Brought to you by the Maryland Association of CPAs Leading off Podcast: Tax pros are people, too We feel your pain, tax pros … oh, do we feel it. So does “TaxGirl” Kelly Phillips Erb. In this week’s episode of our “Future-Proof” podcast, she urges the world to walk a mile in their tax preparer’s shoes. (From the MACPA) • Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher Spring 2021 issue of The Statement now online The Spring 2021 edition of The Statement is now available digitally. The new edition features our e-book “Insights From The Innovation Summit” in its entirety, with its crowdsourced look at the future of our profession. The new issue also includes closer looks at Maryland’s digital advertising tax and the state’s newly revised tax forms. Download it here. • Browse the Statement archives here. Any day now: Brood X ... nature at its craziest It’s one of nature’s weirdest events, featuring sex, a race against death, and what can sound like a bad science fiction movie soundtrack. Within days — a couple weeks at most — the cicadas of Brood X will emerge after 17 years. (From The Associated Press) UPCOMING WEBCASTS MACPA's Preferred Providers offer resources to help you succeed in a changing professional landscape. Find the latest future-focused content As strategic partners of the MACPA, our Preferred Providers are on the cutting edge of the hard trends impacting the CPA profession. Whether it’s cybersecurity, automation, AI and machine learning, or any of the other issues you’re wondering about, chances are our Preferred Providers have resources for you. Forensic Valuation Services Conference 2021 Business valuation, litigation support, and forensic accounting have all seen massive changes in the last few years thanks to new regulations, legislation, and technological developments. MACPA has designed the Forensic Valuation Conference specifically to serve the critical niche of CPAs involved or interested in these sectors. TWO TRACKS AVAILABLE! Choose the track that’s best for you based on your professional experience. Pass along the discount code INTROFVC – when you purchase an advanced track you can gift the intro track to a colleague to jumpstart their career in Forensic Valuation! (05/20) Quarterly Financial Leaders Series: Avoiding Bankruptcy – The Business Case for Designing an Experience-Led Organization In an age when word-of-mouth has become weaponized, traditional marketing approaches to brand and reputation are no longer sufficient. This course educates business leaders on the changing market conditions of our Experience Economy, where experience-led brands have begun to dominate. It features an introduction to customer experience, employee experience, and intentional culture management, use cases, and metrics. 2021 Employee Benefit Plan Audit Conference The Employee Benefit Plan Audit Conference equips CPAs in public practice with guidance on how to perform a quality audit of an EBP. The conference offers two tracks that will be offered over two days in May – Basic and Intermediate/Advanced – each dealing with issues that impact EBPs. Wednesday, May 12 – The Intermediate/Advanced Track provides CPAs an update on accounting and auditing issues and offers a variety of sessions designed to address areas that add complexity to EBP engagements. Tuesday, May 25 – The Basic Audit Track walks through the required audit procedures for CPAs who are new to auditing EBPs. (05/19) Financial Analytics for Acquiring and Retaining Customers Acquiring new customers is expensive and the longer you can retain them the more profitable your business can be. This is especially true for businesses that rely on repeat sales because long-term profitability comes from repeatedly providing products and/or services over an extended period of time. This webcast reviews the KPIs, retention metrics, and customer segmentation that can be generated from existing accounting data to inform revenue operations, sales strategies and marketing efforts. MACPA Town Hall (May 2021) Join us for this MACPA all member update. We will host these monthly to bring you the latest in what impacts you and the CPA profession. (05/26) CFO/Controller & Financial Professional Updates Seminar Series: Soft Skills in Leadership, Negotiation, and Team Building Effective leadership requires more than technical prowess. Today’s controllers and managers need to be adept at understanding and leading a team. This course, part of the Business Learning Institute’s CFO/Controller Series, shows you how to master the “soft skills” of business management. Join fellow business managers for sessions taught by experts in negotiation, leadership, and team-building trends and techniques, and learn to achieve organizational goals and oversee the integrated functions of the firm. Virtual Beach Retreat 2021 The annual MACPA Beach Retreat is a CPE experience that’s unlike any other. And even though we can’t be together in person this year, we’re excited to present this year’s Beach Retreat through an innovative virtual format! Choose from any of the courses offered each day of the retreat, including a professional issues update to kick things off and two full days of seminars with some of MACPA’s leading instructors and subject matter experts. Back by Popular Demand: #FutureReady Learning Labs Please join us for MACPA’s #FutureReady Learning Labs, a complimentary series of TED Talk-style presentations that will kick off Beach Retreat (06/02) Assisting Individuals and Small Businesses with Significant Tax Debts in IRS Collections Join attorney Eli Noff to discuss common tools and tactics used to help taxpayers resolve IRS tax debts in complex situations faced by individuals and small business owners. COVID-19 relief Biden shifts vaccination strategy in drive to reopen by July 4 President Biden, facing a slowing rate of vaccinations and a hope for near normalcy by Independence Day, said the government would shift from mass vaccination sites to local settings. (From The New York Times) SBA stops accepting new PPP applications from most lenders The Small Business Administration has stopped accepting new Paycheck Protection Program applications from most lenders almost a full month before the $292 billion program’s application deadline. (From the Journal of Accountancy) SBA's PPP has run out of funding — unless you apply with this kind of lender The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program has officially exhausted its funds for most lenders. But there is still a way to get new PPP loans. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) SBA unveils initial Restaurant Revitalization Fund results More than 186,000 restaurants, bars, and other food and beverage businesses applied for assistance from the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund during the first two days after the program’s application window opened May 3. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Deductibility of business expenses funded by PPP loans Paycheck Protection Program loans are eligible for forgiveness if the business uses the funds to pay for eligible items such as payroll, certain employee health care costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent, and utility expenditures. (From The Tax Adviser) COVID-19 in Maryland Maryland offers $100 to state employees who get vaccine Maryland’s state government employees are getting an extra inducement to get vaccinated against the coronavirus: $100 payments. (From The Baltimore Sun) Study: Maryland has the 10th slowest recovery from pandemic Maryland ranks near the bottom among states in terms of the pace of its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent study. (From Maryland Reporter) Tax season Backlog of income tax returns is growing The IRS is falling behind in processing millions of income tax returns, potentially delaying refunds for many Americans. (From CBS News) Biden plan would give IRS authority to regulate tax preparers President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan includes provisions that would expand Internal Revenue Service oversight of tax preparers, expand funding for tax audits and require banks to share more account information. (From Accounting Today) Make the IRS regulate tax preparers? They tried that before Joe Biden’s suggestion that “IRS oversight of tax preparers is needed” sounds simple. But as Martin Scorsese reportedly quipped, “Simple is hard.” (From Bloomberg Tax) 3 tips to reduce turnover post-tax season The 2020 tax season was a particularly challenging one for accounting firms. Many new initiatives, like PPP loans, provided help small businesses desperately needed but also created new headaches for accountants. Now that the pandemic is winding down, exhausted employees may be looking for jobs elsewhere. (From AccountingWEB) More in tax Is a sea change in capital gains tax in the offing? With suggestions that include raising tax rates on ordinary income and capital gains, modifying carried interest taxation, and eliminating the step-up in basis for a decedent’s beneficiaries at the date of death, the Biden administration’s tax proposals could radically reshape the tax landscape for wealthy Americans. (From Accounting Today) IRS to fix confusing ‘error’ on '10-year rule' for inherited retirement plans Congress dealt investors a blow on the eve of the pandemic when it sharply reined in the benefits of a lucrative tool for passing on wealth to heirs. Then the IRS tightened the screws, shocking advisors and estate planners in March when it suggested that the new “10-year rule” for inheritors of so-called stretch IRAs and 401(k)s could create immediate tax hits for some beneficiaries. Now the IRS is reversing course. (From Accounting Today) IRS seeks IDs of active cryptocurrency owners A federal court in California has authorized the Internal Revenue Service to serve a “John Doe Summons” on crypto exchange Kraken, seeking identities of US taxpayers who exchanged cryptocurrencies worth at least $20,000 between 2016 and 2020. (From Business Insider) Expect a ‘more aggressive’ compliance landscape for taxpayers Tax practitioners are facing an increase in compliance efforts and controversies not only in the U.S. but worldwide, according to observers. (From Accounting Today) IRS previews proposed K-2 and K-3 for international taxes The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have released updated early draft versions of Schedules K-2 and K-3 for pass-through businesses to report international tax information. (From Accounting Today) Federal legislation Biden's $4 trillion plan could be stuck in Congress for months The fate of President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion economic vision for the U.S. now rests with the lawmakers turning his infrastructure and social-spending plans into legislation that can get through a narrowly divided Congress. (From Accounting Today) House committee advances retirement savings bill The House Ways and Means Committee approved bipartisan legislation Wednesday to expand automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, expand a tax credit for small-business startups and promote the Saver’s Credit. (From Accounting Today) Business and industry Small biz is recovering after COVID-19 sucker punch Small businesses in the United States are on the road to recovery, according to a new report from accounting software giant Intuit. As of March 31, 2021, most industries saw better revenue than they did the year before the pandemic. (From Accounting Today) What auditors and audit committees need to know about SPACs A huge surge this year in the number of special-purpose acquisition companies — or SPACs — has led to interest from investors and scrutiny on the part of the SEC. (From the Journal of Accountancy) FASB proposes changes to hedge accounting standard The Financial Accounting Standards Board released a proposed accounting standards update Wednesday to better line up a company’s hedge accounting with its risk management strategies. (From Accounting Today) PCAOB releases 'Spotlight on Data and Technology Research' project The PCAOB’s Office of the Chief Auditor has release a report on data and technology to assess whether there is a need for guidance, changes to PCAOB standards, or other regulatory actions. (From the PCAOB) ESG investing fails to outperform, study shows An analysis of the returns from equity strategies focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals reveals no outperformance when adjusted for risk, according to a study by Scientific Beta. (From CFO Dive) Public practice / A&A 4 reopening mistakes employers must avoid Reopening our offices offers a tremendous opportunity to take the best of the new ways of operating from this pandemic and blend them with traditional methods. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Sustainability accounting: ‘The biggest disrupter’ As companies find that customers and investors are looking for more and more disclosures of what they are doing about environmental issues, climate change risks, and diversity and racial justice, accounting firms are starting to provide assurance and attestation services around environmental, social and governance reporting to meet that growing demand. (From Accounting Today) Ongoing remote work needs restructured benefits After transitioning most of their workforces to operate remotely for the past year, accounting firms now face the decision of if and when to have employees return to offices. Before jumping full bore into an ongoing remote workforce situation, there are critical factors to be considered when it comes to employee benefits. (From AccountingWEB) Thriving employees create a thriving business Much like a financial audit, reporting employee engagement or net promoter scores for customers has become a requirement for boards and institutional investors over the past two decades. (From Gallup) How long should it take to make partner? Accounting Today published a very interesting piece of research titled “The Long Path to Partner.” The polling question: How many years does it take to make partner at your firm? Marc Rosenberg extrapolates that at roughly two-thirds of all firms, it takes 10 or more years to make partner, which translates to an age range in the mid-30s. (From CPA Trendlines) Diversity and inclusion The diversity and inclusion gap in the workforce is growing Employees of different racial and ethnic groups disagree about the current state of workplace diversity and inclusion, according to a just-released report. (From TechRepublic) What's to come in 2021 for diversity, equity and inclusion The conversation surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion raises a lot of questions. Where do issues related to DEI stand today? How have companies made changes to address these issues? Where are we seeing progress and where are there still inequities to be addressed? What’s more, how has the pandemic set us back when it comes to DEI efforts? (From Forbes) Podcast: As leaders, women rule How can the accounting and finance profession create more opportunities for women to lead and to be their best selves at work? CPAs Jacquelyn Tracy and Jessica McClain have some ideas in this episode of our “Future-Proof” podcast. (From the MACPA) • Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher From our partners Securely accept client payments online with CPACharge CPACharge makes it easy to securely accept client payments online. Let us help ease some of your stress this tax season with our extended offer! Sign up by May 28 and pay no program fee for three months and receive a $100 processing credit. Get started here. (From CPACharge) Free webinar: 'Digitally Preparing Workpapers' Are you looking for ways to digitally prepare workpapers? Join us on May 13 for a free webinar that will discuss how to scan client source documents into PDF format and use Adobe Acrobat and TicTie Calculate to easily prepare paperless tax and accounting workpapers, the same way you did in the paper world. Register here. (From SafeSend) MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF CPAs 901 Dulaney Valley Rd, Ste 800, Towson, MD, 21204­-2683 800­-782­-2036 | MACPA.ORG Update your email preferences here