Member Stories

Why I Love My Profession
“I have been “Certified” since 1972. I spent almost 10 years learning the trade at Arthur Anderson and Co. here in Portland. I have been truly blessed because:

1. I have been appropriately financially rewarded.
2. I have interacted with people with a multitude of skills, attitudes and personalities.
3. I have experienced variety (audit work, tax work, bookkeeping, consulting, estate planning, and on and on) throughout my career.

I have served with the OSCPA Continuing Professional Education (CPE) group – Professional Development Team – for over 25 continuous years. CPE is so valuable to our profession. The OSCPA’s CPE staff and volunteers offer unsurpassed service!

Giving back has always been part of my personality. It’s so rewarding. As you read this, please take a few moments out of your busy day to assess your ability to serve the wonderful profession that provides so much to you.

CPAs should be the most trusted advisors (MTAs) to their clients. Are they always? No. Are CPAs team players? Yes. Being an MTA is a high calling.

CPAs have the highest of business ethics. CPAs are self-regulated and self-enforced to continue practicing with the highest of standards – standards that permeate throughout our industry. This makes CPAs special.

I love a profession where CPE is mandatory, ethics are highly regarded, and people get well paid to “do it right.”

I love my profession.”

Wayne J. Slovick, CPA
Portland

“I imagine that every one who has had the privilege of serving the OSCPA can say that during their time it was a time of change. The 2000-01 year was no exception. The OSCPA was challenged to do more with less – sound familiar? So we looked hard at all that the Society was doing and focused on what was the best for our members. This resulted in the establishment of strategic interest teams, project teams, eliminating and or consolidating committees, and a change in the governance structure.

We were faced with the Uniform Accountancy Act and passing legislation that would allow CPAs to receive commissions. The AICPA was proposing the new “XYZ” credential, remember “if we don’t do it someone else will,” and CPA2biz.

Enough said on change. My personal experience with the OSCPA is that I was, and remain, impressed at the quality of service that can only be possible because of the outstanding and dedicated staff and the many volunteers who contribute their time, energy and resources so generously.”

Michael G. Lewis, 2000-01 OSCPA President
Springfield, Ore.

What do we teach the next generation of CPAs?

"Some time ago a student gave me a perspective on how much I have witnessed in this profession when a student walked into my office, looked at my CPA certificate, and commented that I have been a CPA longer than he had been alive! I have witnessed a profession that tried to solve too many challenges with a proliferation of standards, a chain of alleged—and real—audit failures, and a series of congressional investigations. Looking back on my experiences, one message comes through loud and clear that we need to pass on to the new generation of CPAs – an audit is not a commodity!

In my opinion, the greatest mistake CPAs have made in the last 30 years was that we could not realistically price an audit, just use it to get in the door, and make a living by selling other services. We need to pass on the logic that good audits do audit the organization, not just audit the transaction trail. I recall a scheduled one-hour client meeting that turned into to a four-hour meeting. Later my audit manager (Dennis Hopper) told me that he was not prepared to leave the room until we had reached agreement with the client on the importance of a controversial audit issue to the client’s business, not just its financial statements. Through this experience, and others, I saw that an auditor’s knowledge about the client’s business is what was valued by the client. Auditors must be able to recognize the financial consequences of organizational risks and make them transparent to management and financial statement users. Independent CPAs must be skilled in identifying earnings quality problems, cash flows that are not sustainable, and an entity’s liquidity and solvency risks. CPAs can help clients prevent fraud (which is not an isolated event). Financial statement users find real value in the fact that they can rely on information that is presented fairly.

I continue to hear stories from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office about an unacceptably high proportion of audits that are not in accordance with GAAS or GAGAS. The OSCPA is experiencing a shortage of a new generation of CPAs to conduct peer reviews, and firms need a new generation of auditors to take responsibility for quality control within firms. Each generation seems to find out the hard way that too often CPAs should not be price-takers and that we let ourselves believe that client’s cannot afford for us to do the job the way we should. I am not sure that we have fully learned that an audit serves the public interest in many ways, that a good audit has real value for the client and for the public, and it is not a commodity.”

Raymond Johnson
Portland

The offices were located at 720 Oregon Bank Building. Marian Clay and Betty Nelson ably assisted me and managed to help me avoid some of the pitfalls of a newcomer. Finally, the original Oregon Bank space wasn’t adequate and the move was made to the building in Beaverton. I believe Mel Nygaard was president at the time.

It was a time of great change for Society members. Prohibitions against advertising and direct uninvited solicitation were eliminated. Mandatory CPE became a living thing. All of these things had a huge impact on the OSCPA. CPE alone became a business unto itself. Betty Nelson initially managed the CPE program. Then, Sherri McPherson took over the program and has done an excellent job.

When I came on board, I was told to update and improve the Society’s newsletter. Fate smiled and Cheryl Langley, with her background in print and publishing, came to my rescue. She remained my strong right hand over my tenure. When I retired in 1989, the Board wisely selected her to replace me and she is to be commended for her dedication and excellent performance since then.

Following my retirement, I did some lecturing at the U of O and some consulting for Portland accounting firms. Having worked in show business for the better part of my life, working for CPAs was like moving from the shadows into the sunlight. Thanks, Cliff!”

Jim Lawrence
Oceanside, Ore.

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby!

Beginning my career with what was then the “Big 8” in the early 1970s, I faced a few challenges as a young woman trailblazing in an almost exclusively male domain.

Before my first day on the job, I should have tumbled to the fact that I was to be only the third woman on a 60-plus professional staff in the Boston office. The other two women started two years before me and were counting down to the day they fulfilled their three-year experience requirement for CPA certification in Massachusetts. Being a minority is no fun! During my interview with the firm, I was asked, “How do you think the secretaries will react to taking direction from a woman?” I was also advised that I would not be sent on out-of-town assignments so that my “husband would not be inconvenienced!” Needless to say, when push came to shove, I was sent out of town. It was a great assignment—a manufacturing company with distribution centers around the country. However, the best part was that I became “one of the guys.”

The two women on staff left according to their plans. I stayed on for 13 years! After three years, I moved to Portland and joined another “Big 8” for 10 more years. Women hires became much more common in the early 1980s but breaking through that glass ceiling proved a more daunting challenge. The “Big 4” have many women partners today but not in proportion to their hires. Yes, we have come a long way…and there is still much more ground to cover.

Alexis Dow, CPA
Portland

“I obtained my CPA certificate in Jan of 1960. Shortly afterward, I joined both the AICPA and OSCPA. I remained active in both organizations throughout my business career. I retired as Chief Financial Officer of Bank Holding Company, Orbanco. Inc, in April 1987.

My accounting career included one year with Erickson, Eiseman & Co, while attending Lewis & Clark College and five years with Haskins & Sells as an in-charge accountant. I then began my career in private industry.

I served on several committees of both the AICPA and OSCPA. I was a member of the Council of the AICPA for seven years and served on the Board of Directors. I was an officer of the OSCPA. I enjoyed all of my activities in both organizations.

When asked to reflect on something of interest in connection with the Oregon Society, I remember that when I was elected President of the OSCPA in 1977, I was only the second CPA from Private Industry to have been elected as President.

The Oregonian newspaper reported that “ Roy Livermore, A NON-ACCOUNTANT, was elected as president of the Oregon CPAs in 1977.”

I remembered this fondly every time George Scott, the president who preceded me, would remind me that I was a non-accountant.”

Roy Livermore
Gresham, Ore.

“I was active in the leadership group of the Society just prior to and after the turn of the century. In preparation for the new millennium, the accounting profession was busy working on what was referred to as the CPA Vision Project. This “Vision” for short was an initiative by the AICPA and State Societies to define the role of CPAs as we moved into the new millennium. On the local level, we were also redefining the role of the Society leadership structure. We had many committees who were led by a “chairperson.” The rebranding of these groups was to be in harmony with the Vision, consequently committees became “Teams” and chairpersons became “Team Leaders.” TEAM became an acronym that meant “Together Everyone Accomplishes More.” I particularly remember a TEAM leaders meeting held on June 17t, 1998, that was attended by 27 Society members and several members of the OSCPA staff.

I also have fond memories of participating on a task force in 2004 to review the long-standing process for electing Society officers and directors. This had always been done democratically with nominations and elections, but over the years fewer and fewer members actually participated in the process. Hence, the election materials and ballot counting consumed large amounts of Society resources in time and money. We also found than many other state societies had abandoned the election process for a committee-appointed one. The task force ultimately agreed that contested elections discouraged qualified volunteers who were not elected, in addition to the cost, so our recommendation to the membership was that contested elections be eliminated in favor of a nominations committee appointment. This proposed change required an alteration of the bylaws, which required consent from a majority of the membership. In the fall of 2004, the members approved the proposed change by a 6-to-1 margin.”

Brent F. Goodfellow
Hillsboro, Ore.

“While OSCPA celebrates 100 years, my husband and I (both retired CPAs) will be celebrating 50 years of marriage. This is only significant because in the November 1957 (Volume 9, number 2) issue of the “Oregon Certified Public Accountant” our engagement was announced when we both worked for Pope & Loback, CPAs. On May 31st we will celebrate our 50th anniversary, not a record, but we worked together for over 30 years, including our own partnership.

And I might add, accounting was not a woman’s profession when I started in 1954! Even women were not allowed to take the CPA exam on the same terms as men.  It is rewarding to see accounting open to many young women today.”

Selma I. Starns
Corvallis , Ore.