CPA CONVERSATIONS  PODCAST

Sometimes it may be hard to believe, but the coronavirus pandemic will eventually conclude. When the experience has passed, the CPA firms who are most likely to survive are the ones who extended the best experience to their clients during the struggle. According to Sarah Johnson Dobek, founder and president of Inovautus Consulting, president of CPAsNET, and a member of the Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People, that experience includes reaching out to clients to get a feel for how they are dealing with an unprecedented situation, prioritizing discussions with your best clients, and being empathetic in the area of fee collection.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law March 27, 2020, to provide economic relief for American taxpayers and businesses who are struggling during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Julio Gonzalez, CEO and founder of Engineered Tax Services, joins us to discuss the goals of the legislation, its impact on tax professionals, and steps small businesses can take to leverage its benefits in these distressing times.

There is great fear that the mass isolation brought about by the coronavirus will erode the relationships that CPAs have cultivated with clients, colleagues, and employees, but that doesn’t have to be case, says our guest, Amy Leschke-Kahle, vice president of performance acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Group, an ADP Company. In today’s discussion, she offers tips for engagement that can last through the struggles of the pandemic and still be applied once we all have returned to normalcy.

For CPAs, the need for technical proficiency and an awareness of changes to standards and regulations will never go away. Still, in a competitive marketplace, the possession of CPA soft skills takes on an even larger importance. To talk through several of these skills, such as networking, social media marketing, and personal branding, we met with Edward Mendlowitz, a partner with Withum Smith+Brown, an author of 27 books, and a member of the Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.

In the second of our five-part monthly series on the top priorities for CPA firm management, Ira Rosenbloom of Optimum Strategies in Spring House, Pa., explores the qualities that service systems must have to satisfy clients. Among the traits he touches upon are accessibility, proactivity, and time-sensitivity.

On March 19, the Office of Management and Budget released Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus Due to Loss of Operations. This memorandum is set to have a major impact on how single audits are performed in the near term. To discuss this guidance, Maher Duessel’s Diane Edelstein addresses the six-month extension to the single audit due date, the amount of documentation needed to explain the delayed filing, and additional single audit matters that will likely require guidance in the near future.

For a business, overpayment to a supplier can cause numerous complications. Not only might it result in damage to the company’s financial standing, it can also result in a time-consuming process to recover the lost funds. To walk us through how a company can ensure that it does not make such problematic mistakes, we met with Phil Beane, senior vice president of global field operations for APEX.

While the IRS has posted guidance on the postponement of tax-filing and payment deadlines, there are still many more questions to be answered and concerns to be addressed for American taxpayers during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why the AICPA is calling for additional and “extensive” relief to be offered to those attempting to navigate an unprecedented economic disruption, not only to tax season but also to everyday life. To talk about AICPA’s recommendations, we met with Edward Karl, AICPA’s vice president of taxation.

In our latest episode, Elliot Dinkin, president and CEO of Cowden Associates in Pittsburgh, joins us to discuss the current state of defined benefit plans, where they stand in the short and long term, and employee benefit plan derisking strategies.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is seeking to clarify the reporting of nonfinancial contributions to nonprofits, so it released the first draft of a proposed Accounting Standards Update on the topic. Ahead of the April 10 deadline for comment, we talked with Michael Cade, strategy consultant and executive coach for MFCCoach LLC in Morrisville, Pa., to get his thoughts on the proposed ASU. You can also get more insights from Cade at his blog, Not for Profit – Beyond the Numbers.

Drug diversion, which is the transfer of a legally prescribed controlled substance from the individual for whom it was prescribed to another person for illicit use, is a national crisis that affects both public health and social and economic welfare. These activities can harm patients, health care professionals, and the organizations that employ them. It’s important for C suite professionals at health care organizations and CPA business advisers to play an active role in formulating a comprehensive risk and internal audit approach for drug diversion and protection. To discuss these issues, we spoke with Janice Ahlstrom and Kim Wylam of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP. For even more details, check out their informative white paper on the issue.

COVID-19, or coronavirus, is having a major impact on both a national and global scale. We have seen the postponing and cancellation of major sporting and cultural events and even the locking down of entire countries. In this discussion with Pennsylvania state Rep. Frank Ryan, we explore the effect the outbreak is having on Pennsylvania, both on its economy or the health of its citizens. Make sure to check out PICPA’s webpage dedicated to the effects of coronavirus for information on upcoming PICPA events and additional resources.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated many of the common credits and incentives that businesses relied upon to lessen their tax burden, but the research and development tax credit remains. In this episode, Mike Krajcer, CPA, JD, president of Tax Credits Group LLC in Cleveland, discusses the companies that are eligible to claim the R&D credit, the benefits a company could expect to receive, and more.

In the first of a five-part series on the priorities for CPA firm management, Ira Rosenbloom of Optimum Strategies in Spring House, Pa., joins us to discuss the top five metric categories to keep an eye on to ensure success. Among the factors he covers are achieved rate per hour, gross profit margin, and pipeline management and turnover.

In a podcast connected to his feature in the spring 2020 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, James J. Caruso, CPA, CGMA, discusses the finance team of the future and how leaders will have to evolve into ensure long-term success. He points to the learning finance teams will have to pursue, the value of intellectual curiosity to sustained individual growth, and the importance of communicating organizational purpose on a departmental level.

In the Careers & Lifestyles column of the spring 2020 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Elizabeth Wilson, chief financial officer for Valley National Financial Advisors in Bethlehem, Pa., details how an interview for a tax season intern inspired her to write a letter to her younger self as a helpful word of advice to CPAs just starting out in the profession. In this podcast, she more deeply explores her tips for young CPAs, the ways writing the letter drove her to reflect upon her own experiences, and insights the self-communication provided on potential areas of growth.

On Feb. 4, 2020, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf detailed his vision for the 2020-2021 state budget in an address to the General Assembly. He discussed the cost of higher education, worker access to transportation, obstacles stopping would-be entrepreneurs from starting businesses, and more. But what were the most important points for PICPA members? To shine a light on the issues that will affect you, we spoke with Peter Calcara, PICPA’s vice president of government relations. For more information on legislative issues, make sure to check out Calcara’s PICPA Legislative Update webinar on Feb. 20.

We explored Qualified Opportunity Zones with experts Chris Catarino and Steven Rossman, both CPAs at Drucker & Scaccetti in Philadelphia, in July 2019. We have returned to them to discuss the Section 1031 exchange and how it compares with Qualified Opportunity Zones. Catarino and Rossman explain the differences between the two and when to use them.

The emergence of cryptocurrencies has introduced a whole new dimension to finance and taxation, and the IRS is jumping into the fray, including guidance on a new compliance measure to report on activity involving cryptocurrency. To get tax practitioners caught up during an adventurous new tax season, we talked to Shehan Chandrasekera, a PICPA member and head of tax strategy at CoinTracker in San Francisco.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Frank Ryan, CPA, sees other states, such as Illinois and Massachusetts, enduring fiscal struggles, and he is determined to ensure that Pennsylvania does not follow in their footsteps. That is why he recently proposed a series of bills aimed at reducing the financial burden of the Keystone State. Get an inside look at Ryan’s legislative plan in this episode.