By Maureen Renzi, Vice President - Communications

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Are there certain questions your clients keep asking you? Do you ever find yourself thinking, “Why don’t they cover this in the news?” I don’t even have to ask if you wonder about how to keep up with all the professional and technical changes that are going on – that’s a given.

I work closely with PICPA’s Pennsylvania CPA Journal Editorial Board and the CPA Image Enhancement Committee, and these questions are what we talk about at the committee meetings. The conversations are interesting, enlightening, engaging, and, believe it or not, fun! Members step away from the day-to-day demands at the office and engage in discussions with their peers. Sometimes members get reassurance that everyone is experiencing the same thing, while other times they learn by the experiences of others. Most importantly, these conversations lead to action steps at the PICPA.

The Editorial Board meets and plans out the journal’s feature stories for a year in a four-hour meeting. To get a sense of what is involved in this process, check out our recent video. At the May meeting, the board literally covered the walls with great ideas about what most interests members. Common themes arose around reform in health care and taxes, as well as the financial reporting framework for small and medium-sized companies. A final list of scheduled features can be found in the Resources section of our website. If you would like to get involved by writing a column or sharing an idea on specific areas of interest, you can contact the column coordinator directly.

What was particularly interesting this year is that many of the technical issues addressed at the editorial board meeting also came up at the CPA Image Enhancement Committee meeting. PICPA’s goal is to support the CPA’s reputation as a trusted business advisor by positioning members of the profession as thought leaders in emerging issues. PICPA’s CPA Image Enhancement Committee helps identify what issues PICPA should be commenting on and develop the resources members use to help their clients, their employers, the business community, as well as consumers and the media. For instance, health care is a big issue for small business owners and consumers. The uncertainty makes planning extremely difficult. The PICPA’s communications team, along with a few members of the committee, will be working to provide resources that can help guide businesses through this maze of new requirements.

Sometimes the discussions lead us to develop programs for very specific audiences. For instance, CPAs and lending institutions often work together to help businesses expand. With the introduction of the new financial reporting framework that could be used as early as 2014 and the increasing request for comfort letters, CPAs and the lenders they work with need to be using the same rule book. Watch for resources and programs to help build relationships with lenders in the coming year.

It’s been a productive few weeks, and it’s probably my favorite time of year at the PICPA because I get so energized by the commitment, knowledge, and passion of our volunteers. The committee members clearly enjoy the meeting experience because many come back year after year. In fact, every seat at our boardroom table was taken this year with others calling in. You shouldn’t miss out on this great experience! Consider joining a committee today so you have a seat at the table. Let me know if we can help guide you to the committee experience that best meets your needs.