FICPA CPA Members Spend Day Helping Floridians at No Charge

There are so many financial stresses today. FICPA members are here to help. On Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, volunteer members from the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants were available to answer Floridians’ financial- and tax-related questions – free of charge.

Florida's Financial Fitness Friday is a proactive, public-service program sponsored and carried out by the Florida Institute of CPAs Financial Literacy Committee. The program provides Florida residents general financial guidance. The FICPA, its members and the committee encourage you to complete a "financial fitness checkup" at least once a year.

This annual event is a component of the "360 Degrees of Financial Literacy," a national initiative of the American Institute of CPAs. 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy is designed to support CPAs as they take broader leadership roles in educating people of all ages about sound financial practices.

While some are proclaiming the recession is over, the fact remains, Florida still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. At 11.9 percent, the Sunshine State's unemployment rate hovers about 2.2 percent above the national average. In August 2010, 1 in 381 households in the country had received a foreclosure filing. California and Florida accounted for 37 percent of the nation's total foreclosures.

About 4 in 5 adults agree that they would benefit from advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional*. Our certified accountants answered questions about retirement, financial planning, taxes and everything in between.

More information or questions: Brenda Hubbard
(800) 342-3197 Ext. 419 (in Florida) | (850) 224-2727 Ext. 419 | hubbardb@ficpa.org.

*According to The National Foundation for Credit Counseling's 2010 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey Final Report.

Why Is This Event Important?

Thousands of Floridians are struggling with their finances, trying to make sound financial decisions, failing to prepare for retirement, and/or taking on high-interest credit card debt.

According to the 2010 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling:

• 78% (nearly 4 in 5) agree that they would benefit from advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional (nearly 1/3 strongly agree)
• About 2 in 5 adults keep close track of their spending
• 56% still do not have a budget
• 5% don't know how much they spend on food, housing and entertainment
• 51% report spending less than they were a year ago
• more than 1 in 4 of those spending less admit that, if their financial situation were to improve in the next year, they would resume their previous spending habits
• about 1 in 5 would actually spend more than they did last year
• 1/3 do not put any part of their income toward retirement
• 65% have not ordered a copy of their credit report in the past year
• 33% of the 44% who have a home mortgage say the terms of their mortgage turned out to be different than expected