CPA Now Blog Archive

PICPA's Schools and Colleges Committee hosts an annual conference on accounting education that covers topics directed toward college educators. And it seems that the emerging issues discussed each year go on to become fixtures in accounting education and the CPA workplace.

E-mail is an essential element of the PICPA marketing and communications plan, but we’re also keenly aware of how important it is to respect your inbox. Let’s make a deal. I’ll only send you e-mails about the topics you care about, but you need to tell me what you care about.

SSARS No. 21 with its Section 70, Preparation of Financial Statements, creates new opportunities for CPA firms to provide a much needed service to small and not-so-small business clients. CPA firms face increasing competition from cloud-based accounting and tax preparation services. To maintain the role of “trusted advisor” CPAs should discuss with their clients the advantages of having a history of annual financial statements on hand.

Look around. Can you spot the changes we need to incorporate as CPA leaders? All of us must lift up our heads from the everyday challenges of servicing our clients and our companies and be the profession’s visionaries.

When an agribusiness prepares to find a lender, sometimes understanding what the lender needs can be daunting. While gathering the necessary information, know that both the borrower and the lender have a mutual goal: they want to ensure the long term viability of the agribusiness.

Believe it or not, you can make your home work for you when you are away on vacation or traveling. More and more people are signing up to be on the “host” list of services such as Airbnb, HomeAway, or VRBO to earn a little extra money. If you choose this path, however, keep in mind that the tax scenarios can be complex.

You tune up your car, and you tune up your guitar and piano. But a lot of investors ignore their portfolios, and one day discover unpleasant surprises. A periodic portfolio tune-up, however, can improve portfolio returns and reduce risk.

Whether it’s preparing for the changes coming to not-for-profit financial reporting, implementing the new single audit requirements, or auditing a government’s GASB No. 68 pension information, professionals working with governments and not-for-profits will find 2016 to be a transitional year.

Businesses nationwide are reviewing the new overtime-pay rule. In Pennsylvania, CPA firms and their clients are expressing concern. The rule may be well-intentioned, but it is likely to have unintended consequences. Many employers believe the rule will force them to cap workers’ hours, slow the hiring of full-time employees, and shift salaried workers to hourly schedules.

New single-audit requirements will be mandatory for all audits with year-ends on or after Dec. 25, 2015. For school districts, the first period to be audited under the new rules will be those with years ending June 30, 2016. Substantial preparation will have to be done to conduct single audits in accordance with the new requirements.

Nexus is a fancy word that means that you have a connection to a state, which gives that state the jurisdiction to subject your company to one or more of its taxes. In recent years, states have begun asserting nexus if a company merely makes sales in the state, even if it doesn't have a physical presence. This is known as “economic nexus.”

To be successful in your career you must find ways to bridge the gap between the generations. Use your knowledge of these challenges to think about what you want in a workplace and where you see yourself happily working for years to come.

Not-for-profit organizations make up what has been called the “invisible sector.” Employees, boards, and other volunteers quietly go about their work, supporting the high quality of community life that many for granted. But that building of something together requires one critical component: trust.

According to one author, emotional intelligence “is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.” How much do you know about EQ?

One of the newest DIY ideas for raising extra income is to drive people to their destinations through services such as Uber or Lyft. This can be a great option, but you need to be aware of the tax considerations.

A strong knowledge of trends in agricultural (such as GMOs and cannabis legalization) can provide operators with the ability to better plan for the future by anticipating future legal demands, exploring potential products and markets, and properly negotiating business agreements.

SOC audits have only been available since mid-2011. Prior to that, the audit standard that was available for service organizations was SAS 70. The business process and information technology outsourcing landscape has changed significantly since SAS 70 was developed. The SOC standards now allow for different reports for different purposes.

Now is a good time to take stock of all of the personally identifiable information in your firm’s possession and focus on addressing the risks posed by a potential cybersecurity breach. To help ease the burden of dealing with these complex areas, the PICPA has developed a cybersecurity threat management program.

With the growth of student borrowing, policymakers have responded over the years with legislative efforts at the federal and state level to help defray costs, but it only seems to have exacerbated the confusion about paying for college. This is where a CPA adviser can be instrumental.

Technology is driving much of the change in the CPA profession. As a result it is also driving the need for new kinds of CPA education because CPAs are so busy today dealing with everyday challenges that they don’t know what they don’t know.