CPA Now Blog Archive

The AICPA recently updated the System and Organization Controls (SOC) reporting suite of services. This blog post provides an overview of the SOC for Cybersecurity reporting framework, and highlights some of the key differences between the SOC for Cybersecurity and SOC 2 reports.

Nonprofits can be particularly vulnerable when it comes to fraud and theft. In smaller not-for-profits, there just may not be enough hands to manage day-to-day functions. And not enough hands can lead to error or mischief.

Significant changes are taking place in our profession, including demographic shifts, an ever-changing business environment, technological advancements, as well as demands on people’s time. With this in mind, PICPA leadership evaluated our bylaws and recommended that changes be made to ensure continued relevance and viability.

Today, clients face an uphill battle of trying to pay for college even as college costs outpace inflation. To create the best strategies, advisers need to understand the financial aid process, college savings plans, educational tax strategies, student loans, and various loan repayment options.

Managing your finances and credit rating is always a smart plan, and 0 percent introductory interest credit cards and deferred interest offers can be effective aids in this plan. However, you must be careful of the potential dangers when using these credit tools.

It has always intrigued me that many CPAs in public accounting do not support work-from-home policies. Why would that be? I have found that what often concerns CPAs is probably not something they need to worry about, and that there are two things CPAs should address regarding working from home that are ignored by most.

Most credit-reporting agencies use a third party to determine the credit score of an individual’s credit report. The most widely known comes from the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), but it is worth noting that not every credit score offered online is a FICO score.

Is income-tax-free retirement possible for you? It very well may be, and you should closely review your finances to find out.

Regardless of what specific position a CPA holds in an organization, there is a technological tidal wave crashing through the marketplace. This is an opportunity for CPAs to assume a larger leadership role.

At the PICPA Women’s Leadership Conference in May 2017, Tamera Loerzel addressed how to attract and retain young talent. Find out what the five areas that stood out most for young professionals.

How we deal with and manage change is a key success factor in organizational performance. Nimble organizations and leaders that can pivot and adapt to change will have a positive impact and position themselves for success.

Many CPA firms do well. Others may be deemed very successful. And then there are those standout firms that are considered irreplaceable.

Many “emerging technologies” have already emerged, and the accounting profession may be poised to benefit from many of these changes.

With the rise of business-to-business financial technology companies, or fintechs, the opportunities for CPA firms to offer new services have never been better. Fintech solutions are cloud-based, generally much easier to implement, and much less expensive than what firms have been able to offer clients in the past.

The phrase “segregation of duties” is used by CPAs every day, but what does that mean to the small-business owner? Simply put, segregation of duties means no single person has too much control of a transaction involving important business assets. It is a basic anti-fraud measure.

Whether or not we want to admit it, all individuals are at risk from potential disasters, be they cyber attacks, economic downturn, or natural disasters, to name a few. The likelihood of enduring all, or even any, of these is slight, but are you prepared if you are among the unfortunate ones?

Every two years AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section conducts its CPA Firm Top Issues Survey. The top concern common among almost all firm sizes can be summed up in one word: talent.

The Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation continues to gain momentum, with more than 50,000 holders of the designation in the United States. Seth Fick, CPA, CGMA, a PICPA member and director of financial reporting at Independence Blue Cross, discusses what the CGMA designation represents and how it benefits him.

The PICPA Board met on June 25, 2017, and at that meeting PICPA’s audited financial statements were presented. The combined statements include the accounts of the PICPA, the PICPA Foundation for Education & Research, the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation, and the Scholarship Fund of the PICPA.

As defined contribution plans emerged as the retirement plan of choice for all but a few companies, the rules and responsibilities have exponentially increased. Midsize companies and small businesses rely heavily on their CFOs to take on those important tasks, which adds to the complexity of the CFO’s responsibilities.