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From the President
COMPLETING A MARATHON REQUIRES TRAINING
By Rodney J. Couts, EA, President
What’s the status of your running shoes? They better be in pretty good shape, as you’re going to need them this year.
Now replace your running shoes with your brain and the result will be the same. It’s going to need to be in great shape for the current tax year as we prepare ourselves to fully understand the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that will govern our profession through December 31, 2025.
To me, the CSTC Summer Symposium is the starting line for this year’s marathon. The 2018 Symposium offers a full 63 hours of CE over three days, including a four-hour session on TCJA, two-hours of ethics and a California update session. Regardless of your professional designation, this is a one-stop shop when it comes to professional tax education.
The wonderful thing is that education doesn’t stop with the Symposium. At the heart of CSTC is 15 local chapters offering monthly meetings featuring at least two-hours of CE each. These meetings are also about much more than education. It is the place where tax professionals meet and share their knowledge. Competitors help each other from the relationships established at the local level, and our industry benefits greatly from the interaction.
GETTING THE MOST OF YOUR CSTC MEMBERSHIP
I’ve mentioned previously our goal is to continue expanding the range of services offered with your CSTC membership. I hope you are taking advantage of those available already.
One service that was invaluable to my business this year was the VeriFyle Pro file sharing service that is available for free to CSTC members. VeriFyle is so much more organized than my client portal, and my clients found it easy to use. By having my communications with a client in a single location, I found it saved me a lot of time over just using email or my portal.
Here’s one example where VeriFyle rescued a difficult client situation for me. I had a trust with five beneficiaries who all needed K-1s to finish their personal returns. The family had a challenging time providing me with the documents I needed to finish the trust return. We collaborated through VeriFyle to secure all the final documents and when the return was finished, I loaded the K-1 for each beneficiary and included the Trustee on the message thread. This way we could monitor as the K-1 was downloaded by each beneficiary, and once completed, the Trustee had proof of delivery. In the end, the family thought their brother was the savviest person on Earth.
I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS
To wrap up this column, I want to let you know that I will make myself available to talk with you at the Symposium. My goal is to make sure that CSTC is meeting your needs, and if you think we can do better, I want to know.
I look forward to seeing you in Reno.
Welcome New CSTC Members!
Please help us in joining our newest CSTC Members!
Viktoriya Barsukova
San Diego Chapter
Marissa Beaman
San Diego Chapter
Maria Cervantes
San Gabriel Valley Chapter
Dora Chavez
San Francisco Bay Chapter
Robert Freidson
San Diego Chapter
James Hasani
San Diego Chapter
Daxesh Manian
Orange County Chapter
Christopher Ramirez
San Gabriel Valley Chapter
June Chapter Events
June 5, 2018
East County San Diego Chapter
Topic: Interview Techniques & Engagement Letters
1 Federal Law Hour
East County San Diego Chapter
Topic: Cyper Attacks and How to Protect Your Business
2 Federal Law Hours
June 6, 2018
Temecula Valley Chapter
Topic: Tax Cuts & Jobs Acts Real and Personal Property Impact
2 Federal Update Hours
San Francisco Bay Chapter
Topic: Offer & Compromise/Installment Agreements
2 Federal Law Hours
June 7, 2018
San Gabriel Valley Chapter
Topic: What's New With Preparing Estates and Trusts
2 Federal Law Hours
June 10-13
Reno, Nevada
2018 Summer Symposium
June 13, 2018
Orange County Chapter
Topic: Ethics - Circular 230
2 Ethics Hours
June 20, 2018
Inland Empire Chapter
Topic: The Divorce Tax Checklist: Mistakes Professionals Typically Make
2 Federal Law Hours
June 21, 2018
San Diego Chapter
Topic: Now That The Client Has Died - What is the Tax Professional's Role in Settling the Client's Estate or Trust?
1 Federal Update Hour
1 California Hour
June 26, 2018
Orange County South Chapter
Topic: Audit Representation: How to Successfully Represent Your Client Before the IRS
2 Federal Law Hours
It's Not Too Late to Register for the 2018 Summer Symposium!
CSTC Conference-at-a-Glance
Sunday, June 10, 2018
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Evening Event, “Night at the Movies”
Monday, June 11, 2018
8 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Breakout Sessions:
Session 1: Death and (Income) Taxes: Administering an Estate or Trust after Death from a Preparer’s Perspective, Frank Acuna and Ruth Godfrey
Session 2: Trust Fund Recovery and Case Studies, LG Books
Session 3: Business Basics, Claudia Stanley
1:10 p.m. to 2:50 p.m Breakout Sessions:
Session 4: Tax Court Cases, LG Books
Session 5: IRA Rules Every Tax Professional Must Know! Frank Acuna
Session 6: Schedule A: What is Left, What Does California Say? Eugene Ostermiller
Session 7: Tax Services & Legalized Cannabis, Claudia Stanley (continues this afternoon)
2:50 p.m. to 3:20 p.m Refreshment Break
3:20 p.m. to 5 p.m. Breakout Sessions:
Session 7: Tax Services & Legalized Cannabis, Claudia Stanley (continued)
Session 8: Filing Status, George Van Buren
Session 9: Cyber Security, Ruth Godfrey
Session 10: California Update: How do the federal changes impact California? Eugene Ostermiller
5 p.m. Keynote Presentation
Session 11: IRS Presenter TBA
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
8 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Breakout Sessions:
Session 12: OICs from A’s to Z’s, LG Brooks and Beanna Whitlock
Session 13: 4797 Line by Line, Eugene Ostermiller
Session 14: Casualties & Disasters, Claudia Stanley
Session 15: Schedule C, George Van Buren
1:10 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. Breakout Sessions:
Session 16: Notice of Deficiency, LG Books
Session 17: What to Do With A/B Trusts That No Longer Make Sense, Frank Acuna
Session 18: Gifts, Estates, and Trusts, Beanna Whitlock
Session 19: Non-Residents, Eugene Ostermiller
3:20 p.m. to 5 p.m. Breakout Sessions:
Session 20: California Update: How do the federal changes impact California? Eugene Ostermiller
Session 21: THOSE WONDERFUL K-1s, Ruth Godfrey
Session 22: Decedents Final 1040 and 1041, Beanna Whitlock
Session 23: Schedule E, George Van Buren
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
8 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.
Session 24: 2018 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, Beanna Whitlock
1:10 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Session 25: Tax Experts Panel, All Presenters
3:20 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Session 26: Where Do You Keep Your Ethics, Beanna Whitlock
Want to Join the California Society of Tax Consultants?
Click here to fill out an online application.
CSTC advances professionalism within the tax industry by:
- Providing quality education
- Creating networking opportunities
- Advocating professional standards
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