May/June 2008 Leaders' Edge PRINT
Of Interest
Feeling the Pinch at the Pump? The MACPA Can Help

Every day you turn on the news there is another story about increasing gas prices. According to MSNBC.com, gas prices are almost 67 cents higher today than this time last year, and experts do not rule out the possibility that we could reach a national average of $4 per gallon in coming weeks.

In the April 21, 2008 issue of E-News the MACPA offered tips (see sidebar) to help improve your fuel economy. While these measures may help save on gas costs, they will not eliminate them. And, let’s face it, you cannot stop driving; that is, unless you are given an alternative to getting in your car. That is exactly what the MACPA is offering, a way to stay at home, or at your office, and still earn your required 40 hours of continuing education.

Tips to Improve Fuel Economy

• Keep your engine tuned, maintain tires at the correct pressure, change the air filter regularly and use energy-saving motor oil.
• Avoid aggressive driving such as rapid acceleration and braking. It can lower fuel economy up to 33 percent on the highway and five percent around town. This can cost as much as $0.49 per gallon.
• Watch your speed - high speed creates more wind resistance. Every five mph driven over 60 mph can cost an additional $0.10 per gallon.
• Be aware that running electric accessories like an air conditioner can also reduce fuel economy by five to 25 percent.

MACPA webinars are a great gas-saving CPE alternative. Webinars allow for live, group-study directly from your home or office computer. Participation in webinars has skyrocketed over the past year. In 2007. the association, along with our partners Society InSight and ACPEN, offered 84 webinars, with more than 1,900 participating members. This year the MACPA will offer more than 100 webinars on a variety of topics including ethics, accounting and auditing scams, doing business internationally and international accounting standards . For a complete listing of webinars please visit the MACPA online CPE Course Catalog, and search by course type ‘webinars’.

Customized Training Solutions (CTS) is another gas-saving CPE alternative offered by the MACPA. With CTS, members get in-house, high quality results-oriented training specifically designed to meet your organization’s needs. We will bring our instructors and curriculum to you – all you need to do is pick the area of study and decide on a time and date. It is that easy. The MACPA provides CTS training and resources in auditing, tax, management, leadership, IT, internal controls, ethics, fraud, computer training, strategic planning and more. Programs can be taught in one-, two-, four- or eight-hour formats. Cori – did I interpret this correctly? You had 1-2 hour, 4 hour or 8 hour formats.

The next time you register for a continuing education event, rather than considering the drive time and the cost of gas, opt for a MACPA webinar or schedule some MACPA in-house training. We guarantee you will acquire the same high level of knowledge you have come to expect from MACPA programs, and you’ll keep more gas in your tank.