By Z. Joseph Tax, Westchester Chapter President

Yes, it’s true; my name really is Joe Tax. And, yes, I really am a sole practitioner, one of those dinosaurs that still roam the earth. I’m proud of that fact too.

As significant and noble as the CPA designation remains to me and my professional peers, these days the newspapers are full of stories about how CPAs have dropped the ball and lost their independence. This simply is not true. Admittedly, a few of “us”—a term used loosely here—were lured by big bucks, quick profits, maybe even millions of dollars in fees.

Those people sold their souls and they should pay for it; if they did the crime, let ’em do the time.

However, while a few CPAs have tarnished our image, the press is not writing about me. They are not writing about most of us: sole, small and medium-sized practitioners. As I am sure you do too, I get up every morning, look myself in the mirror, hold my head up and am proud to be a member of a group that traces its heritage back 100 years.

Well now that that’s off my chest, let’s talk about my plans for the coming year.

My first goal is to try to maintain the work done by my predecessors. I would like to extend my gratitude to Susan Schoenfeld, who did an excellent job this past year as president. During her term, attendance at most seminars was up and some were even closed out.

Building on Susan’s accomplishments, I would like to take the chapter back, back to when it was a “support group” for small, sole and industry CPAs trying to do their best in a very complex, ever-changing environment. There is so much for us to know, with compliance issues, tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning and estate tax planning only part of what we do. Every year the tax law seems to change—just when you think you understand it, it’s gone!

I joined the Westchester Chapter so many years ago hoping to use it for support, to help keep me up to date. This was before the era of continuing professional education (CPE). I used the chapter to meet other CPAs to develop a resource group to contact if I had questions or concerns. You’d be surprised how easy it was to make contacts. Sure, you’ll find some members standoffish, but most are really nice and want to be helpful. That’s the sort of chapter I want to bring back. That’s all I want. Pretty simple, don’t you think?

But to make that happen, I need you and the members who aren’t currently involved to help make this chapter more vital than ever. If you’ve attended our monthly meetings in the past and didn’t recognize a familiar face, please don’t be discouraged. I hope that you will give the meetings a second chance and recognize that you at least know me and I want to hear from you.

I need your help; I need to know exactly what I can do to get you back into the fold. Please call or e-mail me over the next two summer months so I can deliver the goods to you next fall.

With more than 2,000 members in the Westchester Chapter, we should easily draw 10 percent, roughly 200 people every meeting we hold. Before you say this can’t be done, note that we did it last fall at the Crowne Plaza Hotel when we offered a timely CPE event on ethics. And the best part is that it was free, except for people like me who stayed to have dinner, too.

Just remember, this is the first time in many years that a sole practitioner is presiding over this chapter. While I’ll do everything I can to make sure your membership in the chapter is everything you want it to be, I’m relying on you to let me know where we should be going and how we can get there. So, get off your rump and let me know how to get the spark back in our chapter!

Z. Joseph Tax can be reached at 914-948-7660 or at zjtax@aol.com.