Member of the Month Archives2010 Member of the Month Archives
 February 2010 Member of the Month - Linda L. Dunkley
Nevada Chapter member, Linda Dunkley, has diligently served NATP as director, secretary, vice president, and currently, president. And to top it off, Linda has done exemplary work chairing the Chapter convention committee and the nomination committee! A fellow NV chapter member stated, "Linda went above and beyond when getting ready for the National Conference in Reno to ensure that Nevada was well represented as the host state." Congratulations Linda & thank you for your
dedication to NATP! Q. Please give a summary of your background in the tax industry – how you got started, if you were in another line of business before, etc. Include current tax-related activities and areas of specialization. If you have a tax business, please let us know where it is located/how many staff you employ/any other information you think is pertinent. A. In 1979, I went to work for J.E. Perkin and Associates. I was the associate. There I did accounting for his clients during the "off season." He forced me to learn basic tax preparation by doing the returns for the accounts which I did the books for. That led to schooling in tax preparation for the corporations and partnerships who we also did accounting for. After Jack Perkin retired in 1981, I started my own practice with three accounts and a desk. I did 11 tax returns that year. I have made a comfortable business by helping out small businesses. I guess that is my specialty. Most of my clients are small restaurants, retail stores, salons, and service companies. My tax business has grown considerably over the years. It now is 75% individual returns leaving the balance to my accounting clients and other small corporations and partnerships. I don't do any formal advertising. I have acquired all of my new clients by word-of-mouth and recommendation by existing clients. I have only one helper. My son, Travis, works part time in the business with me. He has his own clients and is quickly learning taxes. Q. Please give a summary of how you found out about NATP and what benefits you find the most valuable – include any NATP activities you've participated in (Education, Mentoring, Instructing, etc.). A. I found out about NATP through a flyer. I was a member of another organization at the time and was not very satisfied with them so thought I would try NATP. I have been hugely satisfied with NATP's services, education, and the entire experience. It's a great bunch of people to work with and be with. I am currently president of the Nevada Chapter and look forward to many more years of service in the organization. Q. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing tax professionals today? What could NATP do to better prepare them for those challenges? A. The years ahead will be very challenging for the tax profession. With the licensing issue looming and the inevitable major tax changes that will have to be made to cover our country's debts, we will all be faced with a greater need to be on top of the coming storm! The more education and information that NATP can provide us with, the better equipped we will be to handle the questions and concerns that we will be faced with. Q. What are your future career goals? A. I'm not a money motivated person, so I don't see myself making a fortune in this business. I do enjoy helping people fulfill a necessary task and coming out the better for it. In those regards, I guess my goals are to continue down my current path and help to pave the way for my son to take over when I get too tired to get out of bed in the morning. Q. Did you ever have a "defining moment," an embarrassing moment, or another memorable experience related to your career in the tax industry? A. Nothing extraordinary comes to mind. I do love the challenges, even when it comes to working with the IRS. One such occasion was a phone call I received several years ago from a woman with the IRS in Ogden. She was very embarrassed and apologizing for having to ask me to send them copies of a client's front page of the 1040 and all of the attached schedules and forms. Seems someone at the Ogden office took the return apart and lost all but the second page of the 1040 and the W-2s. They were too embarrassed to call the client so they called me instead for the copies. Q. Please share any information that you'd like about your family, hobbies, community involvement, etc. In other words, your life outside of the tax industry! A. My life outside of my office is devoted to my grandkids and family. I do love to spend as much time with them as I can. I am a fair weather person and love to be outdoors as much as possible. Give me a good book, a tree to lie under, and I'm happy. Q. Any other information/concerns/suggestions you'd like to share with fellow tax professionals? A. What I would share with others in the tax profession is the word "communication." Keep the lines always open and talk to others about your issues and theirs. I have found that you can learn a great deal from communication with others in your profession. You can contact Linda at busrecords@yahoo.com.
 January 2010 Member of the Month - James S. Hockenberry, EA
Wisconsin Chapter member, James Hockenberry, De Pere, is a dedicated tax professional and a firm believer in continuing education. Jim, formerly an NATP tax researcher and technical writer, now conducts tax seminars for his business in addition to providing tax preparation and financial planning for his clients. Jim has also contributed to the growth of the Association by participating for many years in the Member Get a Member program. Congratulations Jim & thank you for your
dedication to NATP! Q. Please give a summary of your background in the tax industry – how you got started, if you were in another line of business before, etc. Include current tax-related activities and areas of specialization. If you have a tax business, please let us know where it is located/how many staff you employ/any other information you think is pertinent. A. In 1989, I received an accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and became an Enrolled Agent in 1992. Currently, I am a co-owner of a seminar business, Back to Basics Income Tax Seminars, and I travel to several states teaching about 50 tax seminars each year. During tax season, I see small business clients and individual tax clients, and manage to work on some writing for my tax seminars. I also provided financial planning services for a few investment clients and currently hold the series 6, 63, 7, 24, and 65 investment licenses. Q. Please give a summary of how you found out about NATP and what benefits you find the most valuable – include any NATP activities you've participated in (Education, Mentoring, Instructing, etc.). A. Before working at NATP, I worked with Helen Polasek, a former NATP board member. Helen was a "class act" (as a tax professional and as a person), which for those who knew her, that is an understatement. She told me about NATP and an opportunity within the organization as a "Tax Researcher/Technical Writer". Q. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing tax professionals today? What could NATP do to better prepare them for those challenges? A. The only thing that is constant is change. During March of 2008, I kept track of "pending legislation" (which by my count, we had over 45 bills introduced). To be honest, I may have missed a few bills (after all, it was in the middle of tax season). By the way, not one of those 45 proposed bills was passed into law, but Congress does make things interesting for tax professionals. Q. What are your future career goals? A. I have just started work on my Masters Degree in Taxation (MST) with the Washington Institute for Graduate Studies. Long-term, I would like to expand the seminar business into other states, and perhaps hire some additional instructors to help me reach that goal. Q. Did you ever have a "defining moment," an embarrassing moment, or another memorable experience related to your career in the tax industry? A. In 1996, after teaching the Enrolled Agent Course in Columbus, Ohio, for NATP, I received a letter from one of the students. She had just received her notice that she passed all four parts of the exam (back then the test was given in four parts over a two-day period). The letter went on to say that she would not have passed if she had not taken the course. She gave much of the credit to me and to the other instructor, Lee Zapton. (As was the case with Helen Polasek, Lee Zapton was another "class act".) I would submit, much of the credit goes to the individual, but as an instructor it was nice to get that type of compliment. Q. Please share any information that you'd like about your family, hobbies, community involvement, etc. In other words, your life outside of the tax industry! A. As most of your members are aware, my wife is the real "tax expert" of the family. However, contrary to popular belief, Cindy and I do not spend our free-time talking about income tax law. We both enjoy traveling together and look forward to our time away from work. I also enjoy working on my golf game and the opportunity to play whenever time will allow. FYI, if any of your members are associated with Augusta National (home of the Masters), I am not too proud to accept an invitation to play 18 holes as a guest for the day. Q. Any other information/concerns/suggestions you'd like to share with fellow tax professionals? A. As many tax professionals already know, the IRS is working toward the development of tax preparer performance standards. In my opinion, this course of action is long overdue. My hope is that the "table-top preparers" are weeded out of the industry to make room for those who treat this as a profession. For those of us who treat the industry as a profession, education is a must. Every successful business requires that you make some type of an investment if you are going to improve. For tax professionals, the best investment you can make is education. As John Maxwell would say, "It's what you learn after you know it all that makes you a true professional". You can contact Jim at jhockenberry@dbcllc.com
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