New Beginnings
Welcome to a new year for the Buffalo Chapter. With the summer winding down new beginnings are on the horizon. In less than a month school will be back in session with refreshed students prepared to work hard to advance their academic performance. Business and industry financial professionals will be analyzing year to date results and planning for future targets and budgets. As we transition seasons, I would like to take a moment to share some of the key priorities of the Buffalo Chapter and the NYSSCPAs to set us up for success in the new year.
Accounting professionals, whether in public practice or working in industry, have no doubt felt the impact of recruitment challenges over the past several years. Seasoned accounting professionals have been retiring at an increasing rate while student enrollment in accounting degree programs has been in decline. It is no surprise that student outreach continues to be a key initiative for the NYSSCPAs with the Buffalo Chapter supporting this priority through the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program to introduce high school students to real world roles they may otherwise not consider. The current demographics in the profession are not sustainable and the solution to the problem must include students. We can help by sharing the positive influences the accounting profession has had on each of us professionally and personally.
One of the largest groups of accounting professionals is our Members in Industry. Being a Member in Industry myself, I know many of you wear multiple hats in your current roles. Not every organization has the resources to fully staff accounting, tax, treasury, risk management, costing, and financial planning functions, not to mention day to day activities in credit management, billing, collections, and accounts payable to name a few. Responsibility for these functions often rests with just a handful of people and sometimes there may be just one person for all the above. Active engagement in the NYSSCPAs can provide a venue to share best practices in these areas to help streamline processes and help optimize our effectiveness as accounting professionals.
I am looking forward to the upcoming chapter year and encourage all to get involved or stay involved to make this year successful for all of us. Hopefully, I will see you at an upcoming chapter event. If you want to get more involved in the chapter, please let us know.