By William J. Hayes, managing editor, Pennsylvania CPA Journal

The busy season hasn’t just been busy for CPAs. The PICPA has been working hard on the Pennsylvania CPA Journal’s first-ever digital-only edition, which was released April 25.

You may be asking, “Why a digital-only edition?” Well, it certainly builds upon PICPA’s desire to give you the technical and career-based information you need to succeed. But it also reflects the desires we found when the Pennsylvania CPA Journal conducted a readership survey in 2016. There were a few topics of interest that we were not covering within the magazine structure that our readers were interested in. Those topics included public speaking, technology, and women in accounting. In this issue, all three are covered in their own columns.

Another thing that the survey told us was that members simply did not know about our digital magazine option. As I wrote in a CPA Now blog in April 2016, 58 percent of respondents to our survey said that they were not aware that we had a digital magazine. To lower that number, we figured we could do one of two things: I could climb to the top of a Philadelphia bridge and talk about the digital magazine after enough cameras had gathered to make it a high-profile incident, or we could establish an edition with content only accessible from the digital-magazine version. We chose to go with the second option, not only because we believe in the convenient experience that is the digital magazine, but also because the first option would have been quite a blow to my ego if no cameras showed up.

But seriously, you are going to love the experience of easily flipping through the digital magazine as you peruse the great content we have included. Our cover story is “An Independent View on Pennsylvania Finances,” an interview Maureen Renzi, vice president of the PICPA communications team, conducted with Matthew Knittel of the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office. As part of the discussion, they address the effect of Pennsylvania demographics on future revenue and both short- and long-term challenges faced by Pennsylvania policymakers.

Our second feature focuses on how global events can circle back to effect large Pennsylvania CPA firms and businesses with operations in Latin America. “Is ‘Business as Usual’ about to Blow Up in Latin America?” was written by Pablo Amaya and Sergio Guzmán, two compliance professionals based in Bogota, Colombia. The feature zeroes in on recent corruption crackdowns and how they may be changing the way business is conducted in this region that could affect U.S.-based companies in ways they may not see coming.

As stated previously, our readership survey told us that more than a few members had a thirst for stories on public speaking, technology, and women in accounting. Our Technology column “Are You Doing Enough to Protect Your Data?” drives home a fact that many accounting professionals are hesitant to absorb: the need for cybersecurity is a big deal and requires immediate attention. Our column on public speaking falls under the Careers & Lifestyles umbrella, and is authored by Maureen Renzi, doing double duty this issue. “CPAs Can Be Engaging Public Speakers” offers tips to make CPAs’ presentations enjoyable not only for their audience but perhaps more importantly for themselves. Of particular note is our first-ever Women in Accounting column, “Partnership on Your Terms.” Alyzabeth R. Smith, CPA, takes a look at the path of women into leadership roles in accounting, and urges women to weigh their own unique, and sometimes difficult, situation before moving up to partner.

Of course there are more thought-provoking columns in our digital edition, but make no mistake about it: this digital-only edition is 20 pages for a reason. It is designed to be quick-hitting. We know you love our PICPA News section, with its Legislative News, Member Recognitions, and other PICPA-centric columns, but they are not included in this issue. This digital-only edition is built to give you a quick jolt of information and then leave you wanting more. And more is not far behind, as the summer 2017 issue of the journal is only a few weeks away.

We are sure you will enjoy both this magazine and the format through which it is delivered. For people who previously had checked out our digital magazine, you’ll notice a bit of a difference from past editions. The flip-book style has been replaced with a streamlined version that simplifies navigation and increases readability. We think you’ll like the changes. If you haven’t seen the digital magazine before, you’re in for a treat!

The digital-only Pennsylvania CPA Journal awaits. Happy reading!