Pennsylvania CPA Journal

Statement on Auditing Standards No. 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, is effective for periods ending on or after Dec. 15, 2023. Nicole K. Cradic, CPA, shares some the key changes in the standard of which auditors need to be aware.

L. Erik Ringoen, Zachary Epstein, and Richard J. Zach explain how when forensic accountants and attorneys work together, they greatly increase the prospects of ensuring a client’s rights are vindicated, legal issues are properly addressed, and accounting safeguards are implemented to protect the client’s finances.

In recognition of the COVID-19 pandemic, standard setters delayed many effective dates to allow the profession time to prepare for their adoption. The procrastinators now face an onslaught of pronouncements either already in effect or soon to be effective. Duncan Will, CPA, highlights some of the risk implications and offers a few risk management tips.

Form 5500 reporting has been changing over the past several years. Julie Verrekia, CPA, and David A. Torrillo, CPA/ABV, CVA, wonder if the latest updates will result in fewer employee benefit plan audits being required.

First-year budget foot-dragging is not unusual in Pennsylvania. In fact, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s immediate predecessor, Tom Wolf, had a first-year budget fight that dragged on for more than 250 days. Shapiro signed a $45.5 billion General Appropriations Act on Aug. 3, but numerous pieces of budget-related code bills remained tied up in the legislature, and the clock keeps ticking.

Territorialism and claims of project ownership are not uncommon in business. But when it comes to retirement plans, Nicole Jankowski explains that a shared ownership between human resources and finance will be beneficial to all.

Federal spending and the amount of revenue generated by federal taxation do not jibe. They have not for some time, and now the country is dangerously close to unprecedented repercussions from a continuously growing national debt. Robert E. Duquette, CPA, provides a host of data detailing the issue at hand, what’s coming down the pike, and the difficulties standing in our way that we must overcome to solve the problem.

CPAs with clients who work for or with defense contractors need to understand the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). Matthew Schiavone, CPA, CISSP, CISA, explains the CMMC and offers a word of caution as to how it could affect the costs and resources of the contractor and how CPAs may be called on to be compliance assessors.

Business privilege and mercantile taxes (BPT) can be overlooked and misunderstood by taxpayers and practitioners alike. Matthew Melinson, CPA, Patrick Skeehan, JD, and Thomas Boyle, JD, look at the mechanics of the BPT and some of the latest trends to help taxpayers meet filing obligations, capture tax savings, and avoid missteps.

It is not uncommon for grandparents to want to pass along some of their accumulated wealth to their grandchildren, but a recent court decision ruled that certain gifts made by check were to be includible in the decedent’s gross estate. Brian M. Balduzzi, JD, LLM (Taxation), CFP, provides several alternative gifting strategies to help remove the risk of these gifts being deemed incomplete.

There are more than 33 million small businesses in the United States, with over half of U.S. business owners above age 55. Michael A. Zaydon, CPA, offers tips to help you or your business-owner clients exit on a high note.