CPA Now Blog

The PICPA partnered with Avenue M back in June to survey members to see how COVID-19 was affecting their firms, clients, and companies. With the pandemic still in full swing, we conducted a second survey in the fall, found what information members are craving, and developed a slate of resources that address these issues.

The PICPA has been hosting a monthly town hall series featuring top thought leaders from the profession and the business community. If you’re interested in this great content, recordings of each have been posted online.

Filling the profession’s pipeline with bright, motivated, young professionals is of strategic importance to all firms and companies that hire CPAs. The Pennsylvania CPA Foundation's CPA Exam Scholarships play a crucial part in ensuring that talent continues to develop.

The Women’s Leadership Conference is always a big day on PICPA's calendar. Numerous members have benefited from the unique opportunity to hear from trailblazers in the profession that this conference provides.

Jill Gilbert, CPA, the PICPA’s 2020-2021 president, produced a short video to introduce herself to PICPA members. In it, Gilbert reveals what she values in her PICPA membership, particularly the relationships she’s been able to build over the years.

In a bold move to deliver tremendous value to members and ensure the long-term success of the Institute, PICPA’s Board has authorized the acquisition of a nationally recognized CPE provider.

The connection between human error and hacking makes employees a big part of a company’s risk, but they also can be a big part of its cyberdefense. The key is building a business culture around the right ways to defend against a cyberattack.

The PICPA recently hosted a series of virtual town hall meetings in all 11 of our chapters. The Legislator Town Hall series gave members an opportunity to hear from our elected officials and raise concerns in an informal setting.

In the spring and early summer, the PICPA offered a series of virtual corporate finance roundtables as part of the PICPA Corporate Cabinet's efforts to improve connections among our members in corporate finance. Find out how the sessions went.

The PICPA recently partnered with Avenue M to conduct a survey to determine how COVID-19 is impacting accounting firms and other companies nationwide and at the state level. Find out what Pennsylvania's 1,050 respondents had to say.

In these incredibly difficult moments, we cannot be silent. The unjust killing of black people and people of color, like George Floyd and countless others, must stop. To all PICPA members, especially black members, colleagues, and friends, we see you, we hear you, we stand with you, and we are committed to making a difference.

Advocating on your behalf is usually an in-person endeavor, but our new world with a pandemic has complicated matters. The PICPA mustered an all-hands-on-deck effort to get and provide information from and to state officials and regulators. These efforts would not have been so well received if not for all our members who made a CPA-PAC contribution in 2019.

In these days of crisis and uncertainty, CPAs are taking on roles unfamiliar to them – crisis response coordinator, building manager, unemployment specialist, loan officer, and therapist, to name a few – while also mastering new legislation and adjusting to new tax and A&A guidance and deadlines. You are doing this with poise, resilience, and determination, further elevating public trust in your profession.

At this time of year, the PICPA government relations team usually is humming along preparing for PICPA’s annual Day on the Hill event. We had been contemplating changes to this annual gathering, but with the COVID-19 pandemic it seems our hand has been forced. It’s time to pursue new paths forward in advocacy.

These recommendations are provided to help small businesses adjust to remote working circumstances. Please note, this advice should be taken into consideration with the restrictions and health warnings of the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and federal, state, and local governments.

The PICPA is seeking amendments to the Pennsylvania CPA Law that will enable CPAs to better meet the needs of an evolving industry. House Bill 2288 will codify the professional conduct standards and expand the scope of education applicable to an accounting degree, among other adjustments.

The PICPA has been grappling with how to responsibly address the threat of the coronavirus outbreak. We have prepared resources specifically to help members and staff address coronavirus concerns.

On Jan. 31, 2020, the Pa. Department of Revenue issued Sales and Use Tax Letter Ruling No. SUT-20-001, which states that if membership fees include the transfer of taxable property in addition to nontaxable services, the entire membership charge is subject to tax. This presents a host of issues for the PICPA and other membership communities.

The PICPA released its first CPA Conversations podcast in June 2016, and in less than four years we have achieved the benchmark of more than 100,000 downloads. Find out who made our 10 most popular list.

At PICPA's December 2019 Council meeting, two themes arose from the discussions: the importance of personal interaction and the vital role our chapters play in facilitating those connections. PICPA members want a sense of community and connection, and Council had some strong thoughts on the matter.