New Accounting Society Officers Elected

At the recent meeting of the Fredonia State Accounting Society, members elected their 2007 officers. The newly elected officers (L-R) are:

• President Marcie Thompson of Conesus, NY
• Vice-president Stephanie Newman of Rochester, NY
• Secretary Amanda Ornowski of Angola, NY
• Treasurer Lynn Mark of Dansville, NY

The first action taken by the new board was the filling of vacant board chair positions. Apointed were:

• Public Relations Chair Lisa Meek of Rochester, NY and
• Program Chair Kristina Ferguson of Ticonderoga, NY

Congratulations to all!

Accounting Society Holds 11/28/06 General Meeting

The Fredonia State Accounting Society held its general meeting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 28 in room S104 of the Williams Center. Outgoing President Emily DelMonte opened the meeting by presenting information to the sixty-eight students and one faculty member in attendance on ongoing events and projects, including :

• the Krispy Kreme Donut Sale fundraiser to be held on Friday, December 1,
• the 17th Annual Educational Field Trip to Toronto on December 8 and 9 and
• the 26th Annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program scheduled for the spring semester.

Following the election of 2007 officers, Program Chair, Ashley Trexler, introduced the evening's guest speakers, from Dopkins & Company, LLP CPAs, Partner Jim Sciarrino, CPA and Audit Manager Mike Condino, CPA, who spoke about "Career Paths In A Large Regional CPA Firm".

Accounting Seniors Accept Offers

Many of our senior accounting majors have accepted positions with firms. Most will begin their new jobs next summer or fall. Those accepting positions so far are (most recent acceptance first):

• Rebecca Wordelmann (November 13, 2006, starting January 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro PC CPAs, Jamestown, NY


• Emily DelMonte (November 5, 2006, starting June 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Dopkins & Company LLP CPAs, Williamsville, NY


• Ron Krzal (November 3, 2006, starting July 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro PC CPAs, Jamestown, NY


• Andrew Reading (October 31, 2006, starting June 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Dopkins & Company LLP CPAs, Williamsville, NY


• Joseph Mucha (October 30, 2006, starting September 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Dopkins & Company LLP CPAs, Williamsville, NY


• Ashley Trexler (October 27, 2006, starting September 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Freed Maxick & Battaglia PC CPAs, Buffalo, NY


• Jason Baldwin (October 23, 2006, starting September 2007) as a Staff Accountant with Eldredge Fox & Porretti LLP CPAs, Rochester, NY


• Amanda Stratton (September 7, 2006, starting September 2007) as an Accountant with Insero & Company CPAs, Rochester, NY


• Megan Green (August 21, 2006, started August 2006) as a Personal Lines Underwriting Processing Assistant with Chautauqua Patrons Insurance Company, Jamestown, NY


• Victoria Pierce (March 16, 2006, started March 16, 2006) as an Accounting Support Specialist with Seneca Gaming & Entertainment, Irving, NY

These ten represent 37% of our December and May graduates.

New Position for Dan Brooks

Word was received recently that Dan Brooks, CPA (formerly of Johnson Mackowiak & Associates, CPAs) took a new position as controller with K&H Industries, Inc., 8656 Delameter Road, Angola, NY 14006. Congratulations and good luck, Dan, in your new position!

Accounting Society Holds 11/14/06 General Meeting

The Fredonia State Accounting Society held its general meeting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 14 in room S104 of the Williams Center. President Emily DelMonte opened the meeting by presenting information to the seventy-three students and one faculty member in attendance on upcoming events and projects, including :

• the 17th Annual Educational Field Trip to Toronto,
• the Krispy Kreme Donut Sale fundraiser to be held on Friday, December 1 and
• the 26th Annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program scheduled for the spring semester.

Program Chair, Ashley Trexler, introduced the evening's guest speaker, Tracy Collingwood '94, the newly appointed campus-wide Internship Coordinator with the Fredonia State University's Career Development Office (CDO). She spoke to students about the question, "Thinking About An Internship?" and described the many ways in which CDO can help students find an internship.

26th Annual VITA Program Planning Begins

Planning for the Fredonia State Accounting Society sponsored 2007 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program has started with regular weekly meetings with faculty advisor John Olsavsky, last year's VITA coordinator Gary Travis and this year's VITA coordinator Darren Lillie. This community service program is accomplished with the support and coordinating efforts of Barbara Dawkins, Senior Tax Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service's Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) office in Buffalo, NY.

For those of you not familiar with the program, the IRS VITA Program offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income (generally, $39,000 and below), elderly and non-English speaking people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. Certified volunteers sponsored by various organizations receive training to help prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country. VITA sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls, and other convenient locations. Most locations also offer free electronic filing.

At the local level, the coordinator's responsibilities for planning include recruiting volunteers, determining the time and place of both online and live training, ordering of equipment and supplies needed for everything from recruitment to providing services, acquiring and setting up the laptop PCs for electronic filing, scheduling the timing and location of service sites and lot of other little tasks that add up to an immense effort.

Oh, by the way, this will be the 26th year in which students from the Fredonia State's Accounting Society have conducted this worthwhile program here in the Dunkirk and Fredonia area.

R. A. Mercer Announces Shareholders

R.A. Mercer & Co., P.C., CPAs recently announced two new shareholders to the firm. One of which is our very own Denise (Boss) Veloski, CPA, '91. Denise has fifteen years experience including both private and public accounting, and works in the Cattaraugus office. Veloski earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Fredonia State University, and has extensive experience in auditing and tax services. She lives in Gowanda with her husband Don and two children.

R.A. Mercer & Co., P.C., CPAs is a certified public accounting firm that provides a wide variety of services, including planning and tax preparation for individuals, corporation and estates, as well as, many other business and consulting services. The company has offices in Cattaraugus, Sardinia, Springville, and Orchard Park.