May 2009 Newsletter

homepage & chapter news | meetings & events

President Mark Murtha Willis HRH First Vice President Patricia Stocke Management Sciences Associates, Inc Second Vice President Evan Kaffenes Thermal Industries Inc Secretary Robert Young WesBanco Inc. Treasurer Ken Misch Academic Relations Chair Kuldeep Shastri University of Pittsburgh Academic Relations Involvement Randy Feger Vesuvius USA Academic Relations Involvement John Riccio American Textile Company, Inc. Advisory Director Robert Funderlich Advisory Director H. Richard Howie Cliffs Natural Resources Assistant Treasurer Eric Lipscomb The Shaw Group, Inc. Career Services Evan Kaffenes Thermal Industries Inc Career Services John Riccio American Textile Company, Inc. Career Services Robert Young WesBanco Inc. Career Services Chair Robert Funderlich Chapter Administrator Melissa Kantrowitz University of Pittsburgh Director Randy Feger Vesuvius USA Director Robert Funderlich Director Mark Gibbons Director Timothy Giegel ASKO, Incorporated Director H. Richard Howie Cliffs Natural Resources Director Michael Katz Massaro Corporation Director Donald Lutovsky Conco Systems, Inc. Director Robert Moore Director Linda Renninger Director John Riccio American Textile Company, Inc. Director Kuldeep Shastri University of Pittsburgh Director Jay Van Horn Maxim Crane Works Director John Yokim Membership Chair Evan Kaffenes Thermal Industries Inc Membership Committee Mark Gibbons Membership Committee Evan Kaffenes Thermal Industries Inc Membership Committee Donald Lutovsky Conco Systems, Inc. Membership Committee Ken Misch Membership Committee Jay Van Horn Maxim Crane Works National Liaison Thomas Fleury Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co, lnc. National Liaison H. Richard Howie Cliffs Natural Resources National Liaison William Koch Development Dimensions International Inc. Nominations Chair Patricia Stocke Management Sciences Associates, Inc Nominations Committee Timothy Giegel ASKO, Incorporated Nominations Committee Mark Murtha Willis HRH Nominations Committee Linda Renninger Professional Development Chair Eric Lipscomb The Shaw Group, Inc. Professional Development Committee Michael Katz Massaro Corporation Professional Development Committee Donald Lutovsky Conco Systems, Inc. Professional Development Committee John Riccio American Textile Company, Inc. Programs Chair Mark Murtha Willis HRH Programs Committee Timothy Giegel ASKO, Incorporated Programs Committee H. Richard Howie Cliffs Natural Resources Programs Committee Patricia Stocke Management Sciences Associates, Inc Programs Committee Robert Young WesBanco Inc. Publicity Chair Patricia Stocke Management Sciences Associates, Inc Publicity Committee Randy Feger Vesuvius USA Publicity Committee Jay Van Horn Maxim Crane Works Sponsorship Chair John Yokim Sponsorship Committee Mark Gibbons Sponsorship Committee Eric Lipscomb The Shaw Group, Inc. Sponsorship Committee Ken Misch Web Chair Melissa Kantrowitz University of Pittsburgh	President's Letter May 2009   Hello, I hope you are all doing well. With only one meeting left to go for this year, it's hard to believe that my term as your President is almost over.  This has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my career.  It has been an honor and privilege to lead such a prestigious organization as the Pittsburgh Chapter of FEI.  If you would like to become more involved in our chapter by serving on the Board of Directors or on one of the many committees, please contact me or any member of the Board.   I'm back from the Summit in Dallas.  The three days were filled with great speakers, 13 CPE credits, and a lot of networking opportunities with FEI members from across the country.  Besides me, other Pittsburgh Chapter members who attended were Patty Stocke, Evan Kaffenes, Linda Renninger, Tom Fleury, Bill Koch, and Greg Yochum.   New Members Welcome to our newest members: Jerry Sales Patricia Newingham, Philips Home Healthcare Solutions Greg Yochum, Management Science Associates David Klehn, West Penn Allegheny Health System Jason Ross, Allegheny Valley Bank FEI has scheduled a New Member Orientation Webcast on May 15 at 2:00 Eastern time. Should you wish to join this webinar, click here to register. This is a perfect way to better understand all the valuable benefits offered by FEI!   Contact Evan Kaffenes, Membership Chairman, at: ekaffenes@ThermalIndustries.com if you have any questions about your membership.   Meetings Our last meeting was held on April 21 at the Duquesne Club. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was our keynote speaker at the Duquesne Club.   It was also our scholarship night.  We awarded 8 scholarships to the following very deserving MBA students: Nisa Aktas (Duquesne) Mohammad Allahou (Pitt) Neena Budhiraja (CMU) Ti Chou (IUP) David Grupp (Duquesne) Silvana Guihur (Pitt) Sean Strauman (IUP) Jeff Strine (CMU) Thank you to Scholarship Committee Chairman Kuldeep Shastri of the University of Pittsburgh for all of his hard work in putting this program together again this year. Click Here to view photos from the event.   Our next meeting is today, Wednesday, May 13 at the Duquesne Club. Jeff Broadhurst, CEO of the Eat 'n Park Hospitality Group will be the keynote Speaker.  The Technical Session will be presented by Jefferson Wells: 'Bottom-Line Savings through Contract Compliance and Cost Recovery'.   In addition to our regular meeting, the May meeting will also be our annual election of officers and directors.  As presented by the Nominating Committee, the slate of officers for 2009-2010 are:   Officers Patty Stocke - President Evan Kaffenes - 1st VP Ken Misch - 2nd VP Eric Lipscomb - Treasurer Mark Gibbons   Secretary Bob Young - Asst. Secretary   Board Members Mark Murtha- WillisHRH Randy Feger- Vesuvius Michael Katz- Massaro Corp Don Lutovsky- Conco Systems Kuldeep Shastri- Pitt Jay Van Horn- Maxim Crane Works John Yokim - Transtar, Inc Suzanne Hribik Goodwill Industries Mike Fieldhammer, DDI Harry Soose, Civil and Environmental Consultants Director at Large Bob Moore National Tom Fleury - Area VP Richard Howie - Area Director   Advisory Directors Tim Giegel Linda Renninger   Golf Outing We are planning to have a golf outing again this year at the end of June. More details will come out about this so please keep it mind.   Don't forget about our 'Bring a Guest' Promotion this year. The 'Bring a Guest' program was created to encourage everyone to bring a qualified FEI prospect as a guest to a meeting. We give away a $50 gift certificate during our meetings to a lucky winner. So please consider bringing a friend or co-worker in the accounting profession to our next meeting.   With the Current State of the Economy and with No End in Sight; Do You Know About FEI National Career Services?  Are you looking for a job? Are you looking to post a job? Would you like to upload a resume to the resume bank? Would you like to ensure your career history is up to date? Would you like to create a JobWizard? Are you interested in being considered for Board positions? Have you visited the FEI Career Center lately? Above, are simply a few items you will find in the National Career Center. We have many additional benefits, alliances and resources available to you as well!   Now We Need You! Our job center boasts high level financial positions from some of the top executive search firms in the country but we need YOU, our chapter leaders, to work with your chapter members to view those positions and keep those recruiters coming back. Even if you have career services through your own chapter's website, don't forget to check out the additional jobs on the National Job Center as well!   Are You a Networking Success Story? Have you obtained a new job through the FEI network? Do you know a chapter member who has? If so, FEI Career Services wants to hear from you! Send a short paragraph about your successful networking experience with other FEI members and how it landed you a new position. With your permission, we'd like to post your testimonial within our National Career Center, along with your colleagues who've shared the same success! Send your FEI networking success story to Susan Cully, Career Services Manager.   Free FERFPros Online Training for Members In-Transition To enable in-transition members to stay up-to-date on current skills and continue to meet their CPE requirements, SmartPros (an FEI Strategic Partner) is offering a complimentary subscription to FERFPros Online while members search for their next opportunity. FERFPros offers 24/7 access for one year to online CPE credits. These innovative courses comprise 240 hours of content on a vast array of the hottest topics and themes, through streaming media or interactive text. Find out how you can sign up here!   The Pittsburgh Chapter also has a Career Services Committee chaired by Bob Funderlich. Contact Bob at funderlr@yahoo.com if you have any questions or would like more information.   Online CPE Center CPE Center Upgrade FEI will soon launch the upgrade to our CPE center where we disperse CPE credits for participating chapters. Along with easier navigation of a revised CPE Center for those wishing to obtain their credits, the internal process has also been streamlined ensure CPEs are tracked efficiently in one area of the site.   As all CPEs will now be tracked and distributed in the National database (Netforum), those participating chapters who currently utilize Netforum to create their chapter events will see small to no changes in their process. Those chapters whose administrators do not currently use the national Netforum site to set up chapter meetings will be offered training on the national database or they can contact Susan Cully for assistance or for any other questions regarding the new procedures.   To learn more about CPE Opportunities for members, click here. Join FEI on LinkedIn and XING   LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries. Their mission is to help you be more effective in your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have.   Joining the FEI LinkedIn Group will allow you to find and contact other FEI members on LinkedIn. The goal is to help members: Reach other members within FEI. Accelerate careers and grow your business through referrals from FEI Group members. Know more than the name. You can view professional profiles from fellow FEI Group members. Ask questions and get answers from professionals within your profession.   What are you waiting for? There's never been a better time to start networking with your peers! Join the FEI LinkedIn Group today! Around the world every day, over 6 million business professionals use XING the global business network in 16 languages to do business and promote their career. XING makes networking and professional contact management simple, with made-to-measure networking functions and services. Even more, XING allows you to see how people are connected, which is an excellent tool in generating new contacts of your own.   Don't delay - join your peers on the FEI XING Page today! Career Resolutions for the New Year Member Services Hotline Enabled FEI Member Services has enacted new procedures in the efforts to offer exemplary Customer Service to the FEI membership. Some of the exciting changes include: New hours! Member Services will have Associates available until 7:00pm ET to assist our west coast members and chapters. Member Services Hotline 973.765.1070. Dialing this number will put you through directly to the Member Services Department for instant access to membership personnel.   Partners Thanks to all our partners for your continued support and help with our technical sessions as well as your participation and suggestions in planning future events. I would encourage everyone to consider their services as the need arises in your organizations.   I hope to see you all at our meetings next Wednesday. Please contact me if you have any questions or need more information about FEI.   Best Regards, Mark Murtha FEI Pittsburgh Chapter President mark.murtha@willis.com 412-645-8564     Trends in Income Tax Reporting Automation   The benefits and challenges of automating the income tax reporting process are discussed in a new research study, Trends in Income Tax Reporting Automation by Financial Executives Research Foundation. For this study, senior financial executives were interviewed about their own tax automation experiences.  Among the many benefits being realized from tax automation are: Reduced tax cycle time; Less effort and more accuracy associated with tax data collection and transaction entries; Increased process visibility and control; Greater regulatory compliance and process standardization Increased financial transparency and comprehensive audit trails; Fewer deficiencies identified by SOX reviews; and Freeing up of resources for more higher-value tasks, such as tax planning, modeling and analysis.   On the other side of the coin, most executives commented that the primary obstacles to tax automation are time and budget, along with traditional 'change management' issues.   Download your complimentary copy of the full study at the FERF Bookstore.     FEI Members Enjoy the Following Valuable Benefits   The FEI website / www.financialexecutives.org  Content connecting you to your peers Technical articles Practical research Membership database Chapter programs Event registration   Advocacy FEI is the voice of corporate finance FEI speaks to legislative and regulatory bodies for the profession   Career Center Web-based tools to manage your career advancement Exclusive job listings   Conferences and Webcasts Professional development tailored to your needs   CPE Earn credits with 24/7 access to CPE offerings   FEI Express E-mail delivery of the latest news and insights for private & public companies   Financial Executive magazine FEI's award winning strategic business publication   Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) Current research topics offered through newsletters Online reference library 'Ask FERF' provides prompt responses to your research questions   FELIX FERF moderated online discussion forum     Upcoming National Webcast 'Member Benefits 101: Getting to Know Your FEI' Friday, May 15th at 2:00 EDT For more information or to register, click here.   This 1-hour webcast will give new members an insight into their FEI membership benefits and career services as well as updates on technical committee activities, and new research efforts from FERF (Financial Executives Research Foundation).	chapter sponsors Please visit our sponsor page on our website.