AMERICAS REGION HIGHLIGHTS 2012 Annual Worldwide Meeting The Drake Hotel Chicago, Illinois, USA October 20-23, 2012

NUMBER OF FIRMS IN THE REGION: Canada – 6 Latin America – 14 United States – 46

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE New members: Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP (New York, New York, USA), Jované & Jované (Panama City, Panama), Ladersam Consultores S.A. (Lima, Peru), and Santivañez Guarniz y Asociados Sociedad Civil (Lima, Peru). Lost member: San Salvador, El Salvador

 We need your help to find new members. While traveling, at CPE, etc., THINK BKR!  Refer a Member Program: Any member referring a prospective firm that gets approved will receive a free registration to the regional meeting.  Looking for members in Cincinnati, Ohio; Seattle/Tacoma, Washington; Indianapolis, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; and New England; as well as locations throughout South America – ask the Executive Office!  Currently prospective members in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Greensboro, North Carolina. MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

2012/13 AMERICAS BOARD Howard Rosen – Chairman (St. Louis, Missouri, USA) Jason Tonjes – Vice Chairman/Treasurer (Omaha, Nebraska, USA) Karen Brenneman (Canton, Ohio, USA) David Goldner (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) James Kraft (San Francisco, California, USA) Raymi Mejia (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) Nancy Nerone (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Johnny Veselka (Houston, Texas, USA) Neal Von Stein (Jacksonville, Florida, USA)

AMERICAS REGION DUES U.S. - Minimum dues are $11,688; Maximum dues are $25,312 Canada - Minimum dues are $7,596; Maximum dues are $16,452

Currently 21 practice groups, each of which have their own web page and business plans. Most practice groups have quarterly niche teleconferences, teleseminars, and/or in-person meetings. 21 PRACTICE GROUPS

Affordable Housing Americas Region Standards Business Valuation Firm Administrators Forensic Accounting/Litigation Support Future Leaders Governmental/Not-for-Profit Accounting and Auditing High Net Worth Families/Estate Planning Human Resources Manufacturing Marketing Medical Practices and Health Care Real Estate and Construction Retirement Plan Auditors Retirement Plan Services SALT SEC Tax (Americas) Tax (Canadian) Tax (U.S.) Technology (Internal)

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES Currently, the Americas Region has the following Strategic Alliances. We invite 4-5 to sponsor at the regional meeting (at $6,000 each) to help defray costs. –1st Global, Inc. - Financial services - 1st Global provides independent or full service support for a complete range of financial services. –Becker Professional Education - Discounts on training for CPA review and CPE programs. –CCH - Discounts are available to members on all library publications, virtual seminars, and software. –First Research Industry Profiles - First Research provides industry profiles for more than 900 industry segments. Many US firms are requiring the profiles be reviewed and maintained on file for all attest engagements. Most firms review the profiles before meeting with a client in an unfamiliar industry.

–FrontStream Payments - Discounts on credit card processing and processing efficiencies. –Ingenuity Marketing Group - Assists firms with business development, marketing strategies, and client retention programs. –Loscalzo Associates - Discounts on accounting and auditing courses and training. –ProfitCents - Provides firms and their clients with a benchmarking analysis of clients’ financial statements, which enhances analytical reviews, training processes, and marketing efforts. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

–Scarpello Consulting - Provides discounted cost segregation services to all members. –SourceCorp - Discounted services and preferred access to experts in the areas of LIFO accounting, R&D tax credits, and efficiency studies. –Surgent McCoy - Discounts on hundreds of live webinars and self-study courses. –Thomson Reuters, Tax & Accounting - Discounts on various products including Checkpoint, GoFileRoom, GoSystemTax, and CS Professional Suite. –Travelex Global Business Payments - An on-line platform for foreign exchange and business payments. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

SERVICES Client newsletters and brochures. Resources and best practices for industry groups are shared on the website. Links to First Research (industry profiles) and ProfitCents (client benchmarking reports). Weekly informational E-Update.

SERVICES Annual Law Firm Statistics posted to the website. Subsidize attendance for one member from each U.S. and Canadian firm to the regional conference. Subsidize attendance of Americas Tax Committee Chair to another region’s conference. Promote practice groups by presenting their initiatives at the regional conference.

BKR LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE On May 4, 2011, we launched our own Institute led by Steve Erickson and Coral Rice. Seventeen participants were in attendance. The final session and graduation program took place May 2-4, 2012, in New York City. The next Institute will begin May , in St. Louis. All firms worldwide are encouraged to send their emerging leaders.

Charleston Place Hotel May Charleston, South Carolina Americas Regional Meeting 2013

Website BKR.COM