The 2007 Members Summit & Annual Meeting, held June 26 in
Columbus, gave CPAs across the state a chance to network, participate in
the annual changing of the guard and learn about the most pressing
issues affecting the accounting profession.
The Members Summit offered insight into Ohio's economic growth
and the prospects for attracting new business to the state--topics of
keen interest to CPAs who are keeping a close watch on the current
economic slowdown.
More than 500 CPAs converged to participate in the one-day event
that included keynote addresses from two dynamic speakers and a full
schedule of continuing education for members in corporate industry and
public accounting.
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The Honorable Kevin DeWine (R-Fairborn), Speaker Pro Tempore of the
Ohio House of Representatives, gave the keynote for the event, outlining
the state's plans to improve Ohio's economy, in part by
decreasing state spending by $2 billion in an effort to keep more money
in the pockets of Ohio's residents.
DeWine emphasized the Ohio General Assembly is focused on making
Ohio a more viable state in which to do business by revitalizing
Ohio's economy through tax and regulatory reform as well as fiscal
discipline.
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He lauded the role The Ohio Society and its members have played in
recent tax reform and other legislative efforts.
"The legislators rely heavily on your professional expertise
to guide us as we fine-tune legislation. Your support and advocacy is
invaluable in this process," he noted.
DeWine was followed by Kenneth T. Mayland, Ph.D., president of
ClearView Economics, LLC, who was named by Business Week as the most
accurate economic forecaster in 2006.
Mayland gave an optimistic prognosis for the national economy,
stating that it should begin to regain momentum in the second half of
the year and remain healthy into 2008.
"Ohio and the rest of the industrial Midwest are still lagging
behind the rest of the country in growth," Mayland observed.
"In particular, the auto and housing industries may continue to
feel some pressure, while retail has been gaining steady ground."
Overall, Mayland painted a positive picture for the economy over
the next 12 months, predicting that the current slowdown will soon turn
the corner and begin to trend upwards.
After the Annual meeting, the Members Summit continued with a full
afternoon of CPE sessions. More than 20 courses were arranged in seven
different tracts and covered a wide variety of hot topics, including
updates on Ohio and federal taxes, the new risk assessment standards, an
overview of Windows Vista[TM], and tips on creating a high performance
organization.
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"The Federal Tax Update was especially good--the speaker had a lot of
energy and solid information."
--Sye Cunnigham, Parms & Co. Cohonbus
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"I come to the Members Summit every year, I love it. I catch up with
people I know from the Women's Forum and the Cohanbus CPE Day while
getting some easy CPE." said Kerri L. Sahli, CPA. Schindler & Adams
CPAs, Columbus.
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COPYRIGHT 2007 Ohio Society of Certified Public
Accountants Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.