Official Board Packet California Society of Enrolled Agents

Official Board Packet 

California Society of Enrolled Agents 

January 2010 Board Meeting 

To be held at the 

Holiday Inn Sacramento Capitol Plaza 

300 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 

Saturday, January 9, 8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. (California Room) 

& 

Sunday, January 10, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (California Room) 

California Society of Enrolled Agents ▪ 3200 Ramos Circle ▪ Sacramento, CA ▪ 95827-2513 

Phone: 916/366-6646 ▪ Fax: 916/366-6674 ▪ Email: dnogle@csea.org ▪ www.csea.org

Regular Board Meeting 

January 9, 2010: 8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. 

January 10, 2010: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza – California Room 

1. Call to Order 

A. Pledge of Allegiance 

B. Roll Call Page 1 

2. Welcome of Members and Guests in Attendance 

BOARD MEETING 

AGENDA 

3. President’s Report (Shaw) Page 2 

A. Verbal Remarks 

B. Dues Waiver Request 

4. Strategic Issues Discussion (Kastl) Page 3 

A. September 26-27, 2009 Board Meeting Evaluation Summary Pages 4-7 

B. 2009-2010 Board Goals Pages 8-9 

C. Leadership Training Pages 10-12 

D. Virtual Board Meetings Page 13 

E. Attracting Younger Members Pages 14-15 

5. Consent Agenda Approval – ACTION Page 16 

A. Board Meeting Minutes: September 26-27, 2009 Pages 17-22 

B. Committee 2010-2011 Action Plans 

I. Audit Page 23 

II. Bylaws Page 24 

III. Ethics & Professional Conduct (E&PC) Page 25 

IV. Executive Committee Page 26 

V. Finance & Budget (F&B) Page 27 

VI. Legislative Affairs Pages 28-29 

VII. Membership & Chapter Development Pages 30-31 

VIII. Nominating Committee Pages 32-33 

IX. Political Action Committee (PAC) Page 34 

X. Professional Education Production Committee (PEPCO) Pages 35-36 

XI. Public Information & Awareness (PIA) Pages 37-38 

C. Executive Committee – Approval of 2010-2011 Meeting Schedule Pages 39-41

Board Meeting Agenda January 9 - 10, 2010 

Page 2 

6. Special Order of Business Page 42 

A. Audit Committee – Approval of 2008-2009 Audit Pages 43-55 

B. Executive Committee – CRM Software Pages 56-59 

7. Unfinished Business (verbal) Page 60 

8. New Business Page 61 

A. Director’s Requests for Agenda Items Page 62 

B. Hosting the Annual Meeting Pages 63-64 

9. Reports (written) Page 65 

A. Officer’s Reports 

I. 1 st Vice President (Kastl) Pages 66-67 

II. 2 nd Vice President (Nelsen Pages 68-69 

III. Treasurer (Guenther) Pages 70-75 

IV. Secretary (Cash) N/A 

B. Executive Vice President’s Reports (Apker) 

I. 2009-2010 EVP Goals Update Pages 76-82 

II. Staff Report Pages 83-89 

C. Committee Reports/Action Plan Updates 

I. Audit Pages 90-91 

II. Bylaws Page 92 

III. Ethics & Professional Conduct (E&PC) Pages 93-94 

IV. Executive Committee Pages 95-96 

V. Finance & Budget (F&B) Page 97 

VI. Legislative Affairs Pages 98-100 

VII. Membership & Chapter Development Pages 101-103 

VIII. Nominating Committee Page 104 

IX. Political Action Committee (PAC) Page 105 

X. Professional Education Production Committee (PEPCO) Pages 106-108 

XI. Public Information & Awareness (PIA) Pages 109-112 

XII. E-ACT Task Force Page 113 

XIII. TEAR Task Force Pages 114-115

Board Meeting Agenda January 9 - 10, 2010 

Page 3 

D. Correspondence 

I. CSEA / NAEA Correspondence 

a. CSEA Letter to NAEA dated October 9, 2009 Pages 116-118 

b. NAEA Response dated October 30, 2009 Pages 119-120 

c. NAEA Response dated December 7, 2009 Pages 121-122 

II. CSEA / IRS VITA Correspondence 

a. CSEA Letter to IRS regarding VITA dated October 9, 2009 Pages 123-125 

b. IRS Letter to CSEA dated November 10, 2009 Pages 126-127 

III. CSEA Letter to the IRS regarding Tax Preparer regulation dated October 9, 2009 

Pages 128-131 

IV. Letter from OPR regarding proper CE tracking & reporting Pages 132-133 

10. Good of the Order Page 134 

A. Annual Meeting 2010 Update (S. Danioth-Jones; verbal remarks) N/A 

B. Super Seminar 2010 Volunteers (A. Arms; verbal remarks) N/A 

11. Adjournment

MOTION: 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Kim Kastl (1 st VP) 

Jean Nelsen (2 nd VP) 

Alma Guenther (Treasurer) 

Gregory Cash (Secretary) 

Connie Ferrell (IPP) 

James Houston (Mission) 

Gerald Pusateri (Solano Napa) 

Jeremy Streeter (San Fernando Valley) 

Jerry Satterberg (Central CA) 

Robert Cantu (Channel Islands) 

Mark Seid (Central Coast) 

Steve Leibold (San Diego) (Non-voting) 

Rose Hablitzel (Far Northern) 

Kathy Rocha (Big Valley) 

Lisa Newton (Orange County) 

Gary Anspach (North Bay) 

Susan Growney (Sacramento Valley) 

Emerice Stettiner (Golden Gate) 

George Van Buren (South Bay) (Non-voting) 

Thomas Johnston (East Bay) 

Howard J. Wiggett (Los Angeles) 

Paul Cheatham (Inland Empire) 

Ronald Watts (Palomar) 

Franklin Ruedel (San Gabriel Valley) 

BOARD MEETING ROLL CALL 

January 9 - 10, 2010 

YES NO PASS ABSTAIN 

TOTALS: ____ ____ ____ ____ 

David Shaw (to make or break a tie): ____ ____ ____ ____ 

GRAND TOTALS: ____ ____ ____ ____ 

1

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 

2

STRATEGIC ISSUES DISCUSSION 

3

Board of Directors 

January 9-10, 2010 Board Meeting 

Subject 

September Board Meeting Evaluation Summary 

Background 

One of the Board goals for the year stipulates under Education that the Board will review the evaluation 

results from the last Board meeting at each subsequent meeting. The summary evaluation from the 

September meeting follows for review and discussion. 

What other issues need to be addressed? 

4 

STRATEGIC ISSUES 

DISCUSSION 

4.A.

BOARD MEETING EVALUATION SUMMARY ‐ SEPTEMBER 26‐27, 2009 

Attended: 26 

Returns: 23 

Response Rate: 88% 

PREPARATION FOR THE BOARD MEETING… 

Completely Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree N/A 

TIMING ‐ Agenda and supporting materials were 

available far enough in advance to be useful 

REPORTS ‐ Were clear and contained needed 

0% 0 4% 1 0% 0 13% 3 78% 18 4% 1 

information 

MATERIALS ‐ Agenda and background materials 

helped clarify issues and specific required Board 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 17% 4 83% 19 0% 0 

actions. 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 17% 4 83% 19 0% 0 

PREPARATION ‐ All Board Members were 

prepared to discuss the materials sent in advance 

0% 0 

0% 0 9% 2 43% 10 48% 11 0% 0 

OPERATION OF THE BOARD MEETING… 

Completely Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 

N/A 

GUIDANCE ‐ The President guided the meeting 

effectively 

PARTICIPATION ‐ All BBoard dMMembers b were 

encouraged and given ample opportunity to 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 4% 1 96% 22 0% 0 

participate in discussions 

PROCEDURES ‐ We followed parliamentary rules 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 17% 4 83% 19 0% 0 

and procedures 

DETAILS ‐ We avoided getting into 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 9% 2 91% 21 0% 0 

administrative/management g details 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 22% 5 78% 18 0% 0 

PARTICIPATION OF THE BOARD MEMBERS… 

Completely Disagree 

OPINIONS ‐ A diversity of opinions were expressed 

Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree N/A 

and issues were dealt with in a respectful manner 

IMAGE ‐ Board Members were courteous, open, 

and projected a positive, positive professional image 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 9% 2 91% 21 0% 0 

during the meeting 

DISCUSSION ‐ Board Members were engaged in 

discussion and debate, asking questions and 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 4% 1 96% 22 0% 0 

seeking input 

FOCUS ‐ Comments and questions focused on the 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 13% 3 87% 20 0% 0 

agenda item under discussion 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 22% 5 78% 18 0% 0 

Page 1 of 3 

5

BOARD MEETING EVALUATION SUMMARY ‐ SEPTEMBER 26 ‐ 27, 2009 

DECISION‐MAKING OF THE BOARD… 

INFORMATION ‐ Appropriate information was 

provided to support the Board in making informed 


ddecisions i i 

FOCUS ‐ Decisions were clear and focused on 

0% 0 4% 1 0% 0 13% 3 83% 19 0% 0 

CSEA's Mission and strategic priorities 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 26% 6 74% 17 0% 0 

DISCUSSION ‐ Discussed and considered the pros 

and cons and alternative solutions to problems 

before making decisions 

FOCUS ‐ Discussed, Discussed deliberated, deliberated and developed 

solutions and decisions that were acceptable to all 

0% 0 0% 0 4% 1 17% 4 78% 18 0% 0 

Board Members 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 35% 8 65% 15 0% 0 

OVERALL OPINION… 


TIME ‐ I felt that my y time was well spent p at this 

meeting 

ACCOMPLISHMENT ‐ I felt a sense of 

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 9% 2 91% 21 0% 0 

accomplishment at the end of this meeting 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 13% 3 87% 20 0% 0 

FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS… 

What h two things hi can bbe done d to iimprove ffuture Board d meetings? i ? 

Continue following the same procedures. 

Take this meeting to different geographical areas. 

Everything was good ‐ well organized. 

Feedback on what is being done with the Strategic Discussions. This would be particularly helpful with the Super Seminar discussions as the results may not be as evident 

for some time. Reinforce the participation. 

I believe this Board meeting was far more prepared than any other prior meeting. 

Keep the positive energy!! 

Timing of future comments ‐ not just as time was running out. 

More direction and hand holding for "new" Board Members; I feel like a deer in the headlights! 

Easier access to electrical outlets so we don't have to crawl under the table! 

More debate from Board Members. 

Encourage everyone's attendance at Executive Committee. Page 2 of 3 

6

What two things did we do at this Board meeting that we should NOT do at future meetings? 

Not timing of future comments. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS… 

Great Board meeting. 

With all that was on the agenda, we had a well run meeting and accomplished a lot. This is how it should always go! 

Dealt with controversial issues professionally. 

Accomplished a lot of work during the Board meeting. 

Great meeting! 

I would like to see us spend more time on the important issues like membership and increasing CSEA revenues. 

This was a well run Board meeting ‐ phone call from OPR was excellent. 

The conference call was a great idea ‐ way to go Board!! 

Board proved they could be flexible and professional. Great job to all! 

Page 3 of 3 

7



Subject 

2009-2010 Board Goals – How are we doing? Is sufficient progress being made? 

Background 

During the June Board meeting the following goals were adopted by the Board for specific focus during 

2009-2010. We will review these goals at each Board meeting during the year to ensure that we are 

making progress in reaching them by the end of the year. 

Board Goals Adopted for 2009-2010 

Contextual: 

� When a motion is presented to the Board, the maker of the motion should always explain how 

the motion aligns with the Strategic Plan to further the Mission of the Society. 

� Mentors ensure each mentee has a clear understanding of the Society’s Mission. 

Education: 

� All CSEA Board members should complete the Board meeting evaluation prior to adjournment 

of each Board meeting and turn it in. 

� Review the evaluation results from the last Board meeting at each subsequent meeting. 

Interpersonal: 

� Bios submitted to the CSEA office no later than July 31, 2009. 

� CSEA Directors/Officers should scout Members who are potential leaders to meet with the 

CSEA President during his visit to the local Chapter meetings. 

� Recognize members of the Board and their achievements more proactively. 

� The Board (Officer and Director Mentors) takes a holistic responsibility toward mentoring. 

Analytical: 

� Develop and implement a methodology for measuring the overall progress of the CSEA Vision. 

� Ensure all Board members are educated through the orientation as to the location of all 

Board/Society business to maintain transparency. 

Political: 

� Ensure the Board has a better understanding of the role of Directors, the Board, and the 

Executive Committee and the interaction regarding staff and staff morale. 

8 


DISCUSSION 

4.B.

Strategic: 

� Concentrate discussion on issues that prepare for the future of CSEA and advance its Vision. 

� Develop leadership training for Members. 

Overall: 

� Overall goal of 100% participation and raising the scores by 2% in all areas of the 2008-2009 

Board assessment to be completed in May. 

9



Subject 

Leadership Training 

Background 

CSEA and our Chapters are always looking for dedicated volunteer leaders to ensure the future vitality 

of the organization at both levels. In an effort to provide some data as a base for discussion, a survey 

was sent to all Officers, Directors, committee Chairs and Chapter Presidents seeking input for this 

discussion. The results of the survey will be distributed on Saturday prior to the start of the Board 

meeting. 

The survey distributed follows: 

LEADERSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE 

1. Are you a CSEA Chapter leader? ___Yes ___No 

2. Are you a CSEA leader (Officer/Director/committee Chair)? ___Yes ___No 

3. Is leadership a learned skill? ___Yes ___No ___ No sure ___ 

4. If you answered "yes" to question number three above, how does one go about learning the 

necessary leadership skills needed to succeed? 

5. Please pick the top ten leadership characteristics from the list below, that you feel are most essential 

for a potential leader (the below choices are in no particular order and you must pick exactly ten 

characteristics - no more, no less). 

Integrity Humor Conceptual thinker 

Honesty Learning agility High degree of emotional intelligence 

Maintains confidences Receptive to feedback Problem-solver 

Trustworthy Constant learner Ability to think outside-the-box 

Ability to truly listen Learn from mistakes Comfortable with ambiguity 

Strong sense of vision Refined communication Knowledge in all aspects of association 

skills leadership 

Articulate Passion for driving results Willingness to take calculated risks 

Humility Appreciation for Society Ability to empower/motivate others 

culture and values 

Adaptability 

10 


DISCUSSION 

4.C.


Page Two 

6. Should CSEA provide leadership training to Chapter leaders? ___Yes ___No ___ No sure ___ 

7. If you answered "yes" to question number six above, what would the leadership training look like? 

8. Should CSEA provide leadership training to CSEA leaders (Officers, Directors, committee Chairs)? 

___Yes ___No ___ No sure ___ 

9. If you answered "yes" to question number eight above, what would the leadership training look like? 

10. Do you have any other thoughts regarding leadership at either the CSEA level or the Chapter level? 

Another point of reference, the following article provides additional thoughts regarding this issue. 

Leadership – By Gary Anspach, EA, CSEA Director, Member of the 2009-2010 Nominating 

Committee 

Leadership… What is it? What does it look like? Are leaders born or made? What is a good leader? 

Am I a leader? These are seemingly simple questions that are often quite difficult for us to answer. 

Many of you have been or will be contacted regarding your interest in becoming a CSEA Officer or 

committee chair. You have been contacted because you have expressed interest or have been 

identified by other leaders as a potential candidate for a leadership role at the California Society of 

Enrolled Agents (CSEA). Even if you are certain you are not interested, please take a moment to read 

the remainder of this brief article. 

CSEA leadership reflects the quality of leadership at our local chapters. The amazing variety of paths to 

becoming an Enrolled Agent is well documented and we are all proud of our accomplishment when we 

achieve the status of EA. It is, therefore, no surprise that there is a diverse range of leadership styles 

and personalities within our profession. The aspirations, agendas and actions of each of us are 

imbedded in our approach to leadership and this is no different at CSEA. 

I think we might all agree that some of the components of good leadership are competence, 

collaboration, compromise, respect, trust, communication, honesty, humility, and authenticity. We also 

want our leaders to be enthusiastic, passionate, optimistic, courageous, sensitive, perceptive, focused, 

responsive and approachable. A good sense of humor is critical for empowering others and putting 

them at ease to successfully implement the plans and actions that move the organization forward. 

These characteristics and much more are present at CSEA. 

What are the barriers for Chapter Members who don’t consider themselves good leaders and to CSEA 

level participation for proven leaders? CSEA is replete with those who are competent participants at 

their local Chapter, but they avoid leadership positions. And many proven leaders from local Chapters 

avoid leadership at CSEA. Certainly, there may be more responsibility as a leader, but good leaders 

surround themselves with other leaders and high quality candidates for leadership roles. The result of 

this dynamic will be accomplishment beyond expectation. Providing direction, support, oversight and 

coordination is rewarding and a useful learning experience at all levels. Don’t be afraid of it – embrace 

it. 

Almost all who serve successfully at CSEA will attest to these truths: 

Service is in your own self-interest. The rewards from giving are many times greater than the cost. “The 

more you give, the more you get” is for real. Service is not sacrifice but it is opportunity, it is not 

exhausting but it is exhilarating, it is not a chore but it is, most definitely, a gift. 

11


Page Three 

Always take the work seriously but never take yourself too seriously. The work must be taken seriously 

to achieve our goals and objectives. However, this is volunteer work where humor, humility and fun are 

essential. Bring your head, heart and spirit – all are welcome. 

The development of good EA leaders starts at the Chapter level where the first contact is made. 

Encouraging involvement of any new or experienced member provides a pool of potential leaders at the 

chapter and state levels. Empowering Members to expand their exposure and grow their confidence 

should be a goal for all Chapter leaders. We all share a common vision but the roles of Chapter leaders 

and of CSEA leaders are not identical. In order to better understand the value of CSEA, Chapter 

leaders are strongly encouraged to attend and observe CSEA Board and committee meetings. Anyone 

who interacts with other leaders from around the state will realize that everyone has a contribution to 

make. If you are unsure about participation at CSEA, join us sometime where an atmosphere of 

camaraderie, fellowship and fun will most likely make you a believer. 

12



Subject 

Virtual Board Meetings 

Background 

President Shaw has been talking with Members this year during his Chapter visits about the possibility 

of providing access to CSEA Board meetings. However, prior to expanding such an endeavor to the 

entire membership, it is critical the Directors understand the concept of a virtual meeting and exactly 

how one would function. 

A virtual Board meeting is something that the entire Board would need to embrace and be willing to 

actively participate in to make it successful. 

Both the E-ACT and TEAR Task Forces have conducted all their meetings virtually this year so some 

people have had the experience of participating via this venue. With a Board meeting, however, we are 

anticipating that each Director would have a webcam so that people would also be visible as well as the 

material that is being discussed. 

You are encouraged to go to the following website to learn more about this concept: 

http://communityclips.officelabs.com/Video.aspx?videoId=8eff1d7c-7c54-4fc7-ad40-dde3440d7c0b 

This is a USB camera so it just plugs into the computers USB port. 

Even though this decision should not be one based solely on cost savings, there is no doubt that having 

one or two virtual Board meetings a year will have a positive impact on the bottom line. Current 

expenditures for one Board meeting would have the following cost savings. 

Facilities rental $1,100.00 

Audio Visual 353.00 

Volunteer Lodging 6,800.00 

Volunteer Travel 2,717.00 

Officer Supplies 237.00 

Photocopy Expense 400.00 

Postage 75.00 

Potential savings per meeting: $11,682.00 

If CSEA were to purchase a webcam for every Director it would cost approximately $30.00 each with a 

one-time cost of $750.00 for Directors and Officers. 

13 


DISCUSSION 

4.D.



Subject 

Attracting Younger Members 

Background 

Any volunteer organization must ensure its continuation with an ongoing solicitation of new Members. 

As current Members retire or pass away they must be replaced with new Members. However, one of 

the problems facing both CSEA and the Chapters is that many new Members are not of an age where 

the organizations continued viability is ensured. 

We do have some younger Members, but the number is not sufficient to ensure continued viability. How 

can CSEA recruit people to become Enrolled Agents and then attract and keep them as Members of 

the Society? 

During this strategic discussion we will have a panel of younger EAs to explore questions of this nature 

to provide a basis for the Board’s discussion. 

We will also be exploring some of the social networking venues currently being use globally following 

the panel. The Vision for this presentation is to find a way to become established in the social media 

world while protecting your privacy. An offshoot will be to answer the question, where does CSEA fit 

into this arena? 

Does a form of social media work for businesses? 

The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has followed up on 

its 2007 and 2008 studies of social media usage by the Inc. 500. Adoption and awareness continue to 

trend upward, with 91% of firms using at least one social media tool in 2009 and three-quarters 

describing themselves as “very familiar” with social networking. 

Social networking and blogging have seen the most growth in adoption, while other technologies have 

flattened or even declined in use, including wikis and online video. Twitter usage, of course, has caught 

on quickly—more than one-half of businesses reported tweeting in 2009. This was the first year 

respondents were polled about Twitter. 

One impressive change over time was in the percentage of Inc. 500 companies that did not use any 

form of social media. It dropped precipitously from 43% in 2007 to just 9% in 2009. 

The Center for Marketing Research also noted that the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private 

14 


DISCUSSION 

4.E.

companies in the US, is outpacing the larger, more traditional companies in the Fortune 500 in many 

social media activities. 

Is the rush to adoption bringing marketing success? Respondents overwhelmingly believed it was. The 

companies polled were mostly measuring hits, comments, leads or sales as primary indicators. 

Companies were also monitoring mentions of their brands in the social media space, at 68% this year. 

That figure was climbing steadily, up from 60% in 2008 and 50% in 2007. 

15

CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL 

16

1. CALL TO ORDER 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - MEETING MINUTES 

Draft X Approved 

a. The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the California Society of Enrolled Agents 

was called to order on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holiday Inn 

Capitol Plaza. The President and Chair, David Shaw, EA, and the Secretary, Gregory Cash, 

EA, were present. 

b. Gary Anspach, EA, led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

c. Roll Call 

OFFICE NAME PRESENT ABSENT 

President David Shaw X 

First Vice President Kim Kastl X 

Second Vice President Jean Nelsen X 

Treasurer Alma Guenther X 

Secretary Gregory Cash X 

Immediate Past President Connie Ferrell X 

Director (Mission) James Houston X 

Director (Solano Napa) Gerald Pusateri X 

Director (San Fernando Valley) Jeremy Streeter X 

Director (Central CA) Jerry Satterberg X 

Director (Channel Islands) Robert Cantu X 

Director (Central Coast) Mark Seid X 

Director (San Diego) Thomas Carter X 

Director (Far Northern) Rose Hablitzel X 

Director (Big Valley) Kathy Rocha X 

Director (Orange County) Lisa Newton X 

Director (North Bay) Gary Anspach X 

Director (Sacramento Valley) Susan Growney X 

Director (Golden Gate) Emerice Stettiner X 

Director (South Bay) Andrew Stamatelatos X 

Director (East Bay) Thomas Johnston X 

Director (Los Angeles) None 

Director (Inland Empire) Paul Cheatham X 

Director (Palomar) Ronald Watts X 

Director (San Gabriel Valley) Franklin Ruedel X 

ACTION The Chair declared a quorum present. 

17

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – September 26-27, 2009 

Page 2 

2. WELCOME OF MEMBERS AND GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE 

ACTION The Chair welcomed the many Members and guests in attendance. 

ACTION The Chair informed the Board that a resignation was received from 

Hector Canstaneda, EA, Los Angeles Chapter. The Chapter had not 

designated a new Director to date, so the Los Angeles Chapter was 

not represented during this Board meeting. 

3. PRESIDENT’S REPORT 

ACTION The Chair remarked on the following items: 

• Past three months – Mr. Shaw remarked that it was an incredible 

past three months and thanked staff for an excellent job. 

• Chapter Visits – Mr. Shaw stated that technology has been the 

focus of his visits and he remarked that our Members want to get 

involved. He requested that all Directors ask their Members for 

input. 

MOTION # 1 That the Board ratified the action of the President in granting 

CSEA dues waiver requests to three (3) individuals. 

Motion passed. 

4. STRATEGIC ISSUES DISCUSSION 

ACTION Ms. Kastl led the strategic issues discussion regarding the June 

Board meeting evaluation summary, and branding. 

The Board recessed at 8:47 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 27, 2009. 

September 27, 2009 

The Board was back in session at 7:58 a.m. 

ACTION Ms. Kastl continued with the discussion regarding branding and tax 

return preparer regulation. 

The Board recessed at 9:45 a.m. 


18


Page 3 

MOTION # 2 It was moved that CSEA submit a follow-up letter to the one 

dated August 28, 2009, to address the comments and concerns 

identified by CSEA Members on the topic of return tax preparer 

regulation to be reviewed by the Executive Committee prior to 

submission. 


ACTION Ms. Kastl continued with the discussion regarding Super Seminars. 

5. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA 

ACTION The Consent Agenda was approved as presented, which included 

approval or appropriate action of the following items: 

6. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS 

• Change to Audit Committee’s 2009-2010 Action Plans 

• Changes to Finance & Budget Committee’s 2009-2010 Action 

Plans 

• Changes to Legislative Affairs Committee’s 2009-2010 Action 

Plans 

• Membership & Chapter Development Committee: 

o Removal of Historical Subcommittee Charter 

o Changes to Committee Charter 

• Changes to PAC’s 2009-2010 Action Plans 

• Changes to PEPCO’s 2009-2010 Action Plans 

MOTION # 3 The Bylaws Committee moved that the Board of Directors 

recommend to the Members at the Annual Meeting 2010, the 

passage of proposed section 7.02(b). 



ACTION Karen Hawkins, Esq., Director of the Office of Professional 

Responsibility (OPR) addressed the Board of Directors. Ms. Kastl 

summarized the Board’s concerns as expressed and reported back 

during the strategic issues session regarding the tax return preparer 

issue. 


The Board was back in session at 12:30 p.m. 

DIVISION Motion passed. 

MOTION # 4 The Bylaws Committee moved that the Board of Directors 

recommend to the Members at the Annual Meeting 2010, the 

passage of proposed section 7.02(c). 


19


Page 4 

MOTION # 5 The Executive Committee moved that the restated CSEA 401(k) 

Profit Sharing Plan with the addition of a Roth IRA option be 

adopted. 


MOTION # 6 The Executive Committee moved that the Board of Directors 

approve the trustees of the CSEA 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan to 

retain Catherine A. Apker, CAE, and change the two remaining 

trustees to David A. Shaw, EA, and Connie L. Ferrell, EA. 


MOTION # 7 The Executive Committee moved that a letter be sent to the 

NAEA Board with a copy to all state affiliates regarding three 

issues: 1) Why it appears that NAEA Board policies were not 

followed; 2) Why intimidating tactics were used with Members; 

and 3) Request that the NAEA Board, in an attempt to resolve 

the internal conflict between the NAEA Board/Executive and 

Search Committee, utilize an outside source to fact find and 

provide binding arbitration on all parties. The letter is to be 

reviewed by the Executive Committee. 


MOTION # 8 The Executive Committee moved that a maximum of $65,000 be 

added to the 2009-2010 budget to be used at the discretion of 

the Executive Vice President as salary and benefits. 


ACTION Mr. Seid reported that there will be no increase in membership dues 

for 2010-2011. 

MOTION # 9 The Public Information and Awareness Committee moved that 

the Board of Directors adopt the Branding Proposal by Wolfe 

Design at a cost not to exceed $15,000.00, that should come 

from the EA Promo Fund. 


ACTION The Chair indicated the need for Board approval that must pass by 

2/3 vote to hear the Membership Committee motion. 

Action passed. 

MOTION # 10 The Membership and Chapter Development Committee moved 

that a letter be sent to the United Way and to the IRS expressing 

CSEA’s position and asking for removal of this marketing piece 

and any other marketing materials that contain the inflammatory 

language. If CSEA could partner with any other agencies it 

would add to the force of our protest. 

20


Page 5 

AMENDMENT It was moved to amend the motion to name the recipient of the 

letter to be the Internal Revenue Service and that the letter 

should state that the Internal Revenue Service shall be 

responsible for removing the "language" from their VITA 

Partners literature. 

Amendment passed. 

QUESTION CALLED Motion passed. 

MOTION # 10 As amended, the Membership and Chapter Development 

Committee moved that a letter be sent to the United Way and to 

the IRS expressing CSEA’s position and asking for removal of 

this marketing piece and any other marketing materials that 

contain the inflammatory language. If CSEA could partner with 

any other agencies it would add to the force of our protest. 

7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

There was no unfinished business to come before the Board. 

8. NEW BUSINESS 

ACTION The Chair called for requests from any Director for an agenda item. 

There were none. 

ACTION The Chair called attention to hosting of future Annual meetings. 

MOTION # 11 The Director of the San Gabriel Valley Chapter moved that the 

Board approve the idEAl offer for the 2011 Annual Meeting with 

the idEAl host being the San Gabriel Valley Chapter. 

Motion was seconded and passed. 

MOTION # 12 The Director of Far Northern California Chapter moved that the 

Board of Directors approve the Far Northern California Chapter 

as host of the 2012 Annual Meeting. 

Motion was seconded and passed. 

9. REPORTS 

ACTION The Chair asked if there were any questions with regards to the 

reports provided on agenda item number 9. There were none. 

21


Page 5 

10. ADJOURNMENT 

ACTION There being no further business to come before the Board, the Chair 

adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m., until 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, 

January 9, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza, Sacramento, CA. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Gregory Cash, EA 

Secretary 

Approved: Date: 

22



Subject 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Audit Committee Action Plans. 

Recommendation 

The Audit Committee recommendations approval of its 2010-2011 Action Plans. 

Background 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee at its September 

meeting for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 

Goal # 7 

To manage the Society in an effective and efficient manner. 

Action Plans: 

7.1 To preserve the assets of the Society. 

AUDIT COMMITTEE 

RECOMMENDATION 

5.B.IV. 

• The report of the Committee should be received no later than the January Board of Directors 

meeting of each year. 

• The Report to Those Charged with Governance, also called the SAS 114 letter, should be 

provided to the Board no later than the January Board meeting of each year. 

• The Report on Significant Deficiencies in Internal Control, also called the SAS 112 letter, if 

presented, should be provided to the Board no later than the January Board meeting of each 

year. 

• The Management Recommendation Letter, if presented, should be provided to the Board no 

later than the January Board meeting of each year. 

• Review internal examination procedures for the CSEA Chapters. 

• Review Chapter reporting once a year to improve conformity. 

• Review the applicable Federal and State returns for CSEA, PAC and unincorporated 

Chapters prior to filing. 

23



Subject 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Bylaws Committee Action Plans. 


The Bylaws Committee recommendations approval of its 2010-2011 Action Plans. 

Background 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Bylaws Committee at its September 


Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 

7.1 To provide for the effective and efficient governance and management of the Society. 

• Review all Bylaws changes, requests. 

• Present legally accepted proposed Bylaws changes to the BOD. 

7.2 Assist Chapters in reviewing and updating their bylaws in order to bring them into 

conformance with CSEA Bylaws. 

• Communicate with Chapters regarding up-to-date bylaws. 

• Review Chapter bylaws as submitted. 

• Communicate with Chapter following bylaws review. 

• Review Caucus Rules. 

7.3 Provide oversight to Chapters in facilitating signatory of Chapter Affiliation Agreement. 

• Communicate with Chapters in completing the signing of all Affiliation Agreements and 

Addendums. 

24 

BYLAWS COMMITTEE 


5.B.II.



Subject 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Ethics & Professional Conduct Committee Action Plans. 


The Ethics & Professional Conduct Committee recommendations approval of its 2010-2011 Action 

Plans. 

Background 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Ethics & Professional Conduct 

Committee at its September meeting for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 

Goal # 1 

To enhance the visibility and recognition of Enrolled Agents as the preferred tax professionals and to 

promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

Action Plans: 

To continually evaluate all the programs under the Committee’s supervision and recommend program 

modifications as appropriate. 

1.1 Handle all complaints received to project a positive image regarding Enrolled Agents. 

• Ensure the established timelines are kept. 

1.2 Ensure there is a magazine insertion in each issue of the CSEA magazine 

• Identify responsible individual for each issue. 

1.3 Ensure that there are a number of trained investigators should they be needed. 

• Ensure ongoing availability of trained investigators. 

• Ensure trained investigators receive updated training. 

25 

ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL 

CONDUCT COMMITTEE 


5.B.III.



Subject 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Executive Committee Action Plans. 


The Executive Committee recommendations approval of its 2010-2011 Action Plans. 

Background 

5.B.IV. 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee at its September 


Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 



7.1 Perform EVP’s annual evaluation. 

� Evaluate EVP’s performance based on the Board adopted Ends Policies. 

7.2 Implement the Succession Plan during the year as outlined. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


� Review Search Committee Charter 

� Review the Plan at the September meeting ensuring implementation 

� Establish necessary dates and timelines 

� Finalize recommendation for hiring of EVP for the May 2011 Board meeting. 

26



Subject 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Finance and Budget Committee Action Plans. 


The Finance and Budget Committee recommends approval of its 2010-2011 Action Plans. 

Background 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Finance and Budget Committee at its 

September meeting for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 

7.1 Develop and present to the May 2011 Board meeting a proposed budget for the 2011- 

2012 Society year for all Society funds. 

• Request 2011-2012 budget proposals from Board of Directors and Committee Chairs. 

• Deadline for 2011-2012 budget proposals. 

• Annual budget meeting. 

• Present proposed 2011-2012 budget to Board of Directors. 

7.2 Review the method of demonstration to the Board and committees on how the budget 

aligns with the Strategic Plan. 

• Evaluation/enhancement ongoing. 

FINANCE AND BUDGET 

COMMITTEE 


27 

5.B.IV.


Legislative Affairs Committee (LEG) 


Subject 

Legislative Affairs Committee 2010-2011 Action Plans 


The Legislative Affairs Committee recommends the Board approve their 2010-2011 Action Plans as 

outlined below. 

Goal # 2 

To be an effective voice in advocacy for the rights of taxpayers and Enrolled Agents before all State 

levels of legislative and regulatory agencies and Federal agencies as deemed necessary. 

Action Plans: 

5.B.VI. 

2.1 Continue to develop a “grassroots” program in an effort to encourage Members to 

establish relationships with their legislators and increase legislators’ awareness of the 

EA designation. 

• Maintain a “grassroots” program to ensure every legislator in California is familiar with EAs 

and our legislative agenda. 

2.2 Develop background papers identified by the Board approved positions. 

2.3 Participate in the CTEC Sunset Review Hearings as necessary. 

2.4 Conformity Task Force 

COMMITTEE 

REPORTS 

2.5 Develop an advance written communication, followed by a physical presence at the 

annual Franchise Tax Board Bill of Rights Meeting. 

28

LEG 2009-2010 Action Plans January 10 – 11, 2009 

Page 2 

Goal # 4 

To provide effective communication with Members and the public. 

Action Plans: 

4.1 Increase Members’ involvement and knowledge of the Committee’s activities by 

maintaining a Member awareness program. 

• Publish articles in California Enrolled Agent on the activities of the Committee, staff and 

legislative advocate. Have a member of the Committee volunteer to coordinate Legislative 

articles. 

• Distribute similar information via the CSEA monthly email newsletter BEAcon. 

4.2 To effectively communicate tax related information to Members on a timely basis. 

• Provide periodic email alerts and articles in the CSEA magazine reporting results/actions of 

Liaison and other regulatory agency meetings. 

Goal # 6 

To strengthen CSEA/NAEA/Chapter partnerships. 

Action Plans: 

6.1 Develop a strategy to improve grassroots efforts at the Chapter level. 

6.2 Work with IRS (local and national), NAEA, and CSEA’s local Chapters to ensure the most 

effective CSEA/IRS relationship. 

29



Subject 

5.B.VII. 

Recommendation to approve the 2010-2011 Membership & Chapter Development Committee Action 

Plans. 


The Membership & Chapter Development Committee recommendations approval of its 2010-2011 

Action Plans. 

Background 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by the Membership & Chapter Development 

Committee during a conference call on November 3, 2009 for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 

Goal # 5 

To identify and meet the current and future needs of Members. 

Action Plans: 

MEMBERSHIP & CHAPTER 

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 


5.1 To provide and maintain workable mechanisms for identifying and addressing Member 

needs. 

• Implement a mechanism for information sharing among and between Chapters and 

CSEA such as membership share shops or quarterly Chapter membership conference 

calls. 

• Identify specific Member issues and individual Members willing to serve on 

subcommittees or task forces focused on solutions. 

• Oversee the development and maintenance of a vibrant mechanism for Member 

suggestions and feedback on the CSEA Website that funnels communication directly to 

an appropriate and responsive resource. 

• Create a task force to identify and evaluate new ideas or proposals for new Member 

programs. 

5.2 To provide active and continuous support for the various CSEA committees. 

• Search for opportunities for joint sponsorship of programs benefiting the membership. 

• Identify and promote the actions of other committees as recognized Member benefits. 

30

Membership Committee 2010-2011 Action Plans 

Page 2 

Goal # 6 

To support and strengthen CSEA/NAEA/Chapter partnerships. 

Action Plans: 

6.1 To identify opportunities for CSEA, Chapters and NAEA to work together on any mutually 

beneficial program or event. 

• Develop a means for CSEA and local Chapters to partner with NAEA to establish a more 

highly visible presence at IRS Tax Forums in California and Nevada. 

• Integrate the benefits of membership at the national, state and local Chapter level into 

one message that promotes the enhanced value of dual membership. 

6.2 To support local Chapter efforts by providing information and CSEA resources. 

Goal # 8 

• Encourage and support local Chapter efforts to develop and implement programs to 

attract and provide service to Members. 

• Review the process to provide timely status updates on new Members, suspensions and 

terminations to ensure its effectiveness. 

To ensure a stable and growing membership. 

Action Plans: 

8.1 To constantly seek out opportunities to promote Membership and facilitate the 

application process. 

• To review and evaluate the promotion efforts on a continual basis to recommend 

necessary changes. 

• To continually identify new ways to reach out to SEE passers. 

8.2 To attract and retain Members by continuous efforts to increase Member benefits 

• Work with Chapters to create effective ongoing programs for the retention and 

recruitment of Members to ensure continuing membership growth on an annual basis. 

31


Nominating Committee 


Subject 

Nominating Committee 2010-2011 Action Plans. 


5.B.VIII. 

The Nominating Committee recommends the Board approve their 2010-2011 Action Plans as outlined 

below. 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 

BOARD ACTION 

7.1 To provide for the effective and efficient governance and management of the Society 

• Review Charge to the Committee and Procedures 

• Committee timeline, candidate requests, potential interview questions and topics; discuss 

confidential nature of Committee’s work, responsibility of Committee members, and criteria 

for selection process 

• Verify eligibility of potential candidates 

• Conduct potential candidate interviews 

• Report to Board 

• Letter to Board of Directors giving list of candidates (if not announced at Board of Directors 

meeting) 

• Letter to nominees requesting candidate statement for magazine 

• Prepare letter from Chair regarding candidates running from the floor for magazine 

32

Nominating Committee 2010-2011 Action Plans 

Page 2 

7.2 To increase the Committee’s awareness of all potential candidates 

• Article to CSEA for September issue of magazine 

• Candidate solicitation letter 

• Follow up to candidate solicitation letter 

• Names of potential candidates to staff 

• Fax roster of potential candidates to Committee Members 

• Review responses to request for potential candidates 

• Follow-up telephone calls to potential candidates 

• Send letter to schedule interview appointment 

• Nomination form to Board of Directors meeting for Committee Members 

• List to Presidential nominee of those expressing interest in serving on committees 

• Inform interviewed candidates of decision 

• Follow-up letters to interviewed candidates 

33


Political Action Committee 


Subject 

PAC 2010-2011 Action Plans 


PAC recommends the Board approve their 2010-2011 Action Plans as outlined below. 

Action Plans: 

2.1 Assist Legislative Affairs Committee to the extent requested with grassroots efforts. 

2.2 To meet the $10,000 fundraising goal for 2009 by sponsoring a raffle and providing 

education and support to Chapter leaders to promote voluntary contributions. 

2.3 Maintain a minimum prudent reserve of $39,000. 

2.4 Explore partnerships with NAEA PAC to raise awareness of the value of PACs to 

Enrolled Agents. 

34 

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

5.B.IX.


Professional Education Production Committee (PEPCO) 


Subject 

PEPCO 2010-2011 Action Plans. 


PEPCO recommends the Board approve their 2010-2011 Action Plans as outlined below. 

Background 

5.B.X. 

The following Action Plans were reviewed and approved by PEPCO via conference call on October 20, 

2009 for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. 

Goal # 3 

To provide educational opportunities and resources to assist our Members in their professional 

growth 

Action Plan: 

To continually evaluate all the programs under the Committee’s supervision and recommend 

program modifications as appropriate. 

3.1 Super Seminar 

• Review and evaluate most recent seminar 

• Analyze data from evaluations for changes 

• Request for volunteers to assist with registration and speaker introductions 

3.2 California State Tax Agency Representation (C-STAR) 

• Review and evaluate most recent C-STAR 


• Provide onsite assistance as needed 

35 

BOARD ACTION

3.3 CPE Online 

• Review and evaluate most recent CPE Online offerings 


• Determine sessions to be included from Super Seminar sessions 

• Identify and get commitment from volunteers to write questions for selected 

sessions 

• Identify volunteers to review questions to ensure accuracy and compatibility with materials 

• Evaluate continuation of program 

3.4 Tax Boat 

• Review and evaluate most recent Tax Boat to improve future Tax Boat offerings 


• Identify Destination/Dates/Education topic(s) and Speaker(s) for the next Tax Boat 

3.5 Tax Practice Management Workshop 

• Review and evaluate most recent workshop 


• Increase awareness of Tax Practice Management Workshop 

• Promote to Chapters as a turn-key opportunity workshop. 

3.6 digiTAX 

• Review and evaluate most recent digiTAX offerings 



3.7 Education Shareshop 

• Review and evaluate most recent shareshop 


• Facilitate the sharing of the information among Chapters regarding Chapter sponsored 

educational events 

3.8 Basic Tax Class 

• Annually update the provider list, as necessary 

3.9 SEE Class 

• Annually update the referral system, as necessary 

• Notify NAEA whenever changes occur 

36

PIA COMMITTEE 

Subject 

2010-2011 Action Plans 

Background 

2010-2011 ACTION PLANS 

The Public Information & Awareness Committee recommends the Board approve their 2010-2011 

Action Plans as outlined below. 

Goal # 1: To enhance the visibility and recognition of Enrolled Agents as the preferred 

tax professionals and to promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

Action Plans: 

1.1 Develop, implement and enhance statewide public awareness programs 

5.B.XI 

• Study, implement, and expand the Marketing Plan as needed to assist the Society in 

achieving its Mission, Goals, and Vision. 

• Establish successful fundraising programs to ensure the success of the EA Promo and 

Major Media Marketing (3M) funds. 

• Create an ongoing program to use EA Promo Fund contributions for an annual public 

awareness campaign. 

• Ensure that the Public Disaster Service Subcommittee is staffed and active in each local 

Chapter; provide updated materials and training. Promote the Program to the public 

through press releases and other appropriate means. 

• Review and revise current statewide strategies and programs (such as the radio ads) as 

necessary. 

1.2 Maximize the use of technology to promote Enrolled Agents. 

• Work with the PIA Technology Task Force to investigate and report various new uses of 

technology and help ensure that the Society takes advantage of all available 

technological tools. 

• Improve disbursement of news releases, press kits, and other Society information 

electronically. 

37

2010-2011 Action Plans 

Page 2 

1.3 Encourage Members to promote the Enrolled Agent status to the general public and the 

media. 

• Recommend the establishment of a Society award to recognize the PIA efforts of 

individuals and/or Chapters. 

• Identify and share new ideas for the promotion and marketing of the EA designation and 

the benefits of membership in CSEA. 

• Create additional “canned speeches” and promote the CSEA SpEAkers BurEAu to make 

presentations to groups around the state, including schools. 

• Create new ways to encourage use of ‘The’ Tax Professional” and the “We SpEAk Tax” 

service mark as a promotional tool for CSEA Members 

1.4 Promote the desirability of becoming an Enrolled Agent as a career choice. 

• Work with the Membership & Chapter Development Committee and CSEA Education 

Foundation Scholarship Committee to promote the EA designation to non-EA tax 

professionals and to students interested in a financial or accounting career. 

1.5 Promote the awareness of the designation of Enrolled Agent to federal and state taxing 

agencies and professional tax and accounting organizations. 

• Promote the EA designation to professional tax and accounting organizations as well as 

taxing and regulatory agencies. 

Goal # 4: To provide effective communication with Members and the public. 

4.1 Promote the various PIA activities of the Society through the available CSEA channels 

of communication. 

• Work with the Chapters to ensure thorough, effective use of the Society’s press releases 

and press kits. 

• Provide and promote Member “Tax Experts” for the use of print, broadcast and 

electronic media. 

• Work with staff to create a Client Tax Newsletter to appear in a fall issue of California 

Enrolled Agent. 

38


Executive Committee 


Subject 

2010-2011 Meeting Schedule 


The Executive Committee recommends approval of the meeting schedule as follows. 

Background 

The Executive Committee is responsible for oversight of the presentation to the Board regarding Board 

meeting dates for the next fiscal year. This occurs at the January meeting each year to provide staff the 

opportunity to make necessary hotel arrangements and allow individuals planning to be on the Board to 

finalize their calendars. 

Description 

Meetings already scheduled for the remainder of the 2009-2010 fiscal year follow. 

2009 - 2010 

Fri-Mon. January 8-10, 2010 Sacramento, California 

Friday January 8 Jim Stern Legislative Day 

Executive Committee Meeting 

Chairs Council 

Saturday January 9 Board & Committee Meetings 

Board Meeting 

Finance & Budget Meeting - approximately ½ hour 

following Board adjournment 

Mon-Wed. May 10-12, 2010 Las Vegas “A” Super Seminar, Flamingo Las 

Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 

Thurs.-Sat. May 13-15, 2010 Las Vegas “B” Super Seminar, 

Flamingo Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 

Mon.-Sat. May 31 – June 5, 2010 Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno, Nevada 

39 

BOARD 

ACTION 

5.C.

Monday May 31 Executive Committee 


Tuesday June 1 Board & Committee Meetings 

Wednesday June 2 Board Meeting 

Thurs.-Sat. June 3-5 Reno Super Seminar, Reno, NV, 

Grand Sierra Hotel and Casino 

Tues.-Sun. June 22-27, 2010 CSEA 2010 Annual Meeting 

DoubleTree Hotel Sonoma Wine County, 

Rohnert Park, CA 

Tuesday June 22 Education 

Wednesday June 23 Education 

Jim Reed Memorial Golf Tournament 

Bowling Tournament 

Thursday June 24 Education 

General Session 

CSEA Caucus (if needed) 

Town Hall Meeting (time permitting) 

Grand Banquet Reception 

Award Presentations 

Grand Banquet / Installation 

Friday June 25 Member Breakfast 

Education 

Chapter Presidents Workshop 

New CSEA Director Orientation 



Saturday June 26 Board of Directors Meeting & Orientation 

Committee Meetings 

Sunday June 27 Board Meeting 

2010 - 2011 

Fri.-Sun. September 24-26, 2010 Sacramento, California 

Friday September 24 State Tax Agencies Liaison Meeting 



Saturday September 25 Board & Committee Meetings 

Sunday September 26 Board Meeting 

Fri-Mon. January 7-9, 2011 Sacramento, California 

Friday January 7 Jim Stern Legislative Day 



Saturday January 8 Board & Committee Meetings 

Sunday January 9 Board Meeting 

Finance & Budget Meeting - approximately ½ hour 

following Board adjournment 

40

Tues-Thurs. May 10-12, 2011 Las Vegas Super Seminar, Bally’s, Las Vegas, 

NV 

Mon.-Sat. May 30 – June 4, 2011 Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno, Nevada 

Monday May 31 Executive Committee 


Tuesday May 31 Board & Committee Meetings 

Wednesday June 1 Board Meeting 

Thurs.-Sat. June 2-4 Reno Super Seminar, Reno, NV, 

Grand Sierra Hotel and Casino 

Tues.-Sun. June 21-26, 2011 San Gabriel Valley Chapter area 

Tuesday June 21 CSEA Annual Meeting 

Education 

Wednesday June 22 Education 

Jim Reed Memorial Golf Tournament 

Thursday June 23 Education 

General Session 

CSEA Caucus (if needed) 

Town Hall Meeting (time permitting) 

Grand Banquet Reception 

Award Presentations 

Grand Banquet / Installation 

Friday June 24 Member Breakfast 

Education 

Chapter Presidents Workshop 

New CSEA Director Orientation 



Saturday June 25 Board of Directors Meeting & Orientation 

Committee Meetings 

Sunday June 26 Board Meeting 

41

SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS 

42



Subject 

Approval of 2008 – 2009 Audit 


The Audit Committee recommends approval of the 2008 – 2009 Audited Financial Statements as 

presented. 

Background 

Ms. Debbie McCardell-Ask, CPA of John Waddell & Company, CPAs presented the draft of the 

following reports to the Audit Committee at the September 2009 meeting. There is no Management 

Recommendation Letter being presented since the auditors did not find any items of concern. 

Description 

The 2008 – 2009 Audited Financial Statements are on the following pages for your review. 

43 

AUDIT COMMITTEE 


6.A.


January 9 - 10, 2010 Board Meeting 

Subject 

Recommendation regarding Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. 


The Executive Committee will have an in-depth review of the CRM software proposal and will make its 

recommendation at the Board meeting if one is forthcoming. 

Background 

MemberMax, CSEA’s current CRM software and CYMA, CSEA’s accounting package, are fully 

depreciated. The MemberMax software has not been as easy or flexible to use. Any needed changes 

take two to four weeks with additional costs incurred for any fix needed. Many staff members are still 

not capable of extracting reports or sending group emails even though additional funds were approved 

a few years ago for additional training. Any changes that need to be made requiring specific 

programming must be written by the MemberMax employees since the code and software are 

proprietary. CYMA works well but we have reached the point where major upgrades will have to be 

made to keep it viable, including an upgrade of F9 which CYMA is now running with. However, the 

CYMA software, which is six years old, and MemberMax software, which is four years old, are not 

integrated. This means that staff members spend a significant amount of time duplicating data input 

within each system. The Finance Coordinator must wait for accounting information regarding both 

membership dues and registration information for CSEA events from MemberMax to be able to finalize 

any accounting period instead of having immediate access to the data to complete financials more 

quickly. 

Following review of software packages that would provide the needed functions, the IT Administrator is 

recommending the purchase of Microsoft Dynamics. It is fully integrated with all web-based features 

which includes both GP (Great Plains accounting package) and CRM (customer relationship 

management) which is fully integrated with GP that will eliminate duplicate work for both membership 

and accounting functions with appropriate levels of training so the program can be optimized by all staff 

members. Timeline – GP would start to be implemented as soon as approval is received from the 

Board, which would allow for side-by-side capabilities until the fiscal year is closed for audit and 

assurance that everything is running appropriately. Implementation of CRM would take place following 

all registration and reporting required for Super Seminar 2010, after the close of the fiscal year. 

Microsoft Dynamics is not a proprietary package that will necessitate any specialized programming that 

staff can’t do once the package is implemented. Changes can be done internally using commonly 

recognized programming language. 

Highlights of Microsoft Dynamics provided by Business-Solutions.com 

56 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


6.B.

• Highly customizable CRM application/platform. 

• Familiar Microsoft Outlook-like user interface. 

• Robust reporting engine for sharing between users in a variety of formats, including Excel, 

HTML, PDF, XML and CSV. 

• 2009 CRM Market Leader - ROI Awards 

• CRM Magazine Leader, 2008 - Enterprise, Midmarket, and BI 

Microsoft Dynamics for customer relationship management empowers employees to boost sales 

(registrations), satisfaction, and service with automated CRM that’s easy to use, customize, and 

maintain. Microsoft Dynamics business software offers a wide spectrum of feature-rich, affordable CRM 

solutions to help companies meet their specific needs. 

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM suite of products provides solutions around Sales Force Automation, 

Customer Service and Marketing. 

Sales Force Automation - Clients can get their sales force quickly up to speed with the advanced but 

easy-to-use features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Customers can take advantage of a highly intuitive 

interface and embedded Microsoft Office capabilities to boost sales (registration) productivity, 

streamline sales cycles, automate lead management, and gain insights to drive more sales. The Sales 

Force Automation solution supports the following functions: Planning, Leads, Opportunities, Accounts, 

Productivity, Pipeline, Workflows, Mobility, and Analytics. 

Customer Service - With Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer service solutions, clients can transform 

customer (Member) service into a strategic asset. With a 360-degree view of the customer, agents can 

resolve issues quickly and reduce handling times with advanced customer service software. By 

automated processes, clients can also reduce costs and help to ensure consistent customer service is 

delivered across all touch-points. The Customer Service solution supports the following functions: 

Accounts, Cases, Contracts, Knowledge Base, Scheduling, Workflows, Mobility, and Analytics. 

Marketing - With marketing management and automation software from Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it 

helps customers to market more effectively, improve productivity, and gain actionable insight into 

marketing campaigns. The Marketing solution supports the following functions: Data, Segmentation, 

Planning, Execution, Events, Response, Internet Marketing, Productivity, Workflows, Mobility, and 

Analytics. 

The CRM solutions and capabilities within Microsoft Dynamics connect closely to other Microsoft 

technologies that CSEA already use. This brings together data, helping staff members to answer 

Member questions without making the Member wait. 

When employees use the CRM functionalities of Microsoft Dynamics, they work within a familiar 

Microsoft software environment. This helps reduce the distraction of having to learn and work with 

disparate software tools. 

Microsoft Dynamics solutions are typically implemented by a Microsoft partner with the right industry 

and technical expertise. Microsoft Dynamics CRM and its global community of partners offer flexible, 

easy-to-use CRM solutions designed for many industries including the not-for-profit segment such as 

CSEA. 

We are all aware that software only provides the foundation for the work that must be done. The partner 

that has been selected for the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics is CBIZ Technologies. They were 

57

created in 1992 as a full-service technology solutions provider. As a member company of CBIZ, CBIZ 

Technologies has served more than 1,500 clients. More information about CBIZ Technologies can be 

found at www.cbiztechnologies.com. 

CBIZ Technologies has experienced tremendous growth by focusing on their mission: To form 

partnerships with our clients to improve their business operations through the use of technology. We 

take a team approach to ensure that the right tools are selected followed by comprehensive 

implementation, training and ongoing support. 

One of the crucial pieces to the California Society of Enrolled Agents is providing integration between 

all aspects of operation. The CRM will handle Member management, booking events, and more. The 

Point-of-Sale (POS)/Accounting will handle the dues, General Store and payment for events. The 

CSEA information system will integrate with technologies, to create a more efficient environment for 

employees and increased cost savings and productivity for the Society. 

Upon successful implementation and integration of an information system, CSEA will have 

unsurpassed efficiency for the entire organization and a high level customer service to staff, and 

Members. 

Now comes the difficult part, the cost of what is being proposed. The proposal from CBIZ Technologies 

is included for your information and a more in-depth understand regarding what is being proposed. 

Some additional items of note: 

• Their hourly rate was reduced to $160/hour and includes the web development (both the 

storefront/shopping cart AND the member portal, which are all area we have been struggling 

with for sometime), as well as the integration between GP and CRM. 

• The licensing pricing and services estimation for the GP project can be reduced substantially if 

we remove the Fixed Assets module and the Encore Recurring Billing module. These can 

always be added at a later date. Fixed Assets can be tracked in Excel , as it currently is, until 

the module is implemented, if ever, and the billing can be done manually (with possibility of 

alerts)…Eliminating these modules from the initial phase would save approximately $11K in 

licensing costs and 4-5 days in consulting services (up to $6400). 

• Only the software licensing and 1 st year support costs are due up front - our services are time 

and materials based, and are billed as services are performed. 

Item Investment 

Microsoft Dynamics GP, Third Party Add- $24,290.00 

Ons, and 1st Year Support Plans 

CBIZ Professional Services – Estimated $46,720.00 

Implementation of GP Solution (292 Median 

Hours) 

Dynamics GP Project TOTAL $71,010.00 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM and 1st Year $12,032.20 

Support Plans 

CBIZ Professional Services–Estimated $24,000.00 

Implementation of CRM Solution (150 

Median Hours) 

Dynamics CRM Project TOTAL $36,032.20 

CBIZ Custom Development Services: $12,800.00 

Storefront with Shopping Cart and 

58

integration to Dynamics GP; Member Portal 

with integration to Dynamics CRM (80 

Median Hours) 

Grand Total, Dynamics GP & CRM $119,842.20 

Of major concern is what an investment like this would do to our cash-flow if it were to be paid for 

throughout the implementation process. We are currently investigating financing options through both 

CBIZ Technologies and US Bank. Detailed information is currently not available but we will have 

specifics for consideration at the meeting. 

This is a difficult proposal for the current economic condition of the Society so it is not being made 

lightly. We have been struggling to be able to effectively move forward with more effective and efficient 

systems so the Members and Chapters can be better served. Without an additional investment, we will 

continue to band-aid things together and spend money on specific projects but they will never get us to 

where we need to be in today’s world regarding better customer service for the membership. 

59

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

60

NEW BUSINESS 

61



Subject 

Director’s Request for Agenda Items 

Background 

Any Director can request an item be placed on the Agenda during this meeting for the Board’s 

consideration when called for by the Chair. 

62 

NEW 

BUSINESS 

8.A.


January 9 – 10, 2010 Board Meeting 

Subject 

At the September 2009 Board Meeting, the Board approved the San Gabriel Valley Chapter to host the 

2011 Annual Meeting and the Far Northern Chapter to host the 2012 Annual Meeting. Therefore, 

Chapter hosts are needed for the 2013 and 2014 Annual Meetings 

Background 

At the September 2003 Board meeting it was decided that the 2005 and 2006 Annual Meeting would be 

held prior to the beginning of the Reno Super Seminar. In January 2006, the Board approved hosting of 

the Annual Meeting back in a Chapter area. 

Description 

If your Chapter is willing host either the 2013 or 2014 Annual Meeting, please contact staff. Upon 

completion of discussions with staff, your Chapter must submit a request in writing to the Board for its 

consideration to award the honor of hosting the Annual Meeting. 

Although not inclusive, some of the host Chapter Annual Meeting responsibilities include: 

• Determine Host Chair and subcommittee Chairs 

• Determine theme and logo 

• Coordinate onsite registration (volunteers, registration bags, etc.) 

• Coordinate Jim Reed Memorial Golf Tournament (golf course, format, times, food and 

beverages, contests, prizes, etc.) 

• Coordinate Grand Banquet (live band, other entertainment, theme/color, decorate, etc.) 

• Coordinate publicity (write and submit articles for the magazine, BEAcon, etc.) 

• Coordinate any alternative activities (miniature golf, bowling, etc.) 

Special considerations for each Chapter wishing to host the Annual Meeting are: 

• CSEA staff retains signatory authority over all contracts unless the host Chapter wishes to pick 

up the entire cost for the expenditure. 

• The CSEA Board approves the overall budget for the Annual Meeting; however, host Chapters 

may also have their own individual budget to enhance/supplement expenditures. 

• The host Chapter is required to maintain proper records of all correspondence and expenditures 

for submission to CSEA staff. 

63 

NEW BUSINESS 

8.B.

Annual Meeting Host Chapter 

Page 2 

Although not inclusive, some of CSEA’s responsibilities include: 

• Source and secure a venue for the Annual Meeting (includes contract negotiations and signing). 

• Work closely with the host Chapter to ensure timelines are adhered to and deadlines are met. 

• Determine appropriate room set-ups to accommodate all programs. 

• Determine food and beverage for various programs. 

• Determine onsite General Session volunteers. 

64

REPORTS 

65



Subject 

CSEA First Vice President Kim Kastl, EA - Report to Board of Directors 

Background 

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT’S 

REPORT 

9.A.I. 

I never expected to have this much fun – but I am! This CSEA gig is really a good one! It is so great 

after being involved in the initial planning by President Shaw to see the dynamic work that has begun to 

be done by troops of CSEA volunteers along with CSEA staff. Policy Governance is in full swing and I 

think we have begun to see the advantages of having adopted it. Cool. Okay, there’s still a lot to be 

done, but progress is being made. 

I attended the November NAEA meeting in Washington which was my first NAEA meeting. Day one 

there was a presentation on body language by expert Janine Driver. In a very humorous way she 

taught us about body language base lines, handshakes, steepling and powerful questions to ask. By all 

accounts this was a very influential course as people talked about and used her techniques throughout 

the weekend – so be careful I will be evaluating each and every one of you in January! 

The next day Commissioner Shulman spoke to those in attendance at NAEA on improving service to 

make voluntary compliance easier for taxpayers while at the same time enforcing the law to make sure 

everyone meets their obligation to pay taxes. Commissioner Shulman stressed several key initiatives 

that he wants to accomplish during his tenure. In the face of increasing globalization of tax 

administration, he has stepped up IRS activity on a variety of international and corporate tax issues. In 

the face of an aging workforce, Commissioner Shulman has created the Workforce of Tomorrow task 

force to ensure that in five years the IRS has the leadership and workforce ready for the next 15 years 

and to help make the IRS the best place to work in government. We shall see… 

I also attended the APEX (Affiliate Presidents Exchange) meeting where State Presidents from around 

the country meet, network, share information and try to solve common problems. It is reassuring to 

know that we are all “in this together” and have common purposes. This truly was the highlight of the 

weekend. 

On Sunday, the NAEA Board of Directors met and resolved with what seemed to be mutual resolution 

on the EVP Search Committee issues. I am sure President Shaw will address that in his President’s 

Report. 

After returning from Washington I immediately turned around and headed to Tokyo, Japan to teach, 

visit with and learn more about our Japanese Affiliate. These are truly an amazing group of people who 

struggle with the same things in their everyday tax practices that we do. The seminar was over three 

days with my classes for four hours each morning. No matter how much I prepared I was still surprised 

at what they wanted and needed to know. For instance I was asked to give a lesson on the basics of 

estimated taxes. So after going over the beginning to end of estimates, projections, etc., I find out that 

there is no withholding from wages in Japan and the concept of the W-4 was a “foreign concept”☺. 

66

Except for this sort of difference all in all, their system is quite similar to ours and teaching them was a 

lot of fun. 

Speaking of fun, that’s exactly what I had in my off hours and when the seminar was finished. My 

husband, Norbert, and I were treated like royalty. On our first day there we were invited to the U.S. 

Embassy for lunch and a tour (unusual given security issues). JSEA President Mitsuo Tsuchida, EA 

has a contact at the Embassy and we discussed with him the necessity of adding CSEA to the list of 

Embassy referral sources when U.S. citizens need help with their taxes. This is particularly important 

now that the IRS no longer has an office at the Embassy. This was well received and I have 

maintained that contact since I returned. 

We were equally honored on our last day when we were invited to the office of a local accountant, Mr. 

Tani, which was facilitated by our prior year CSEA Booster of the Year, Fumio Otaki. We discussed 

mutual issues in operating tax and accounting offices and I was treated to a tour and full explanation of 

how his office is run. The best part – each time we entered the office area all the workers would stand 

up and bow. No chance of getting that to happen in my office! 

Among the other things we did over our nine days in Japan - we had a fantastic dinner with Mitsuo, 

Fumio and some of the students from the class (ask me to see the picture). Tomoko Ito and her new 

husband, Ko, also showed us around Tokyo which even included a rugby match between the top two 

rival universities! We went for walks in beautiful Japanese gardens and visited ancient Shrines and 

Temples and had an amazing visit to Mt. Fuji (a.k.a. Fugi-san). All-in-all it was more than worth the 

work that went into preparing for the classes and I feel as though I have left true friends behind in 

Japan. 

As, I write this I am off to Germany to spend the holidays with family and will be returning to 

Sacramento four days after my return! I hope that all of you have wonderful holidays and are prepared 

to head into another productive tax season! 

Kim Kastl, EA, CSEA 1 st VP 

67



Subject 

CSEA Second Vice President Jean Nelsen, EA - Report to Board of Directors 

Background 

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT’S 

REPORT 

9.A.II. 

This is my first report as 2 nd Vice President of CSEA. One of the things that I am enjoying about my job 

as 2 nd Vice President is that I have varied responsibilities and will be involved in many committees and 

meetings with many different organizations. I am going to give you a brief description of some of the 

things I have been involved with since the September Board Meeting. 

In October I attended, along with Sharon Stone Smith, the Franchise Tax Board Advisory Board. This 

was my first opportunity to attend this meeting. The Chair of this Board is Selvi Stanislaus. Ms. 

Stanislaus is a member of the CSEA Education Foundation in addition to her duties at the Franchise 

Tax Board. The other advisory board Members are an impressive group of individuals representing 

every aspect of taxation from education, retired persons, software developers, research companies and 

yes even those of us on the front lines as preparers. During this day we were given reports on the 

status of pending bills and the possibilities for proposed new legislation. I have done a separate report 

on this meeting and you should look for that report for more details. 

I am also a Member of the E-ACT Task Force-. This Task Force has met via telephone conference in 

October and December 2009 and I was pleased to be able to attend both of those meetings. 

I am the cognizant officer for PEPCO. This Committee had a conference call meeting in October to 

develop and approve the action plans for the 2010-2011 year. In December PEPCO also hosted one of 

their many Education Shareshops. This meeting is where the Education Chairs of all of the Chapters 

have the opportunity to share information with each other. I enjoy getting to know more about each of 

the Chapters and what they are presenting to their Members in the area of education. 

I am the Chair of the TEAR Task Force - It is the responsibility of TEAR to review the ways we are 

currently using technology and to research ways that we can improve our current systems. In 

September the Board approved funding for a CSEA branding upgrade and the TEAR Task Force is 

working hard to ensure that the information that is on our website is in a format that will give our 

Members viable and easy information. We have been reviewing the Site map of the current website 

with the idea of improving the site to where website attendees will be able to find what they need in one 

to two mouse clicks. Cliff Weimer was the behind the scenes camera person who created a video 

recording of the September Board Meeting and TEAR is reviewing this process to see if it is a viable 

media to allow Members who aren’t in attendance to experience at least a portion of our Board 

Meetings. We are also exploring the concept of replacing some of our Committee and Board Meetings 

with virtual meetings which would allow Members to attend who don’t have the time to devote 

weekends away from their families and businesses. 

68

I am also the Vice President of the CSEA Education Foundation. The Foundation held a meeting on 

October 29 th , 2009. An important aspect of the Foundation is the approval of the scholarships that are 

so important to our Members and potential Members. We were able to accomplish this at that meeting 

along with strategizing around marketing of the Foundation and the potential for procuring grant 

monies. 

In October I also spent a very productive day at the CSEA offices along with 1 st Vice President, Kim 

Kastl. During this meeting we were able to sit down with CSEA staff members and brainstorm some 

ideas that they had regarding the implementation of the very ambitious work load that CSEA Members 

and staff have undertaken this year. 

In November President Shaw chaired a conference call meeting of the Chairs Council. I was in 

attendance at that meeting along with the Chairs of the Committees that I am cognizant officer of which 

are PEPCO and Finance and Budget. 

I have also been in attendance at some other functions during the last few months where I wasn’t 

representing CSEA. I attended the November NAEA Board Meeting and have attended several of my 

Chapter, Golden Gate, Board and Dinner meetings. 

I hope that you can see what a varied and interesting job it is being an Officer of CSEA. 

Thank You, 

Jean Nelsen, EA 

2 nd Vice President 

69



Subject 

CSEA Treasurer Alma Guenther, EA - Report to Board of Directors 

Background 

9.A.III. 

The following preliminary Comparative Statements of Financial Position as of 10/31/09 and 10/31/08, 

preliminary Comparative Statement of Activities for PAC as of 10/31/09 and 10/31/08, and preliminary 

Comparative Statements of Changes in Net Assets, for the fiscal periods ended 10/31/09 and 10/31/08 

are being presented subject to the Audit Committee's independent verification. It is the hope of the 

Committee that the reports are simple to read and understand, yet at the same time, provide enough 

information that the Board can make fiscally responsible decisions. I welcome your feedback regarding 

these reports. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Alma Guenther, EA 

CSEA Treasurer 

70 

TREASURER’S 

REPORT

9.A III.1. California Society of Enrolled Agents 

Comparative Statement of Financial Position 

All Funds Except PAC October 31 

Year to Date Year to Date Difference 

2009 2008 

ASSETS 

Current Assets 

Petty Cash 100 

100 

- 

Checking USB Operating Acct (25,087) 

(58,331) 

33,244 

Checking Member Insurance Acct 496 

128 

368 

Savings - USB Money Market 21,470 

80,627 

(59,157) 

Savings - Bank of America Money Market 20,438 

20,246 

192 

Savings - Morgan Stanley Operating 310,112 

167,657 

142,455 

Savings - Morgan Stanley Capital Reserve 71,247 

70,432 

815 

Savings - Morgan Stanley LAF 37,862 

29,070 

8,792 

Savings - Morgan Stanley EA Promo/3M 63,224 

55,507 

7,717 

Certificates of Deposit 200,183 

349,000 

(148,817) 

Total Cash 700,045 

Other Assets 

Accounts Receivable 4,432 

Inventory 20,015 

Prepayments 2,973 

Loan to Solano-Napa Chapter 4,200 

Intercompany Receivable from Foundation 9,555 

Interfund Receivable from PAC 5,377 

Total other Assets 46,551 

Fixed Assets 

Land 102,500 

Buildings 446,219 

Computers 115,042 

Office 71,962 

Accumulated Depreciation (338,711) 

Net Fixed Assets 397,012 

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 

Total Assets 1,143,609 

Current Payables 

A Accounts t Payable P bl 

52,489 52 489 

Accrued Vacation 49,185 

Deferred Revenue 5,763 

Miscellaneous Payables 2,642 

Intercompany Payable to Foundation 19,651 

Interfund Payable to PAC 17,043 

Total Liabilities 146,775 

Net Assets 

Unrestricted 

General Fund 454,977 

714,436 

4,053 

24,344 

2,175 

5,400 

45,757 

16,841 

98,570 

102,500 

448,894 

102,421 

71,962 

(306,947) 

418,830 

1,231,836 

44 44,737 737 

46,355 

5,701 

1,756 

60,285 

42,856 

201,690 

584,158 

(14,391) 

379 

(4,329) 

797 

(1,200) 

(36,201) 

(11,465) 

(52,018) 

- 

(2,675) 

12,622 

- 

(31,764) 

(21,818) 

(88,227) 

77,752 752 

2,830 

62 

887 

(40,634) 

(25,813) 

(54,916) 

(129,181) 

Restricted 

Capital Expenditure Fund 267,631 

230,677 

36,954 

Emergency Fund 96,405 79,195 17,210 

Legislative Action Fund 44,535 

35,466 

9,069 

EA Promo Campaign Fund 32,441 

22,007 

10,434 

3 M Promo Fund 100,416 

78,792 

21,624 

Membership Insurance Fund 429 (148) 577 

Total Net Assets 996,834 

Total Liabilities and Net Assets 1,143,609 

Change in Current Net Assets 260,048 

Accumulated Net Assets From Prior Fiscal Year 736,786 

Net Assets 996,834 

71 

1,030,146 

1,231,836 

221,387 

808,759 

1,030,146 

(33,312) 

(88,228) 

38,661 

(71,973) 

(33,312) 

9.A.III.1.

9.A.III.2. California Society of Enrolled Agents 

Comparative Income Statement 

All Funds Except PAC 

June 30, 2008 and June 20, 2009 

9.A.III.2. 

October 31, 2009 October 31, 2008 Difference 

DUES - NEW MEMBERS 18,679 

6,178 

12,501 

DUES - RENEWALS 449,374 

467,682 

(18,308) 

DUES - PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATES 25,400 

17,993 

7,407 

DUES - PROVISIONAL 224 

140 

84 

DUES - ENROLLED AFFILIATES 22,561 

23,004 

(443) 

DUES - PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATES 11,598 

9,892 

1,706 

DUES - INT'L ASSOC 236 

- 

236 

DUES - IEA 929 

1,223 

(294) 

DUES - STUDENT ASSOCIATE 798 

777 

21 

LATE FEES - DUES RENEWAL 4,770 

- 

4,770 

REGISTRATION FEES 44,995 

25,910 

19,085 

CPE FEES 320 

975 

(655) 

CANCELLATION FEES 30 

- 

30 

OPTIONAL MEAL TICKETS 1,494 

1,585 

(91) 

DISPLAY ADVERTISING 5,393 

9,623 

(4,230) 

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 60 

380 

(320) 

WEB BANNER ADS- PUBLIC - 

239 

(239) 

WEB REFERRAL FEES - 

20 

(20) 

MERCHANDISE SALES 9,729 

11,788 

(2,059) 

CONTRA- COS MERCHANDISE (729) 

(549) 

(180) 

SHIPPING & HANDLING REVENUE 582 

795 

(213) 

PAC ADMINISTRATION FEES 1,160 

1,588 

(428) 

FOUNDATION ADMINSTRATION FEES 2,725 

3,403 

(678) 

ROYALTIES - UBI - 

9 

(9) 

MEMBER INSURANCE PREMIUMS 11,543 543 22,364 364 (821) 

CONTRIBUTIONS - LEG. ACTION FUND 2,210 

3,207 

(997) 

SOLICITATION LETTER DONATIONS - LEG ACTION FUND 4,353 

- 

4,353 

CONTRIBUTIONS - EA PROMO FUND 2,386 

3,093 

(707) 

CONTRIBUTIONS 3 M FUND * (3,230) 

- 

(3,230) 

INTEREST - OPERATIONS 3,111 

7,752 

(4,641) 

INTEREST - LEG. ACTION FUND 104 

117 

(13) 

INTEREST - EA PROMO FUND 206 

116 

90 

MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE 105 

635 

(530) 

Total Revenue 611,116 

599,939 

11,177 

72




June 30, 2008 and June 20, 2009 

9.A.III.2. 

Events, Meetings and Travel 

FACILITIES RENTAL - OPERATIONS 1,305 

AUDIO/VISUAL - OPERATIONS 548 

FOOD & BEVERAGE - OPERATIONS 3,695 

OPTIONAL MEAL EXPENSES 1,518 

REGISTRANT BINDERS 554 

PRINTING - OPERATIONS 19,225 

ENGRAVING 19 

ROYALTIES EXPENSE-SYLLABI 518 

ROYALTIES EXPENSE-AUDIO TAPES 316 

SPEAKERS PER DIEM 53 

SPEAKERS LODGING 1,058 

SPEAKERS TRAVEL 3,678 

SPEAKERS FEES 2,589 

STAFF PER DIEM 297 

STAFF LODGING 640 

STAFF TRAVEL - OPERATIONS 2,536 

STAFF TRAVEL - LEG. ACTION FUND 80 

STAFF MISCELLANEOUS 50 

VOLUNTEER LODGING 10,445 

VOLUNTEER LODGING - LEG ACTION FUND 215 

VOLUNTEER TRAVEL OPERATIONS 6,633 

VOLUNTEER TRAVEL - LEG. ACTION FUND 583 

Total Events, Meetings and Travel 56,555 

SALARIES/EXEMPT 163,879 

TEMPORARY STAFF - 

PAYROLL TAXES 10,657 

PENSION PLAN 4,865 

HEALTH INSURANCE 12,859 

MEMBER DENTAL INSURANCE PREMIUMS 1,477 

WORKER'S COMP. INSURANCE 4,146 

Total Salaries 197,883 


73 

5,769 

732 

12,284 

1,638 

- 

19,500 

9 

1,473 

(6) 

41 

810 

- 

1,139 

400 

572 

2,519 

- 

10,252 

202 

9,183 

- 

66,517 

166,109 

1,080 

10,781 

4,983 

13,016 

2,088 

3,921 

201,978 

(4,464) 

(184) 

(8,589) 

(120) 

554 

(275) 

10 

(955) 

322 

12 

248 

3,678 

1,450 

(103) 

68 

17 

80 

50 

193 

13 

(2,550) 

583 

- 

(9,962) 

(2,230) 

(1,080) 

(124) 

(118) 

(157) 

(611) 

225 

(4,095)




June 30, 2008 and June 20, 2009 

9.A.III.2. 

General Expenses 


BUSINESS PARK INS., TRASH, MAINTENANCE 1,184 

3,231 

(2,047) 

BUILDING REPAIR & MAINTENANCE 140 

486 

(346) 

INSURANCE 3,839 

3,968 

(129) 

UTILITIES-ELEC., SEWER, WATER 2,100 

2,226 

(126) 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS 219 

1,255 

(1,036) 

PUBLICATIONS/SUBSCRIPTIONS - OPERATIONS 837 

683 

154 

OFFICE SUPPLIES OPERATIONS 2,608 

3,264 

(656) 

OFFICE SUPPLIES - LEG. ACTION FUND 200 

- 

200 

CARTRIDGES & RIBBONS 307 

804 

(497) 

PHOTOCOPY EXPENSE - OPERATIONS 4,882 

912 

3,970 

OFFICE JANITORIAL 1,100 

1,450 

(350) 

TELEPHONE EXPENSE OPERATIONS 2,924 

3,029 

(105) 

POSTAGE & UPS - OPERATIONS 11,432 

12,032 

(600) 

POSTAGE & UPS - LEG ACTION FD 67 

- 

67 

COMPUTER EQUIP/SERVICES 5,724 

8,281 

(2,557) 

COMPUTER-ON LINE SERVICE 2,087 

1,906 

181 

EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE CONTRACT 384 

1,839 

(1,455) 

PROFESSIONAL FEES OPERATIONS 39,560 

46,467 

(6,907) 

PROFESSIONAL FEES - LEG ACTION FUND - 

95 

(95) 

CREDIT CARD FEES OPERATIONS 7,247 

5,865 

1,382 

CREDIT CARD FEES - MEMBER INSURANCE ACCT 7 

- 

- 

7 

CREDIT CARD FEES - LEG ACTION FUND 10 

- 

10 

BANK SERVICE CHARGE FEES 184 

180 

4 

BANK SERVICE CHARGE FEES - LEG ACTION FD 95 

- 

95 

CONTRIBUTION EXPENSE - 

150 

(150) 

CONTINGENCY 75 

- 

75 

DEPRECIATION - OFFICE FURN. & EQUIPMT 3,558 

3,558 

- 

DEPRECIATION - COMPUTER EQUIPMT 1,910 

4,564 

(2,654) 

DEPRECIATION - BUILDING IMPROVEMT 3,950 

3,812 

138 

Total General Expenses 96,630 

Total Expenses 351,068 

Change in Net Assets 260,048 

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES - 

110,057 

378,552 

221,387 

3,558 

(13,427) 

(27,484) 

38,661 

(3,558) 

Cash Flow Surplus / Deficit 260,048 

217,829 

42,219 

- 

* There was a dispute regarding the timing of the turn in date for 2008-2009 PIA Matching Funds for three Chapters. 

It was decided to go ahead and pay these Chapters in fiscal year 2009-2010 for the 2008-2009 expenses. 

The negative figure represents the adjustment that had to be made to the 3 M Fund balance since the fund 

had already received the balance of the undisbursed PIA matching funds at the close of fiscal year 2008-2009. 

74

9.A.III.3 9.A.III.3 

REVENUE: 

CALIFORNIA SOCIETY OF ENROLLED AGENTS 

POLITICAL ACTION FUND 

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES AS OF OCTOBER 31 

Unaudited 

2009 2008 

YEAR YEAR 

TO DATE TO DATE DIFFERENCE 

Contributions 2,165 3,105 (940) 

Interest 3 777 (774) 

Raffle Income 0 480 (480) 

Raffle Prize Fund 0 1,970 (1,970) 

Solicitation Letter Donations 5,528 0 5,528 

TOTAL REVENUE 7,696 6,332 1,364 

EXPENSES: 

PAC Administration Fees 1,161 1,588 (427) 

Taxes 701 1,408 (707) 

Staff Travel 0 47 (47) 

Office Supplies 394 22 372 

Postage 1,852 1,852 

Printing 0 326 (326) 

Photocopy expense 93 0 93 

Telephone expense 32 1 31 

Computer On-Line Service 16 0 16 

Bank Service Charge Fees 158 173 (15) 

Credit Card Fees 10 72 (62) 

Bad Debt Expense 0 2,550 (2,550) 

Other Professional Fees 250 100 150 

Contributions paid p from PAC 9,000 , 1,000 , 8,000 , 

TOTAL EXPENSES 13,667 7,287 6,380 

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS (5,971) (955) (5,016) 

ASSETS: 

Cash and Cash Equivalents 87,944 76,016 11,928 

Interfund Receivable from General Fund 17,043 42,856 (25,813) 

TOTAL ASSETS 104,987 118,872 (13,885) 

LIABILITIES: 

Interfund Payable to General Fund 5,377 16,841 (11,464) 

NET ASSETS: 

TOTAL LIABILITIES 5,377 16,841 (11,464) 

Accumulated Net Assets 105,581 102,986 2,595 

Current Year Net Assets (5,971) (955) (5,016) 

TOTAL NET ASSETS 99,610 102,031 (2,421) 

TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS 104,987 118,872 (13,885) 

75



Subject 

2009-2010 Executive Vice President’s Goals 

Background 

At each Board meeting, an update is provided to keep the Board fully informed as to staff’s progress 

towards the EVP goals, which are aligned within the context of the CSEA goals to ensure everyone is 

working together toward the same end. 

Description 

Bold = Current status 

Plain text = Status update provided at prior Board meetings 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT 

REPORT 

1. To enhance the visibility, recognition and preferred acceptance of EAs, Enrolled Agents, 

as “The Tax Professionals” and to promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

9.B.I. 

A. Create electronic public service presentations to promote good tax preparation and the 

EA designation to the public. 

Status: 

• Twitter.com/EnrolledAgent has been created for EA services. 

• Portions of the CSEA Client Tax Newsletter have been rewritten as an 

electronic bulletin that will be issued through PRNewswire and ProfNet and 

through the Society’s electronic database beginning in January and 

continuing every two weeks. The publication is tentatively titled the 

California Enrolled Agent Tax-EAse Bulletin. Sample copies will be 

available at the January meeting. 

B. Arrange local interviews for CSEA Officers whenever feasible within each person’s 

Chapter area or while visiting other Chapters. 

Status: 

• Emails and phone calls were made in August for President’s visits; contacts have 

been made through CSEA’s PRNewswire Service as well. 

• Visit to Senator Mark Wyland set up for President Shaw and Ron Watts, EA, 

CSEA Director from Palomar Chapter when Mr. Shaw was in the area. 

76

2. To be an effective voice in advocacy for the rights of taxpayers and Enrolled Agents 

before all State levels of legislative and regulatory agencies and Federal agencies as 

deemed necessary. 

A. Include at least one Legislative History/Advocacy article in each issue of California 


Status: 

• Articles included in August and September editions. 

• Articles included in October, November, and December editions and 

prepared for the January issue. 

B. Develop training materials for the Legislative Affairs Committee and Chapter Legislative 

Chairs. 

Status: 

• Staff met with Aaron Read and Associates to discuss a new program. 

Information will be shared with Committee. 

C. Increase legislators’ awareness of the EA designation. 

Status: 

• Staff and volunteers attended seven fundraisers supported by CSEA PAC in 

August and September. 

• Contacts have been established to support follow-up visits in the Chapters and 

during CSEA Jim Stern Legislative Day in January. 

• Personal correspondence sent to legislative staff with copies of magazines 

and other materials. 

D. Enhance the development of the “grassroots” connection of Members to encourage 

establishment of relationships with their legislators. 

Status: 

• Staff has placed a Member survey in the California Enrolled Agent magazine. 

E. Develop a CSEA-PAC webpage. 

Status: 

• Web page has been reserved. 

• Implementation has been halted to coordinate with the outcome of the TEAR 

Task Force. 

• Implementation has been halted to coordinate with the outcome of the new 

branding program. 

F. Develop a template for a Legislative Update flash email. 

� Utilize this format when distributing news to Members 

Status: 

• Staff unsuccessfully attempted to learn a software program to produce flash 

emails. Twitter and csea.org will be used until a new plan is developed. 

• Staff successfully created a template in Publisher and has been testing this to 

key volunteers. 

• Flash emails of legislative updates have been utilized on an as-needed 

basis. 

77

G. Explore the possibility of hosting a political fundraiser for a key member of the California 

legislature serving in a critical position for CSEA issues. 

Status: 

• Staff finished initial research. 

• After discussing the pros and cons, the Legislative Affairs Committee 

decided not to pursue this at this time. 

• COMPLETED 

3. To provide educational opportunities and resources to assist our Members in their 

professional growth. 

A. Investigate taping and selling CSTAR and/or Annual Meeting education sessions. 

Status: 

• When a venue is selected for CSTAR, staff will investigate the possibility of 

taping the sessions. 

• For the Annual Meeting, staff is awaiting response from the hotel regarding 

their capabilities for letting us record the education sessions. 

B. CPE Certificates – Investigate the feasibility of automating access to online Members 

certificates anytime, anywhere, 24/7 for Members. 

Status: 

• Staff is looking into the capability of providing this service to our Members. 

• Implementation has been halted to coordinate with the design of the new 

CSEA website and possible new membership software. 

C. Increase the revenue generated from CPE online by 10%. 

� Increase name recognition for CPE online as a cost effective way to increase 

revenue 

Status: 

• Staff has generated an order form for the 2009 Supers CPE online tests that will 

be advertised in the California Enrolled Agent Magazine. 

• Staff sent a letter with a CPE online promotion to select CTEC registered 

preparers. 

• Staff promoted CPE online on csea.org homepage in November. 

• Utilization presently increasing in preparation for EA license renewal cycle. 

4. To provide effective communication with Members and the public. 

A. Staff to provide social networking opportunities through online venues (LinkedIn, 

Facebook, and other as they are discovered). 

Status: 

• Accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have been established. As of 

September 9, 2009: 

o Twitter followers: 165 

o Facebook fans: 24 

o Linked In CSEA group Members: 120 

• As of December 9, 2009: 

78

o Twitter followers: 222 

o Facebook fans: 40 

o Linked In CSEA group Members: 159 

5. To identify and meet the current and future needs of Members. 

A. Feedback from Members. 

Status: 

• A Member survey was sent to obtain feedback for the Board’s discussion 

regarding Tax Return Preparer issues. 

• E-ACT Task Force sent a survey to garner input from emeritus and recently 

retired Members. 

• Leadership survey developed and distributed to designated individuals to 

gather input for Board January discussion on leadership. 

• TEAR Task Force sent survey to CSEA Directors and committee Chairs to 

solicit input regarding the website site map in preparation for development 

of a new website. 

� Survey Members to see what they would find most useful for CSEA to provide as 

a service or alternative to current offerings. 

Status: 

• Member needs survey was completed and results were in the January 09 

Membership committee packet. 

B. Create a program/mechanism to drive additional Members to the website. 

� Develop a way of tracking users to the\New Member Welcome page. 

Status: 

• Website links are utilized continuously in all Society communication 

vehicles. 

• By directing Members to the website continuously through mass emails, 

we are getting more Members calling and requesting their username and 

passwords to login to the Members area of the website. 

C. Create an electronic publication that identifies and promotes specific Member benefits, 

and encourage use of the publication for new Member programs as well as part of the 

renewal process. 

Status: 

• New member benefits are being identified, in association with the Member Needs 

Survey that was done at the end of 2008. As these benefits are approved they 

will be promoted in electronic format in 2010. 

• Staff is looking into the ability to do podcasts and has reserved the 

“Enrolled Agent” name and “CaSocietyEA” at a few of the most popular 

sites. 

D. Investigate the feasibility of offering a new EA and/or Young EA “club”. 

Status: 

• This goal has been part of extensive discussion during several E-ACT Task 

Force conference calls. 

• The Board will be discussing how to involve younger EAs with a panel 

presentation at the January Board meeting during the strategic discussion. 

79

E. Increase the value of networking and mentorship opportunities for Members. 

� Investigate and implement at least three new ways for Members to network or be 

mentored 

Status: 

• This issue is part of the discussions taking place during the E-ACT Task Force 

meetings. 

• Mentoring has been a topic of discussion during the E-ACT Task Force 

meetings. 

6. To strengthen CSEA/NAEA/Chapter partnerships. 

A. Create a crossover NAEA/CSEA magazine and Chapter newsletter event to emphasize 

the Chapter, the State and the National Association are all working together but in 

different ways to serve the individual Member, their designation, and their practice. 

Status: 

• Discussion has taken place between staff and NAEA representatives regarding a 

joint magazine feature; date to be determined. 

B. Provide Chapter Presidents materials and information to enhance their ability to identify 

new leaders. 

Status: 

• This item has been discussed at the June 26, 2009 Chapter President’s 

Workshop and on the July 15 and August 19 conference calls. 

• New leaders were discussed during the October 21, 2009 Chapter 

Presidents conference call. 

• Chapter Presidents included in the survey regarding leadership for the 

Board’s January discussion. 

• This item will be discussed again during the January 20, 2010 Chapter 

Presidents’ call in relation to Nominating Committee responsibilities. 

7. To manage the Society in an effective and efficient manner. 

A. Increase office infrastructure efficiency. 

� Implement more efficient and organized use of share drives. 

Status: 

• Meeting scheduled with all staff members to meet and re-organize. 

B. Website. 

� Start a running list of items requested from Members that actually need to be on 

the website. 

Status: 

• TEAR Task Force members are providing input during each of its meetings. 

• Career job bank and mentoring clearinghouse added to list by TEAR Task 

Force. 

� Track and analyze what is being used to ensure the value of inclusion. 

Status: 

• The TEAR Task Force is doing this in relation to determining what should 

be on csea.org through the site map review. 

80

• Directors and committee Chairs will also be asked for their input. 

� Create charts and redo organizational structure of current site and/or investigate 

the possible redesign of a new site. 

Status: 

• This task is the topic of discussion at each TEAR Task Force meeting. 

• The Board approved money at the September meeting to move forward 

with a redesign of the website in conjunction with the development of a 

new logo. 

• Staff working with Wolfe Design on structure with input from the TEAR 

Task Force. 

8. To ensure a stable and growing Membership. 

A. Reaching out to our Members via phone calls to touch base for input on current issues of 

importance. 

� 50 long-term Member calls per month (except February through April 15). 

Status: 

• Staff is in the process of creating a script for all staff to make calls starting after 

October 15. 

• Lists can be run and calls can be made at any time on an ongoing basis. 

� All new Members called within two weeks following receipt of dues. 

Status: 

• A script has been developed for use during the calls. 

• Emails are sent to new Members upon joining, which has generated quite a 

bit of email communication with new Members. 

� Call all CSEA Members who are renewing Members between two to three years. 

Status: 

• Scripts will also be created for all staff to make calls each month. 

• Lists can be run and calls can be made at any time on an ongoing basis. 

B. Work with Chapters to create a program/process to reach out to each non-renewing 

Member so personal contact is made to achieve our retention goal of at least 92% in this 

difficult economic time. 

Status: 

• Lists sent to each Chapter for follow up for Members that have yet to join for the 

year. 

• Lists are updated and forwarded weekly now that the termination date has 

passed. 

• Terminations have been made and sending out yourside/myside letters to 

try and still get some of those non-renewing Members to renew. 

• Lists are sent to Chapters upon requests and efforts are still being made to 

get these Members reinstated. 

C. Develop and enhance Member promotional materials for the website regarding Member 

benefit offerings. 

� Ensure they can be distributed electronically. 

Status: 

81

• General store promotional materials are being updated on the website and 

highlighted in the magazine. 

• Specific member benefits are also highlighted on the website such as Quickfinder 

and CCH. 

• Agreements signed in December with two more companies for Member 

benefit offerings and these will be added to the website: BancCard and Life 

Pathe Insurance Services. 

82



Subject 

Staff Report 

Background 

At each Board meeting, a staff report is provided to keep the Board fully informed as to staff activities 

and the focus of their work. 

Catherine A. Apker, CAE, Executive Vice President 

STAFF REPORT 

• Follow-up from September Board meeting 

Three letters were drafted, reviewed and approved based on Board action at the September 

meeting. The Executive Committee met on October 9 to review and approve the three letters 

and each was sent to designated parties that same day. A copy of each letter sent and 

responses received are under Section 9 under Correspondence of the Board material. 

9.B.II. 

• 2009 Super Seminars 

The $23,772.90 attrition fee was eventually eliminated with the signing of contracts at another 

Harrah’s Entertainment property for future Super Seminars in Las Vegas. After 2010 CSEA will 

be utilizing Bally’s Las Vegas instead of the Flamingo Las Vegas. This reduced the liability that 

was booked for the 2008-2009 fiscal year-end audit. It also reduced the amount by which we 

close another year-end in the red. 

• 2011 Tax Boat 

Time was spent investigating travel companies due to the number of negative comments 

received regarding Holiday By Land and Sea. Linda Nichols, CTA | Leisure Travel Advisor with 

CWT Vacations will be providing proposals for consideration as well as Jonas Roland with 

Holiday By Land and Sea. A destination will be determined prior to the start of the 2010 Super 

Seminars for the 2011 Tax Boat. 

• Task Forces 

A significant amount of time and energy continued to be devoted to both the E-ACT Task Force 

and the TEAR Task Force in addressing their Presidential charges. Many staff members are 

involved with this endeavor to ensure progress is being made. See both Task Force reports 

under Section 9 of the Board material. 

• Staff Annual Evaluations 

Quarterly evaluations were conducted to ensure progress is being made on established goals. 

83

• Staff Responsibilities 

Greta Quirk started work in the CSEA office as Projects Assistant through a temporary agency 

on Monday, October 5. Unfortunately, she accepted a full-time position with another association 

and her last day of work was November 4. 

Due to this vacancy and other issues needing to be addressed the EVP has spent a significant 

amount of time thinking about the staff structure and various responsibilities based on the heavy 

workload for a number of staff members. To ensure that the Society continues to aggressively 

move forward in many areas at the same time, a number of internal changes have been made 

to ensure Member needs are being met. 

• Workshops 

The following is a list of the workshops held since the last report: 

Position Date 

Presidents Workshop Wednesday, October 21 

Education Shareshop Thursday, December 10 

• 2010 Annual Meeting 

Education offerings for the 2010 Annual Meeting have been finalized. There will be more 

sessions offered with a broad range of both speakers and topics. This will, once again, provide 

both CSEA and Chapter Education Chairs an opportunity to experience new speakers outside 

their own Chapter environment. We look forward to the opportunity for both the speakers and 

the attendees. 

• 2010 Super Seminars 

In November CSEA found out that one of our Super Seminar speakers had previously been 

suspended from practice in his home state. After reviewing the court filing it was decided to 

sever our relationship with Arthur J. Werner, Esq. as a Super Seminar speaker. That decision 

left us with a hole for four sessions. Within a two-week period we had the four sessions filled 

and we anticipate excellent sessions throughout each of the entire Super Seminar three-day 

event. 

Due to the number of new speakers (5) that have been added to the Super Seminar roster this 

year, a conference call was also held with them to ensure they understand the Super Seminar 

culture for speakers and all the expectations we have for each of them. Claudia Hill, EA, MBA, 

our most tenured speaker, assisted with the session to ensure that all aspects were covered in 

hopes that their experience will be as positive as possible. 

The Super Seminar website at www.superseminar.org was activated with appropriate material 

on November 1. 

Karen Clifford, Finance Coordinator 

• 2010-2011 Budget Development 

Once again, it is the time of the year where staff’s time is stretched between finalizing the yearend 

financials, audit reports, gathering information from the Chapters to facilitate preparation of 

84

the tax returns, playing catch-up preparing the beginning of the new fiscal year financials, 

spreading budget figures for the new fiscal year and collecting and inputting budget figures for 

the next three fiscal years. The first run through of the budget yielded a balance of 

approximately ($250,000.00), and staff thought they were being conservative. As of this writing, 

staff is still in the process of reevaluating both income and expenditures in hopes of arriving at a 

zero-balance budget. These are difficult times and the Society is facing many uncertainties 

looking toward the future. The investment markets continue to look lackluster with little hope for 

a significant increase in interest rates on the horizon. Our idle cash is not able to earn for us like 

it used to. 

• Tax Return Filings 

Kudos to the unincorporated Chapters for getting their financial information into the CSEA office 

within a week of the designated deadline date of September 1, 2009; this enabled our tax 

preparer to do the returns so they could be reviewed by the members of the Audit Committee 

and filed timely. The same process held true with the CSEA and Foundation tax returns. Even 

with the Audit Committee review, these returns were filed by the November 16 deadline. Since 

this was the first year all of these returns were filed using the new 990 form, it took our tax 

preparer a bit longer than normal to do the work. Now that all the information in the computer, 

subsequent years should run quicker, so we are told. This is also the first year that the Audit 

Committee reviewed all tax returns prior to filing instead of after. 

Laurie Cole, Administrative Manager 

• Membership Update 

Staff has been working closely with the Chapter Membership Chairs, sending them their 

monthly membership reports and lists of non-renewing Members. Staff and Chapter 

Membership Chairs have been contacting dropped Members trying to get them back. 

Your Side/My Side letters went out to 258 Members who were terminated; the letters ask nonrenewing 

Members the reason they did not renew their membership with CSEA. A summary of 

the responses will be reviewed in the Membership & Chapter Development Committee meeting. 

• Promotional Mailings 

CSEA and Placer Insurance Agency sent out a promotional mailing to nearly 3,500 prospective 

Members in our database in October inviting them to join. In December, a mailing will go out to 

those who were terminated asking them to come back. Another promotional mailing will be 

going out to the CTEC registered tax preparers inviting them to join as Professional Associates 

and take advantage of the Member rate for Super Seminar. A third promotional mailing will go 

out to CPAs or Attorneys that we have in our database that reside outside of California asking 

them to join since we opened up the Professional Affiliate category. 

The New Member Chapter Challenge ran from September 14, 2009 to October 28, 2009. In this 

time frame we received 27 new regular Members. East Bay had the most with five new 

Members, Orange County came in second with four new Members and tied for third was Golden 

Gate and Inland Empire with three new Members each. 

• Dues Renewal 

Dues renewals are mailed out monthly. The CSEA renewal program is an ongoing effort to 

renew expired Members, and because new Members (who have joined within the past year) 

85

expire on their anniversary date, are on a different renewal schedule than the majority of 

Members. 

Jimmy Gonzalez, IT Administrator 

• Network/Desktops 

o The 2 new workstations and laptop have been deployed. Purchase of a new server is on 

hold until a decision is made regarding new membership software for CSEA. 

• Software 

o Microsoft Dynamics has been identified as the best solution for CSEA. This determination 

stems from its current functionality as well as its flexibility to allow the organization to grow 

in whichever direction the future may lead us. A RFP has been finalized and detailed 

negotiations, with our vendor (CBIZ), have taken place to establish the expectations of all 

parties. 

• Website 

o SuperSeminar.org is now up and running with detailed information on speakers, sessions 

and hotel information. Registration is open and available online. The CSEA website has 

been slightly modified, per the recommendations of the TEAR Task Force, for ease of use 

and navigation. Research and implementation of a new site has been spearheaded by the 

TEAR Task Force and is currently awaiting a logo and other design elements created 

through our new branding campaign. 

Debi Nogle, Events Manager 

• Annual Meeting 2010 

o The Annual Meeting 2010 Committee and staff have had six conference calls to date, with 

the next conference call scheduled for January 14, 2010. The following items have been 

finalized: 

� Jim Reed Memorial Golf Tournament 

� Bowling tournament 

� Chapter dinner event (for all attendees wishing to participate) 

� Band for the Grand Banquet 

o The Annual Meeting Committee is on top of every aspect of the event and we anticipate it 

will be a huge success. 

o Staff will be researching suitable venues for future Annual Meetings (2011 and 2012) in the 

San Gabriel Valley and Far Northern areas. 

• Supers 2010 

o Staff released the Exhibitor Manual on November 20, 2009. A total of 103 companies were 

invited to participate and as of the writing of this report, three exhibitors have committed to 

exhibiting in 2010. Any past exhibitor was offered a 5% discount off the exhibitor fees if 

they submitted their application and full payment by 12/31/2009 and it is anticipated that 

many exhibitors will take advantage of this discount by the deadline. 

o As noted by Ms. Apker in her report above, starting in 2011, we will be moving from the 

Flamingo to Bally’s Las Vegas and staff spent a lot of time negotiating the contracts for 

2011 and subsequent years. 

86

Sharon Stone Smith, Projects Manager 

• PAC 

o Working with the Committee on acknowledging the fundraising letter and implementing the 

trip fundraiser. 

o A PAC pin has been designed and is now available for PAC donations over $40.00. 

o Staff continues to review possible political fundraisers for donations. 

o Staff submitted the quarterly lobbyist employer report. 

• Liaison 

o In mid-November, staff participated in FTB staff’s annual Legislative Proposals interested 

parties meeting. At this meeting, the FTB staff provides an overview of legislative proposals 

they plan to submit to the 3-member FTB for approval. It is an opportunity for interested 

parties to express their support or opposition to the proposals. 

o In early December, staff and Vicki Mulak, EA, attended the FTB Board meeting and FTB 

Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Hearing. Ms. Mulak provided CSEA’s oral and written testimony at 

the hearing. 

o Staff has been promoting and coordinating Jim Stern Legislative Day. 

• Education 

o Continuing to promote and coordinate digiTAX Education sessions. 

o Currently planning the digiTAX sessions May 2010 – January 2011. 

o Coordinated and attended two well-received New EA Workshops, one in Oakland and the 

other in Laguna Niguel. 

o Working on education approvals with the CFP Board, State Bar, and NASBA. 

o Investigating the possibility of offering CSEA/State Tax Agencies Liaison Meeting in 

September 2010 as live and streaming web event. 

o Started coordinating the education component of a one-day technology seminar in 

conjunction with the Las Vegas Super Seminars. 

• Social Media 

o Provided content and supervision for all CSEA social networking media. 

Clifford Weimer, Communications Coordinator 

“I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks 

as though they were great and noble.” – Helen Keller 

• California Enrolled Agent magazine 

Since the last staff report, four issues of California Enrolled Agent magazine have been 

published. In October, beneath an appropriately frightening werewolf cover, we featured articles 

on the California budget agreement and its impact on tax regulations, the IRS crackdown on 

“material advisors” of financial services, and we kicked off a new ongoing series of information 

about CSEA’s online efforts for the association and our Members. In November, the spotlight 

was on the CSEA Education Foundation and its work, CSEA/NAEA PAC efforts, mutual funds 

and taxes, ethical EA conduct when clients divorce, and much more. In December, our jolly 

holiday cover served as the entranceway to articles on the Tax Agencies Liaison Subcommittee 

87

work, changes brought about by the Economic Recovery & Reinvestment Act, the 2010 Annual 

Meeting in Sonoma County, and more. The January issue is in the works as this is being 

written, and the February-March issue isn’t that far off, believe it or not! 

• CSEA Annual Tax Newsletter 

The Society’s newsletter, created by Jerry Pusateri, EA, a few years ago, has proven to be an 

invaluable tool for many Members and a good way to provide a worthwhile benefit to EAs who 

are Members of the Society. Thanks to Public Information & Awareness Committee Chair 

Gordon L. Dito, EA, for his assistance in the preparation of this year’s publication, which is 

available for download in the Members-only section of www.csea.org – in two different versions. 

• CSEA BEAcon & CSEA CPE SEArchlight 

In the last quarter of calendar year 2009, the release dates of the Society’s two electronic 

publications were flip-flopped. The CSEA CPE SEArchlight, which features a run-down of 

Chapter meetings and CSEA and Chapter seminars, is now published on or about the 1 st 

business day of each month. This enables our Members to have all the monthly Chapter 

information as we’ve received it, in time to attend those meetings that are early in the month. 

The CSEA BEAcon is now published on or about the 15 th of each month, so that IRS and FTB 

news and information – routinely published shortly after the first of each month – can be more 

all-inclusive. 

The deadline for each electronic publication is about one week prior to the publication date. 

Please email information to staff at cweimer@csea.org, with the publication name in the subject 

line. 

• Public Information & Awareness 

Staff, in consultation with the PIA Committee Chair, has been working with Diane Wilde of Wolfe 

Design and will have preliminary sketches for the Branding campaign for the January meeting. 

Other PIA efforts are in the pipeline, so stay tuned – the best is yet to come! 

• CSEA Education Foundation 

Although the CSEA Education Foundation is a separate entity from the California Society of 

Enrolled Agents, CSEA staff provides certain functions for the Foundation and so includes a 

thumbnail recap of Foundation events as part of the CSEA Board of Directors packet for 

information purposes. 

In October, staff processed and worked with the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee and 

Trustees to award nine scholarships in the total amount of $5,273.23. 

From October 1 through November 30, the Foundation sponsored its annual Internet Auction. 

More than 40 items were donated and the auction raised $6,351, making it the most successful 

auction in the Society’s history. Congratulations to Scholarship Committee Chair Sandra Louise 

Danioth-Jones, EA. 

• Other 

88

Staff continues to work on Super Seminar 2010 promotion; you can now register online at 

www.superseminar.org, and we hope you’ll do so before getting too busy with holiday/tax 

season. 

New materials and timelier information are constantly being uploaded to the www.csea.org 

website, including all electronic publications, each issue of California Enrolled Agent magazine, 

and breaking news from regulatory agencies. 

89


Audit Committee 


Subject 

Audit Committee 2009-2010 Action Plan Updates. 

. 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 

7.1 To preserve the assets of the Society. 

• The report of the Committee should be received no later than the January Board of Directors 

meeting of each year. 

The audit was conducted the week of August 24, 2009 in the CSEA office. The draft audit will be 

presented by the auditor at the September committee meeting. The final draft is on target for 

presentation to the Board in January. 

Final Draft of the Audit and related reports is being presented to the Board for approval at 

the January 2010 meeting. COMPLETE. 

• The Management Recommendation Letter should be provided to the Board no later than the 

January Board meeting of each year. 

If needed, the Management Recommendation Letter is part of the audit write up. 

9.C.I. 

Once again, the audit was clean and no Management Recommendation Letter was produced. 

COMPLETE. 

• Review internal examination procedures for the CSEA Chapters. 


An Examination Committee Workshop was developed and held for the first time in August 2009 for 

Chapter volunteers who are involved in this activity. COMPLETE. 

• Review Chapter reporting once a year to improve conformity. Review the 990 returns for CSEA and 

unincorporated Chapters prior to filing. 

90

Chapters were provided a revised year-end reporting form and additional training as to how to 

report UBI income and expenses. Chapters were advised that the 9/1/09 deadline for year-end 

financials this year will be strictly enforced so that the Group Return can be prepared timely and the 

Committee can have time to review the return BEFORE it is filed. As of 9/2/09 financial reports had 

been received from all 18 unincorporated Chapters. On target for on-time review prior to filing. 

Both the CSEA and Chapter Group tax returns were reviewed before filing and were filed 

timely. The Committee, upon review, found no significant errors, and the process proceeded 

smoothly. COMPLETE. 

91


Bylaws 


Subject 

Bylaws Committee 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 


9.C.II. 


• Review all Bylaws changes, requests. 

o Reviewed in June 2009. 

• Present legally accepted proposed Bylaws changes to the BOD. 

o Will present proposed Bylaws changes to the Board at this meeting. 

7.2 Assist Chapters in reviewing and updating their bylaws in order to bring them into 

conformance with CSEA Bylaws. 

• Communicate with Chapters regarding up-to-date bylaws. 

o Assigned Members of the Committee to review/compare all Chapters current 

Bylaws with the current Chapter Model Bylaws. 

• Review Chapter bylaws as submitted. 

o Reviewing all Chapter Bylaws as they are received. 

• Communicate with Chapter following bylaws review. 

o Emails go out to the Chapters as Bylaws are reviewed letting them know of any 

changes or if they are in compliance as submitted. 

• Review Caucus Rules. 

7.3 Provide oversight to Chapters in facilitating signatory of Chapter Affiliation Agreement. 

• Communicate with Chapters in completing the signing of all Affiliation Agreements and 

Addendums. 

o Still have one outstanding Affiliation Agreement that needs to be completed. 

92


Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee 


Subject 

Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee 2009-2010 Action Plan Updates 

. 

Goal #1: 

To enhance the visibility and recognition of Enrolled Agents as the preferred tax professionals and to 

promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

Action Plans 


9.C.III. 



1.1 Handle all complaints received to project a positive image regarding Enrolled Agents. 

Ongoing 

• Ensure the established timelines are kept. 

o Calls handled as received; Investigator appointed to handle written complaint 

received. 

o Investigator appointed to handle a written complaint received. 

o Investigator appointed to handle another written complaint received. 

1.2 Ensure there is a magazine insertion in each issue of the CSEA magazine 

• Identify responsible individual for each issue. 

o Assignments made for all issues for entire year; Deadlines are being met to date as 

assigned. 

o All deadlines met for publication as assigned. 

1.3 Ensure that there are a number of trained investigators should they be needed. 

• Ensure ongoing availability of trained investigators. 

o An audio CD is being developed to enhance the written Training Manual; Script 

being finalized for recording. 

o Draft of script submitted in September 

93

Ethics Action Plans Updates January 9 - 10, 2010 

Page 2 

Subject 

• Ensure trained investigators receive updated training. 

o See prior update. 

President’s Charges 

1. Develop a Code of Ethics for CSEA to adopt as its own and bring to the Board of Directors for 

ratification. (Goal #1) 

• Subcommittee assigned to research the need for a CSEA Code of Ethics and to 

develop one if it is in the best interest of the Society and its Members. 

2. Identify and develop new leaders for future E&PC Committees. (Action Plan 1.3) 

• A job description for the E&PC Chair is being developed so anyone asked to serve 

in the position will have a clear understanding of the requirements of the position. 

• COMPLETED 

A resignation was received from the E&PC Chair, Jim Southward, EA, due to family matters. President 

Shaw appointed Robert D. Gardner, EA, as the E&PC Chair for the remainder of the term. 

94


Executive Committee 


Subject 

Executive Committee 2009-2010 Action Plan Updates 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans: 

9.C.IV. 



7.1 Perform EVP’s annual evaluation 

• Evaluate EVP’s performance against the Strategic Plan and Executive Committee stated 

goals. 

o Evaluation set to occur immediately following tax season for distribution, collection, 

and summarization for the May Board meeting. 

o 

• Review/enhance Executive Committee goals for EVP. 

o EVP Goals for 2009-2010 were reviewed and adopted by the Board at the June 

meeting. 

o Progress on EVP Goals submitted for the September meeting. 

o Progress on EVP Goals submitted for the January meeting. 

7.2 Develop a meeting schedule for the year 

• If Executive Committee meetings are to be held regularly, they are to be scheduled in the 

late afternoon/early evening prior to the first day of the Board meeting. 

o Executive Committee meetings are scheduled on the Friday prior to each Board 

meeting for the year. Completed. 

o Schedule for 2010-2011 will be submitted for approval at the January meeting. 

7.3 Implement the Succession Plan during the year as outlined 

• Review Search Committee Charter. 

o Scheduled for review at the September meeting. 

95 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

o COMPLETED 

• Review the Plan at the September meeting ensuring implementation. 

o On the agenda for the September meeting. 

o COMPLETED 

• Establish necessary dates and timelines. 

o Dates and timelines are part of the Search Committee Charter and will be reviewed 

at the September meeting. 

o COMPLETED 

• Finalize recommendation for hiring of EVP for the May 2010 Board meeting. 

o No resignation letter submitted, process will not be implemented. 

o COMPLETED 

96


Finance and Budget Committee 


Subject 

Finance and Budget Committee 2009-2010 Action Plans Update 

. 

Goal # 7 


Action Plans 


9.C.V. 

7.1 Develop and present to the May 2009 Board meeting a proposed budget for the 2010-2011 

Society year for all Society funds. 

• Request 2010-2011 budget proposals from Board of Directors and Committee Chairs. Paper copies 

of Budget Development timelines were passed out to all Staff Liaisons, Officers, Committee Chairs 

and COGS at the June 2009 Board meeting. Committees received copies of their 2010-2011 

budget worksheets with their Committee packets to discuss at their September 2009 meetings. 

Completed. 

• Deadline for 2010-2011 budget proposals. Various deadlines are listed on the Budget 

Development Timeline. Draft budget is completed and is ready for review by the Committee at 

the January meeting. 

• Annual budget meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 10, 2010 immediately 

following the Board meeting. 

• Present proposed 2010-2011 budget to Board of Directors. The Proposed 2010-2011 budget is 

scheduled to be presented to the Board at the May 2010 Board meeting. 

7.2 Review the method of demonstration to the Board and committees on how the budget aligns 

with the Strategic Plan. 

• Evaluation/enhancement ongoing. This will be reviewed in January during the budgeting 

meeting. 

97


Legislative Affairs Committee 


Subject 

Legislative Affairs Committee 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Goal # 2 

To be an effective voice in advocacy for the rights of taxpayers and Enrolled Agents before all State 

levels of legislative and regulatory agencies and Federal agencies as deemed necessary. 

Action Plans: 

2.1 Continue to develop a “grassroots” program in an effort to encourage Members to 

establish relationships with their legislators and increase legislators’ awareness of the 

EA designation. 

Status 

• Survey placed in California Enrolled Agent magazine. 

• President Shaw making visits to district offices during Chapter visits. 

• President Shaw visited Assembly Member Pedro Nava and Senator Mark Wyland. 

2.2 Develop background papers identified by the Board approved positions. 

Status 

• Nothing to report to date. 

2.3 Participate in the CTEC Sunset Review Hearings as necessary. 

Status 

• CTEC Sunset Review has not been scheduled yet. 


2.4 Conformity Task Force 

Status 

• The Committee continues to advocate for and monitor pending conformity legislation. 

9.C.VI 

2.5 Develop an advance written communication, followed by a physical presence at the 

annual Franchise Tax Board Bill of Rights Meeting. 

Status 

• CSEA provided a written communication to the FTB Taxpayer Advocate and had a strong 

presence at the December 3, 2009 Franchise Tax Board Bill of Rights hearing. 

98


Page 2 

2.6 Actively raise funds to annually bolster the Legislative Action Fund. 

Status 

• Combined PAC/LAF fundraising appeal letter sent in August 2009. 

Goal # 4 

To provide effective communication with Members and the public. 

Action Plans: 

4.1 Increase Members’ involvement and knowledge of the Committee’s activities by 

maintaining a Member awareness program. 

Status 

• Publish articles in California Enrolled Agent on the activities of the Committee, 

staff and legislative advocate. There was an article regarding Jim Stern Legislative 

Day in the October, November, and December issues of California Enrolled Agent. 

• Distribute similar information via the CSEA monthly email newsletter BEAcon. 

• Use Twitter to distribute information daily. 

4.2 To effectively communicate tax related information to Members on a timely basis. 

Status 

• Provide periodic email alerts and articles in the CSEA magazine reporting 

results/actions of Liaison and other regulatory agency meetings. . An article on 

the September CSEA/State Tax Agencies Liaison appeared in the California 

Enrolled Agent Magazine. Tax related information was distributed monthly to 

Members via the CSEA BEAcon, and information was posted on a regular basis in 

the “What’s New” section of the CSEA website. 

• Provide periodic email alerts and articles in the CSEA magazine reporting 

results/actions of Liaison and other regulatory agency meetings 

Goal # 6 

To strengthen CSEA/NAEA/Chapter partnerships. 

Action Plans: 

6.1 Develop a strategy to improve grassroots efforts at the Chapter level. 

Status 

• Legislative Affairs Committee has this topic as part of its ongoing strategic 

discussion. 

• Staff sent notices about Jim Stern Legislative Day to Chapter Presidents and Leg 

Chairs. 

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6.2 Work with IRS (local and national), NAEA, and CSEA’s local Chapters to ensure the most 

effective CSEA/IRS relationship. 

Status 

• CSEA held two successful New EA workshops with the IRS in October. 

• Staff planning a leadership meeting with the IRS Western Area Stakeholder Liaison. 

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Membership & Chapter Development 


Subject 

Membership & Chapter Development Committee 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Goal # 5 

To identify and meet the current and future needs of Members. 

Action Plans: 

5.1 To Continuously research, assess, design and implement programs for existing 

Members and prospects. 

Goal # 6 

9.C.VII. 

• Indentify and promote intangible benefits (i.e. CSEA lobbying efforts on behalf of Enrolled 

Agents) as added value for Members. 

• Continue to seek out and implement new benefits and services of value to the Members. 

• Continue to promote the benefits of Society membership to qualified non-Members. 

• Develop programs to encourage “active” Member participation at Chapter and State levels 

with emphasis on developing successor leadership. 

o Met with two different companies, BancCard and American Income Life Insurance 

Company, regarding adding additional benefits for CSEA Members, Associates and 

Affiliates. 

o Highlight Member benefits in the CSEA BEAcon or California Enrolled Agent 

magazine. 

o Information regarding member benefits is included in New Member Kits. 

o Signed an agreement with BancCardand with the FedEx Affilaite program for 

new Member benefit offerings. 

To support and strengthen CSEA/NAEA/Chapter partnerships. 

Action Plans: 

6.1 To serve and support the success of the local Chapters. 


• Encourage and support local Chapter efforts to develop programs to attract and provide 

service to Members. 

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Goal # 7 


Page 2 

• Help promote NAEA as a provider of additional benefits to CSEA Members. 

• Work to successfully integrate the Japan Society of Enrolled Agents and the California 

Society of Enrolled Agents. 

• Establish an ongoing communications channel between the Society, its Chapters and 

NAEA. 

o Work with Chapters to do whatever we can to provide support and service to 

Members. 

o Refer Members to NAEA if there is a benefit or seminar that we do not offer. 

o Communicate with NAEA and the local Chapters when doing promotions and/or 

handling Member retention efforts. 

o Sent NAEA a list of Members who have paid so they can compare with their 

list. 


Action Plans: 

7.1 To provide active and continuous support for the various CSEA committees. 

Goal # 8 

• Recognize opportunities for joint sponsorship of programs benefiting the Membership. 

• Promote the actions of other Committees in terms of Member benefit. 

• To recognize and utilize the knowledge and contributions of our past volunteers. 

o The Committee continues to seek out past volunteers for recognition. 

To ensure a stable and growing membership. 

Action Plans: 

8.1 To provide effective Member value and benefits. 

• To increase the Membership of the Society through the retention of existing Members and the 

recruitment of new Members. 

• Work with Chapters to create effective ongoing programs for the retention and recruitment of 

Members to ensure continuing membership growth on an annual basis. 

• Promote diversity among the membership. 

• Continually promote programs directed toward prospective Associate and Affiliates, including 

students and other non-EAs. 

• Promote current Member active involvement in CSEA. 

• Provide support to Chapters for use of web services in communications to Members. 

o Send out email blasts for Chapter regarding their upcoming education. 

o Suspension notices went out to Members whose membership expired 6/30/2009. 

o Suspension lists were sent to Chapter Presidents and Chapter Membership Chairs 

asking them to contact the suspended Members and get back to CSEA with any 

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information or to let CSEA know if they are unable to contact the suspended Member to 

let CSEA know and we could to it for them. 

o CSEA is having a New Member Chapter Challenge that starts on September 14, 2009 

and ends October 14, 2009. Prizes will be awarded to those Chapters who bring in the 

most new Members during this time. 

o Termination notices were mailed and are being done and then Yourside/Myside 

letters will go out and those responses will be tallied and shared with the 

Committee. 

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Nominating Committee 


Subject 

Nominating Committee 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Action Plan: 


9.C.VIII 

• Review Charge to the Committee and Procedures – Completed June 2009. 

• Committee timeline, candidate requests, potential interview questions and topics; discuss 

confidential nature of Committee’s work, responsibility of Committee members, and criteria for 

selection process – Completed June 2009. 

• Verify eligibility of potential candidates – Completed September 2009. 

• Conduct potential candidate interviews – To be completed January 2010. 

• Report to Board - To be completed January 2010. 

• Letter to Board of Directors giving list of candidates (if not announced at Board of Directors 

meeting) – TBD, may not be necessary if prior bullet point completed. 

• Letter to nominees requesting candidate statement for magazine – Due February 1, 2010. 

• Prepare letter from Chair regarding candidates running from the floor for magazine – Due 

February 1, 2010. 

7.2 To increase the Committee’s awareness of all potential candidates. 


• Article to CSEA for September issue of magazine – Completed July 2009. 

• Candidate solicitation letter – Completed July 2009. 

• Follow up to candidate solicitation letter – Completed July 2009. 

• Names of potential candidates to staff – Completed August 2009. 

• Fax roster of potential candidates to Committee Members – Completed September 2009. 

• Review responses to request for potential candidates – Completed September 2009. 

• Follow-up telephone calls to potential candidates – Completed October 2009. 

• Send letter to schedule interview appointment – Completed November 2009. 

• Nomination form to Board of Directors meeting for Committee Members – To be completed at 

the Board Meeting; January 10, 2010. 

• List to Presidential nominee of those expressing interest in serving on committees 

• Inform interviewed candidates of decision – To be completed the weekend of the January 

2010 Board Meeting. 

• Follow-up letters to interviewed candidates – To be completed January 13 – 15, 2010. 

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Political Action Committee 


Subject 

PAC 2009-2010 Action Plan Updates 

Action Plans: 

2.1 Assist Legislative Affairs Committee to the extent requested with grassroots efforts. 

• No assistance requested at this time. 

2.2 To meet the $10,000 fundraising goal for 2009 by sponsoring a raffle and providing 

education and support to Chapter leaders to promote voluntary contributions. 

• Sub-committee met to determine parameters of raffle 

• Tickets ordered for distribution at September Committee meeting 

• Ticket sales begun 

• Raffle is being renamed a PAC Prize Drawing 

2.3 Maintain a minimum prudent reserve of $39,000. 

• Sub-committee met and determined prudent amount for prudent reserve. 

• $39,000 reserve has been set aside. 

• $39,000 reserve maintained. 

2.4 Explore partnerships with NAEA PAC to raise awareness of the value of PACs to 

Enrolled Agents. 

• Sub-committee formed to explore this action plan. 

• CSEA representatives met with NAEA PAC representatives at APEX to explore 

options for a combined event in 2010. 

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9.C.IX.


Professional Education Production Committee (PEPCO) 


Subject 

PEPCO 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Goal # 3 

To provide educational opportunities and resources to assist our Members in their professional growth 

Action Plans: 



3.1 Design, plan and implement Super Seminar 2010 

• Plan and hold Speakers’ meetings – Completed May 2009. 

• Determination of speakers and subjects including schedule – Completed July 2009. 

• Finalize marketing brochure – The Communications Coordinator is responsible for 

this and it is anticipated to be completed in December of this year. 

• Expand marketing efforts to cover a broader base of potential attendees – Ongoing. 

• Request for volunteers – Begins in January 2010. 

• Production of Seminars – Began in September 2009. 

3.2 Design, plan and implement C-STAR 2010 

• Identify dates and location – Staff is in the process of determining dates/location. 

• Identify and contract with speakers 

• Develop marketing material 

• Ensure submission of materials according to timeline 

• Provide onsite assistance as needed 

• Evaluate effectiveness of program and determine next date if feasible 

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9.C.X

PEPCO 2009-2010 Action Plans 

Page 2 

3.3 Review the value of CPE Online and determine the feasibility of continuing this 

effort 


• Review statistics from past and current offerings 

• Determine sessions to be included from 2009 Supers – Completed August 2009. 

• Identify and get commitment from volunteers to write questions for selected 

sessions – Completed. 

• Identify volunteers to review questions to ensure accuracy and compatibility with 

materials – Completed. 

• Put material online – All materials are online and are also offered via podcast. 


3.4 Determine details for the 2011 Tax Boat 

• Review evaluations from 2009 Tax Boat to improve 2011 Tax Boat, if held – Completed 

September 2009. 

• Identify destination / Dates / Education topic(s) and speaker(s) – In process. 

• Establish timeline for final details 

• Determine marketing approaches and timeline 

3.5 Design, plan and implement Tax Practice Management Workshop for 2009 - COMPLETED 

• Determine date for a CSEA sponsored Tax Practice Management Workshop – 

Completed August 2009. 

• Increase awareness of Tax Practice Management Workshop to Chapters as a turn-key 

opportunity seminar. Completed. 

3.6 Determine the schedule and topics of the 2009-2010 digiTAX offerings - COMPLETED 

• Identify and contract with speakers 


• Review statistics from past and current offerings 


3.7 Investigate technology for future education needs - COMPLETED 

• Scanning technology for CPE 

• Determine possible implementation schedule based on financial implications 

3.8 Education Shareshop - COMPLETED 

• Facilitate the sharing of the information among Chapters regarding Chapter sponsored 

educational events – December 2009 Education Shareshop completed. 

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PEPCO 2009-2010 Action Plans 

Page 3 

3.9 Basic Tax Class - COMPLETED 

• Annually update the provider list, as necessary. 

3.10 SEE Class - COMPLETED 

• Annually update the referral system, as necessary 

• Notify NAEA whenever changes occur 

President’s Charges: 

1. Develop a web based education system for CE with the utilization of webinars, podcast, etc. 

(Action Plan 3.7) 

All Super Seminar 2009 sessions are now available via podcasts and can be accessed 

through the General Store on csea.org. 

digiTAX is now offered only as a Webinar. 

The PEPCO Education Shareshop, held in July, was held via a Webinar. The Shareshop 

in December was held via conference call. 

2. Develop a CE exam from the current Super Seminars that is entirely web based. Automate our 

current process. (Action Plan 3.3) 

Staff has researched two vendors to date: 1) Omnipress – doesn’t offer a fully automated 

online feature. 2) Captus Press – only offers multi-media/interactive features (i.e. no 

online testing capabilities) Staff is continuing its search for a suitable vendor that can 

meet our needs. 

3. Review the evaluations of the speakers and content of all educational offerings for further 

refinement. (Action Plan 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6) 

Completed September 2009. 

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Public Information & Awareness Committee (PIA) 

January 9, 2010 Board Meeting 

Subject 

PIA 2009-2010 Action Plans Updates. 

Goal # 1: To enhance the visibility and recognition of Enrolled Agents as the preferred 

tax professionals and to promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

Action Plans: 


1.1 Develop, implement and enhance statewide public awareness programs 

9.C.XI. 

• Study, implement, and expand the Marketing Plan as needed to assist the Society in 

achieving its Mission, Goals, and Vision. 

� Plan reviewed by Committee and is being used by staff in formulation of branding 

programs, goals, and strategic planning. 

� Marketing Plan review completed; Plan to be revamped as part of Branding 

efforts. 

• Establish successful fundraising programs to ensure the success of the EA Promo and 

Major Media Marketing (3M) funds. 

• Create an ongoing program to use EA Promo Fund contributions for an annual public 

awareness campaign. 

� Considered at length as part of Branding efforts. 

• Ensure that the Public Disaster Service Subcommittee is staffed and active in each local 

Chapter; provide updated materials and training. Promote the Program to the public 

through press releases and other appropriate means. 

� Disaster Services Handbook has been updated and provided to all Chapters. 

� Disaster Services promoted as part of Media kit and efforts. 

• Review and revise current statewide strategies and programs (such as the radio ads) as 

necessary. 

� Ongoing. 

1.2 Maximize the use of technology to promote Enrolled Agents. 

• Work with the PIA Technology Task Force to investigate and report various new uses of 

technology and help ensure that the Society takes advantage of all available 

technological tools. 

� Ongoing and extensive and well-publicized in the Society’s electronic publications 

and California Enrolled Agent magazine. 

� PIA efforts (particularly in Branding and use of technology) coordinated with 

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TEAR and duly reported at all meetings. 

• Improve disbursement of news releases, press kits, and other Society information 

electronically. 

� All Chapter PIA Chairs have received calls and emails regarding ongoing 

efforts, mailing label information for media, and info about accessing Media 

area of website in preparation for tax season promotions. 

1.3 Encourage Members to promote the Enrolled Agent status to the general public and the 

media. 

• Recommend the establishment of a Society award to recognize the PIA efforts of 

individuals and/or Chapters. 

• Identify and share new ideas for the promotion and marketing of the EA designation and 

the benefits of membership in CSEA. 

� Ongoing discussion and brainstorming at meetings, conference calls, and via email. 

� Comprehensively discussed as part of the ongoing Branding campaign. 

• Create additional “canned speeches” and promote the CSEA SpEAkers BurEAu to make 

presentations to groups around the state, including schools. 

� Materials created and will be sent to Chapters and used in the Members-only 

area of the website prior to January Board meeting. 

• Create new ways to encourage use of ‘The’ Tax Professional” and the “We SpEAk Tax” 

service mark as a promotional tool for CSEA Members. 

� Discussed and included as part of the new Branding efforts. 

1.4 Promote the desirability of becoming an Enrolled Agent as a career choice. 

• Work with the Membership & Chapter Development Committee and CSEA Education 

Foundation Scholarship Committee to promote the EA designation to non-EA tax 

professionals and to students interested in a financial or accounting career. 

� Ongoing; staff liaison for PIA Committee is also liaison for CSEA Education 

Foundation Scholarship Committee, and ensures that cross-promotions are done 

while expressly describing the Foundation as a separate organization. 

� Various promotional efforts made electronically as part of fundraising 

program. 

1.5 Promote the awareness of the designation of Enrolled Agent to federal and state taxing 

agencies and professional tax and accounting organizations. 

• Promote the EA designation to professional tax and accounting organizations as well as 

taxing and regulatory agencies. 

� Ongoing efforts made via the magazine and at workshops and in preparation 

for Jim Stern Legislative Day. 

Goal # 4: To provide effective communication with Members and the public. 

4.1 Promote the various PIA activities of the Society through the available CSEA channels 

of communication. 

• Work with the Chapters to ensure thorough, effective use of the Society’s press releases 

and press kits. 

� Chapter PIA Chair Workshop held in August, with follow-up email. 

� All Chapter Chairs contacted prior to tax season. 

• Provide and promote Member “Tax Experts” for the use of print, broadcast and 

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Subject 

electronic media. 

� Ongoing efforts through PR Newswire. 

• Work with staff to create a Client Tax Newsletter to appear in a fall issue of California 


� Completed. 

President’s Charge to PIA 

Committee Appointment and Charge 

Type of Committee: Date Appointed: June 26, 2009 

[ ] Special 

[ ] Standing Policy 

[X] Standing Member Value 

NAME OF COMMITTEE: Public Information & Awareness Committee 

CHAIR: Gordon Dito, EA 

COGNIZANT VP/OFFICER: Kim Kastl, EA 

STAFF LIAISON: Clifford Weimer 

Strategic Plan Reference: 

Goal # 1: To enhance the visibility and recognition of Enrolled Agents as the preferred tax 

professionals and to promote CSEA Members to the general public. 

President’s Charge: 

1. Develop a focused PIA program to utilize all media sources available utilizing the EA Promo 

fund. (Action Plan 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 4.1) 

� Part of the ongoing planning for the Branding program. 

2. Revisit the usage of talk radio as our main PIA outreach. (Action Plan 1.1) 

a. Should CSEA continue using radio 

b. Should CSEA continue to using talk radio 

� Extensive discussions resulted in a consensus that there is a lack of 

enthusiasm for additional radio advertising at this time. 

3. Explore utilizing the services of a marketing firm to develop an advertising theme and/or catch 

phrase. (Action Plan 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 4.1) 

� Extensive meetings, calls, and brainstorming sessions done with Wolfe Design & 

Marketing and other professionals. 

� Branding program approved by Board; timeline and goals included in PIA 

packet. 

4. Implement an awareness campaign to the California Legislators. (Action Plan 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 4.1) 

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� Extensive efforts made through the magazine and website, particularly in 

preparation for Jim Stern Legislative Day. 

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E-ACT Task Force 


Subject 

E-ACT (Enrolled Agent Career Track) Task Force 

The President appointed this Task Force at the June meeting and assigned the following Mission. 

9.C.XII. 

E-ACT Mission - To develop a complete program that will facilitate the recruitment of new EAs, 

enhance their professional career, and provide opportunities for retiring Member EAs to continue in the 

profession or completely retire while enriching the professional career of Member EAs with 

opportunities and resources to help them succeed. 

There have been two meetings held since the last report: 

• October 19, 2009 - 

o Reviewed Student Outreach Program outline 

o Survey developed and distributed to attendees at New EA Workshop in Oakland 

o Survey developed and sent to emeritus/retired Members to solicit input as to why they 

belonged to CSEA and the value received 

o Pursuing contact through military institutions for those leaving the service to consider 

pursuing becoming an Enrolled Agent as a career option 

• December 4, 2009 – 

o Reviewed for changes to finalize the following: 

� CSEA Outreach PowerPoint 

� Career Path brochure for Enrolled Agents 

� Member survey regarding their career path value received from CSEA 

o Continued to work on the following: 

� Military outreach 

� Free listing for availability of scholarships through Education Foundation 

� Brochure on career path to becoming an Enrolled Agent 

� Testimonials 

o Forwarded consideration to TEAR for the website 

� Career job bank 

� Mentoring clearinghouse 

The Task Force is currently scheduled to meet again on January 15, 2010. 

TASK FORCE 

REPORT 

The meeting notes from each of these meetings are posted on the CSEA website for those desiring 

additional information. 

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TEAR Task Force 


Subject 

TEAR (Technology Enhancement And Research) Task Force 

TASK FORCE 

REPORT 

The President appointed this Task Force at the June meeting and assigned the following Mission. 

9.C.XIII. 

TEAR Mission - To evaluate the overall technological capabilities of the Society and to research new 

technology. To evaluate and work with the EVP to redesign the Society website into a state of the art 

tool for Members. To equip the CSEA Committees with the technology options needed to reach the 

CSEA goals while enriching the professional career of Member EAs with opportunities and resources to 

help them succeed. 

Since the September report, there have been two meetings held: 

• October 26, 2009 – 

o Reviewed updates on website 

� Directors and committee Chairs added with email addresses 

� Upcoming events added to top left column on Home Page 

� Tax Return Preparer materials posted 

� Recording from September Board meeting still needs review 

� Website statistics from July through October 15 reviewed 

o Reviewed item from fall 2008 survey to Members pertinent to website 

o Discussed options for donation button without incurring costs from MemberMax 

o Discussed Board action regarding branding and its impact on Task Force work 

• December 4, 2009 – 

o Reviewed updates on website 

� Pages being made more efficient within program capabilities 

� Donation buttons added with payment through PayPal 

� All Officers, Directors, and Committee Chairs were added to the website. 

� Website statistics from January through July 2009 reviewed 

o Software 

� Current capabilities reviewed 

� Microsoft Dynamics discussed with possible timeline for implementation should the 

Board approve the purchase 

o Branding discussed regarding website template and timeline 

� Site map needs to be finalized so staff can begin development once template is 

ready 

� Input will be sought beyond Task Force members 

o Attempt will be made to record the young EA panel discussion at January Board meeting 

o Career job bank will be added to wish list 

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o Mentoring clearinghouse will be added to wish list 

The TEAR Task Force is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, December 17, 2009 to finalize 

elements of the site map for the new website. 

The meeting notes from each of these meetings are posted on the CSEA website for those desiring 

additional information. 

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A CALIFORNIA 

CORPORATION 

October 9, 2009 


Executive Offices: 

3200 Ramos Circle 

Sacramento, CA 95827-2513 

(916) 366-6646 

Fax (916) 366-6674 

Email: info@csea.org 

www.csea.org 

NAEA Executive Committee and Board 

National Association of Enrolled Agents 

1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 460 

Washington, DC 20036 

Dear NAEA Elected Leaders: 

SENT VIA EMAIL 

This letter is being written with the unanimous approval and support of the California 

Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA) Board of Directors. The CSEA Executive Committee 

met on Friday, September 25, 2009 and passed a motion to write this letter that was 

also passed by the CSEA Board of Directors on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This 

letter should not be construed in any way as supporting or opposing either side in the 

current controversy between the NAEA Executive Committee/Board and the EVP 

Search Committee. Our concern is not with the new EVP selected, but rather regarding 

the integrity of the process and the rights of all NAEA/CSEA Members. 

As an organization, CSEA prides itself in being open and transparent to all Members at 

all times. It is with grave concern that we, also as Members of NAEA, have recently had 

to question the actions of the NAEA Executive Committee relative to enforcement of 

Board adopted policies. CSEA firmly believes that policies are put in place to protect the 

organization and, once adopted, are to be followed. CSEA also believes that it would be 

inappropriate for policies to be changed or disregarded based on circumstances that 

might arise while in the middle of a process outlined in policy. It appears that the NAEA 

policy on the EVP Succession was not followed as to the proper roles and 

responsibilities of all parties involved. Because of this lack of transparency, CSEA 

requests a written explanation as to why the policy was not followed, or, if it was, a step 

by step explanation of how this policy was properly executed. While we do understand 

that some of the information in relation to the hiring of an EVP is confidential, much 

information is public or has been made public over the course of this controversy, and 

we implore you to not use confidentiality as a reason to not fully answer this question. 

Lack of transparency has brought us all to this place and without transparency we 

cannot move beyond this. Again, our concern is not with the new EVP selected, but 

rather the process of execution of the policy adopted by the NAEA Board of Directors. 

MEMBERS ENROLLED TO REPRESENT TAXPAYERS 

BEFORE THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

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The CSEA Board also has grave concerns relative to the intimidating tactics that were 

used in a memo of August 18, 2009 from the NAEA Executive Committee to the EVP 

Search Committee and the ultimate threat that we believe could be directed to any 

Member of NAEA should there be a disagreement with the NAEA leadership. 

As stated, (emphasis added), “If anyone files any ethics complaint or makes 

any other charges against Sandra M. Martin or any other member of the 

Executive Committee based on the Executive Committee’s deliberations and 

procedures related to hiring of NAEA’s new EVP, the Executive Committee will 

vigorously defend against such charges or complaints and seek to have them 

dismissed. 

“The Executive Committee will also consider filing counter Code of Ethics 

charges against anyone filing an ethics complaint against President Sandra 

M. Martin and/or any member of the Executive Committee, based on the 

Executive Committee’s exercising its due diligence and fiduciary responsibilities 

on behalf of NAEA. Additionally, the Executive Committee, and its members 

individually, hereby give notice that it/they may pursue any other lawful 

action to such proceedings, including seeking the expulsion from the 

association, of anyone bringing false, frivolous or vexatious allegations; or to 

seek redress in the civil courts of appropriate jurisdiction for libel, defamation or 

any other available claim or legal cause of action.” 

CSEA understands that this language was written by NAEA’s attorney yet it was 

approved and supported by the Executive Committee. It is deeply disturbing that NAEA 

leadership would even suggest that its Members’ rights can be so easily dismissed or 

that attempts to intimidate those serving the organization in volunteer capacities can be 

so freely made. To threaten expulsion for someone only trying to serve NAEA is 

unconscionable, and because of the dual membership requirement, we fear for CSEA 

Members’ individual rights being threatened. In addition, the ethical issues outlined 

above are not under the purview of the Executive Committee. Each item addressed is a 

right of the individual Member of NAEA and CSEA, and properly instituted bodies 

beyond the Executive Committee determine their outcome. This language clearly sends 

a message to the Members not to question the leadership of NAEA. Is this the 

impression we want our Members to have when we are all working hard to grow this 

association? 

CSEA requests a written explanation as to why the Executive Committee would even 

consider such reprehensible language be sent to any Member. An attorney is hired to 

give advice, it is leadership’s role to listen to that advice and then act with foresight as to 

what will be in the best interests of the organization and its Members. It is not the role of 

leadership to hide behind legal counsel’s opinions and this deeply concerns us. Does 

NAEA not pride itself on being a Member organization? 

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While we have written to you with our grave concerns, our purpose is to also offer you a 

solution as well. CSEA believes that under the present circumstances the NAEA 

leadership is incapable of successfully working through the issues confronting it and we 

firmly believe that only with outside assistance will the deep wounds inflicted in this 

matter begin to heal. We suggest that an outside neutral party be hired to be a fact 

finder based on all information available and that all parties should agree beforehand 

that any findings and recommendations coming from this effort be binding upon all 

parties. We also believe that this should be undertaken as soon as possible so that this 

will be resolved prior to the November meetings. The time is upon us as an association 

and you, as leaders, to start this healing process. 

CSEA chose not to respond to any of the communications that have been transmitted to 

date regarding this matter. Since CSEA only speaks with one voice, we have remained 

silent until such time as the CSEA Board had an opportunity to meet, deliberate these 

matters, and provide Board direction. In addition, we were hopeful that NAEA could 

have resolved this in an expedient manner. While the need for these issues to be 

addressed by the CSEA Board of Directors may cause you concern, we have a fiduciary 

responsibility to all the Members of CSEA. Therefore, we must ask the questions and 

wish to offer you a path to a solution. We do not believe that any internal steps being 

put forth have the potential for resolving the EVP search matter before NAEA. We fear 

the irreparable harm this potentially has for inflicting significant damage to our 

organization. NAEA has come too far to allow this to destroy the very fabric of the 

organization. 

As your actions have a direct impact on CSEA and our Members, we appreciate your 

attention to this matter. We look forward to an expedient written response by October 

30, 2009 and urge you to take swift and immediate action to resolve these issues 

through binding third-party mediation. 

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at 530/674- 

1156 or via email at dave@meyershaw.com. 

Sincerely, 

David A. Shaw, EA 

President 

cc: NAEA State Affiliate Presidents 

NAEA Past Presidents 

NAEA EVP Search Committee 

CSEA Board of Directors 

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122

A CALIFORNIA 

CORPORATION 






(916) 366-6646 

Fax (916) 366-6674 


www.csea.org 

Stella Lee, Territory Manager for VITA 

Internal Revenue Service 

55 South Market Street 

San Jose, CA. 95113 

Dear Ms. Lee: 

SENT VIA EMAIL 

This letter is being written with the unanimous approval and support of the California 

Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA) Board of Directors. 

It has come to our attention that a flyer is currently being distributed through local San 

Francisco Bay Area IRS offices that promotes the free tax preparation services of the 

VITA Program, underwritten by the United Way of the Bay Area. This marketing material 

contains assertions that we believe are misleading and which undermine the image and 

value of the true tax professional. 

“Don’t pay to get your taxes prepared” is one of the messages displayed prominently 

on the face of the colorful postcard. The implication is that no one should pay for tax 

preparation services. We don’t believe that this is the message the IRS intends to 

convey about their professional tax preparer “stakeholder partners”. We wonder if the 

IRS, after working so hard to establish partnerships with the tax professional 

community, realizes how this postcard may be misinterpreted by the general public. 

While we applaud the community service efforts of the EarnIt!KeepIt!SaveIt! program, 

we object to the message being conveyed by this marketing piece. We agree that 

qualifying low income families deserve access to free tax services, but this flyer implies 

that every taxpayer should seek out free tax preparation services. Furthermore, the IRS 

appears to be endorsing the message by displaying the postcard in its offices. 

The reverse of the postcard advises that “IRS-certified tax preparers” are available at 

more than 160 Bay Area sites, and uses wording, that would probably be interpreted by 

most taxpayers, as receiving the “refund of more than $4,800”. As we are all aware 

each and every return is based on the specific information from each client. Even the 



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IRS Website uses the term “IRS certified volunteers” in the information provided about 

the VITA program. It’s not difficult to see how the crafters of the postcard made the leap 

to “IRS-certified tax preparers”. However, this is a giant leap which results in a 

completely different representation of the VITA volunteer preparers. “Certified” connotes 

a higher level of competence and expertise than “registered” or “trained” preparers. The 

postcard does not explain that these “volunteers” are only trained to prepare very simple 

tax returns, and that the IRS does not authorize them to prepare returns outside the 

scope of the VITA locations. 

This postcard and other advertising materials sends the wrong message and distorts 

the true nature of the VITA program, and it should be removed from circulation 

immediately. This includes removal from IRS offices as well as ending all current 

distribution by any of the many high-profile VITA program partners and the other 

advertising venues that are provided free due to the organizations involved. 

In the future we recommend that the IRS review more carefully any promotional 

materials prepared by their community partners to prevent the dissemination of 

misleading and confusing information. We also request that the IRS change the current 

terminology by removing the phrase “IRS certified” from the description of “VITA 

volunteers” to more appropriately describe the limited scope of their expertise and 

experience. A recurrence of this problem should be avoidable if IRS insists that any 

information about the VITA program or its promotion includes the appropriate and exact 

terminology. 

CSEA, its Chapters throughout the state, and individual Members have supported VITA 

for years, teaching many of the VITA classes for volunteers annually to ensure that 

volunteers are properly trained and available to prepare tax returns within the scope of 

the program. 

We have also noted from TIGTA reports that the error rate of the VITA sites has also 

increased. We believe that it is attributed to the fact that many sites are preparing tax 

returns far exceeding the scope of the VITA program as well as the knowledge and 

expertise of those working at the site. 

We appreciate the opportunity to be able to express our concerns and would appreciate 

a reply as to any action that is taken. This program is too important to the working poor 

within California for the program to step beyond the limitations that have been 

established for it. 

If you feel it would be advantageous to have a face-to-face meeting regarding these 

issues, we would be pleased to try and find a mutually agreeable date and time to meet. 

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In the meantime, if you have any questions or need additional information, please 

contact me or Catherine A. Apker, CAE, at 916/366-6646 or via email at 

dave@meyershaw.com or capker@csea.org. Thank you in advance for your attention 

and consideration as you move forward with addressing this issue. 

Respectfully, 

David A. Shaw, EA 

President 


cc: Nina E. Olson, Esq., National Taxpayer Advocate 

Karen Hawkins, Esq., Director, Office of Professional Responsibility 

United Way of the Bay Area and other sponsoring organizations 

Alan N. Hatcher, Special Agents in Charge, San Francisco Field Division, TIGTA 

Patrick Brown, Senior Stakeholder Relationship Tax Consultant 

CSEA Board of Directors 

CSEA Membership and Chapter Development Committee 

125

Wage & Investment 

David A. Shaw, President 



Sacramento, CA 95827 

Dear Mr. Shaw: 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

Atlanta, GA 30308 

November 10, 2009 

Thank you for your letter of October 9, 2009, in which you expressed concern about a flyer 

distributed by the United Way of the Bay Area that promotes the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 

(VITA) Program. The Internal Revenue Service values the longstanding partnership with the 

California Society of Enrolled Agents and appreciates your feedback. 

We have addressed your concerns with the United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA). They, too, have 

partnered with CSEA and with local Enrolled Agents for several years, and were amenable to 

addressing your objections to their flyer. The issues are addressed below: 

Issue 1- The flyer states: “Don’t pay to get your taxes prepared…The implication is that no one 

should pay for tax preparation services.” 

Response- "Don't pay to get your taxes prepared" can be misleading. “Free tax help or services to 

individuals with low-to-moderate income” would be a more accurate statement. After discussions 

with UWBA, they decided to remove that phrase from all marketing materials and instead 

emphasize “free services”. 

Issue 2- Your letter states: “The reverse of the postcard advises that ‘IRS-certified tax preparers’ 

are available at more than 160 Bay Area sites, and uses wording, that would probably be 

interpreted by most taxpayers, as receiving the ‘refund of more than $4,800’. As we are all aware 

each and every return is based on the specific information from each client. Even the IRS Website 

uses the term ‘IRS certified volunteers’.” 

Response- We understand your concern over this terminology and have addressed it with UWBA. 

We feel, however, that the use of the term “IRS-certified” is valid -- volunteers are certified to 

prepare basic types of returns based on their ability to pass portions of an IRS-developed test, just 

as EA’s are certified to practice by passing the EA exam. 

- 2 - 

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Issue 3- The letter states: “This postcard and other advertising materials send the wrong message 

and distorts the true nature of the VITA program, and it should be removed from circulation 

immediately.” 

Clarification- We are not sure which specific postcards you are referring to. However, IRS does 

market the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, offering free tax help to qualified 

taxpayers and to those who come to the Taxpayer Assistance Centers for return preparation 

assistance. 

Issue 4- The letter states: “We have also noted from TIGTA reports that the error rate of the VITA 

sites has also increased. We believe that it is attributed to the fact that many sites are preparing 

tax returns far exceeding the scope of the VITA program as well as the knowledge and expertise of 

those working at the site.” 

Response- Scope was not a factor in the decrease in the accuracy rate. However, in a related 

issue, TIGTA did recommend that IRS “ensure that all new tax law topics and questions pertaining 

to filing status are incorporated into the IRS intake sheet.” IRS concurred, “stating it would 

incorporate new tax law topics and questions pertaining to filing status into its intake sheet.” 

We agree with your assessment that “This program is too important to the working poor within 

California for the program to step beyond the limitations that have been established for it.” VITA 

sites are required to prepare returns only within scope based on the level volunteers are certified. 

Taxpayers with returns that are out of scope of the VITA program should be advised by the sites to 

seek professional services. UWBA, through its Earn It! Keep It! Save It! campaign, would like to 

strengthen the referral system between VITA sites and Enrolled Agents by providing CSEA 

brochures for the sites to distribute when referrals are appropriate. We hope you can be of 

assistance in providing these brochures so that our VITA volunteers can refer taxpayers with outof-scope 

issues to professionals who can provide quality tax preparation assistance. 

I hope this clarifies the issues raised in your letter. SPEC continues to work to improve the VITA 

Program and hopes for a continued positive relationship with the CSEA and its chapters. I will be 

attending the Practitioner Liaison Meeting in Oakland on December 1 to speak to representatives 

of the local EA chapters about the VITA Program and our partnership with United Way of the Bay 

Area. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (510) 637-2460. 

Sincerely, 

Stella Lee 

Territory Manager 

Stakeholder Parnterships, 

Education & Communication 

1301 Clay Street, 1520S 

Oakland, CA 94612 

127

A CALIFORNIA 

CORPORATION 






(916) 366-6646 

Fax (916) 366-6674 


www.csea.org 

CCPA:LPD:PR (Notice 2009-60) 

Room 5203 

Internal Revenue Service 

P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station 

Washington, D.C. 20044 

Re: Notice 2009-60 

Internal Revenue Service: 

We are responding to the above referenced notice on behalf of the Members of the California 

Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA). CSEA appreciates the opportunity to respond to the IRS 

request for comments about Standards of Conduct for the Tax Return Preparer Community and 

Increased Taxpayer Compliance. We applaud the IRS for seeking the input of tax preparers, 

and we appreciate the extension granted by Karen Hawkins, Director of the Office of 

Professional Responsibility (OPR), to present these comments. 

CSEA acknowledges that what ever form of oversight of all currently unregulated tax preparers 

takes, it will be a number of years before all preparers are covered. A phase in process for both 

testing and renewal will need to be implemented similar to how the Enrolled Agents moved to 

the rolling renewal cycle currently in place. 

CSEA is in agreement with the statement made by National Association of Enrolled Agents 

(NAEA) spokesperson Frank Degen, EA, at the July 30, 2009 Taxpayer Forum, but would also 

like to add some comments from a California perspective. 

What types of individuals, entities, and professionals currently work as tax return 

preparers? How are their tax return preparation services currently monitored or 

regulated by professional organizations or the government? How could this monitoring 

and regulation be improved? 

CSEA is a membership organization of Enrolled Agents and other tax professionals. The 

Members come to the profession from a myriad of ways: college graduates, following in the 

family business, former IRS employees, retired military, and many others. In California, all 

Enrolled Agent tax preparers are federally licensed; CPAs and attorneys are state licensed and 

regulated, and other paid tax preparers are registered by the California Tax Education Council 

(CTEC) as a Certified Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP) to prepare taxes in California. 

Registration with CTEC includes: 

• 60 hours of qualifying tax education 



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• 20 hours of continuing tax education each year (12 hours federal, 4 hours California, 

and 4 hours of either federal or California. A 2-hour ethics requirement will also be 

implemented in the 2010/2011 renewal cycle) 

• Maintaining a $5,000 tax preparer bond 

• Awareness of the Tax Preparer Code of Conduct and Responsibilities 

CSEA has been an avid supporter and contributor to this legislatively mandated registration. 

CSEA is one of the organizations that has a standing seat on the CTEC Board of Directors 

along with NAEA and two of our separately incorporated Chapters in California. 

Although CTEC has our full support, we do recognize improvements could be made for a 

national model. CRTPs are not required to take any competency testing and that is a major 

weakness in the regulation of tax preparers in California. Improvements to monitoring and 

regulation in California could also be made through educational campaigns to the taxpayer. In 

general, Californians do not understand the difference between Circular 230 tax preparers and 

CRTPs. CTEC also has no enforcement authority to either discipline a preparer or remove their 

registration. This is a critical element that must be in place for a national program. 

How do differences in regulation and oversight affect how the various groups of tax 

return preparers interact with the Service and taxpayers? 

CSEA Members strive to establish good working relationships with the IRS and the California 

state taxing agencies. Our Members have built up these professional relationships to better 

serve our clients. EAs regularly represent taxpayers before the IRS and have a full 

understanding of the importance of running an ethical practice and maintaining compliance with 

the tax administration. It is evident that not all tax preparers have the same respect and 

relationship with the IRS, which is evidenced in some of the facts presented by Mr. Degen at the 

IRS panel on July 30, 2009. California also has a tremendous tax gap estimated at $6.5 billion 

annually. CSEA Members work in partnership with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) in their 

efforts to reduce the tax gap in California. 

Currently, there is an inconsistency in the oversight of tax preparers across the nation and that 

elevates the public’s inability to find competent and ethical tax preparation services. Any 

individual preparing taxes for a fee should be held to a very high standard to ensure compliance 

with the law and protection for taxpayers. 

CSEA concurs with the July 30 th statement by Frank Degen, EA. “If we succeed in providing 

strong, common sense national return preparer oversight, we will protect taxpayers, elevate the 

profession, and level the playing field for those currently subject to Circular 230.” CSEA stands 

willing to work toward national return preparer oversight. 

Is there a minimum level of education and training necessary to provide tax return 

preparation services? If so, who should be responsible for ensuring that a tax return 

preparer meets this minimum level and how should that be done? 

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Yes, a minimum level of annual education and training is not only necessary, but is crucial. No 

one denies the tax system is complicated, and with the number of changes to the tax code that 

have been occurring on a regular basis, education becomes critical. Continuing education is 

essential to sustain skills and keep up with changing tax laws. CSEA Members agree to 

complete 14 more hours of training each year than is mandated by the IRS. We believe that the 

number of hours required by Circular 230 should be extended to all tax preparers (24 hours 

annually or 72 hours every three years). We also believe that OPR is the appropriate body that 

should be responsible for ensuring that a tax return preparer meets the minimum level of any 

established criteria. Only a government agency with appropriate authority and legal standing 

can do the job that needs to be done. The criteria should encompass consistency in testing, with 

various levels (individual, individual with schedules, trusts and estates and corporations), thus 

demonstrating proficiency for each level as an individual’s career progresses. Prometrics, as 

example, has successfully implemented testing for many professions, including Enrolled Agents 

and CPAs. We envision that the Enrolled Agent license would be the top level of the tax 

profession, and that there should be no grandfathering except for the current EAs, CPAs and 

tax attorneys, who have already demonstrated their proficiency through testing. 

What, if any, service and outreach should be provided to tax return preparers and 

taxpayers? Who should provide (and bear the costs for) these needed services? 

As we can attest in California, outreach is a vital and crucial part of any program and should 

build on the existing regulatory framework and consolidate administration and enforcement 

under the Office of Professional Responsibility. Centralization would ensure that all taxpayers 

are receiving the same message, ensuring a universal standard with the same code of ethics 

and continuing education requirement. Preparers will no longer be able to move around the 

country trying to escape oversight by a state regulatory agency. 

Sufficient money will initially have to be allocated to launch an advertising/outreach campaign to 

ensure all taxpayers are informed and understand the new regulatory framework and the 

consequences of not using a tax preparer designated within that framework. Eventually, based 

on the number of preparers doing U.S. tax returns annual or periodic fees should be adequate 

to both pay for the Office of Professional Responsibility and its oversight activities, and an 

ongoing advertising/outreach campaign for the public. 

Should tax return preparers be subject to a code of ethics, and, if so, what 

specific behavior should that code promote or prohibit? How would that code of ethics 

interact with existing ethical standards that may already be applicable? 

CSEA believes an ethics component is a vital part of any continuing education requirements. 

The components included in Circular 230 that provide a basis for ethical behavior are essential. 

All tax preparers must be held to the same standards to ensure the integrity of the tax system. If 

an enhanced or expanded code of ethics is desirable, there are many examples across the 

United States from both state and national associations that deal with professionals and their 

behavior. 

What, if any, responsibility should the firms or businesses that employ tax 

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return preparers have for the conduct of the individuals they employ? 

CSEA believes that it should be the individual that is certified or licensed. Many times it is a 

company attitude that perpetuates irresponsible activity of its employees. Firms should be held 

to a higher standard of oversight responsibility to ensure that employees are indeed, following 

the law. If disciplinary action is to be taken against an individual, the firm should be scrutinized 

closely to ensure that disciplinary actions are not warranted firm wide based on faulty or 

fraudulent business policies and practices. 

CSEA supports the IRS and the goals of increasing compliance and maintaining high ethical 

standards for all tax practitioners. If you have any questions or need additional information, 

please contact me or Catherine A. Apker, CAE, at 916/366-6646 or via email at 

dave@meyershaw.com or capker@csea.org. Thank you in advance for your attention and 

consideration as you move forward with addressing these issues. 

Sincerely, 

David Shaw, EA 

CSEA President 2009-2010 

cc: Karen Hawkins, Director, Office of Professional Responsibility 

Mark Ernst, Deputy Commissioner, Operation Support 

Nina E. Olson, Esq., National Taxpayer Advocate 

NAEA 

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GOOD OF THE ORDER 

134

Official Board Packet California Society of Enrolled Agents

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