September
Meeting Information - Thursday,
September 11
Location:
Trade Center – Downtown Chattanooga
Chapter Luncheon:
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Luncheon Topic:
Elder Law
Luncheon Speaker:
Martin L. Pierce
Luncheon CPE Credit:
1 Hour Tax
Luncheon Fee:
There is no charge for members to attend the
lunch. There is a $20 fee for guests. Please pay at the door.
Make reservations for yourself and guests by noon on Friday, Sept. 5.
To register, visit
http://www.tscpa.com/public/Catalog/CourseDetails.aspx?courseID=080209 or call
1-800/762-0272.
Board Meeting
The board of directors will meet at the Trade Center in Meeting Room 1
at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11. If you would like to attend,
please call Becky Fingerle (423/785-1398) prior to the meeting to be included on
the agenda.
Lunch
Speaker - Martin L. Pierce
Martin L. Pierce, a native of Memphis,
Tenn., received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from
Tennessee Technological University in 1978, and received that
institution's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award in 1988. Pierce received his
law degree, with high honors, from The University of Memphis in 1981,
where he was a published member of the University of Memphis Law Review.
He is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Georgia, as well as before
the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pierce works primarily in the areas of estate & charitable planning,
wills, trusts, elder law, probate and guardianships; business entity
law, including corporations, LLCs and partnerships, with a special
emphasis on work for nonprofits, tax-exempt organizations and foundations;
and employee benefits, retirement plans, cafeteria plans, health savings accounts and ERISA.
He is a Certified Estate Planning Law Specialist through the
ABA-accredited National Association of Estate Planners & Councils and the
Tennessee Commission on Specialization.
Pierce has served on the Boards of the Chattanooga Christian School, the
IMPACT School, First Things First, Lighthouse Counseling Services, Big
Brothers/Big Sisters of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Optimist Club. He
currently serves on the Boards of Chattanooga Matters (former Chairman,
1995-2000; Executive Committee, 2004-Present) and Paraclyte Counseling
Services. Martin is also currently the Chairman of the Alpha Fund, a
component fund of the Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation.
Pierce is a frequent speaker to professional groups, business
organizations, civic organizations, churches and other groups on estate
planning, elder law, charitable and planned giving, employee benefits,
business entities, tax-exempt entities, nonprofits, and financial planning
topics. Additionally, he writes articles for the Chattanoogan.com
online “newspaper.”
Pierce is in his 28th year of law practice in Chattanooga.
President’s Message
Chapter members,
As the academic year begins for educators and students, I would like to
report on the TSCPA Accounting Academy. The Accounting Academy is a way
for high school students to explore the various career options for CPAs.
Our chapter, as well as some of our Chattanooga area firms, contributed
financially to the support of the 2008 Accounting Academy held July 20-23
at Belmont University. The Accounting Academy was attended by 70 high
school students, nine of whom were from the Chattanooga area. These nine
students from Chattanooga came from two area high schools. It is likely
that these two high schools benefited from people who championed this
academy and encouraged young people to attend. We appreciate those in our
chapter who serve as liaisons in our area high schools to encourage
participation in the various programs we offer. If you could serve as a
liaison in any of our local high schools to promote this academy, as well
as other career awareness programs, you would facilitate the development
of our young accounting candidates in Chattanooga and the surrounding
area. Please contact Lindsey Deweese at the society office if you're interested.
We have an opportunity to support one of our local “Academies” in October.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will present the annual
Accounting Lecture Series in October. Our October meeting will be in
conjunction with this event. We are happy to have this opportunity to
interact with professionals in the academic arena and in other accounting
and finance organizations. This is a first-class event and I trust that
our chapter will be well-represented.
I wish all of our student members, as well as our members who are
educators, success in the coming academic year.
Becky Fingerle
Chattanooga Chapter President
Upcoming Chapter
Meetings
Thursday, Oct. 9
Lunch
Accounting Lecture Series
Thursday,
Nov. 13
Thursday,
Dec. 11
Lunch and
Afternoon CPE
John Houston - Tax Update
Lunch and
Afternoon CPE
Dennis Dycus - Governmental Update
Save the Date - 2008 Autumn Children's Festival
The 2008 Ronald McDonald
House Autumn Children's Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4 -
Sunday, Oct. 5!
The Ronald McDonald House is the adopted charity of the Chattanooga
Chapter of TSCPA. We appreciate our members' and firms' strong support of
the Autumn Children's Festival.
For more information on becoming a sponsor or a volunteer, please contact
Jeff Ross at
JRoss@fsgbank.com or Michael Rogers at
mrogers2@unum.com.
cpe for
change
TSCPA
Chattanooga Cluster
Wednesday - Friday, Sept. 17-19, 2008 The Chattanoogan Hotel &
Conference Center
The Chattanooga Cluster offers high-quality continuing education courses
from AICPA. Earn up to 24 hours of CPE credit in three short days!
Associate
Jerald E. Jenkins
Kyle R. Bryant
Tatyana L. Watson
Lindsey J. Blazek
Kelly D. Johnson
Joseph D. Shrum
Jesse A. Taylor
Student
Amy L. Sullivan
TSCPA Member
Benefit
TSCPA has created a Facebook group for students and young professionals.
This group serves as a forum for student and young professional members of
the Tennessee Society of CPAs to connect with each other as they explore
the CPA profession.
Conference
highlights: Commissioner’s Update, Accounting Update,
Technology, Economic Outlook, Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses
Update and Developing an Appropriate Allowance Methodology, Due
Diligence – War Stories, Tax Update, Investments
Click
here for schedule and registration information.
Conference highlights: Will Construction Shine or Decline in
2009?, A&A Update for Contractors, Construction Employment Law
Update, Multi-State Tax Update, Trends in Construction
Technology, AIA Documents, Succession Planning + Business
Valuation, Construction Taxation Update and Maximizing Your Firms
Bonding Capacity
Click
here for schedule and registration information.
Conference
highlights: Case Law Update, Mock Business Valuation
Deposition, Interviewing Techniques,
Expert Testimony-Valuations in Estates, Trends and Challenges in
Federal, State and Local Prosecution, Anatomy of an
Investigation, Accounting Standards Update
Click
here for schedule and registration information.
Martin L. Pierce, a native of Memphis,
Tenn., received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from
Tennessee Technological University in 1978, and received that
institution's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award in 1988. Pierce received his
law degree, with high honors, from The University of Memphis in 1981,
where he was a published member of the University of Memphis Law Review.
He is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Georgia, as well as before
the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chapter President Becky Fingerle with
Scholarship Recipient John Jennings of The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
President-Elect Tom Gavin, Dr. Sandy McKenzie
and Chapter President Becky Fingerle
