No two merger and acquisition deals are alike. Each is unique, opening the door to new challenges and uncharted territory for those tasked with determining the tax treatment of the transaction. One challenge that often gives practitioners headaches is how to handle assumed liabilities in an asset acquisition.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on every aspect of our lives. There is no longer a routine anything. That uncertainty and trepidation is evident in Harrisburg as state lawmakers try to work through this unprecedented event.

Remember when everyone thought Y2K was going to be the end of the world as we knew it, with computer systems and electronic data crashing down around us at the turn of the new century? Some of our members were just children when the world grappled with those questions of digital catastrophe, but many of us remember it well. Experts isolated the problem, diligently worked to fix it, and widespread catastrophe did not happen. We were able to move forward, and have progressed a long way over the ensuing 20 years. Much has changed over the years, but here we are again on the point of a crisis.

CPA firms are stewards of their customers’ data. As such, we must implement a cybersecurity program to protect that data. Internal and external stakeholders want assurances, and we need to seriously consider third-party attestations to substantiate and demonstrate the effectiveness of our security programs. Practices cannot afford to be slow in implementing their own internal security programs and proving what they have in place.

Accounting and ethics should go hand in hand. The CPA profession is built on public trust. Regrettably, the last several decades have been marked with some significant financial scandals, sometimes involving those in our profession. Due to the nature of the work performed by CPAs, ethical dilemmas can be common. Regardless of whether you work in public accounting or in industry, circumstances are bound to arise that require CPAs to manage situations with an ethical component.

If you own an older car but recently needed to rent one, the first thing you might notice when you sit in the driver’s seat is how much that shiny, new dashboard resembles NASA’s mission control. Despite all the car’s obvious capabilities, you’re determined to use only the essentials so as not to do anything you can’t undo. The same impulse affects our careers. Sometimes we stick to the basics so we don’t break anything we can’t fix.

The SECURE Act of 2019 expands opportunities to increase retirement savings and improves portability from one plan to another. The changes are effective as of Dec. 20, 2019, unless otherwise specified.

When a client decides to part ways with you and requests the return of his or her records, do you know your obligations to comply with this request? Don’t worry if you don’t. There is guidance readily available.

The coronavirus pandemic abruptly shifted the CPA practitioner’s focus from business planning for client growth to simply planning to keep their clients’ heads above water. Standard business operations and commerce were frozen by the efforts to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19. The time frame associated with the disruption was never clear, and various governmental assistance programs were instituted to provide some economic relief. Despite the efforts, business owners have been concerned that the relief wouldn’t be sufficient to ride out this unprecedented storm.

The rules for required minimum distributions (RMDs) have been changing, first with the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of late 2019 and most recently with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This turbulence certainly adds difficulty to planning, but RMDs from retirement accounts always have had their own set of convoluted rules.

To combat the COVID-19 crisis, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These efforts were designed to offer relief to business owners, but, as we know from past actions, many times a change to one provision of the tax code directly or indirectly affects another provision.

In the world of generally accepted accounting principles, the term “triggering event” had been a subtle classification, or at least one that was difficult to clearly identify. Henceforth, there will be few events more worthy of the mantle “triggering event” than COVID-19. Beyond the countless scary and burdening consequences of a pandemic, there are most definitely significant issues to financial reporting – perhaps even going concern questions.

In this issue: Pennsylvania Approves $25 Billion Partial Budget; Pa. Businesses and Health Care Want Legal Protections to Ensure Recovery; Resolution Disapproving Pennsylvania Overtime Regulations Sent to Governor; and more.

In this issue: PICPA Loan Forgiveness Bill Clears Hurdle in Pa. Senate; COVID-19 and Pennsylvania’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Webinar; Pa. Senate Approves CARES Act Funds for Older Adults, First Responders; and more.

In this issue: PICPA Loan Forgiveness Proposal Wins Pa. House Approval; Pennsylvania Provides Civil Immunity for Health Care Providers; Pa. Revenue Collections Tumble; and more.

In this issue: PICPA Amendment Addresses PPP Loan Forgiveness; Continuing Education Restrictions Suspended for Pa. CPAs; More Pennsylvania COVID-19 Bills on Deck; and more.

In this issue: Wolf Sets Reopening Targets in North Central, North West Pa.; Pennsylvania Local Government Emergency, EITC Bill Signed; New Pa. COVID-19 Legislation in Early Stages; and more.

Congratulations to the following Pennsylvania examinees who were the top scorers for 2019, according to NASBA. The top scorers are individuals whose combined scores on all four sections of the CPA Exam were the highest of all Pennsylvania exam takers last year.

We hope you enjoyed PICPA’s Guide to CPA Careers in a Changing Business Landscape. Not only has it provided useful career guidance, but we hope that it also has served as a diversion from the incredible stresses of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As I wrote this, I wondered if talking about the coronavirus would be ill-fitting for a magazine about career development. The more I thought about it, I realized that it fit perfectly. As you go through your career, you are sure to face numerous challenges, be they a health crisis, a financial collapse, or a national accounting scandal. As you tackle these crises, the PICPA will be here to help you navigate them.

Before the outbreak of the coronavirus made such gatherings impossible to conduct, students at my son’s school were asked at an assembly to raise their hands to indicate if they would rather talk for two hours or listen for two hours. The group was fairly evenly divided, and it struck me that the foundation of great communication existed in that room. Speaking and listening sound like simple tasks that anyone can do. However, mastering the art of communication is far from easy.