CPA Now Blog

Cross-departmental collaboration has become essential for modern planning, budgeting, and forecasting. Here are seven trends in 2022 that will enhance this interaction and help CPAs in business and industry achieve success.

The IRS is a mess. It has a backlog of 6 million returns, is sending out automated warnings to taxpayers who have already filed, and can only answer 9% of its calls. The PICPA has joined with the AICPA in an attempt to reconcile the issues at the IRS.

Before you are forced to deal with the unenviable position of a ransomware attack, understand that the best way to thwart these attacks are before they happen. Stopping ransomware generally includes three key areas: cybersecurity hygiene of your employees, proper practices by your IT department, and your data backup strategy.

Implementing the new ASC 842 lease accounting standard for nonpublic companies surely requires changes to processes and reporting controls. But this blog provides four reasons why implementing the new lease standard may not be as hard as you or your clients feared it would be.

For CPAs, the outlook for 2022 is not a lot different than what we experienced in 2021: accelerated change and emerging issues that impact how we approach the services we provide. Here are three key areas CPAs must keep in mind as we move into the new year.

CPAs are taking on ever-increasing consultative roles as they are being asked to advise in areas beyond traditional financial reporting. To measure proficiency in some of these expanding duties, the CPA Exam has its Regulation (REG) section to ensure CPA Exam candidates have a basic understanding of basic business law, taxation of property transactions, among other areas.

Accounting and finance firms face a multipronged challenge: find ways to grow in the coming years and take advantage of new opportunities in this rapidly changing environment. It’s time to develop a strategy that invests in and embraces talent, marketing, and technology moving forward.

Engagement letters should be as detailed as possible in describing the nature and extent of the services the firm is being retained to perform. Similarly, engagement letters should be as detailed as possible regarding the client’s responsibilities and obligations for facilitating the engagement.

Did you miss the CPA license renewal deadline on Dec. 31, 2023? The Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy has made changes to its renewal/reactivation process this year, so here are some key points you need to know.

The multifamily real estate market remains steady and robust. Recent provisions in the CARES Act and 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) have brought depreciation deductions to an all-time high. The impact of 100% bonus depreciation on tax savings, for example, cannot be overstated, but time is running out on this valuable incentive.

Client onboarding, as many CPAs understand it, is the process of clearly communicating with new clients about the firm’s services and expectations for the relationship. When it comes to certain vital requirements and proper compliance with governmental requests, the client onboarding effort is a risk management must.

With the death of Secretary of State Colin Powell on Oct. 18, 2021, America lost one of our generation's great leaders. As we embark on 2022, we should refresh (or strive to learn) some of the leadership fundamentals Powell shared in his 2012 book, "It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership."

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are not new in the world of investing, but there has been a recent surge in their popularity. CPAs may encounter SPACs or receive questions about them from clients, so it is important to understand the basics of these investment vehicles.

The difficulties in hiring and retaining staff in the CPA profession began prior to COVID-19, but it has been more acute during the pandemic and through the recovery. One possible solution for firms may be outsourcing some of their accounting services. However, CPAs need to be vigilant regarding the inherent risk and regulatory requirements when outsourcing work to others.

For those who work in professional services, often it is the people who are seen that get the choicest assignments. And those who get the choicest assignments ultimately tend to develop the most sophisticated skills. If always working from home or adhering to a unique schedule that doesn't align with others, it may be difficult to ensure “face time” with practice leaders and to benefit from the organic opportunities that arise when two people find themselves in a hallway or by the coffee machine.

Despite endless media reports highlighting that cyberthreats are a real risk to corporate operations, many have been stagnant in their pursuit of cybersecurity. But maybe a workable security framework has arrived in the form of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

The best time to plan for a crisis is before it happens. Just taking the first steps in the planning process can go a long way toward facilitating the continuation of your practice, making sure clients are taken care of, and preserving the value of the practice.

Total charitable donations for the nonprofit sector increased in 2020 compared with 2019, and they are on track to increase again in 2021 compared with 2020. The growth was largely due to increases in individual donations as opposed to corporate giving. This emphasizes the importance of connecting with individual donors, and one way to track progress in connecting with a donor base is through data analytics.

This past year saw many developments in blockchain and among cryptoassets. It can be difficult for practitioners to determine where they should focus as they prepare for 2022. There are, however, several core themes that practitioners should concentrate on as cryptoassets become more integrated into mainstream financial applications and clients begin to raise an ever-increasing number of questions on the topic.

Recently, the Federal Reserve has indicated that inflation doesn’t appear as “transitory” as they thought, so interest rates are probably on the rise. This will cause bonds to lose value because a rise in rates causes bonds to sell at a discount. The choice facing the financial planner is to advise enduring the pain now and sell at a discount or spreading the pain over the remaining life of the bond via coupon payments lower than market.