President's Message

June 2009-Inaugural President's Letter for 2009-2010

As we enter June, a new year begins for the leadership of the Michigan Council of the IMA.  Lest we forget, let us thank Bob Maddox and the rest of the board who have energized us to yet another Council of Excellence Award, the twelfth in a row!  We must be doing something right in seeking to serve our member chapters and their constituents.

Be glad also for the numerous achievements of our chapters in the national competition, and congratulate the board members and presidents who made them happen:

At the council level, we have revamped our website, with a special effort to get every chapter’s website current.  We took steps to shore up one of our struggling chapters, added a new chapter (Michiana), made progress in re-establishing another student chapter, promoted the CMA certification with advertising and sponsoring review courses, had a high attendance at our renowned Fall Conference, and participated through our council members in the IMA’s national committees that make a big difference in the experience of our members, to name just a few initiatives. 

After patting ourselves on the back for the deserved acclaim of our hard work, we look to the future to continue and expand this success.  In the 2009-2010 year, we aim to extend the initiatives to invigorate our chapters, while representing them at the national level. Those of our members who would be interested in attending our annual planning meeting, please reserve the date of July 14, at La Senorita Restaurant in Lansing at 5:30 p.m. (or come when you can).  The tentative dates for Michigan Council Board meetings held at La Senorita Restaurant in Lansing are:

The Michigan Fall Conference will be held October 29, at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, with an exciting program to keep us abreast of our fast-changing industry.

As the Council President this year, let me tell you a bit about my background.  Some of you know I have a large family, with seven children, living in Ann Arbor.  Currently and for the last few years I have worked for various clients of Jefferson Wells, a national accounting and finance consulting firm.  Prior to this position, I was Vice-President of Administration at Jobo Fototechnic, a photographic equipment distributor based in Ann Arbor, working my way up from warehouse clerk.

 Ironically, I started out in a field of study far from accounting – speech pathology.  When I took career test at age eighteen, my lowest score was in accounting! Shows you how much we know at that age.  I went on to obtain an MSA (Masters of Science in Accounting) from Eastern Michigan over thirteen years while working full-time and raising that big family.  Upon completion of the master’s degree, I took and passed the CMA and CIA exams, at the urging of Dr. Bob Okopny, a strong IMA supporter.  As a life-long learning enthusiast, a couple summers ago I took the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam and passed that, much to my relief. I am studying for the Microsoft Professional certification, just to stay sharp. I have held various chapter and council board positions, including student chapter and Ann Arbor Chapter president, partly through the encouragement of mentors and colleagues.

So the themes of my tenure as Council President will include encouraging the chapters such as I “grew up in” to be strengthened and well-supported as professional education and networking opportunities, pushing the establishment of a student chapter in East Lansing, and the promotion of our own council professional education efforts such as the hugely popular Michigan Fall Conference.  As a way of promoting our chapters, we will consider how to use the position of corporate development on the boards of the council and chapters to pick up membership and attendance at our very interesting presentations around the state.  I hope to be in close contact with as many chapter board members as possible personally. I welcome your input. As a product of all our efforts, I expect to hoist a thirteenth Council of Excellence Award at the 2010 Annual Conference and clap for at least as many chapter awards as in the past year.  By the way, if any chapters need a technical speaker, I have a nice one-hour presentation on “Excel Best Practices” I would be glad to give.  As a final note, thank you for all the sacrifices and efforts you make as members, especially serving on our chapter and council boards.  You need to know that your service makes a difference in the lives of your colleagues and friends. 

Chris Mishler, CMA, CIA

Michigan Council President 2009-2010

June 2009-Final letter for 2008-2009

Dear IMA Colleagues,

What a fabulous end to the IMA fiscal year!  May has brought sunshine, warm weather, and awards to the Great Lakes.

The Michigan Regional Council was awarded the Council of Excellence Award.   This is a significant accomplishment.  Although the Council has won this award a dozen years in a row, please understand that each year it took a lot of hard work by the entire Council to be recognized.   Like my predecessors, I was blessed with a strong, dedicated Board.

And there is even more good news: Banners were won by a number of our Chapters:


I will be making my first foray in many years to the National Conference in Denver (June 6-10).  I know that the economy is not treating most businesses very well these days, but I do hope that I will see many of you there. 

The Lansing-Jackson chapter held an emergency organizational meeting on April 30th for the purpose of re-instituting its Board and setting up plans to invigorate chapter operations.  Several Council Board members were on hand and have volunteered to assist the Chapter in its endeavor.

I am in the process of handing over the leadership of the Council to Chris Mishler.  Chris has served both the Council and the Ann Arbor Chapter for many years and will do a fantastic job at the helm.  He will have another strong Board of Directors along with solid teams at the Chapters.

Chris will be leading the annual summer Council Planning meeting on Tuesday, July 14th in Lansing, at La Senorita on Lake Lansing Road.   Chris will be getting an agenda out shortly.  Be sure to check this Website regularly (www.imamichigan.org).

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year as Council President.  Sincere thanks to the Board and to all who contributed to our successes the past 12 months.

Warmest Regards,

Bob Maddox

 

March 2009

Dear IMA Colleagues,

Well, I’m ready for Spring.   But our March 5th Council meeting still qualifies as Winter. By now you have survived, even thrived during the holidays and may have had a chapter meeting or two.

Lara McDavit, our Community Specialist in Montvale, is asking, “if any of your chapters have done mentoring programs where veteran members are matched (with) new members as well as members who are (in a) similar professional field.”  This is a good question.  I ask that any chapters who have a program such as this email both Lara (lmcdavit@imanet.org) and me.  If your mentoring program is working out well, I also encourage you to share this with your fellow Michigan Council chapters.

Speaking of chapters -- through January, the Upper Peninsula Chapter is in 5th place and Saginaw Valley is in 18 th in the Warner Division.  Ann Arbor leads the larger Michigan Regional chapters at 24th place of Stevenson Division.  Detroit and Kalamazoo are close behind in 32nd and 33rd respectively.

Lee Bennett continues to work on our Michigan Council website (www.imamichigan.org).   He has transferred both the domain name registrar and hosting site, and has begun implementing the new template from the Council pages on to the Chapters that are interested.  Be sure to visit the Council and Chapters' pages.  I strongly encourage Chapters that need help or want to freshen the look of their sites to respond to Lee’s offer.

We are well into the second half of the competition year.  The Council can be proud of what it has accomplished thus far, including the Fall Conference, a recent IMA/CMA presentation at MSU, and its support of students.   During the upcoming meeting we will review and agree upon those actions still to take place this Spring.

Don’t wait any longer to register for the annual National Conference in Denver (June 6-10).  This will be my first in many years, and I am looking forward to it.  Lynn Margulies is reprising her role as headmaster / bouncer of our Hospitality Suite, and is expecting to see you there.

We will be holding our next Council Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, March 5th at La Senorita.   If you have an item for the agenda please let me know asap.   I also ask for a brief report from each Chapter President to let us all know how your chapter is doing and what you have planned for the ensuing months.

I look forward to seeing you at our Council meeting on March 5th.

Regards,

Bob Maddox

December 2008

Dear IMA Colleagues,

If you weren’t there on October 29, you missed a mighty fine conference. 

Our 7th Annual Fall Conference was a big success.  Record attendance, great speakers, interesting topics, and a great venue.   A big nod of appreciation to the conference committee: Jim Horsch, Chris Mishler, Lee Bennett, Sue Bos, Teresa DeBaeke, Sue Crane, and Lynn Margulies.   I must also recognize the continued support of our Gold Sponsors, Robert Half/Accountemps, and our Corporate Sponsors, Comerica Bank and Cleary University.  Look on the Conference page of this site for a recap and photos from this big event.

In our IMA national competition, through September, the Upper Peninsula Chapter is in 4th place in the Warner Division among chapters under 100 members.  Detroit Metro leads the larger Michigan Regional chapters at 31st place in the Stevenson Division. Each division consists of about 200 IMA chapters.

I have heard that the recent Student Conference in Jacksonville went very well.  We will be getting a report regarding the conference in coming days.

Lee Bennett has done a fantastic job rejuvenating our website.  This site is even more useful than before, with updated listings of events and news for IMA members in our region.  To further improve chapters' websites, we are asking that chapters needing help in getting their pages up-to date contact Lee.  Look for comments from Lee in our winter newsletter as well as on the website.

We are fast approaching the end of 2008 and many of you will be planning your fiscal year-end activities.  In advance of crunch time we will be holding our next Council Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, December 4th at La Senorita in Lansing.   If you have an item for the agenda please let me know.   I also ask for a report from the Chapter Presidents in advance of this meeting – let the rest of the Council know how your chapter is doing and what you have planned.  

I look forward to seeing you on December 4.

Regards,

Bob Maddox

September 2008

Dear IMA Colleagues,

Welcome to the newly re-designed website of the IMA Michigan Regional Council. And welcome to the members of the Michiana Chapter who have recently become part of our Michigan Council. The Council strives to encourage active membership in the IMA and participation at the local Chapter level. The Council Board has already been active preparing for the new year. Two goals will constitute our primary focus:

  1. Chapter Assistance – the Council wants to do what it can to help promote its member chapters, and to increase attendance at local meetings and participation on chapter boards.

  2. Students and Young Professionals – the future of this organization depends on the influx of new members. The IMA has long been active in providing professional development opportunities for students in accounting and finance programs. We wish to increase our reach to even more students. We also want to let those who are early in their career know about what the IMA is about, and that there is a chapter near them that would love to meet them at their next event.

The Council’s single biggest event, our annual IMA Michigan Fall Conference will be held this year in E. Lansing on October 29th. The full day of professional development is always a crowd pleaser. Please see the Conference page for details.

The Michigan Council board meeting dates are September 4, 2008; December 4, 2008; and March 5, 2009 (refer to our homepage for meeting times and location).

The Council can always put additional volunteers to good use, so please feel free to contact me or any other board member.

Here’s to a great year for the IMA. Thanks for your continued support.

Regards,

Bob Maddox

 

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