Trendsetters - July 2006

Pro Bono Pro

At the University of Tampa in the 1970s, Mike Pender belonged to a social fraternity, a leadership fraternity and a business fraternity. "I'm quite an organization-type person," he says.

Past was prologue. Pender, a CPA and partner with Cavanaugh & Co. in Sarasota, has been president, chairman, founder or board member of 36 community organizations. The Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants gave him its public service award in 2003.

Born in Queens, N.Y., and raised on Long Island, where his father's involvement in the 1964-65 World's Fair made for many memories, Pender came to Florida for college and joined Cavanaugh in 1976 after sitting for his CPA exam.

The 54-year-old, who this month became vice president of the Florida institute of CPAs, focuses on tax, estates and financial planning, condo associations and non-profits. Pro bono, he has helped nearly 50 organizations qualify for tax-exempt status.

A few highlights of his community work: He has been treasurer of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall foundation, the non-profit that supports the Sarasota hall, since its inception, and he also was the three-time chairman of the public oversight board for the city-owned hall. He is treasurer of Prevent Blindness America and has chaired and been treasurer of its Florida affiliate.

"I get awkward when I have to talk about it," Pender says of his volunteer work. "I really enjoy helping people."

BDO's Salesman

Alfredo Cepero
BDO Seidman, Partner, Miami

Alfredo Cepero and his two sisters got their insurance sales licenses when they turned 18, something their father, who worked in insurance, thought would be a good idea. Young Cepero, however, didn't care much for sales. He did try and like accounting classes at Florida International University so he became a CPA. "Little did I know to move up in public accounting you have to get out there and network," Cepero says.

Cepero, 40, however, took to it -- in a big way. In 2002, he was a founder and first president of the Miami chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting. The chapter now numbers 700.

He also joined the group's national board as a regional director and in 2005 became president of the nearly 6,000-member organization. He was instrumental in bringing its annual convention to Miami in 2005.

At BDO Seidman, which he joined as an audit partner in 2003, he helps to continue to grow the Miami audit practice, focusing primarily on Hispanic companies. Among others, he brought in Doral-based prepaid cell phone company TracFone Wireless as a client. Other clients he works with include Miami-based consulting firm Answerthink and Hollywood-based camera maker Concord Camera.

He credits his association work with building his networking skills. "It builds character," he says. "You learn how to do events better, sell it better."

Spreading the Word

Fort Lauderdale intellectual property lawyer John Christopher was part of an American Intellectual Property Law Association delegation to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan and Seoul this year.

Background:
"I was born in Coral Gables. I went to the United States Air Force Academy and spent nine years after graduation as a fighter pilot."

Intellectual Property:
"Although there is much progress to be made, most people would be surprised at how uniform and consistent intellectual property laws are in almost every country. Enforcement may not be consistent, but you have to have the legal structures in place first -- and it takes awhile to develop an awareness and respect for property rights."

Travel Plans:
"I will speak in St. Petersburg, Russia, in October at a venture capital conference."

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