This will be the fourth year that I have been involved in ACAUS; my initial role with the organization was as Secretary in 2007. I have been Vice-President for the past two years and I am honored to be President in 2010. I have personally seen this organization grow and mature under the likes of past presidents including, Guy Langford, and most recently George Retsos. George and the rest of the ACAUS Board have accomplished many things during the past few years including; establishing closer relationships with the Home Institutes, responding directly to the needs of our member base, and generally becoming a more relevant body to both parties.
As a result, my goal this year is to keep this ship steered in the right direction and expand on the good work we have already accomplished. Specifically, the Board and I will be focusing our efforts in the following areas: 1) Responding to the Needs of our Members; 2) Increasing Home Institute Interaction; and 3) Ensuring we are a Relevant Organization to our Members.
1.
In order to Respond to the Needs of Our Members there are 3 key areas we have identified:
a. The first are Chapter Events – We have expanded the base of our member activities to now include 15 chapters. Each of these chapters has regular meetings focused on social, networking and CPE-related topics. We are now an organization that has grown beyond the confines of the tri-state area which is evidenced by the fact that only 2 of our board members are now located in New York. During 2010 we will continue to explore adding chapters in cities that have a nexus of interested Chartered Accountants.
b. The next is LinkedIn – Under the direction and significant efforts of Mike Dexter-Smith, we started a LinkedIn group a year ago. Our goal was 250 members but as of last week, we surpassed 1,200! This network has and will continue to increase awareness of Chartered Accountants in the US. And as a partial measure of our success we have around 10 jobs listed at anytime and have helped at least one member find permanent placement.
c. Finally, we have established a Virtual Chapter – Again, under the direction of Mike Dexter-Smith, using web-conferencing. Our goal is to provide a meeting forum for all the remote members; those that cannot make physical meetings; others who want to meet virtually; and inviting Home Institute guests to participate on relevant topics.
2. Home Institute Interaction – I would like to continue to see our Representatives foster and further develop the relationship with the seven Home Institutes through regular interaction, including quarterly conference calls, in person meetings and participation in the Virtual Chapter. Ultimately, we want the Home Institutes to feel they can rely on us to the extent members have questions related to living in the US. And we want ACAUS to be a value-added organization to our members. We rely on our Home Institute funding and want to thank our Home institute Executives for their support for ACAUS.
3. Relevancy of the Organization – As part of our goal to ensure ACAUS remains a relevant organization to our members and the Home Institutes alike; this year we are reviewing the by-laws. We have a sub-committee in place with topics assigned to board members to review and propose changes, ultimately revising them with the assistance of counsel. We are hoping to have this complete by the end of 2010.
I am excited to be an active part of ACAUS this year, but I could not do it without the assistance of great people on the Board. We have a fantastic group of volunteers, including our chapter and mini chapter presidents, as well as our Committee & Board members. And I don’t want to forget our Executive Director, Barb Bender who keeps us all moving in the right direction.
Yours sincerely,
Lindi Jarvis, CA
President
ACAUS