Spring 2025
Features
How Is the New CPA Exam Holding Up?
By Ning Zhou, CPA, and Heather Demshock, CPA, CMA
A new version of the CPA Exam launched last year that incorporated three core exams and a choice of one of three discipline tests. This feature looks at the results for the majority of 2024 to see how the new exam is faring compared to the previous version.
In an Evolving Accounting Industry We Can Choose Our Own Reality
By Kathy Gutierrez, CPTD, PHR, SHRM-CP
The accounting world is changing, whether you choose to see it or not. This feature uses the movie "The Matrix" to help illustrate the choices members of the accounting community can make when it comes to their evolving world: keep the blinders in place and carry on or embrace the data and adjust to new realities.
CPAs and Generative AI: Careful Steps Needed
By Colleen S. Krcelich, CPA, Christina M. Olear, CPA, and John Peatross, CPA
Generative AI was going to be the next big thing. But as accounting firms start to dig deeper into some of the cybersecurity, privacy, and accuracy issues, many have started to pump the breaks. This does not mean generative AI is going away or can’t be integrated into some workflows, but CPAs must be aware of the risks.
Columns
Accounting & Assurance
Reconsider FRF for SMEs for Simplified Financial Reporting
By Nicole Cradic, CPA, and Rebecca Walck, CPA, CIA
The growing prescriptive requirements of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) make financial reporting for smaller entities a complex burden. This column considers whether it is time for CPAs and their clients to reconsider the use of the Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (FRF for SMEs).
Legislative News
Sizing Up the 2025-2026 Pennsylvania General Assembly
By Peter N. Calcara
The new 2025-2026 General Assembly is kicking off its two-year tenure in Pennsylvania, and it promises to be a complex dance between party-driven strife and bipartisan cooperation. This Legislative News update explains what’s in the immediate future for the representatives in Harrisburg and which issues the PICPA will be advocating through the spring and summer.
Federal Tax
Federal Tax Changes Being Considered
By Robert E. Duquette, CPA
Federal taxes will change this year. Promises have been made about various tax policies at the federal level that may or may not come to fruition, but nearly all the aspects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire by year end if no action is taken. This column provides a survey of several aspects of the tax code that will change if not addressed.
Emerging CPAs
Succeeding in Public Accounting While Passing the CPA Exam
By Emma Boyle
Balance is important in life, but it can be a challenge for emerging CPAs as they try to juggle work, preparing for the CPA Exam, and their own well-being. This column shares several tips on how up-and-coming accounting professionals can succeed in these endeavors.
Personal Financial Planning
Tax-Efficient Distribution Strategies Needed Now for Certain Inherited Retirement Plans
By Brian M. Balduzzi, JD, LLM (Taxation), CFP
There is a renewed expectation of annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) for certain beneficiaries of inherited qualified retirement plans. If some of the RMDs were deferred over the past few years the tax implications could be substantial.
Liability Lessons
Deepfake Detection Is Vital to Protecting Your Business
By Lauren Pitonyak
Run-of-the-mill fraud is bad enough, but when it is enhanced by artificial intelligence the risks to your firm amplify. Here are several keys for helping you detect and counter deepfakes and other AI-generated fraud risks.
Ethics
Ethical Leadership: A Fundamental Tool in Combating Burnout
By Gregory Tobolewski
One important factor in reducing burnout is the presence of an ethical leader. But what is an ethical leader, and how exactly can they affect employee burnout?
Practitioners
Metrics to Optimize Firm Value
By Ira S. Rosenbloom, CPA (Inactive)
Do you know your firm’s potential or have accurate measures of your firm’s competitive positioning? This issue's Practitioners Column explains how concentrating on the right kinds of metrics can enhance your firm’s value.
