Greetings, fellow Inland Empire Chapter members.

I imagine that if I could ask each of you why you are a member of CalCPA, I’d get a variety of responses. If you are a member who is personally paying for access to California’s preeminent member’s club for CPAs, you would likely easily respond with a list of benefits you enjoy. If your employer has provided membership to you, then they must see tremendous value in you and your career development. If it’s been a while since you took advantage of your benefits in CalCPA, there are so many, and you can find a list of them on the new CalCPA website, but here are a few of my personal favorites.

• Opportunities to connect with other members at local events.

• Leadership development at all stages of your career

• Advancing your technical skills through a variety of means

Modern technology provides us with so many ways for us to learn new things. Have you ever started researching something and found yourself down a rabbit hole leading you to a plethora of information that was deeper than you ever imagined? Maybe that’s even happened to you on a topic in our own industry. I recently found myself down the artificial intelligence (AI) rabbit hole, and it was both exciting and overwhelming as I considered how this technology will help our profession advance. I’m looking forward to seeing how others in our profession will leverage this technology for the good of our members and those we love to serve. I'd love to hear if you’re already traveling this path and have a story about your experience utilizing AI.

I wish you a great transition to the fall season. I hope to connect with you at a future chapter event.