Pass It On!

By Steven A. Pullara, CPA, CGMA

The last year sure has flown by. It’s hard to believe my year as your WICPA board chair concludes April 30. It has truly been an honor and privilege to have led the board and our strategic planning and risk management for this wonderful organization. Over the last year, I’ve developed an even greater appreciation for our organization, our profession and each and every one of our members. The insight, feedback, input and ideas provided by all of you will help us, collectively, to continuously improve this already outstanding profession.

There are way too many people to thank for making my dreams of leading the board a reality this last year. I would be remiss to not thank a few in my last chair’s letter.

First, thanks to my wife, Patti, for all her support throughout my career; my parents, Tony and Iretta, for their outstanding parenting and upbringing; and my firm’s leadership for encouraging me to devote time to the WICPA and its board through the years.

I also want to thank the other board members, committee chairs and members who devote their time, energy and talents to the organization. Your involvement helps make this organization the great resource it is.

And most importantly, thank you to the small but unbelievably effective, hard-working, creative and professional staff of the WICPA. The teamwork , collaboration and excellent work of the group with Tammy’s leadership — especially around our Level Up With Accounting CPA pipeline initiative — is amazing and second to none. These folks have all made my job easy — just as I was told they would.

I’ve heard many people say something to the effect of “It isn’t what you do or accomplish in life and your career; it is what you pass on.” I believe I’m doing my best to pass on my professional skills and knowledge to those who succeed me in our profession and those whom I associate with — especially the younger professionals. I encourage all of our more experienced members to do the same.

I was fortunate to have a lot of mentors who shared their knowledge and professional expertise with me throughout all stages of my career. I encourage our younger professionals to actively seek out more experienced members for mentorship to gain knowledge, problem-solving skills, experience and practical wisdom that they, in turn, can pass along.

In other words, I urge everyone to please PASS IT ON — just as I will be doing for our next WICPA board chair!

“I am grateful to our staff for their assistance as we navigate through initiatives and decisions; to the board members, who have supported us during these changing times; and to you, the members, for continuing your commitment to the profession by renewing your dues, donating to the WICPA Educational Foundation and contributing to our legislative funds — and for making these initiatives possible.”