TBKC: The Next Leader in New York City’s Workforce Development Community

Dear Friends,

The last value in our year-long series is Leadership. How important is the concept of leadership? Competent leadership strengthens a nation. Effective leadership helps businesses be successful. And visionary leadership helps a nonprofit organization achieve its mission.

Without leadership, resources are wasted. An organization’s momentum stalls and the implementation of thoughtful decisions are delayed. As a result, that organization is prevented from being successful.

My role at TBKC is one of leadership. Since coming on board, together with the staff and the board of directors, I have been able to develop our organization’s vision, refine our mission and create a strategy to accomplish our goals.

As you learned in my letter from April, TBKC’s vision is to someday be a key member in the New York City Workforce Development Community. In other words, eventually, we will be a leader in this community.

Our mission is to empower talented individuals to find meaningful employment by providing affordable, specialized financial trainings, job readiness assistance and work experience. When we say ‘meaningful’ employment, we are referring to a career. As opposed to a job, a career is a profession one uses to build one’s life around. With hard work and dedication to that profession, an individual can become a leader in his or her field. Through our work, we hope to guide the individuals in our community onto the right path of pursuing their passion: a career in bookkeeping and/or financial administration.

TBKC’s strategy to accomplish our mission is laid out in our strategic plan and our approach is directly related to our vision statements that I provided in my November letter. We have implemented our plans and are progressing confidently towards our goals.

The business community needs leaders as well. In this perilous economic climate, business owners need financial peace of mind. That peace of mind comes from a competent bookkeeper who will handle the financial recording, reporting, and analyses. A bookkeeper is a leader for a company’s financial accuracy. Enroll in our program to start your career in bookkeeping or volunteer at our organization to help us realize our goals and to build opportunity for tomorrow’s leaders.

If you would to explore available opportunities, please contact our Communications Associate, Lolita Wong at lolita@tbkc.org.

Thanks for your time and interest in TBKC. Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,
Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

Realizing The Bookkeeping Center’s Vision

Dear Friends,

This month, we will discuss ‘Vision.’ Along with our mission, our vision essentially drives everything we do as a nonprofit organization. To paraphrase the Foundation Center, while our mission describes how we plan to do our work and for whose specific benefit our organization benefits, our vision is the underlying values and beliefs that inform our work. Our vision is what we ultimately hope to accomplish as a result of our efforts.

TBKC believes in the importance of investing in human capital. All adults deserve the opportunity to develop their full professional potential by getting an education, developing job skills, and eventually becoming leaders in their communities. We are a workforce development organization because we know how crucial a role employment plays in the cycle of poverty. Thus, TBKC’s purpose is to provide talented adults an opportunity to complete the life path to success and break out of the cycle of poverty. Through DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING (DB), our main program, our goal is to provide adults who lack access to affordable quality training the pathway to meaningful employment.

In the future, TBKC will be a leader in workforce development that has the following:

  • An organizational orientation towards accountability and results
  • A strong, engaged, forward-thinking Board of Directors
  • Enriching support services complimenting a solid curriculum to lead to successful, long-term placements
  • A mobilized corps of volunteers to support all aspects of the organization
  • Continued to fully embrace and utilize social media
  • Ensured a clear and consistent communications strategy for all audiences
  • The ability to attract new and divers funding sources
  • On-going, two-way partnerships to access opportunities

We are on our way to realizing our vision. Today we remain focused on results. Throughout this past year we’ve benefited from revitalized governance, added comprehensive workshops (13 workshops and growing), and cultivated 7 new volunteers. Furthermore, our Twitter and Facebook accounts are as active as ever, and our friends, family and partners hear from us regularly. TBKC has also solidified existing partnership with Workforce1 and built new relationships with organizations like SAGE and Henry Street Settlement. We will continue to be efficient with the limited space we have as we maintain our pursuit of corporations, foundations and individuals for funding opportunities.

Can you see what we are trying to do? If so, please contact our Communications Associate, lolita@tbkc.org to join us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,
Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

P.S. “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” — Steve Jobs

RIP Steve Jobs, A True Visionary.

Community Spotlight: Co-Founder, Instructor – Maurice Smith

This November, vision is quality of the month and what better way to discuss about it than to interview Maurice Smith. Members of our community know Maurice as the Co-Founder of The Bookkeeping Center (TBKC) and as the Instructor of DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING (DB). With 40 years of bookkeeping experience, Maurice has shared his invaluable expertise and wisdom with over 100 participants since DB began in the Fall of 2007. We were fortunate to catch up with Maurice in his busy schedule and conducted an interview. Read more to learn new facts about Maurice.

Maurice Smith, Co-Founder of The Bookkeeping Center and Instructor of DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING

1. What inspired you to join the accounting industry?

I was a math major and naturally worked in fields that dealt with numbers (banking and accounting, insurance claims).

2. Why did you become a bookkeeping instructor?

I love to teach and give information to people until they understand the concepts. I see the quizzical expression on their faces and then after a few sessions, they get it. I love the satisfied feeling I get when people finally get it.

3. What’s the difference between teaching at TBKC and BMCC?

The time-span is the only difference. And, TBKC has the “Advanced” portion which BMCC does not.

4. What do you think is the most crucial accounting concept?

The Accounting Equation.

5. If there is one thing you can change about bookkeeping, what would it be?

For business owners to have automated record-keeping.

6. What direction do you think the bookkeeping field will take in the future?

As technology advances, I think record-keeping will change as well. As I mentioned, automated record-keeping may take a foothold. Although, there will still be a need for someone to review and make corrections.

7. What sources do you recommend for new bookkeepers who need help in bookkeeping?

Have a mentor on speed dial who can answer those questions you have.

8. How much has TBKC changed since its inception?

Greatly for the better. More interest has brought in new ideas on expanding the program. And, with the inclusion of alumni, workshops and social media we reach many more interested parties.

9. How can TBKC continue to serve the NYC community?

By reaching out to other non-profits and businesses to see what their needs are and seeing if we are able to help.

Maurice’s presence continues to play an influential factor in our growing organization. DB wouldn’t be recognized as an award-winning program without Maurice’s strong passion for bookkeeping and teaching. Thank you, Maurice for sharing your in-depth knowledge about bookkeeping with us!

TBKC Wants You to Join Our Community

Dear Friends,

For this month, I would like to discuss “Community.” A community is traditionally considered to be a locality inhabited by a group or a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality. It also means a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.

TBKC’s community consists of our staff, our friends and families; our participants, their friends and families; our volunteers; our donors; our Facebook friends; our LinkedIn connections; our E-Newsletter recipients; and our official and unofficial partners in the workforce development community. The specific common characteristics of TBKC’s community are interests in the field of bookkeeping and job readiness skills development. We are committed to providing low-income and unemployed individuals with these tools so that they can find meaningful employment.

Our organization is distinct in the workforce development community because no other organization does what we do. The uniqueness of TBKC is represented in our program. As most of you know, DB teaches bookkeeping. Other programs around the metro area teach bookkeeping, but they do not provide a curriculum on par with DB. Some may teach the fundamentals and most others teach QuickBooks, but you will not find another organization that teaches both the fundamentals of accounting and then the computerized accounting software of Peachtree and QuickBooks, as well as the many other facets of our program. We go even further in our instruction. Check out our website for a full explanation of our curriculum.

We were also fortunate this month to celebrate our second annual, On Top of Success event. Not only did our guests and the staff had a wonderful evening together with delicious food, great drinks, and soothing live music, it was also a big accomplishment for the organization. Our guests witnessed eleven participants graduate from DB, our beloved Susan Goscewski received the 2011 Outstanding Volunteer Award, and our hardworking graduate, Sharon Price accepted this year’s Maurice A. Smith Bookkeeping Achievement Award. From this event, TBKC gained perfect 10’s: raised over $10,000, had over 100 attendees, and received over 10 different corporate donors’ contributions to our gift bags. To say the least, our second annual event was a success!

TBKC is an active workforce development organization with a growing community, and we hope you will continue to support us. Since the summer of 2010, we have received approximately 400 inquiries from passionate individuals all over the five boroughs of New York City who are ready to change their lives. Moreover, 78% of our participants find work upon completion of the program. Even our online audience has expanded to over 900 followers on Twitter and over 100 followers on Facebook.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you are interested in joining our community, please contact our Communications Associate, Lolita Wong at lolita@tbkc.org.

We appreciate your interest in our organization and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

A Celebration of Excellence at The Bookkeeping Center

Dear Friends,

This month, we want to explain how the value of ‘Excellence’ is promoted by our organization.  Excellence is defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.   The pursuit of excellence may be a cliché, but there really is no substitute for achieving it.  As a workforce development organization that trains individuals in financial administration, it is only natural that we try to instill this value in our participants as well as into our organizational DNA.

DB teaches the fundamentals of accounting during the first semester because these are concepts all bookkeepers need to excel in their career.  We start with the terminology that participants will apply to their work every day. Then, we gradually layer in the remaining fundamental concepts so that our participants will have the best chance at becoming outstanding members of the accounting industry.  With a computerized semester covering the most popular accounting software programs in the industry, we feel that we are providing our participants with a competitive edge in today’s job market.

Another way we ‘build’ our bookkeepers to be extremely good at what they do is to promote the values you have read about in my previous letters.  Along with those other tenets, we promote excellence in soft skill areas via our workshops and organizational policies. Our business attire and punctuality requirements, our professionalism rewards, and our many job readiness workshops all play a part in our pursuit of excellence.

Furthermore, we celebrate excellence many times throughout the year.  Our annual benefit, On Top of Success (OTOS), is coming up in October and it is the culmination of many of our organizational efforts.  This year, we are including a graduation as part of the festivities.  Four times each year, our participants graduate from DB and for everyone involved, it is a wonderful experience where we get to thank our graduates for their dedication and wish them well on their future personal and professional endeavors.  This year at OTOS, join us in congratulating our graduates on a job well done!

As you can see, TBKC is growing rapidly and we remain focused on the pursuit of excellence.  As a growing organization, we are constantly reviewing our efforts and analyzing our participant evaluation information to continuously improve our services.  If you would like to help, please contact Lolita Wong at lolita@tbkc.org.

Thank you for your time and interest in TBKC.

 

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

The Bookkeeping Center Empowers the Community

Dear Friends,

We, at TBKC believe that all adults deserve the opportunity to develop their full professional potential by receiving an education, developing job skills, and eventually, advancing to leaders and role models in their communities. TBKC facilitates this opportunity through Empowerment. The organization empowers its participants to further their abilities by investing our time, energy and resources in these individuals.

The instructional components of our program empower current and past participants by providing them with instruction and skills training. Participants start the program by developing a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of accounting and receiving comprehensive training in accounting software (Peachtree and QuickBooks), computerized payroll, and cloud accounting. From that knowledge base, DB equips our participants during the advanced bookkeeping module, by preparing them for the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) Certified Bookkeepers Exam and offering thirteen job readiness workshops. Participants and alumni also develop their potential through career development and job opportunities.

TBKC’s participants have been empowered!

Recent graduates, Shelanda Graham and Gias Ahmed are excelling in our Corporate Internship Program. They are boosting their skills and expanding their abilities in bookkeeping and adding work experience to their resumes. Also, alumnus Hector Arias is working part-time for TBKC’s Corporate Sponsor, The Bookkeeping Company of New York City (TBCNYC).

The impact we make could not be achieved without the help of our dedicated volunteers. For August, we want to thank our volunteers for offering our participants expert advice in key job readiness skills such as Networking, Worker’s Rights, Social Networking, and Public Speaking. Volunteers such as Sujerly Escobar from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kinaja Janardhanan and Carmen Calderon from the New York State Department of Labor, and Mathew Heggem from TBCNYC, have informed our participants with the best practices in job readiness in today’s tough job market. Othniel Denis has assisted our participants with the best bookkeeping practices this August with his Excel workshop “7 Formulas Every Bookkeeper Should Know.” Lastly, our tutor and teaching assistant, Susan Goscewski, has been integral in our instructional components.

TBKC’s Job Readiness Series of seminars and workshops ends in September. If you are interested in learning more, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Dwight Williams at dwight@tbkc.org.

If you want to help us to provide more individuals with the opportunity to improve their education, enhance their job skills, help them support their families and strengthen their communities, please contact Lolita Wong at lolita@tbkc.org.

Thank you for your time and interest in TBKC.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING is Quality Training

Dear Friends,

Another guiding tenet of our organization is Quality Training. In general, regardless of your chosen profession, you receive some form of training that enables you to do your job well. An employee’s job training, whether formal or informal, is essential to whether he or she can be successful at his or her job. The people who engage our organization are seeking a new or better career in the field of bookkeeping and accounting. The Bookkeeping Center (TBKC) provides its participants with the training and knowledge that every bookkeeper must have to be competitive in today’s job market.

We believe that our participants can only move forward in a career in financial administration if they receive quality training. For the particular field of bookkeeping and accounting, the ideal way to maximize your chance for success is to learn the fundamentals and progress from there. Our program, DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING (DB), does just that. The curriculum includes such fundamentals as the accounting equation and the double-entry method. Furthermore, each participant learns manual bookkeeping by recording transactions using “T” accounts and creating financial statements on ledger paper. We feel that once our participants learn the fundamentals they will be better prepared for the computerized accounting section. In other words, while the computerized accounting software programs calculate the accounting entries automatically, the underlying quality manual bookkeeping training our participants receive allows them to understand what the software is doing.

Here are other reasons why TBKC values Quality Training:

  • Each semester is ten weeks long to emphasize the length of time needed to understand the fundamental principles of bookkeeping, software programs, and in-depth lessons of the concepts using real world examples.
  • We acknowledge and promote the important attributes of a quality bookkeeper.
  • We follow the Green Policies so that our participants can be responsible, professional bookkeepers.

TBKC was created to address the lack of quality bookkeepers in the job marketplace. Our curriculum was originally devised specifically to produce quality bookkeepers. That purpose is much more evident today as it is reflected in our current four semester program. Please check out our website to learn more about our program.

If you know someone who wants to broaden their skills, please have them contact Lynn Mercredi, our Director of Programs, at lynn@tbkc.org. Thanks for your time and interest in TBKC.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

Promoting Professionalism at The Bookkeeping Center

Dear Friends,

This month I’d like to explain how TBKC encourages Professionalism within DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING (DB), as well as in our organization. From an interview to a meeting, Professionalism is a quality that always makes a lasting, favorable impression. For June, I spotlight the various ways we promote this quality to our applicants and participants, and to our staff and program.

Merriam-Webster (2002) defines professionalism as “the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.” That conduct, which is expected from every person who is trained to do a job well, consists of polite behavior that requires skill and good judgment. Most employers expect job seekers in today’s job market to exude professionalism.

We at TBKC try to promote this valuable skill both in our program and by our actions as a staff. DB was designed to endorse many of our organizational values. ‘Professionalism’ is required from the very beginning. The first interaction we have with our applicants is when we interview a prospective program participant. At this meeting, we ask applicants to dress in a suit, arrive fifteen minutes ahead of time, and bring a resume and references. From that point on, participants are required to wear proper business attire for each DB session and other events or functions. We want our participants to get into the habit of dressing professionally not only to prepare for the workplace but also for impromptu meetings with potential employers. Ultimately, they have a better chance of leaving a lasting, favorable impression with their new contact.

Other ways DB promotes Professionalism to our participants:

  • We provide a workshop on ‘Resume Writing’ that stresses the importance of an error-free, concise, effective, resume.
  • We provide a workshop on ‘Job Interviews’ that informs participants on how best to prepare for a successful job interview through preparation & clear communications skills.
  • With Tax Managers from PricewaterhouseCoopers, we provide a workshop called ‘Networking for Success’ that instructs our participants on how to effectively communicate at networking opportunities.
  • We promote the ideal Qualities of a Bookkeeper to support the development of well-rounded job applicant.
  • We created ‘Green Policies’ that stress polite behavior such as punctuality, absence notification, proper usage of handheld devices, etc.
  • We celebrate ‘Professionalism’ at every graduation ceremony by presenting one participant who has excelled at this ideal with a Golden Key Award.

As an organization, we try to set an example of professionalism by wearing business casual attire at work, using clear and effective communication techniques, participating in workshops and reinforcing the policies set forth above.

How you look, talk, write, act and work determine whether you are a professional or not. Our organizational policies facilitate hard work and reliable, trustworthy behavior. By the end of our program, participants become self-driven, ensure accuracy and completeness of their work product and identify discrepancies. Furthermore, they show initiative, collaborate with and provide assistance to their peers. Collectively, our participants make great strides in their individual professionalism. Those advances are demonstrated when our graduates join the financial administrative workforce.

Thanks for your time and interest in The Bookkeeping Center.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

P.S. CHECK IT OUT! Thomas Graham guest blogs on CPA Trendlines in an article titled, “How Accounting Can Change Lives”:

“Accounting skills training is good for anyone simply because no one is exempt from dealing with finances, personal or otherwise. Every adult has to manage his or her finances and every business, no matter the industry, needs competent individuals to handle its books. In fact, learning these important skills can also change a person’s life for the better. I know this to be true because I see the transformative impact of this knowledge every day.” Continue reading here: bit.ly/k9MJQd

Adapting to the Needs of our Community

Dear Friends,

For May, we would like to illuminate how the concept of Adaptability interrelates with TBKC’s efforts. Not only is ‘Adaptability’ an essential asset to every job seeker in today’s economy, it is an indispensable trait of the workforce development organizations who help those individuals.

After graduates receive their DB certificates, they are ready to enter the workforce.

Adaptability is defined as “able to adjust oneself readily to different conditions.” The vast majority of our applicants come to us unemployed. Hence, they have been unable to adapt to the changing job market. TBKC addresses this issue for our participants through a dynamic curriculum and job readiness workshops. As an organization, we know that we need to prepare our participants for the multitude of conditions that exist in today’s job market. As such, we adjust our efforts accordingly to meet the needs of employers.

Although the fundamentals of accounting do not change, participants need to be ready to adapt to other changes occurring in the financial sector. We prepare our participants to enter this environment by instructing them on:

  • The latest developments of computerized accounting software.
    Providing resources on such topics as ‘Cloud Computing’ and workshops like ‘An Inside Look at the Accounting Industry,’ prepare our participants to speak confidently and effectively about topical issues in the field. As a result, our graduates can adapt to multiple software solutions used by prospective employers.
  • The effective use of social media, especially LinkedIn,
    to improve their networking skills. These instructional workshops enlighten our participants on essential social media techniques they must know in today’s job market and how best to present themselves through the web.
  • The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers’ (AIPB) review of the Certified Bookkeepers exam. Doing so not only puts our participants on the path towards certification, but also will keep them up to date on industry wide changes and tax law revisions after they graduate from DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING.

Furthermore, TBKC fostered ‘adaptability’ earlier this month by networking with accounting professionals and top accounting software experts at the 2011 New York Accounting Technology Show & Conference – the largest annual meeting of accounting professionals in the New York area. Attending an event like this is important, because we are able to cultivate resources, build relationships, and gain knowledge on trends in the field. Ultimately, this conference helps to ensure that our work is relevant and up-to-date with the standards of the industry.

By networking with organizations across the accounting industry, and being mindful of market trends and developments, we strategically work to meet our participants’ needs. By concentrating on the concept of adaptability, as we strategize and work, we prepare our participants for the rapidly changing accounting industry and job market.

Thanks for taking the time to read this message.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

Dedication in Action at The Bookkeeping Center

Dear Friends,

For April, we focus on the value of Dedication. Dedication is a principle that we, at The Bookkeeping Center (TBKC), hold dearly. We require that our participants dedicate themselves to our program and we expect the people in our organization to be dedicated to its mission.

Dedication is one’s commitment to achieving one’s goals. People come to us looking for a new or better job. They endeavor to learn a new skill set and capitalize on that skill in the job market. By enrolling in DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING (DB), an eleven-month program, our participants demonstrate a level of commitment to their long-term goals that is admirable.

Dedication pays off when participants receive their Certificate of Completion

Once accepted, participants demonstrate their dedication by:

  • Attending all classes dressed in professional attire
  • Meeting with the instructor or a mentor to ensure that they understand the classroom lessons
  • Utilizing group study sessions and lab hours to improve comprehension
  • Taking good notes and being accountable for each session’s coursework
  • Attending all job readiness workshops to learn how to be a well-rounded job applicant
  • Asking questions

Our intensive program demands commitment from the participants. Without it, they would have trouble passing the challenging ‘Terminology’ and ‘Chart of Accounts’ exams given within the first month of DB’s Manual Bookkeeping semester! From the skills learned on the first day of DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING to the last, our dedicated participants move closer and closer to career sustainability.

Organizationally, we are committed to the mission: to empower talented individuals to find meaningful employment by providing affordable, specialized financial administration, job-readiness assistance and work experience. Additionally, we’ve completed our first strategic plan, which will keep our dedicated staff on a path towards fulfilling our vision.

Our plan covers the next three years and keeps us focused on becoming a key member in the New York City workforce development community that has:

  • An organizational orientation towards accountability and results
  • A strong, engaged, forward-thinking board of directors
  • Enriching support services complimenting a solid curriculum to lead to successful, long-term placements
  • A mobilized corps of volunteers to support all aspects of the organization
  • Continued to fully embrace and utilize social media
  • Ensured a clear and consistent communications strategy for all audiences
  • The ability to attract new and diverse funding sources
  • On-going, two-way partnerships to access opportunities

We have put our Strategic Plan into action and we are on our way to achieving these goals. We are already tracking programmatic results and increasing the quality and quantity of job readiness workshops. We are building a stronger board (please see last month’s newsletter) and we have hired a volunteer coordinator to increase our human capacity. Finally, we are exploring ways to improve our communications and fundraising strategies. Our dedication to TBKC should lead to a more effective program, which helps us to better accomplish our mission and have a positive impact on the people of New York City.

If you have any questions about our Strategic Plan, please feel free to contact us. Your input reflects a dedication to the people participating in DISCOVERBOOKKEEPING, and we are always excited to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Thomas P. Graham IV
Executive Director
The Bookkeeping Center

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