We can all appreciate the challenge of trying to stay on top of the deluge of email we get nearly every day. Clients come first, and when one of them requires a phone call—well, throw in a few of those, some meetings, and answering the rest of your emails from colleagues, and whatever happen to subscribe to—slogging through it all can be a part-time job. If you’re actively engaged in a professional association or any board or volunteer work, like many of you reading this are, your inbox is doing double, if not triple  duty. 

That’s why when I ask you to be on the lookout for a specific email from the NYSSCPA in the next couple of weeks, I can understand if my request is met with a little skepticism. When I further tell you that this particular email will ask you to take a few minutes out of your day to complete a survey, you may be downright dubious. Please hear me out, though, because this is actually one email you might want to open. It’s been nearly a decade since the NYSSCPA has conducted a needs assessment survey of its membership. If you’re thinking that you’ve received plenty of surveys from the Society within the last decade, you aren’t misremembering—you have.  This survey is a little different from the others, and the results—if enough people open that email and take the survey—will benefit every member of the NYSSCPA.

The survey will measure what you find valuable about your membership and what you don’t. It will ask you about your professional goals, the challenges you face in reaching them and how this organization can help. Some questions aim to get a better sense of what your perception is of this organization—what you think of the Society, its programming, its member resources and how well we communicate with you about each of them. If you love that you can crowdsource your technical questions in the Exchange open forum, include that in the survey. If the format in which we provide continuing professional education  doesn’t fit your needs, tell us what would.

The purpose of this survey, to put it simply, is to make sure you’re happy being a member of this organization, that when you pay your dues each year, you feel like it’s a continuing investment in yourself, your career and our profession as a whole. If it’s not, then we need to modify what we’re doing to ensure that it is, but anecdotes and assumptions alone about what you find relevant or valuable are not going to get us there. 

As President-elect F. Michael Zovistoski, Executive Director Joanne S. Barry and I traveled throughout the state visiting the Society chapters over the past couple of months, we heard many anecdotes Were now seeking firsthand accounts and specifics regarding what YOU, a member of this organization, want and need. Please help us help you! Without you, there is no NYSSCPA. This Society primarily exists to serve the CPAs of New York state. This is our mission. If it’s not doing that, then we need to know what needs to change, and taking this survey is the best way to communicate that. Alternately, if there is something you really love about your membership, tell us that, too.  That way, we’ll know we’re on the right track and, perhaps, be able to dedicate additional resources to that program or benefit to make your membership even more valuable.

If I’ve done my job of convincing you to take this survey, here’s what you need to look for in order to participate: On Jan. 5, each member, lapsed member and nonmember for whom the Society has an email address will receive an email from “Avenue M Group on behalf of the NYSSCPA,” which will include a link to the survey (There will also be an email on the prior day, letting you know that the survey will be coming from this third-party research firm.) The survey should take you about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Survey recipients will receive several reminders via email; however, after Jan. 27, the survey will no longer be accessible. Any information collected through the survey will be kept confidential and the results provided only in aggregate. 

But none of that will matter if the Society does not have your current email address. If you’ve moved or changed jobs, there is a good chance we’ve lost track of you, so make sure the Society has your correct contact information. You can go to the Society’s website at nysscpa.org to log in and change your account information, or give Customer Service a call at 800-719-8300.

president@nysscpa.org