Here is our new year's message to MACPA members. The key concept is that we are all in this together and our intention is to use the power of “we” and have the serious conversations that will hopefully get us out of this downturn faster.
Happy New Year!
Dear members,
The close of another year offers us an opportunity for retrospection and reflection, an opportunity to gain insights that can help us prepare for future uncertainties and surprises.
I want to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts and reflections with you.
We all will remember the last half of 2008 as a time in which trillions of dollars in wealth was destroyed and enormous challenges were created for the United States and the entire world. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that we are no longer surprised at all by a stock market hovering in the 8,000s and daily market swings of 500 points.
The path ahead is full of uncertainty, risk and, probably, more turbulence. Still, I cannot help but feel a sense of optimism and urgency as we navigate this uncharted whitewater together. The key word is “together.” I believe we can come through this turbulence even stronger if we stay together.
I have spent the last six months touring Maryland with our town hall / professional issues updates. I have had the opportunity to visit with more than 1,000 of you. I was inspired by the fact that most of you remain quite calm and refuse to get caught up in the “river of fear.”
Like me, many of you are angry and upset at the numerous examples of greed, corruption and incompetence behind this market meltdown. But I also heard from many of you who are already working on how to navigate the whitewater and turbulence. You are busy helping your clients, companies and organizations deal with this new reality. In many of you, I truly felt the old axiom, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
I want to share my insights from all of these conversations through three perspectives: (1) Our profession, (2) individual CPAs, and (3) the MACPA, your professional home.
The profession
The CPA profession in Maryland is approaching its 109th year and has seen plenty of crises, including the Great Depression. In the past decade alone, we have survived the doomsday scenarios of Y2K, the burst of the Internet bubble and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And don't forget the Enron scandal and the pressure that placed on our profession.
Throughout all of those events, the profession has gained ground. Our reputation among the public and business decision-makers is at an all-time high, accounting is the number one major on college campuses and CPA exam-passers are back in record numbers. We are standing on our strong foundation of core values — objectivity, integrity, continued education and lifelong learning, staying attuned to broad business issues, and competence. As we enter the new year, your profession is stronger than ever. I hope 2009 will be the year in which CPAs help account for the past and develop strategies to create a brighter future based on sustainable business models.
Individual CPAs
Our core purpose is “making sense of a changing and complex world.” As experts in the language of business, our skills and discipline are more in demand than ever. As the most trusted advisors to businesses, individuals, governments and non-profits, we are in a position to help our clients and employers understand the new realities, set new goals and help turn their visions into reality.
I hope 2009 will be the year in which you help your clients and employers navigate the whitewater and realize their visions, and that you boldly continue pursuing yours.
The MACPA
As your association, we are already making changes to help you during this downturn. Look for new career resources to help those of you who have been displaced or are out of work; new programs and resources to help you deal with this downturn; reliable and trustworthy analysis and insight on developments in the economy and the profession; and new ways to save money and get more value for your dues dollar.
Look for more ways to connect with us and your fellow CPAs, and for us to use the power of our community to find new answers to the problems that emerge. We believe in the power of our network. We also believe in the notion that none of us is as smart as all of us.
Finally, we will protect your CPA license and reputation as we have for the past 108 years. I hope that in 2009, we can connect with more CPAs, help you navigate the whitewater ahead, and make an impact on your personal success and achievements.
We are approaching this new year with a cautious optimism, grounded in the belief that we will emerge from this turbulence even stronger — together. We also will be looking ahead to help you take advantage of the upturn, which we hope is just around the corner.
In closing, I wish each of you a healthy, happy and prosperous new year and hope you will find new opportunities and success as we emerge from this crisis.
Happy New Year!
Tom Hood, CPA
MACPA Executive Director
and the entire MACPA team