Q&A With Our New YCPA Chair

By Eugenia Aronov, Queens Chapter Media Liaison

In September, I interviewed Nikoleta Spyropoulos, the newly elected chair of the Queens Chapter Young CPAs Committee. Niki is a CPA with extensive public and private experience, and for the past four years she has been with a small CPA firm in Queens.

Like me, Niki is a Queens College graduate. It was actually there that our paths crossed for the first time. We met in college and shared a few classes together, including Nick Dauber’s unforgettable audit class.

Upon graduation, our paths went separate ways as I pursued a career with the Big 6 and Niki found her home at a small CPA firm. Fate has brought us together again after nine years, at the first YCPA meeting in September 2006, which I chaired. Seeing Niki again was delightful. We caught up with each other and I shed some light on what I hoped to accomplish with the committee. She loved the idea; in fact, being the most senior person there, she became my bouncing board for ideas. She shared my vision and knew where I was taking my crew. So when it came time for me to pass the baton, I could not have come up with a better candidate.

I am thrilled to be able to ask Niki about her new “baby,” which I bestowed upon her.

Q: So here we are, two months into your chairing of the committee. Do you ever ask yourself how you let yourself be talked into this? What were you thinking?

A: Absolutely not. I recognize how much value we are able to add to the lives and professional careers of our members. Our first meeting since I have embarked on this exciting role was extremely successful, and it is hard to forget how grateful and enthusiastic the members were who attended it. There is so much we can give them, so much they can benefit from and so much we can learn ourselves. Certainly the administrative issues, such as planning, scheduling and coordinating events, take up a lot of time, but I am confident that we will become more efficient as more members get involved.

Q: I am glad you see it the same way I did when I took on this role, adding it to my other myriad responsibilities. Regarding the future of the YCPA, what are your long-term and short-term goals?

A: My first, and foremost, goal is to extend our horizons personally and professionally beyond our day-to-day work and to be able to have a place where we can discuss our daily professional environments. In this regard, my short-term objectives are to network with various professionals within the finance and tax industries to expand our knowledge of personal and client interests. My second goal is to expand the committee to include college students, who are the near future of our profession. I think that for those who are just starting out, nothing beats learning directly from people in the industry. The first step is to reach out to faculty and chairs of accounting departments at colleges in Queens and Manhattan. I also want the committee to give back to the community through programs such as IRS VITA, where members will hone their tax knowledge and skills and, at the same time, get a chance to serve elderly and low-income families. Thanks to your contacts, Genie, we have already secured several workshops for the upcoming monthly meetings and are looking forward to an exciting year ahead.

Q: That sounds like a great plan. But as with every great plan, there are always hiccups. Where do you expect them?

A: The biggest challenge I see is reaching out to the young professionals and accounting students. Helping them see all the benefits of regular membership is a tough job. For many of them, the common excuse is “I’m too busy.” However, I truly believe the committee has enormous value and am confident that once our young members their first meeting, they will never stop coming.

Q: I agree, and if anything, the committee can at least teach them how to manage time so that the answer “I’m too busy” does not become a part of their personality. What would you say are the committee’s strengths?

A: Aside from a great pool of knowledgeable presenters, exciting workshops and a well-planned calendar of events, our biggest strength is our membership. Junilka Vasquez, the Assistant Chair and Corresponding Secretary, has done a marvelous job corresponding with members about our monthly meetings and keeping our records in line. Gregory Montas, the committee’s Recording Secretary, has been meticulous in keeping our meeting minutes and adding his profound feedback to our meetings. And Genie, it goes without saying that your guidance in all this is priceless. Of course the key to the committee is its members. With everyone involved and determined to work together to meet our unified goals, we will all succeed together.

Eugenia Aronov can be reached at earonov@etcpa.com.