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| Brought to you by the Maryland Association of CPAs |
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| | Maryland General Assembly |
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| | | Maryland CPAs advocate at capitol in Annapolis | | On a snowy January morning, more than 130 CPAs stepped aside from their busy schedules to advocate for legislation supporting the CPA profession, part of the MACPA’s CPA Day program. (From CPA Practice Advisor) |
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| | Maryland House, Senate to hold hearings on appeal bond cap | | A quick update from Annapolis: Hearings have been scheduled in Maryland’s General Assembly for House Bill 171 / Senate Bill 231, which would create a lower appeal bond cap for businesses with 250 or fewer employees. The House hearing will be held on Feb. 3, and the Senate will hear testimony on Feb. 9. MACPA leaders and members will be on hand to testify at both hearings. Keep an eye on our blog, CPA Success, for details as they develop. |
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| | | | | New partnership audit rules require careful review of partnership and LLC agreements | | If you are a partner of a partnership or a member of a limited liability company (LLC) taxed as a partnership, or are entering into a new partnership or LLC, you may have some important decisions to make in light of impending changes to the rules governing federal tax audits. Here’s what you need to know to prepare for the new rules. (From JD Supra Business Advisor) |
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| | | Key Affordable Care Act changes for tax year 2015 | | Tax year 2015 is shaping up to be another busy year for tax professionals across the country, and keeping up-to-date with the latest Affordable Care Act changes is instrumental in servicing your clients the best way possible. (From AccountingWeb) |
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| | Audit and Accounting / A&A |
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| | | AICPA pushes for auditing and assurance changes | | The American Institute of CPAs is encouraging firms to modernize the way they conduct audits by using data analytics technology and working to improve the way employee benefit plan audits are conducted in response to a critical Labor Department report. |
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| | AICPA takes on IRS and expands internationally | | American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon said the AICPA is pushing the Internal Revenue Service to improve its services for both taxpayers and CPAs while preparing to become a more international organization. (From AccountingToday) |
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| | How accountants can conduct consultative client meetings | | Some accountants bristle at the idea of selling their services. Whatever the cause, the good news is that what might appear as “traditional selling techniques” aren’t necessary for accountants. Clients essentially want accountants who are willing to dig into their businesses’ problems and provide proactive advice. (From AccountingToday) |
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| | CAQ explores the art of determining audit quality | | Barely two paragraphs into the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) new report,Audit Quality Indicators: The Journey and the Path Ahead, the organization acknowledges a new understanding about how to determine audit quality: “It’s more art than science.” (From AccountingWEB) |
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| | Amendments clarify jurisdictional issues in auditor reporting requirements | | The AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued an amendment last week, Statement on Auditing Standards No. 131, clarifying the format of the auditor’s report that should be used for an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB when the audit is not under the PCAOB’s jurisdiction. (From the Journal of Accountancy) |
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| | 5 steps CPA firms can take to avoid legal claims | | Of all the worries that keep CPA firm owners up at night, chances are the specter of potential litigation is the one that causes them to lose the most sleep. Unfortunately, there may be a good reason for that. (From AccountingWeb) |
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| | | | FASB proposals address retirement benefit reporting | | The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued two proposals that are designed to address financial reporting issues related to retirement benefits. Proposed Accounting Standards Update “Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost,” addresses a concern that the presentation of defined benefit cost on a net basis combines elements with different predictive values. (From the Journal of Accountancy) |
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| | | Financial execs concerned about internal controls | | Nearly a third of financial reporting executives in a new poll by KPMG said internal control over financial reporting was their highest concern beyond their financial reporting responsibilities. (From AccountingToday) |
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| | | | I'm a Boomer, my boss is 24; What should I do? | | I am a Baby Boomer and have been with my company for 15 years. I just got a new boss who is 24 years old. She thinks I am going to retire soon, I can’t learn new skills, and I’m not adaptable. What should I do? (From Washington Business Journal) |
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| | | 3 simple steps to becoming a confident speaker | | Can you remember the first time you spoke in front of a group? My own “first” happened in front of 30 people. My hands were shaking, my legs trembling. “G-g-g-g-good morning everyone. Today I will talk about …” After that failure, I did whatever it took to overcome my fear of public speaking. (From Entrepreneur) |
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| | 'Young guns' develop their accounting firms in new ways | | The younger generation is beginning to gain more influence at accounting firms. At the Winning Is Everything conference in Las Vegas last week, Boomer Consulting CIO Jim Boomer led panel discussions among “young guns” and older members of firms talking about intergenerational issues. (From AccountingToday) |
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| | | | Digital disruption has only just begun | | Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme says digital disruption is at the heart of all the conversations he has with CEOs today, and this is not surprising, as it presents the most significant threats and opportunities any of us have faced in business. (From World Economic Forum) |
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| | | How technology is changing outsourcing | | Software that helps automate and standardise business processes offers companies alternatives to traditional outsourcing, a global market long dominated by providers in India and China, according to research by global management consultants A.T. Kearney. (From CGMA) |
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| | As IT spending drives bigger returns, CFOs retool their metrics | | t wasn’t too long ago that IT spend as a percent of revenue was the time-honored metric of choice among finance executives determined to keep their firm’s IT spending within the light of day. However, growing numbers of finance leaders have sought to retire the metric as their IT organizations embraced cloud technologies and hatched new IT initiatives designed to open up new revenue streams. (From CFO Thought Leader) |
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| | | | Want a better life? Build better relationships | | Relationships matter. Check that. Relationships don’t simply matter; they might be the only things that matter. It’s a social world … it always has been. We’re now beginning to realize the benefits of mining those relationships. (From the BLI blog) |
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| | What we've always done isn't what we'll always do | | Looking for a reason why you need to do things differently? How about this? “The accounting profession,” says Allan Koltin, “is dying.” That’s a bit apocalyptic for my tastes, so let’s qualify that a bit: The profession as we have long known it is changing before our very eyes. (From the BLI blog) |
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| | A football legend’s game plan to transforming your business | | We talk a good game about change and transformation here at the Business Learning Institute, but we’re no Barry Alvarez – coach of the University of Wisconsin football team and a Rose Bowl winner. Alvarez knows about transformation. (From the BLI blog) |
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| | | | Microsoft to end support for Windows SQL Server 2005 | | From Microsoft: As part of normal product lifecycles and to accommodate modern technology and mobility, Microsoft will completely end support for Windows SQL Server 2005 on April 12, 2016. Security patches and updates will no longer be available after this date. |
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| | The greatest unfunded threat to family ... financial stability? | From TriBridge Partners: Many working people now find themselves needing to contribute time, energy, and finances to assist parents as they age. Several recent studies have demonstrated the impact on employees and employers alike, as employees are distracted and even become disabled themselves due to caregiving needs. For employees, there is the critical need to plan for their future needs. Otherwise, they pass on the same problem of their parents, a seriously unfunded risk that threatens their own retirement and perhaps plans to pass on inheritance to children and grandchildren. However, the need for long-term care is not only for the aging.
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