Brought to you by the Maryland Association of CPAs Be ready for the season Election 2016 An election like no other AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, asked to describe this year’s election, says it will be an election like no other. In this blog post, he describes issues of relevance to CPAs. (From AICPA Insights) Tax A year of uncertainty: The 2017 tax outlook for business Tax uncertainty is an issue for businesses of every size in their outlook and planning for the year ahead. (From Accounting Today) When C corporations should defer or accelerate income As year-end approaches, C corporations, like individuals, should decide when and how to shift income and deductions between 2016 and 2017. (From AccountingWEB) Thanks to an IRS change, filing taxes could get easier in 2017 An earlier deadline taking effect in 2017 for businesses to file Form W-2 and 1099-MISC with the government could mean many Americans see their tax documents a couple weeks sooner than usual, giving them a head start to file their tax returns. (From Business Insider)  Upcoming Events Identity theft Identity theft safeguards to expand for 2017 As the IRS, taxpayers, and tax practitioners get ready for the 2017 tax filing season, the IRS touted the successes that it and its Security Summit partners have had in reducing tax return identity theft, and plans to expand safeguards. (From The Journal of Accountancy) IRS eAuthentication process doesn’t deter criminals, TIGTA finds The IRS needs to amp up security over its eAuthentication process to avoid breaches, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). (From AccountingWEB) Public practice / A&A 5 Maryland firms among 'Best Small Firms to Work For' Congratulations to five Maryland firms — E. Cohen and Co. in Rockville; Bormel, Grice and Huyett in Laurel; HeimLantz in Annapolis; Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm and Doyle in Gaithersburg; and Santos, Postal and Co. in Rockville — which are among the “Best Small Firms to Work For” for 2016. (From Accounting Today) Audit committees: Increased transparency of audit oversight The amount of information available to investors on audit committee oversight of the auditor continues to increase significantly, according to the Center for Audit Quality, (From CPA Practice Advisor) Revenue recognition: Readiness update, impacts and remaining challenges Most companies have not yet finished assessing the impact of FASB’s new revenue recognition standard, a joint survey by PwC and the Financial Executives Research Foundation finds. (From PwC) What services are driving accounting industry growth? Ninety percent of the accounting industry is tied to compliance services in areas such as accounting, audit and tax, but don’t look there for encouraging signs of industry performance. (From Accounting Today) IASB unveils 5-year plan for international standards The International Accounting Standards Board has released its five-year work plan for International Financial Reporting Standards, with a focus on completing its insurance contracts standard and revising its conceptual framework. (From Accounting Today) Future of the profession Wolters Kluwer execs discuss value of change Speaking at the CCH Users Conference, experts discussed current changes and how firms can best manage themselves amongst an industry in flux. (From Accounting Today) What accounting firms need to know for the 2020s Speaking at Thomson Reuters SYNERGY conference, Jon Baron observed that massive changes and the continuing evolution of digital environments, as well as societal adoption of technologies, means that accounting firms need to accept and embrace that change to build success and avoid irrelevancy. (From CPA Practice Advisor) Business and industry Disclosure deluge frustrates many board directors Facing an ever-growing number of financial reporting disclosures, public company board directors believe those involving audit are among the most valuable to investors. (From AccountingWEB) How CFOs can shift operating focus to value creation Some finance chiefs struggle to drive growth while also running traditional finance functions, such as quarterly reporting and budgeting. (From CFO) Three points to prepare for non-GAAP Just in time for fourth-quarter audit committee meetings, everyone’s favorite financial reporting punching bag for 2016 is back: non-GAAP financial metrics! (From Radical Compliance) Companies more reluctant to deploy short-term cash Global uncertainty weighed on U.S.-based companies as they accelerated their cash hoarding in the third quarter. (From CFO) Private companies reassess economy as election nears Fewer private companies are expecting to increase headcount or revenues in the near future, according to a new survey. (From Accounting Today) AICPA issues another round of revenue recognition working drafts The AICPA released several new working drafts addressing issues that broker-dealers and depository and lending institutions face related to FASB’s new revenue recognition standard. (From The Journal of Accountancy) Talent Doing nothing will kill you There was a time — not that long ago, come to think of it — when doing nothing wouldn’t cost you anything. Today, that kind of lethargy will kill you. (From the BLI Blog) Broader skill sets, new learning solutions are the future for CPAs, business professionals What do the following words and phrases have in common? Complexity. The pace of change. Automation. The need for real-time information. Globalization. Demographic shifts. Specialization. (From CPA Practice Advisor) Joe Maddon, millennials and multi-generational management There are several key management lessons we can learn from Joe Maddon and the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series. (From Inc.) Workplace ‘prisoners’ rob companies of potential Some prisoners, it seems, spend their days in cubicles rather than cells. What is the impact on your company of disengaged workers? (From The Wall Street Journal)  7 powerful ways to turn every failure into success Failure is part of life, and most certainly part of business. We don’t often acknowledge it, but failure is also a fundamental element of our success. (From Inc.) Technology Don't let technology make you dumber Have accountants’ quest to drive efficiencies caused them to drop the ball in other important areas? How do you leverage technology to add value for your clients? (From CPA Trendlines) Social media policies: Risks and rules Here are some tools to use in formulating social media policies that comply with the National Labor Relations Act while supporting your firm’s social media marketing strategy. (From CPA Trendlines)  The importance of cybersecurity for small business America’s 28 million small businesses are especially at risk for cyberattacks, says the U.S. Small Business Administration. (From CPA Practice Advisor) Companies rally to build chatbots for messaging services Banks, airlines and others are developing virtual-software assistants to interact like humans. (From The Wall Street Journal) 4 accounting musts for SaaS startups Cloud-computing taxation is complex, so don’t just sit and wait for your first audit and hope for the best. (From Entrepreneur) From our partners 5 easy ways to kill your business While you probably don’t want to kill your business, how do you stop yourself from doing it by mistake? This infographic offers five tips to help keep your business going strong. (From Microsoft) MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF CPAs 901 Dulaney Valley Rd, Ste 800, Towson, MD, 21204­-2683 800­-782­-2036 | MACPA.ORG Update your email preferences here