So many questions will shape the firm of the future: How important is it for a firm to be active on social media? How can you monetize services that consumers start to expect for free? How soon will it be until routine professional services are fully automated? Get the answers to all of these questions and more in a conversation with Lee Frederiksen, PhD, managing partner of Hinge Marketing

The timing of the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has posed challenges to CPAs who were starting to prepare for the upcoming tax filing season of 2017 returns. Clients are asking questions about what tax reform means to them for 2018 and beyond, while their CPAs have not yet closed the books on 2017. Two marketing professionals from large regional firms – Eric Elmore of Drucker & Scaccetti in Philadelphia and Allison Schlegelmilch of RKL in Lancaster – explain how they’re educating clients about tax reform.

It’s a major nightmare for CPAs, especially tax practitioners: a hacker gains access to sensitive client data and files fraudulent returns. Susan Jarvis, CPA, gives her first-hand account of what she experienced during the 2016 tax filing season. Jarvis explains her personal story and shares advice with peers on how to best prevent – and cope with – a data breach.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s Pass-Through Business Office (PTBO) created the Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax Desk Review program in 2015. Steve Kinsinger, revenue fiscal analyst supervisor at the PTBO, provides an update on the program and what CPAs need to know about working with the department to address notices on behalf of clients.

The path to CPA partnership includes obtaining a wealth of technical skills, but it also requires an ability to expand the client base. In this edition of CPA Conversations, Donna Massanova, CPA, a partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, practice leader for the employee benefit plans audit service group, and leader of the Philadelphia real estate and construction group, provides tips on networking and mentoring and explains their role in becoming a partner.

“Do I have enough money?” This common question posed by many clients as they approach retirement probably does not shock you. Of course, the answer largely depends on each client’s investment portfolio and savings. Still, CPAs can help assuage their clients’ fears by asking them the right questions. Larry Portnoff, a PICPA member who runs AI Advisor, explains how CPAs should think about their clients’ needs for retirement.

Much has been made of the importance of acquiring the CPA designation – and rightfully so. But there is another credential that can mean wonders for CPAs in business and industry: the CGMA. On this edition of CPA Conversations, we talk to Jeffrey Mitch, CPA, CGMA, about the value of the credential, why people who question its importance are wrong, and the process for attaining the designation.

The CPA profession constantly changes, and nothing encapsulates this fact better than the rapid evolution of auditing. What are the primary drivers of this change? How will it benefit audit clients? And what will happen to firms that don’t keep up with developments? Michele Hansen of Deloitte & Touche joins us to help answer these questions and many more.

Financial planners do a lot of great and thorough work to ensure future financial success for their clients, but it can be easy to forget about proper account titling. Marsha Rubin, CPA, CFP, of Wharton Investment Consultants, explains how to make sure that this critical component is not forgotten during the planning process, and how financial planners should check on account and asset titling.

In a podcast dedicated to the work of the new Pennsylvania CPA Foundation, we talked to Kristin Seeger, recruiting manager with Kreischer Miller in Horsham, about how she helps to spread the word about the CPA credential and the benefits it offers to young people as they exit the classroom and enter the workforce. She speaks frankly about some of the concerns students have about the CPA profession and what can be done to address those issues.

In a podcast dedicated in part to the work of the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation, CPA Conversations sits down with Mary Jeanne Welsh, professor of accounting and department chair at La Salle University in Philadelphia, to discuss the ways accounting education has changed in recent years. Among the topics discussed are how systems designed for use with online courses have improved the experience for in-class attendees and the trends on students moving toward online learning.

While opinions will vary among CPAs, many see working for a Big 4 firm to be an exciting beginning to their careers in accounting. But what are these firms looking for in an employee? What skill-sets must you have to get your foot in the door. And how important is it to achieve your CPA designation? (Hint: it’s important.) In this episode of CPA Conversations, Deanna Byrne, Philadelphia office managing partner for PwC, answers all of these questions and more.

In a preview of her Careers & Lifestyles column for the winter 2018 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Patricia Benson, CPA, EdD, vice president of finance for Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., discusses how the role of the CFO has changed. Specifically, she zeroes in on two leadership types – transactional and transformational – and their effectiveness in motivating employees.

When you’re talking to another party about a merger or acquisition, there are going to be things you want to hear and things that make you hesitant should they come out of your counterpart’s mouth. In a preview of his Practice Succession Planning column for the winter 2018 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Ira Rosenbloom of Optimum Strategies LLC discusses the things that should make you smile and the things that should make you cringe during M&A discussions.

Recent data breaches have us all on edge regarding cybersecurity, especially CPAs working in the insurance industry. These companies collect and are privy to a lot of sensitive data. Russell Sommers, CPA, CISA, senior manager with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, explains how cybersecurity, especially with the recent release of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Insurance Data Security Model Law, is not just an IT concern.

What are the three aspects of FASB’s Big 3 Project? As anyone who has been knee-deep in their implementation can tell you, they are revenue recognition, financial instruments, and the topic of our latest edition of CPA Conversations: lease accounting. In a preview of his presentation at the Dec. 6 PICPA Accounting and Auditing Conference, Keith Peterka, a partner with Citrin Cooperman in Philadelphia, gives us the skinny on this meaty subject matter.

Blockchain may seem like a futuristic concept, but it is already making a major dent in the way CPAs and auditors perform their jobs. The technology is one that CPAs would be wise to catch up on as soon as possible. To get our members started along this path, CPA Conversations sat down with Amanda Wilkie, chief information officer for WithumSmith+Brown, for an enlightening discussion.

Most mergers and acquisitions are going to have a high level of complication, but the issues can multiply when just one partner in a group decides to sell. That is when Section 754 elections may help. On this episode of CPA Conversations, Bill Ruffner, director of taxation in Global Tax Management Inc.’s Pittsburgh office, walks us through circumstances when Section 754 elections come into play and the challenges and opportunities they present for buyers and sellers.

Most of us have a general understanding of the concept of budgeting. But is budgeting different for CPAs who provide personal financial planning services to clients? It could be, and Marsha Rubin, CPA, CFP, who is a financial adviser with Wharton Investment Consultants, explains her process and how it could be beneficial for CPAs working in this space.

CPA firms work best when their different departments communicate well with each other, but this is not something that can happen with a snap. Different personalities must find common ground, and people who may have been used to control have to come together on a group vision. To discuss how leaders of different departments can help their groups achieve this goal, CPA Conversations talked to Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half.