Spring 2024
Features
Moving to the Beat of ESG Can Be Good for Business
By J. Stephen McNally, CPA, CMA
The call for the corporate world to enlist environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and reporting is growing. In this feature, J. Stephen McNally, CPA, CMA, proposes that – whether your organization is subject to mandatory reporting requirements or not – sustainability decisions are good business decisions.
Pa. Office Set Up to Help with IRA Renewable Energy Tax Credits
By Louie Krak
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro created the Office of Critical Investments to maximize the federal funding made available in recent years, particularly through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Louie Krak, infrastructure coordinator with the Office of Critical Investments, discusses the major tax credit incentives that are available to a wide swath of Pennsylvania entities interested in investing in diverse sources of renewable energy.
Bolster Your Emotional Intelligence for Personal Success and a Positive Workplace
By Ashley Stampone, CPA, PhD, and Patrick O’Brien, CPA, PhD, CFE
This feature discusses what emotional intelligence is, several different aspects of the concept, and how certain segments become more important at different times as you progress through your accounting career.
Columns
Accounting for Leasehold Improvements for Discretely Presented Component Units
By Khaled Abdel Ghany, CPA, PhD
The Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update 2023-01, Leases, Common Control Arrangements, requires leasehold improvements related to a lease agreement between entities under common control to be amortized over the useful life of the leasehold improvement. While the relationship between a primary government and its component units is similar to that among companies within common control, could the new accounting rule for amortizing leasehold improvements be applicable to leases between a primary government and its component units?
PICPA and Outlier Bring College Accounting to High Schools
By Matt Greene and Kristen Wilbert
The PICPA’s Pennsylvania CPA Foundation connected with Outlier.com last year to support high school students in their journey to becoming a CPA. Two teachers taking part in the pilot program discuss how their students are doing and how this effort is helping young people get interested in accounting.
PICPA’s 2024 Legislative Priorities in Harrisburg
By Peter N. Calcara, PICPA Vice President – Government Relations
This year, two points will dominate lawmakers' agendas in Harrisburg: the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and the fall elections. That doesn’t mean the PICPA will stop its advocacy efforts on matters important to Pennsylvania’s CPAs.
Why and When to Consider Outsourcing Finance Functions
By Victoria N. Pritchard, CPA
CFOs and vice presidents of finance are entrusted not only with maintaining financial stability but also with contributing strategically to organizational growth. To achieve this, says Victoria N. Pritchard, CPA, the outsourcing of certain accounting functions to third parties has emerged as a strategy worth exploring.
What to Expect on the Federal Tax Front This Election Year
By Robert E. Duquette, CPA
Although the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has most of its individual provisions expiring after 2025, there are some provisions expiring even earlier. This column explains which sections will be affected unless Congress acts to restore them.
Don’t Overlook the Value of State Tax Credits and Incentives
By Matthew Melinson, CPA, Mike Eickhoff, CCIP, Drew VandenBrul, CPA, Narj Bhogal, CPA, Benjamin Tamber, CPA
Incentives are a powerful tool to urge companies to invest in a particular state that can result in a win-win for all parties involved. This issue's State & Local Tax column provides an overview of Pennsylvania’s incentives and credits landscape.
IRC Section 1202: Why Qualified Small-Business Stock Should Be on Your Radar
By Danielle Friedman and Herbert R. Fineburg
The Small Business Stock Gains Exclusion is an often-missed and material tax-savings benefit available to noncorporate shareholders of C corporations. Given the relatively recent adoption of these qualified small-business stock rules, many advisers and their clients are still unfamiliar with this section of the Internal Revenue Code.
Winning Continuity Plans for Owners, Clients, and Successors
By Ira S. Rosenbloom, CPA (inactive)
Successful practice continuity is dependent on making three parties happy: clients, firm owners, and the next set of owners, successors, or protectors. Here are a few pathways to establish a framework for a succession that is a win for all three parties.
Tips for Being the Best Mentee
By Ashley Stampone, CPA, PhD
The mentor-mentee dynamic cannot be one-sided. The mentee must work at the connection, too, to get the most out of the mentorship. This column offers tips to emerging CPAs that they can take as mentees to get the most out of their mentor-mentee relationships.
