Use summer to refresh, reconnect
Chair's Message
Boz Bostrom | June/July 2024 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated June 4, 2024
For many CPAs, summer provides a welcome opportunity to slow down. Calendar year audits, first-quarter reviews and the first tax deadlines are in the rearview mirror, while there is a bit of breathing room before year-end planning and fall deadlines approach. I imagine many of you will use this restful time to head to the lake, hit the links, sit by a bonfire, travel a bit or try out a new barbecue recipe on the grill.
For me, once school wraps up in mid-May, I hit the speaking circuit hard through June 30, and then have nearly two months before I am back in the classroom. I’ll spend a lot of time in the garden tending potatoes, corn and peppers with my son. I enjoy outdoor live music and dog walks with my wife. I enjoy making meals for my daughter and her friends. With any luck, I’ll do some writing and, perhaps, get some exercise.
There is one more area I will be intentional about: Spending time with my professional network of CPAs, particularly those who I don’t often see throughout the rest of the year. Some of these are relationships I already have and will refresh. Other times, I will put myself in situations where I meet new people.
If you are more on the extroverted side like me, these connections are naturally enjoyable. However, I know many of my CPA friends lean toward an introverted disposition and these interactions can be more of a stretch. However, we all need to consider if we have the network in place to guide us through pivotal career decisions like an unexpected layoff, a potential new job opportunity or a tough ethical dilemma. We need role models, mentors and peers in our lives who we can turn to for advice if these situations arise.
The time to fi nd someone to help you make a tough decision is not when you are facing that decision. You need to have those people in place by the time that scenario hits — people who you have been around, and people who know you. I’d encourage you to use some time this summer to reconnect if you have let some of those relationships slip.
If you don’t have those connections already in place (or even if you do), MNCPA events are a wonderful place to start. You can attend the upcoming
Management and Business Advisers Conference, particularly the in-person option June 11. Consider attending a
Young Professional Group event. Or pull out the golf clubs, and register for the
MNCPA Golf Outing in August.
One of the four value drivers of the MNCPA is community. This driver says, “We are a community of professionals who are looking to build a network that can serve as a source for knowledge sharing and support at every stage of your career. We believe each of us is stronger when we support one another.”
I hope you have a great summer, and I hope you carve out a bit of time to build your network through the MNCPA community.
Sincerely,
Boz Bostrom, CPA
Chair, MNCPA board of directors
boardchair@mncpa.org
