Brought to you by the Maryland Association of CPAs Leading off Maryland sales tax on digital products: Are you up to date? Now that the Oct. 15 income tax extension deadline has come and gone, it’s time to focus on another one of the more important tax developments Maryland CPAs have encountered in recent memory — new Maryland sales tax provisions for digital products. (From the MACPA blog) Podcast: Off-script: Better leadership through improv What if good leaders could become better leaders by letting go — by going “off script” in their conversations and negotiations and merely being present in the conversation? Peter Margaritas looks at the possibilities in this week’s episode of “Future-Proof.” (From the MACPA) • Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher Maryland lawmakers eye paid family leave bill Maryland lawmakers plan to sponsor a paid family leave measure next legislative session, now that President Biden’s effort to get a national version passed in his social safety net bill is in jeopardy. (From WYPR) Forget flexibility. Your employees want autonomy Flexibility now dominates the way we speak about the future of work. And while a new hybrid working survey shows that employees do indeed want flexibility, it also shows that this flexibility is conditional upon their autonomy to exercise it in whichever way is best for them. (From Harvard Business Review) UPCOMING WEBCASTS & EVENTS #FutureReady Resources from MACPA Preferred Providers 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. Advanced Tax Institute (11/8-11) The Advanced Tax Institute exists to help high-performing lawyers and CPAs bring the best advice to their clients and their firms. Access in-depth updates on NEW tax laws and regulations across a variety of focus areas. This year you can choose from one or all four focus-area curriculum days: November 8: Current Tax Issues and Business Tax Update November 9: Estate Planning Issues November 10: State and Local Tax Issues November 11: Real Estate and Partnerships (11/18) MACPA Town Hall 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. Please see this page for upcoming townhall dates. (11/19) Don Farmer Federal Tax Workshop 2021 Presenter – Don Farmer, CPA, PA 2021 is shaping up as another year for massive tax changes. First, we had the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), next the President signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), and Congress is currently working on a massive budget reconciliation package. Don=s 2021 tax Update will focus on the provisions of these new laws affecting 2021 returns and 2021 tax planning, including planning with the proposed legislation currently before Congress as well as important IRS releases and court cases. 2021 Four for Fall CPE Series Four for Fall is a two-day CPE event. Each day there are two, four-hour CPE sessions, with different options for each session. Attendees can create their own custom curriculum. A total of 16 hours of CPE are available. This year ETHICS CPE will also be available! COVID-19 What businesses need to know about the vaccine mandate Employers now have the highly anticipated details of the Biden administration’s rule that will require large employers to either mandate the Covid-19 vaccine or require weekly testing of unvaccinated workers. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) Vaccine mandate for big employers is imminent. Here's how to prepare The highly anticipated rules that will require large employers to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine or require weekly testing for unvaccinated workers has been published. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) SBA's EIDL is expiring: 8 things every business owner should know The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program has proven to be one of the biggest small-business relief options Congress created, second only to the Paycheck Protection Program. But the popular EIDL is expiring on Dec. 31, putting an end to one of the few remaining options for businesses looking for financial relief in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) Pandemic leading to higher levels of employee burnout The pandemic has made employee burnout and turnover worse, while hampering HR’s ability to recruit. A recent survey breaks down the numbers. (From TechRepublic) Tax AICPA asks Congress to clarify rules on minimum corporate tax The American Institute of CPAs sent a letter to Congress’s tax-writing committees asking lawmakers to reconsider the rules around the corporate minimum tax rate that’s currently part of the reconciliation bill now under consideration. (From Accounting Today) What’s next for the SALT cap? With the Second Circuit having recently unanimously rejected a constitutional challenge to the $10,000 deduction cap on state and local taxes, that leaves an appeal to the Supreme Court, various state SALT “workarounds” or congressional action as hoped-for remedies. (From Accounting Today) IRS details reporting guidance on carried interest at partnerships The IRS provided detailed reporting directions Wednesday for certain passthrough entities and taxpayers reporting partnership interests held in connection with the performance of services, often referred to as “carried interest.” (From Accounting Today) IRS warns: Deferred payroll taxes due in December The Internal Revenue Service is sending notices to taxpayers who deferred their Social Security taxes last year, warning them that half the taxes will be due by the end of this year. (From Accounting Today) Business and industry Audit fees continue to rise Average audit fees continued to grow in recent years, increasing nearly 4% from 2019 to 2020 from $2.43 million to $2.52 million, according to a new survey. (From Accounting Today) FASB changes contract revenue accounting for post-merger companies CFOs whose company has merged with another are to recognize the acquired company’s contract assets and liabilities under ASC 606 standards rather than apply a fair market value calculation to them, the Financial Accounting Standards Board says in an update. (From CFO Dive) IFRS Foundation forms International Sustainability Standards Board The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation formally launched the International Sustainability Standards Board on Wednesday and announced plans to consolidate the Value Reporting Foundation — the recently merged group uniting the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board with the International Integrated Reporting Council — as well as the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, an initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project, by June 2022. (From Accounting Today) SEC paves way for more proxy votes on climate change Corporate executives may soon hear a lot more from investors about climate change and social issues after Wall Street’s top watchdog took steps to make it easier for proposals on these topics to get a vote at annual shareholder meetings. (From BNN Bloomberg) CFOs responding to inflation by raising prices, earnings calls show CFOs say during quarterly earnings that they are passing on higher costs to consumers, raising the prospect that inflation will flare higher. (From CFO Dive) Public practice Accountants look to ESG reporting as UN focuses on climate The accounting profession is increasing its involvement with sustainability issues as the United Nations hosts world leaders at its COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland. (From Accounting Today) ARSC pursues consistency with proposed ASB standards An accounting and review services quality management proposal issued Thursday by the AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee is designed to achieve consistency, where appropriate, with the proposed quality management standard for audit services. (From the Journal of Accountancy) Making critical audit matters more readable It shouldn’t take an advanced college degree to understand newly required information in an auditor’s report. (From the Journal of Accountancy) PCAOB releases latest inspection reports for Big Four The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released its 2020 inspection reports Monday for the Big Four firms — Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers — as well as BDO USA and Grant Thornton, showing mixed results. (From Accounting Today) The future of work Accounting will never be the same While we don’t know for sure what the profession will look like post-pandemic, we’re confident it won’t look the same as it did prior. (From CPA Trendlines) A key HR indicator is blinking red for employers It’s not an easy time to be hiring workers. Many recruiters say they’ve never seen anything like th (FRe current climate, with blue-collar and white-collar employers alike having significant trouble finding applicants and getting to the onboarding process. (From the Baltimore Business Journal) Diversity and inclusion Building DEI for the future profession One of the many ways to build a diverse accounting profession and work toward increasing the number of Black CPAs is to recognize and create awareness of the numerous Black CPAs who are making a difference. (From the Journal of Accountancy) How sharing our stories builds inclusion It’s time for the conversation around inclusion and diversity to take a human-centric approach. It’s not just about the numbers — it’s about the people. (From Harvard Business Review) From our partners IDC MarketScape names Avalara a leader in three reports IDC MarketScape has named Avalara a Leader for SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Sales and Use Tax Automation Software for Enterprise, SMB, and VAT. The IDC MarketScape reports state that “Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right.” Read excerpts from the IDC MarketScape reports to see why Avalara was named a Leader. Learn more. (From Avalara) Avalara Track 1099 acquisition opens opportunities Avalara acquired Track1099 on Oct. 1. Track1099 provides software and services for managing, e-filing, and e-delivering IRS forms, including 1099s, W-2s, W-9s, and more. Learn more on the Track1099 website. (From Avalara) Celebrate Cyber November with CPACharge CPACharge is an online payment solution designed specifically to help CPAs, accountants, and tax professionals expand their payment options and get paid faster. To celebrate Cyber November, if you open a new CPACharge account by Nov. 30, you’ll pay no monthly program fee until 2023. Learn more here. (From CPACharge) 1,400 returns x 25 minutes each = 583 hours saved “The easiest thing to quantify is the time,” says Leizel Acres, MST, supervisor at Friedman & Huey. “A simple, small return could take up to 30 minutes to assemble by paper. Now, all returns, no matter what the size is, take 5 minutes. Our assembly team loves SafeSend Returns. Year to date, including the 2019 tax year and so far in 2020, we’ve processed roughly 1,400 returns. If we spend a minimum 25 minutes per return, that equals 35,000 minutes or 583 hours. SafeSend Returns has saved 583 hours!” Schedule a SafeSend Returns demo today. (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