In this issue: Pa. Revenue Department Provides Economic Update; Acting Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for Compliance and Collections Appointed; Pa. Lawmaker Proposes NOL Changes for COVID-19 Losses; and more.

In this issue: Pennsylvania COVID-19 Funding Bills Move in State Senate; Measure Giving Pa. Schools Final Say on Fall Sports; Pa. Senate Approves Expanded Broadband Access Bill; and more.

In this issue: Bill Would Permit Pa. Licensed Professionals to Receive Board Advice; PICPA Calls for Pa. Tax Filing Relief for Remote Workers; Pennsylvania House Approves Election Reform Measure; and more.

Having spent 15 years of my career working in the testing industry, the last nine with the AICPA examinations team, I understand and appreciate the vital role assessments play in supporting their respective industries or professions.

Companies across all industries for the past 20 years have been adopting lean manufacturing as a strategy to improve performance. Lean accounting emerged soon after, and it has grown in recent years as a related strategy to align the financial side of an organization with the overall lean effort.

An ever-growing number of businesses and individuals are going global. Familiarity with the U.S. tax forms that are necessary to properly disclose foreign assets and interests is thus paramount. Four critical forms – Foreign Bank Accounting Re-port (FBAR), 8938, 8621, and 3520 – are summarized here, including applicable penalties.

Most manufacturing companies, especially in the consumer products industry, will encounter the situation when the sales department presents an opportunity to sell a private-label product to a customer. Unless you have a strategy in place to determine if you can compete in this area, properly vet the opportunity, and then price it, your bottom line could be adversely affected.

It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your 2020-2021 PICPA president. I’m proud to follow in the footsteps of Marty Levin and so many other excellent leaders who paved the way for the next generation. I pledge to serve the PICPA and its 20,000 members with honor, integrity, and positive energy, and to do everything I can to advance the profession that we all love and that has given us so much.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard in early spring, many wondered what effect it would have on legislative activity in Harrisburg. It turns out, as was the case for most of us, adjustments were made and the work went on. House and Senate lawmakers were in session 58 days from the onset of Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency declaration on March 6 through the middle of July, when the General Assembly recessed. In that time, 69 bills were signed into law by the governor.

In mid-March 2020, colleges and universities in Pennsylvania decided to stop traditional classroom teaching and switch to online delivery for the conclusion of the spring semester. As educators devised their plans, many attempted to make the experience similar to a classroom setting by meeting at regularly scheduled times using Zoom sessions.

Emerging CPAs will make themselves more valuable by upskilling, which in turn creates more company value. According to PwC’s 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey, 74% of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills in the workplace. PwC defines upskilling as giving “employees opportunities to gain the knowledge, tools, and ability they need to use advanced and ever-changing technologies in the workplace.”

Just as many cybersecurity experts predicted, there was a surge in cyberattacks against practices of all sizes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations that track cyberattacks reported an increase of 300% during these unprecedented times.

For CPAs who provide personal financial planning services to individuals and families, the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been eye-opening. We have seen lives upended within each and every age group of an extended family: day cares closed, children unable to attend school, jobs furloughed or eliminated, locations of employment temporarily or permanently closed, and family members left isolated during social distancing. So, how do we manage our clients’ financial planning needs when the world is in such turmoil?

Nonprofits have two options for dealing with unemployment claims. They can pay fees based on experience and payroll into a state unemployment program or opt to reimburse the state for actual claims. Here are some basics to help you explore the options for your nonprofit.

Businesses across the globe are struggling following a collapse in demand as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across country after country. Even among those businesses where demand had not declined as severely, disruptions to supply chains have been a devastating hardship. While there’s no certainty as to when the marketplace will “normalize,” businesses may be able to lessen the pandemic’s impact on their financial health by seeking remedies through transfer pricing mechanisms.

As the CPA community entered March, it looked like another routine tax season. With another year of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under the belt, we were beginning to feel comfortable again with the tax code and in the rhythm of the compliance calendar. The coronavirus was a concern, but no anvil had fallen out of the sky and conked us on the head (for those of you familiar with Wile E. Coyote) … until one did.

Time will tell, but it seems some of our “temporary” ways of working remotely due to the pandemic may be here to stay. Without a doubt, there are advantages and disadvantages to working remotely.

Like every other business, CPA firms invest a lot of time and money into making sure their businesses are viable, vibrant practices poised for success and growth. And, like other businesses, CPA firms are well-served by taking a long look at return on investment, especially as it pertains to their significant monetary investment in personnel and time that comes from focusing on client service.

As the COVID-19 pandemic erupted this past spring, our businesses were thrown into an environment that we had not previously experienced. There were the rapidly changing facts and circumstances, and each day seemed to bring new challenges to navigate. A question that kept popping into my mind during those early days was, “What should we be learning through this process so that we are not caught off guard next time?” But before I could digest that question, new information came at us once again – this time it was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan process and the mad rush to pull together information and prepare the application.

The taxation of pass-through entities should be an area of increasing interest. On a national level, S corporations have long accounted for the majority of corporate tax filings, and the average annual increase in filings by partnerships and entities electing to be treated as partnerships (including limited liability companies electing to be taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes) has increased at a faster pace than that of incorporated businesses.