The Suffolk Chapter Nominating Committee is proud to announce the Slate for the 2018-2019 Year:
OFFICERS
President: Melissa Hicks, CPA
President-Elect :John Hermus, CPA, CGMA
Vice President: Kenneth Laks, CPA
Treasurer: William Huether, CPA, CGMA
Secretary: John Spatola, CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA, CFE
DIRECTORS
Joel E. Ackerman, CPA, MST Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Michael Joy, CPA, CGMA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Thomas S. Pirro, CPA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/19
Janet T. Verneuille, CPA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Frank Giambruno, CPA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Robert Huether, CPA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Sean Kelly, CPA Two Year Term Ending 5/31/20
Immediate Past President: Amanda Sexton, Term Ending 5/31/19
Suggestions for taking care of yourself during tax season
By AMANDA L. SEXTON
Suffolk Chapter President
I hope your busy season is going well, and I am imagining that for many of you, it has been a much busier one so far, with more questions as to the impact of the new tax bill. I hope each of you has at least a few minutes of “downtime” each day to think, unwind and do something enjoyable. Sleep helps, too.
Here are a few things to consider during this crazy time to help you get through our April 17 deadline:
Eat healthy:
• Purchase a blender to make yourself smoothies full of fruits, veggies, nuts and pretty much anything you want; in our office, about six of us purchased one together. We then share in the cost of bringing in fruit, veggies, Vitamin C, chia seeds, almonds, milk, etc., which has led to fewer sicknesses during busy season. Fruit and veggies can be put into large Ziploc bags and frozen so you don’t have to worry about expiration dates while you’re pondering what tax return to review next.
• Buy raw carrots and put them into Ziploc bags as snacks. You don’t even need to cut them—you can just snap them into smaller blocks for you to munch on while calculating miscellaneous itemized deductions for the last year (for now anyway)
• Protein and other snack bars can be ordered in larger quantities (and are often cheaper).
Schedule a vacation
While it is nice to daydream about going somewhere warm and sunny while the office air vent is blowing hot air through your hair, reserving your plane tickets and hotel now will give you something exciting to look forward to and will be one less thing to do later.
Exercise:
Easier said than done, right? Maybe, maybe not. There are little things you can do while working to keep your body moving:
• Stand up: Some firms have standing desks ; this is good, but if you don’t have that, try setting an alarm on your phone/watch or your calendar to make you stand up for a minute each hour. Trust me, it feels great to stand and stretch a bit and you don’t even have to take your eyes off your screen.
• Take a walk: You might not have time for a long walk, but if the weather is nice, take a quick walk to move a bit and grab some Vitamin D. This will also allow you to re-prioritize the rest of your day and the tasks left on your to do list.
• Drink lots of water. This will make you walk more to the bathroom—a double benefit!
Here’s a quick summary of events we held during January and February 2018:
Jan. 16: Our Employee Benefits Committee held a session on 401(k) cost analysis in Woodbury.
Jan. 17: Our Members in Industry Committee provided the group with an annual tax and economic update at Empire National Bank in Islandia.
Jan. 23: We started our morning with a joint presentation by the Accounting & Auditing and Not-for-Profit & Governmental committees on the “Dos and Don’ts of Financial Statements”; this was a largely attended technical event with great takeaways. The Forensic and Valuation Services Committee focused on its members’ creative skills with a Paint Nite in Sayville.
Jan. 25: The Nassau and Suffolk Chapters held their joint semi-annual networking event at the Fox Hollow in Woodbury. Over 100 attendees were present, comprising accountants, attorneys, bankers and other professionals. The food, drink and company were great!
Feb. 1: The East End Committee held its second annual networking-on-the-East-End event in between the North and South Forks.
Feb. 7 and 15: The Nassau and Suffolk chapters hosted two 3-credit CPE sessions on the new tax bill; a special thank you to the Nassau Chapter, our Suffolk Chapter General Taxation Committee, our three speakers and our sponsors for making this happen in such a short period of time. These presentations gave us a lot of clarity as to the new tax bill in preparation of meeting with our clients.
Although we are pretty quiet during busy season, we do have a few things in the works already:
Wednesday, May 9: A 3-credit CPE class on Excel, designed for both introductory and advanced users and open to anyone: accountants, bankers, attorneys, business owners and their staff, students, etc.
Monday, May 14: Our Annual Banker/CPA golf outing at Southward Ho Country Club in Bay Shore.
Wednesday, Aug. 8: Our “Annual Supersized Networking Event” with 100-plus young professionals (but anyone of any age is welcome). Details to follow!
Thursday, Aug. 23: The East End Committee is holding its first Riverboat Tour at the Long Island Aquarium. We will get to enjoy a quick boat ride on the Peconic River while sipping drinks, then come back for a light dinner, drinks and fresh air.
I wish you a busy but smooth rest of your busy season!
asexton@mfbcpa.com