• FICPA Bill Passes House Business Regulation Committee Hurdle
• FICPA Members Mobilize, Services Tax Amendment Stricken from TBRC’s CP0002
• Manage Your Membership Online
• Running for Financial and Physical Fitness on April 15, 2008, Coconut Grove
• Short Supply of Hotel Rooms for CPAs in Industry Conference on March 27-28, 2008, Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa
• Announcing Exciting Line-up of CEO Panelists at Health Care Industry Conference; April 24-25, 2008, Orlando

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FICPA Bill Passes House Business Regulation Committee Hurdle

On Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008, the House Business Regulation Committee passed HB 797, sponsored by Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, by a vote of 11-0. 

HB 797, along with the Senate companion bill (SB 1206) sponsored by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, would bring Florida in line with 49 other jurisdictions by assuring that anyone using the CPA designation in Florida must adhere to a one-year work experience in the accounting profession before being licensed. This legislation also would allow CPA exam candidates the opportunity to begin the exam process after completing 120 hours of college education with a concentration of accounting and business courses as prescribed by the Board of Accountancy (150 hours of education would still be required for licensure).

HB 797 has one more stop in the House Jobs and Entrepreneurship Council, and SB 1206 has been assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries, Higher Education and Government Appropriations committees.

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FICPA Members Mobilize, Services Tax Amendment Stricken from TBRC’s CP0002

Thanks to everyone who responded to our Feb. 21, 2008, call to action by letting members of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission’s (TBRC) Finance and Tax Committee (F&TC) know that a sales tax on services (specifically CP0002) is not the answer to the state’s fiscal problems. While we did not see the total demise of CP002, the “Services Tax” portion of the proposal has been removed. 

After lengthy presentations from two economists and members of the public, the F&TC approved an amendment (No.12) to CP002 by a 6-5 vote.  As amended, CP002 was then passed by a unanimous 11-0 vote.  Amendment 12, sponsored by Commissioner Patricia Levesque, requires the Legislature to repeal the Required Local Effort (RLE) and replaces the $8 billion for schools with a combination of three sources:

• up to a one-cent sales tax increase
• repeal of sales tax exemptions
• The third option in CP002 would have been to tax services. However, the amendment, as approved by the committee, removed this provision and replaced it with an option for the Legislature to look at spending reductions.

View the full text of Amendment 12 that was added to CP002 here.

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Manage Your Membership Online

Have you verified your FICPA member profile lately? Keeping your profile current allows the FICPA to inform you of education, member services and professional updates especially suited to your needs. You can manage much of your information and preferences on the FICPA “My Membership” Web page. Updating your vital statistics and interests is easy, including e-mail and mailing preferences, employment, professional interests and your listing of accreditations. To update your information:

• Log on, using your last name and password (FICPA member number)
• Access the “My Membership” page from the “Member Service” tab on the top menu bar, or click the globe located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
• From your personalized “My Membership” page, choose to:
• update personal or professional profiles;
• join Sections or modify memberships;
• check FICPA CPE credits earned using CPE Reporting Wizard;
• renew group or single memberships.
  
  

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Running for Financial and Physical Fitness on April 15, 2008, Coconut Grove

Looking for a way to celebrate the end of tax season? Join your fellow CPAs in South Florida for the 19^th Annual 1040K 10K & 5K Run/Walk on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in downtown Coconut Grove. This year’s event includes fun for all, beginning with a 10K run, followed by a 5K run and fitness walk. South Florida CPAs are encouraged to participate and promote the event. A special FICPA corporate award will be given to the firm that has the most race entries. 

An application fee of $35 or less enters you into all the “after-tax season” festivities, including free food, drinks, t-shirts, door prizes and much more! At the end of the race, we will award two $3,000 scholarships to well-deserving South Florida African-American accounting students in memory of Lewis Davis, Miami-Dade’s first African-American CPA.

Register now for the 1040K Race or download a copy of the race application online. For more information, contact Jason Zaborske at (800) 342-3197, Ext. 417, or via e-mail at edfound@ficpa.org.

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Short Supply of Hotel Rooms for CPAs in Industry Conference on March 27-28, 2008, Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa

Register now for the CPAs in Industry Conference in Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa, especially if you need a hotel room. You must be registered for the conference to take advantage of the group rate at both locations. The cutoff date at the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel and the Tampa Airport Marriott is March 5.

For more information about the hotels or the conference, visit the FICPA Web site or call the FICPA Member Service Center at (800) 342-3197 (within Florida) or (850) 224-2727.

Developed in part by the CPAs in Industry Section.

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Announcing Exciting Line-up of CEO Panelists at Health Care Industry Conference; April 24-25, 2008, Orlando

This year’s Health Care Industry Conference offers a panel discussion covering the CEO's expectations of their finance operation and their views on today's health care environment, including its challenges/issues.

Panelists will include:

Timothy M. Goldfarb, MHA
Chief Executive Officer/Shands Healthcare
Gainesville

Lars D. Houmann, MHA
President & CEO Florida Hospital/Adventist Health System
Winter Park

Brian E. Keeley
President & CEO/Baptist Health Systems of South Florida, Inc.
Miami

Fawn Lopez
Publisher and Vice President/Modern Healthcare, Modern Physician
Chicago

Marvin O'Quinn
President & CEO/Jackson Health System
Miami

Register now and view the full agenda and speaker list, or call the FICPA Member Service Center at (800) 342-3197 (within Florida) or (850) 224-2727.

Comments or Suggestions?

We are interested in your comments or suggestions. Please e-mail communications@ficpa.org.