CPA Now Blog

The Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, requires financial institutions to develop and implement steps to keep their customers’ personal information private and secure. And in case you were wondering, the GLBA does apply to CPA firms.

Virtual audits – driven to the forefront out of necessity during the pandemic – are primarily performed electronically, reducing the amount of face-to-face communication between auditors and client personnel. Advances in digital communication allow clients and auditors to interact in new and more effective ways. So, are the days of having auditors physically onsite performing final field work a thing of the past?

A company should always aim to settle a tax dispute at the lowest level. In some situations, however, an appeal may be prudent. This blog addresses the important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to challenge a state or local tax audit assessment.

Disengaging with a client is typically unpleasant, but it can be a practice management tool that increases firm profitability and creates a better situation for both the CPA and the client. Disengaging skillfully, however, is the trick.

CPAs absolutely should learn and understand all we can about the sustainability concept. It will impact, if it does not already, all the companies and firms we work with or will work with in the near future.

Too often, accounting practices do not grasp the extent of cyberthreats their organizations face or the impact they would have. Simply assuming “I will be fine” is a broken mindset. Would your organization survive financially or reputationally from a hack that stole client data? Can you afford to close your doors for two to three weeks or more while a cyberattack is investigated and remediation is performed?

For many clients, an important aspiration is supporting their families financially, however, doing so may have unexpected tax implications for them. This blog offers a few remedies so you can keep your clients on the path to supporting their families while not creating a huge tax burden.

Organizations that received more than $750,000 in COVID relief funds could be required to have a single audit or a program audit. This may result in about 10,000 new single audits nationally. If your clients received relief funds, it is important to research the applicable compliance requirements.

Approximately 44% of Pennsylvanians (about 2.1 million residents) have no access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Legislation now in the Pennsylvania House Commerce Committee would establish the Keystone Saves Program. Through the program, the state would embark on an auto-enrollment payroll deduction IRA.

As Pennsylvania inches toward loosening restrictions for patients seeking legal medical marijuana, there will be an increasing need for CPAs who understand how to keep cannabis businesses compliant. For example, one of the most basic rules that most CEOs -- and some unaware accountants -- don’t seem to understand is that, due to the fact that cannabis is still federally illegal, businesses in this sector are not able to take any deductions.

So, what makes for “good” tax policy as opposed to “bad” tax policy? If you think it is straightforward to design a simple, effective tax system, you would be mistaken. Economic and political pressures have enormous influence, so the characteristics of good tax policy are critical guiding principles.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) recently issued Sales and Use Tax Bulletin SUT 2021-03 regarding the taxation of help supply services in a remote work environment. One thing the bulletin attempts to clarify is that if the purchaser of help supply services is located in Pennsylvania, the DOR will assume the benefit of the service is received in Pennsylvania, and thus is taxable.

More than 25 states have passed laws that require businesses that handle and store personal information to develop and implement a written information security program (WISP). WISPs document the security policies and procedures for the data and personal information being stored. Any firm that keeps this type of data – which extends not just to computerized data but hard copies as well – is likely required to develop and implement a WISP.

The cost of education is high, and the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation is awarding more than $200,000 to support future CPAs. Don’t let this opportunity for you, or someone you know, to win a scholarship slip through your fingers.

Sales on digital marketplaces pose assorted tax questions for sellers and buyers, but some of the most complex questions arise for nonresident international businesses making sales to U.S. consumers. Historically, countries placed a sizeable weight on a nonresident’s physical ties to a jurisdiction in deciding its tax obligation. This has, to some extent, become antiquated.

There are two parts to a client’s retirement: the financial and the emotional. To properly guide clients through the transition into retirement, the initial conversation should focus on the softer, emotional side. Step one in any good retirement planning effort is to quell anxieties so the conversation can move forward to the next steps.

The widespread growth of remote work is opening new access points and vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. They have many ways of exploiting CPAs facing tax-filing deadlines, especially when firms have outdated software, vulnerable email systems, and inattentive employees. Data security has become an urgent concern for the accounting profession.

The COVID-19 pandemic is approaching its two-year anniversary, and its impacts on the economy was expected in some regards, and very surprising in others. Interestingly, the data show that employee-owned businesses, in particular employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) businesses, have done significantly better than non-employee-owned companies.

Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, and insurance claims related to their acts are on the rise. This blog will focus on some of the types of claims rising within the CPA profession.

Blockchain is perceived by many to be just the foundation technology behind cryptocurrencies, but it actually is an accounting technology. CPAs need a basic understanding of blockchain’s role in maintaining a ledger of financial information and transferring ownership of assets.