A lot has happened since my last blog post in August 2019.  Personally, I along with all of you, spent a lot of time in the house due to COVID-19, I gained a new grandson and attended many Zoom meetings.  Professionally, I finished my degree at Golden Gate University, resigned from my full-time position as a Tax Supervisor and started my own firm, Marjorie L McPike CPA, A.P.C.. I also launched my own podcast, The CPA Lady Podcast which can be found on Spotify, Anchor, Apple podcasts and other major platforms.  

2020 was a year of challenges and opportunities.  As we were all faced with being in the house, working remotely, not eating out or socializing, many people saw that as an opportunity to generate income.  Millions of businesses were born in 2020: many of them very successful.  As I watched and rejoiced with all of these business owners and individuals, my concern was always, do you know how that is going to affect your tax return. 

For someone to go from being an employee with a W-2 with $60,000 in earnings to making $1,000,000, you can assume that there was not tax planning or even knowledge of how to navigate the change in income.  That is the reason why I decided to start my own firm.   

Most CPA firms are looking for clients that make between $5 and $50 million dollars per year.  But there are a lot of small businesses that do not make that much.  That doesn’t mean they do not need the services and planning that a larger company does.   

That is where I come in. My focus is on small to medium sized businesses. My goal is to educate you so that you know what to expect while starting and running your business and helping you navigate the bookkeeping and tax planning so that you are capturing all of your income and expenses and paying the least amount if taxes possible.   

If you are a new business owner or need some assistance setting up the right financial foundation for your business, schedule a consultation and let's talk about how we can work together to save you money.  

Ep 121 We paid off $114k in debt in 24 months, with The Hartzogs

Take Initiative - CPA Exam

 

Last week I attended a CalCPA event for the Young and Emerging Professionals.  Although I am not young in my career in public accounting, I still like to attend these events to see what they are like and to meet people that are just entering the field.  At the event I met a young lady and was able to exchange contact information.

I followed up with this young lady yesterday to see how she was doing and to check if she had any questions that I could answer.  We discussed sitting for the CPA exam and I recommended that she contact the California Board of Accountancy to start the application process.  I explained that it would take a while for the application process to be completed.  In addition to submitting an application she would also be required to contact her previous schools and request transcripts be sent as well.  It was going to take a while for her to receive a Notice to Sit.  I suggested that instead of waiting until she was ready to schedule, she should inquire now. 

She took my advice.  I received an email later advising me that she had contacted the California Board of Accountancy and started the application.  She was in the process of requesting her transcripts be forwarded as well.  The interesting part of this story is that she said she had attended other events that reviewed your transcript and advised what classes you would need to take to sit for the CPA exam but she never knew the process. 

My recommendation to anyone that is studying accounting and considering taking the CPA exam, go to the California Board of Accountancy website at www.dca.ca.org and become familiar with the requirements and the process for licensure.  There is a tab for applicants and a wealth of information to assist you in the process.  I always tell people regardless of what they are doing, start researching and learning about the process.  You want to be proactive and the more you research the more you learn.  You cannot depend on other people to tell you everything, you have to take some initiative.   

I commend this young lady for listening to my advice and I look forward to hearing about her process and success and she completes the requirements to become a Certified Public Accountant.

 

https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/cpa_exam_quick_tips.pdf

I am currently in Las Vegas attending training for my job.  The trainer mentioned that she reads fifty-two books per year. That is one book per week.  She said that she does not always read the hard copy of the book she uses audio books.  I thought that was very impressive. 

With audiobooks you do not have to sit in one place to read a book, you can be doing something else, like commuting, and increase your knowledge on a subject.  My commute is at least one hour each way; can you imagine what I would learn if I used at least one way of my commute to listen to a book!  This is not something I don't already know, it is something I have not consistently done.  So my goal is to be consistent. Consistency causes change.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

A new year is the time to start fresh. This is a perfect time to evaluate your taxes and make adjustments.
Using your last pays stub from 2012, we can estimate your 2012 taxes and determine if changes are needed for your 2013 withholding. Give me a call to set up an appointment.