Brought to you by the Maryland Association of CPAs This week’s podcast Preparing for Tax Season 2020: Maryland taxes Last week, we talked about federal tax issues that you might need to know about as we head into this year’s Busy Season. This week, we’re going to do the same thing on the state tax side of the ledger. Our guest this week is Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. • Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher Maryland General Assembly Maryland CPAs converge on Annapolis to protect profession Maryland’s General Assembly received crucial insights into the accounting and finance profession on Jan. 23 as more than 200 CPAs poured into the state’s capital for the Maryland Association of CPAs’ annual CPA Day in Annapolis. (From the MACPA) • Track the bills we’re following. Lawmakers want to spend billions more on schools. Where will they find the money? Maryland lawmakers are trying to pull off an improbable feat: finding a way to raise billions of dollars for education. (From The Baltimore Sun) Senators to introduce package aimed at improving small business climate A bipartisan group of senators hopes to support small businesses in the legislature this year by boosting access to health insurance, improving government efficiency and taking a look at reforming the state tax code. (The Daily Record) Lawmakers eye tax reform to keep up with changing economy Senate President Bill Ferguson defended a controversial proposal to implement a digital advertising tax while again advocating that Maryland needs to do a comprehensive overhaul of its tax code. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) Maryland small business seeks growth with help from the state capitol Nine in 10 Marylanders work for a small business. State legislation leaders spent a full day Wednesday in the Maryland General Assembly hoping those businesses are driving the economy. (Local DVM) Tax Tax season might be as chaotic as last year Filing taxes last year was a nightmare for taxpayers, their accountants and the Internal Revenue Service. This year might not be much better. (From Accounting Today) France says U.S. agreed on a path to global tech tax accord The U.S. and Europe are making progress toward a global pact on the taxation of digital services, with France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, saying on Thursday that American officials agreed on a blueprint for negotiations. – Accounting Today Tax Court shoots down finder’s fee deduction The Tax Court held that a manufacturer of plastic products could not take a deduction for a finder’s fee paid to a financial advisory firm that the manufacturer paid on behalf of an institutional investor that acquired the manufacturer. – The Tax Adviser Federal tax lawsuits plunge Federal civil tax lawsuits have fallen by more than half over the past decade, according to a new analysis. (From Accounting Today) Most taxpayers confident about tax prep Taxpayers are feeling good about their tax-filing abilities, according to a new survey, with 89 percent indicating they feel confident they have their withholdings set up correctly and 95 percent saying they’re confident that they’re taking all the deductions they can. (From Accounting Today) Upcoming events Legislation and regulation IESBA proposes revised independence standards for auditors The IESB has released two exposure drafts for proposed ethical standards aimed at strengthening the non-assurance services and fee-related independence provisions of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. (From Accounting Today) Companies shell out more in audit fees to tackle accounting rule changes Average hourly fees to external auditors climbed 31 percent over the past decade, according to a recent survey. (From The Wall Street Journal) How international auditing rules are shaping standards in the U.S. The head of the standard setter for company audits in 130 countries and jurisdictions says his organization is looking into modernizing rules on identifying fraud. (From The Wall Street Journal) AICPA drafts guidance for insurance standard The AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee has proposed several working drafts of its guidance on the long-duration insurance accounting standard for insurance companies. (From Accounting Today) BlackRock CEO declares ‘fundamental reshaping of finance’ Climate change is the foundation of what may be a fundamental reshaping of finance, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink wrote in an open letter to CEOs that announced the asset manager’s plans to place sustainability at the center of its investment approach. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Public practice / A&A What CPAs and clients should know about 'tax zapper' software CPAs who assist clients with sales tax obligations can build credibility by educating themselves about the increasingly well-known phenomenon of tax zapper software. (From AccountingWEB) Does a vet visit count as a qualified medical expense? IRS says no Tax expert Julian Block returns with more useful tidbits from his decades of experience. In his column, he talks about whether you can deduct a vet visit as a qualified medical expense and much more. (From AccountingWEB) The business meal expense deduction after the TCJA Some taxpayers have wondered whether client-related business meal expenses remain deductible after the law known as the TCJA which generally repealed the deduction for entertainment expenses. (From The Tax Adviser) How firms are delivering value with audit data analytics When Ed Wilkins, CPA, talks to audit committees about adding data analytics to the audit process, he explains to them that it usually takes three years for investment in a complex audit analytic to pay for itself. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Evolve your firm with these 12 questions Keynote speaker Simon Sinek made a bold statement at the 2019 AICPA ENGAGE conference: “If you don’t mind disrupting yourself, you will be fine. Otherwise, someone will do it for you.” Joey Havens says that message is very telling for the future of our profession. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Business and industry Technical accounting: The CFO’s secret weapon A great partnership with accounting will actually help drive and influence financial results … legally, of course. (From CFO.com) 5 CFO trends to watch in 2020 Greater adoption of rolling forecasts and subscription pricing models are among the trends you’ll see this year. (From CFO Dive) Moving forward without a technical correction to QIP By now, almost everyone in the CPA profession knows about the Qualified Improvement Property drafting error in the TCJA of 2017. In an effort to reduce redundancy in the Tax Code, the law inadvertently removed QIP from bonus eligible property. (From Accounting Today) Why you need to consider outsourcing in 2020 Typically, responsibilities such as accounting and financial decision-making, marketing, and programming will be among the first that businesses make the decision to outsource. (From AccountingWEB) How CFOs can jumpstart automation of the close Companies spend nearly half their time creating and updating reports, and devote just a fraction of that time to uncovering insights in the data. (From CFO.com) Technology Top 100 tax pros and cloud accounting experts Named Online reviews continue to be one of the most important criteria used to select products and services, including services from local professionals like tax pros and accountants. A 2019 survey by BrightLocal showed that 82 percent of consumers read online. (From CPA Practice Adviser) A farewell chat with Tech Q&A author J. Carlton Collins Retiring from the monthly grind of writing Tech Q&A, Collins talks about how he came up with all those questions (and answers), how he became a better writer, and how he sometimes wants to kick Bill Gates in the teeth. (From the Journal of Accountancy) 7 steps to true DMS Firms using a digital document management system report that their staff are more organized, productive and better able to respond to client requests. (From CPA Practice Advisor) PwC showcases new technologies PwC showed off some of its new and upcoming technologies it has been developing for its staff and clients, particularly in the auditing field, at an event Tuesday in its offices in New York. (From Accounting Today) Six cyber fraud predictions for 2020 What’s clear looking back on 2019 is that digital identities are continually being compromised on multiple levels. Here are six predictions to keep in mind when updating cyber defense strategies for 2020 and beyond. (From Signal) The future-ready CPA MACPA whitepapers offer a blueprint for the future Your future success depends on your ability to get ahead of the changes that are disrupting our profession. Two new MACPA whitepapers will help you gauge your future-readiness and provide resources to help you get there. If you’re a CPA in public practice, download your whitepaper here. If you’re an accounting and finance pro in business and industry, download your whitepaper here. MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF CPAs 901 Dulaney Valley Rd, Ste 800, Towson, MD, 21204­-2683 800­-782­-2036 | MACPA.ORG Update your email preferences here