This how I am doing this with my app.
Code:
'Set Event Number if one is needed
   Dim db As Database
    Dim strYear As String, strNumber As String, strTrackingNumber As String, strFinalNumber As String
    Dim strID As String
    Dim StrSql As String
    Dim qdf As QueryDef
    Dim rs As Recordset
    strYear = Year(Now())    ' Get the latest year value (reset sequence #'s if needed)
    Set db = CurrentDb()
...