role where I would use both my accounting and finance skill sets. I found this role in PwC s transaction services group in New York after using several connections to get an interview for a summer internship. However, between accepting PwC s offer in the fall and starting the internship that following summer, I started dating, fell in love with and got engaged to my wife and mother of our two daughters (definitely a good move!). Luckily, after completion of my internship, PwC transferred my full-time offer from the transaction services group to Tulsa s audit practice, for which I am eternally grateful. Since I held undergraduate degrees, I was 6 upper division accounting hours short of being eligible to sit for the CPA exam when I left school, so while working full-time I was also taking correspondence classes through Louisiana State University. Unexpectedly, before passing the CPA exam, an opportunity arose to work in wealth management, but I subsequently completed the exam because I highly value the CPA credential and skill set. How do you benefit from your Tulsa Chapter membership? The continuing education events, for reasonable cost, represent valuable networking opportunities for me, and the topics cover a lot of ground which helps broaden my business/accounting knowledge base beyond things that I am exposed to on a regular basis. 5

6 Member Highlight cont. July 2017 Highlight Chas Craig Tulsa Chapter Member since May 2015 What type of accounting do you do? After several years in the field I co-founded Meliora Capital, a Tulsa-based investment firm, with my business partner, J.P. Szafranski. While I no longer practice accounting, I have found my accounting background to be invaluable in my role as a security analyst. It seems to be characteristic of some (not all) finance people to be a little too high level in their thinking. However, the devil is in the details, and being able to navigate financial statements and the associated notes/disclosure is obviously a big part of those details. Also, I do my own tax return by hand, perhaps because my soul is more than three times my age. How do you give back to the Community? I serve as the Treasurer and member of the Executive Board of Tulsa CARES, an organization that delivers social services to people affected by HIV/AIDS. Having the ability to use my business skill set to help this organization achieve its mission through a time of significant growth and transition has been very fulfilling. I have also volunteered time to Junior Achievement, teaching a lecture series on career development to students at Will Rogers High School last spring, and most recently serving as the industry mentor for a group from Charles Page High School during the annual mock stock market investor challenge we won! Professionally, I serve on the asset liability committee for Red Crown Credit Union and on the board of CFA Society OK. What do you do in your free time? I used to golf a decent amount, but becoming a small business owner and the father of 2 beautiful girls has introduced a few new time constraints in recent years. I hope to eventually have more to say on this subject! 6