By Robert J. Schaffer, Nassau Chapter President

We are probably all anxious for the Oct. 15 tax deadline to be over so we can take a breath before projections start kicking in. Year-end audit planning will also be under way before we know it. However, I would appreciate it if you could read our newsletter for all of our events taking place this month. We had a very busy September, and October will be similar.

As I previously mentioned, our Young CPAs Committee jointly sponsored a cruise with the Manhattan/ Bronx and Suffolk chapters at the end of August. There was plenty of food, drinks, networking and fun. Everyone has a great time. Thanks to Ed Behar for helping to make it happen. However, we need more participation in this committee. If you are interested in joining the Young CPAs Committee or attending any of their events, please contact Ed at 516-942-7600 or ebehar@optonline.net.

Our charity Walk/Run, sponsored by the Community Affairs and Public Relations Committee, was set for Sept. 23 at Eisenhower Park. We were excited about this event as it benefited Island Harvest, which distributes food to the needy on Long Island through hundreds of nonprofit organizations. If you did not make it to this event, please consider attending next year.

Our October chapter meeting is being held jointly with the Suffolk Chapter on Oct. 19 and is sponsored by the Cooperation with Bankers and Other Credit Grantors Committees. There will be many bankers attending, and we are pleased to announce that our guest speaker is Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County District Attorney. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

We have some exciting conferences coming up, too. Saturday, Oct. 23, is our half-day Tax Updates Seminar. On Wednesday, Nov. 3, we are pleased to bring you an exciting new seminar for us, a full-day Professional Skills Development Conference. This unique seminar concentrates on nontechnical skills that we normally do not get much training in.

We are also looking for additional mentors to expand our successful mentor program in the future. If anyone is interested in being a mentor to an accounting student, please read more about it in “Take Stock in the Future, Mentor a College Student” on this page and contact Gail Linder at 631-462-1213 or Gail.Linder@liu.edu. Nassau Chapter members are also reaching out to high school students. If you are interested in participating, please contact Liz Venuti at 516-463-5359 or Elizabeth.venuti@hofstra.edu.

We also have many other exciting events planned. Please look for them and participate in as many of them as possible. Support your chapter! If you are not involved in any committees, I urge you to join one. You will not regret it! Our events can be found in the Nassau Chapter newsletter and on our website. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about our existing programs or about programs we can create, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Robert J. Schaffer can be reached at 516-409-5000 or rschaffer@schwartz-cpas.com.