The National Society of Accountants ... Committed to Your Success.

As the National Society of Accountants begins its new administrative year, it is time to select a suitable motto--a slogan that will reflect the Society's goals for the year, an axiom around which programs and activities will be planned, a concisely stated message that reflects NSA's philosophy.

The chosen motto for the 2005-06 year is reflected in the caption to this article--Committed to Your Success. Indeed, a membership society has no real purpose unless it is committed to the success of its members. At NSA, that slogan is taken seriously as will be evidenced by events already planned and in place.

Several NSA committees met August 1-3, 2005, to complete plans for 2005-06 and beyond. Plans for three National Accounting and Tax Symposiums were finalized. The seminars will be held in different locations--Baltimore, Maryland (September 26-27, 2005); Las Vegas, Nevada (November 14-15, 2005); and New Orleans, Louisiana (December 12-13, 2005). Instructors were chosen because they are some of the best, most knowledgeable, highly rated speakers in the field. Each Symposium will follow a common format, but will have a slightly different focus. The Baltimore site will feature more accounting while the Las Vegas and New Orleans locations will focus on advanced taxation. All will be excellent and were planned to provide attendees with sixteen units of excellent, high-quality continuing education. Not only that, and the opportunity to travel to interesting locations, but in keeping with NSA's commitment to its members, the registration fee for both days will be only $100. That one fact alone portrays how serious NSA is about its vow.

Another example of NSA's commitment is the establishment of a new group to be known as the National Regulation and Oversight Committee that will function as part of the Right to Practice team. While members have long enjoyed and appreciated the legislative monitoring and able assistance provided by the State Regulation and Oversight Committee at the state level, this new committee is charged with monitoring and providing guidance in dealing with issues that have the potential of impacting NSA members at the national level. For some time, it has been clear that NSA was doing a fine job of protecting members' practice rights at the state level, but no group was in place to provide the same benefit to NSA and its members on the national stage. Many events in recent years resulted in serious ramifications for the accounting profession and these dramatically illustrate the need for such a task force.

NSA's signature seminar, Serving Aging America, will be offered June 5-10, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Serving Aging America has proved to be timely and valuable to members by tutoring them to serve as consultants to an aging population. It enables members to expand their practices while meeting a real need of their senior clients and their families. Offered in three segments, completion of Serving Aging America also prepares attendees to attain the designation of Elder Care Specialist offered by the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation.

For those who planed to sit for the Enrollment Exam offered by the Internal Revenue Service, NSA offered a last chance opportunity for a Live Enrolled Agent Preparatory Course in Orlando, Florida, on September 12-14, 2005. The material for this course was well written and up-to-date, and the instructor was highly qualified. The offering will surely be the best prospect available for those who seek a bit more help in the form of a quick review before sitting for the exam.

Opportunities abound on NSA's Learning Gateway for obtaining needed continuing professional education and additional learning. Offerings such as the ACAT Review and the Enrolled Agent Preparatory Courses are particularly popular choices.

The motto, Committed to Your Success, also applies to state membership societies that are associated with NSA. As NSA's affiliated state organizations become stronger and more vibrant, NSA also becomes stronger and more vibrant. NSA is a national partner that takes its role seriously and strives to provide assistance in a number of areas. One of the most obvious areas where assistance is given (and one of the most beneficial to the state affiliates) is the sharing of information.

One of the most exciting events planned for the year was a combined Leadership Networking Conference and Legislative Strategy Conference held October 7-9, 2005, in Denver, Colorado. Both of these Conferences have been popular and well-attended in the past. By combining both activities, they were made more affordable, and thereby more accessible, for state officers. The Conference--completely reformatted and restructured--featured several informed and experienced presenters at general sessions and three-tracks concentrating on Networking for State Officers, Legislative Strategy, and Leadership Development.

State societies have sometimes found the cost of sending officers to both the Leadership Networking and Legislative Strategy Conferences to be prohibitive. NSA solved that problem by making the entire three-day Conference available for a flat $100--more evidence of NSA's continuing commitment to its state affiliates.

Finally, members of the National Society of Accountants will have an opportunity to meet at the national Annual Convention at Providence, Rhode Island, on August 17-19, 2006, and take part in charting the future of the professional society that represents them in numerous areas, that assists them in honing their skills and expanding their practices, and that strives mightily to protect their practice rights.

While NSA has been vigorously Committed to Your Success for over sixty years and will continue to be, its members also have an obligation to ensure the success of their professional Society.

--Wanda Samek, President