CPA Now Blog

Barb Carlin, managing director, mid-Atlantic region, for Danforth Advisors in Waltham, Mass., will be participating in PICPA’s Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical Conference on Feb. 9, 2020. To preview the panel discussion she will be joining, Carlin met with us to discuss the state of the life sciences industry in Pennsylvania and along the eastern seaboard.

With the inauguration of President Joe Biden now in our rearview mirror, it is time to focus on legislative matters of a more local variety, namely those arising in the Pennsylvania legislature. Peter N. Calcara, PICPA vice president of government relations, joins us to discuss the priorities of both the legislature and the PICPA, continued COVID impacts, budgetary concerns, and more.

As a follow-up to her presentation at the 2020 PICPA Tax Con, Rachel Kieser, shareholder with Drucker & Scaccetti in Philadelphia, provides an update on individual federal income and estate tax issues for the upcoming year, including the impact President Joe Biden’s tax plans will have on estate taxes, how the CARES Act will affect 2020 tax filings, COVID-19’s effect on gift tax planning, and more.

The continuing COVID-19 crisis has forced employees nationwide to work from home in large numbers. This in turn has spurred businesses to think about their leases, in particular whether they should apply for lease concessions. To explore this question, we sat down with Ane Ohm, cofounder and CEO of LeaseCrunch, to discuss the difference between lease concessions and lease modifications, current lease concession guidance and thresholds, and more.

The transition from Donald Trump’s presidential administration to that of Joe Biden’s has been, to put it lightly, rocky. With a new era in presidential leadership set to be ushered in, does this mean a whole new era in federal taxation will come with it? To answer this question, we met with Bruce A. Hyde, CPA, partner and wealth adviser for Round Table Wealth Management in New York City.

In this episode of CPA Conversations, Dr. Sean Stein Smith, assistant professor at the City University of New York – Lehman College, joins us to talk about some of the most pressing aspects in the area of blockchain, such as the status of its adoption and implementation, the importance of internal controls to its sustainability, and its role in shaping organizations’ succession plans.

Transfer tax exemptions were one of the many aspects of the tax world that were affected by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The legislation affected options around gifting, rules for individuals vs. couples, and so much more. To find out the status of these exemptions, as well as whether the results of the presidential election may affect them even more, we spoke with J. Victor Conrad, founder of PINNACLE Financial Strategies LLC in Wexford, Pa.

When disaster strikes, unfortunately criminals view it as open season for committing of financial fraud. The coronavirus pandemic certainly qualifies as a disaster, and fraudsters have been quick to seize upon the opportunity presented by the Paycheck Protection Program, a piece of legislation meant to help small businesses that have been waylaid by the impact of COVID-19. In today’s podcast, Sonia Desai, managing director of Weaver in Austin, Texas, discusses what makes the PPP susceptible to fraud, popular ways by which fraudsters are looking to perpetrate their schemes, and the possible impact on legitimate borrowers.

The U.S. Congress recently approved $900 billion in financial relief for families and businesses who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The relief package includes direct checks for individuals, funding for distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, and a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program. To walk us through this vital piece of legislation, we sat down with Julio Gonzalez, chief executive officer of Engineered Tax Services Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fla., and a national authority on taxes and tax reform.

The mission of the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation is to inspire students to pursue careers in accounting and provide the educational, motivational, and financial support they need to work toward achieving the CPA credential. In a wide-ranging discussion, Jerry Maginnis, chair of the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation, explains the ways by which that support is provided and explores the challenges and opportunities young professionals will confront as they climb toward a fruitful CPA career.

In a preview of her presentation at the Jan. 7, 2021, PICPA Technology for Public Accounting Conference, Leslie Kirsch, former director of central analytics for Withum, joins us to discuss the importance of data readiness and integrity, including ways to make more effective client data requests. Consider taking a minute to participate in Leslie’s dissertation research study on the relationship between tone at the top and the risks of the fraud triangle.

There has long been a movement to streamline the issues surrounding taxation and telecommuting. Interestingly, the onset of the coronavirus has both made clarity on this issue more important and made it tougher to pursue due to the residual issues that need addressing. To discuss how COVID-19 shining a spotlight on Pennsylvania’s taxation of telecommuters and freelancers, we met with Jason Skrinak, founder of Pivot Strategic Consulting LLC in Harrisburg, Pa.

Danielle Supkis Cheek, director of entrepreneurial advisory services for Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas PC, will be a presenter at the Jan. 7, 2021, PICPA Technology for Public Accounting Conference. In this podcast, she joins us to provide an update on information technology standards implementation and independence, including delays brought about by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Controllers must master many skills to ensure career success. Things like risk management, the ability to anticipate challenges, and technological savvy are near the top of the list. But according to Mike Whitmire, CEO and cofounder of FloQast and author of Controller’s Code: The Secret Formula for a Successful Career in Finance, soft skills, such as managing people and building a positive team culture, have never been more important.

If your small business took out a Paycheck Protection Program loan to make it through the coronavirus pandemic, chances are the thought of loan forgiveness or paying back the funds is causing you a lot of stress. However, our guest, Glenn Sandler, CEO of G.I. Tax Service, believes businesses shouldn’t be in a hurry to request loan forgiveness. In fact, they could experience major benefits from taking their time in doing so.

According to guest Philip Karter, a tax controversy and litigation lawyer with Chamberlain Hrdlicka Attorneys at Law in Philadelphia, the frequency of IRS audits are down, but that doesn’t mean they are any easier for those who find themselves going through the process. In today’s podcast, Karter covers best practices for conducting yourself during an IRS audit, factors that may make you more likely to be audited, and ways by which you will be notified if you find yourself under the financial microscope.

In a preview of their presentation at the Dec. 10-11 PICPA Accounting & Auditing Conference, Michael McAllister and Barry Pelagatti of RKL join us to discuss COVID-19’s effect on risk factors brought on by the pandemic, complications of the necessary rush to digitize business operations, and more.

Any time you describe anything as being an object “like no other,” you run the risk of being accused of hyperbole. However, when it comes to personal financial planning, the number of variants contributing to the environment this year – an ongoing pandemic, the results of a historic election, and financial volatility – makes this year-end like none we have seen. In a preview of his winter 2021 Pennsylvania CPA Journal Personal Financial Planning column, Will Velekei, senior financial adviser for Corbenic Partners in Bethlehem, Pa., discusses factors to be considered during a wild year-end planning season.

We’ve all learned to appreciate the flexibility of telecommuting over these past few months out of necessity, but let’s not forget there is a case to be made that working in the office presents a number of benefits for CPAs. In her Careers & Lifestyles column for the winter 2021 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Alyzabeth Smith, senior associate for Siegfried Advisory in Wilmington, Del., discusses several of the most prominent reasons, including a better ability to disconnect and bolstered team camaraderie. In this podcast, she offers a sneak preview of her column.

On the eve of one of the most significant elections of our time, we meet with three guests – Republican Sen. Patrick M. Browne, Democratic Rep. Matthew D. Bradford, and Matthew Knittel, director of the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office – to discuss the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on Pennsylvania’s governance, economy, small businesses, tax agenda, and more.