Melanie Lauridsen, vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy for the AICPA, reflected on how election results might inform future tax legislation and why any change in administration and tax policy can make it more difficult for practitioners seeking clarity.

Lauridsen also discussed advocacy related to beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting and what might change related to IRS funding, the corporate tax rate, and more in this episode of the Journal of Accountancy podcast.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·       An update on AICPA advocacy related to BOI reporting relief.

·       Why Lauridsen expects any changes to the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to be “hybrid” — as opposed to all TCJA provisions becoming permanent.

·       Discussion about the future of the deduction limit for state and local taxes, aka the SALT cap.

·       The fate of IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act — and why a “rebalance” might be possible.

·       Lauridsen’s summation that 2025 “is a huge tax year.”

Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, executive vice president–Business Growth and Engagement at AICPA & CIMA, understands why accounting skills are often ranked outside the top five of key skills in informal polling of finance audiences.

“It’s not because they're less important, but because the other skills are more important,” Hood said.

The core requirements remain, but the ability to adapt and add new skills has grown in importance with the pace of transformation accelerating.

In this episode of the JofA podcast, Hood expands on some recent themes of his travels and what he looks forward to from the Future of Finance Summit in December.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         Why mindset is more important in transformation than the toolset of technology.

·         Details of a recent report about skills from the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs.

·         The skills that rank ahead of the “table stakes” of technical accounting skills.

·         Why it’s important to “grab these new skills.”

·         The new way that Future of Finance Summit attendees will get a summary of the event.

Stig Nybo is not afraid to admit that he’s made mistakes. He’s also happy to have been part of a movement that improved the thinking around retirement savings.

Nybo, a keynote speaker at the Employee Benefit Plans Accounting, Auditing, and Regulatory Update, a Dec. 4-5 virtual event, co-wrote the book Transform Tomorrow: Awakening The Super Saver in Pursuit of Retirement Readiness.

In this episode of the JofA podcast, Nybo talks about finding passion at work, why attempts to fix things can lead to breaking other things, and the “entire ecosystem” that’s aiming to drive better retirement-savings habits.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         The circumstances that led to Nybo co-authoring a book emphasizing saving for retirement.

·         The 2019 JofA podcast guest that Nybo interviewed for his book.

·         Why his message is about more than saving, creating retirement plans, or auditing such plans.

·         Why he agrees with the words of Mark Twain when it comes to career choice.

·         The issues Nybo and others aimed to fix related to retirement saving – and what got “broken” in that process.

Digital disruption is everywhere, including in the practice of internal audit. An audit leader joined the JofA podcast recently to discuss how technology can be harnessed instead of feared or resisted.

Anthony Pugliese, CPA/CITP, CGMA, president and CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), said it is understandable for fast-moving technology to be daunting. But such technology presents opportunities as well as risks. One tie-in is the new tools’ ability to attract the next generation of talent for auditing.

In this episode, Pugliese reviews recent IIA research, reminds auditors about the importance of curiosity, and discusses some of the misconceptions facing the profession.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         Highlights of recent research by The IIA about top risks.

·         Some of the “misconceptions” about internal auditing, according to Pugliese.

·         How the “slow trek” of blockchain integration into processes differs from today’s tech implementations.

·         The “most golden thing” auditors can do.

·         A reminder of the timeline for adoption of international auditing standards.

Scott Simmons is co-managing partner at the firm Crist Kolder Associates. In more than two decades handling executive searches for clients, he’s seen the qualifications for the CFO role change dramatically. The pressure on CFOs to deliver value has also grown. While some skills remain constant, of course, so do the paths to landing a CFO role.

In this JofA podcast episode, Simmons takes listeners through some of the recent statistics in the firm’s annual Volatility Report, discussing the importance of escaping one’s comfort zone and developing new skills to be in line for a job as finance chief.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• The number of CFOs at larger companies who have Big Four accounting backgrounds.
• The companies and C-suite positions Crist Kolder tracks in its annual Volatility Report
• How candidates can develop CFO skills without first becoming a CFO.
• Why an investor relations rotation should be something aspiring CFOs “jump” to accept.
• The major college athletics conference that has produced the most CFOs in companies tracked in by Volatility Report.

In less than four weeks, IRS officials and tax practitioners will gather in Washington for the AICPA & CIMA National Tax Conference. The event begins six days after Election Day, when it’s possible there will be clarity about election results and about the future of tax legislation.

On this episode of the podcast, two speakers closely tied to the conference explain what it will offer attendees, detailing agenda specifics. April Walker, CPA, CGMA, is lead manager–Tax Practice & Ethics at AICPA & CIMA, and Brandon Lagarde, CPA, J.D., LL.M., is chair of the event’s planning committee. Walker hosts the Tax Section Odyssey podcast.

Also, a new AICPA & CIMA CEO was named Wednesday. That news is mentioned at the start of the episode.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         What Lagarde and Walker look forward to about this year’s conference.

·         The potential for learning more during the conference about the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

·         The reasons Lagarde called the event “the most important conference” for tax practitioners.

·         A look ahead to a session on transforming tax practices to include year-round advisory services.

·         The topics in a quiz-focused session on tax ethics.

·         Why Lagarde says attendees shouldn’t worry about attending one concurrent session over another.

Alicia Antonetti-Tricker, a principal at Crowe LLP, remembers a time when she saw very few women in leadership roles in the accounting profession. Whether barriers were real or perceived, she said, “there were barriers for women advancing in the profession.”

Today, that’s changing, and events such as the AICPA & CIMA Women’s Global Leadership Summit, which is in November in Bellevue, Wash., have helped to continue the momentum for women ascending to accounting leadership roles.

In this podcast episode, Antonetti-Tricker discussed highlights of a session she took part in last year, one she says typifies the summit’s agenda. She also touched on some of the initiatives Crowe has put in place and why finding advocates and allies is important for women to continue to advance to leadership roles.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         What stuck out to Crowe’s Alicia Antonetti-Tricker about meetings nearly 30 years ago.

·         The value of powerful connections in helping to grow the number of women in leadership roles in the profession.

·         A look back at a session that is typical of the AICPA & CIMA Women’s Global Leadership Summit.

·         A by-the-numbers look at progress made related to women in leadership positions.

·         Why Antonetti-Tricker keeps coming back to the summit.

Becoming a CFO isn’t easy. Neither is completing an iron-distance triathlon. Janice Stucke, CPA, is doing both, and she relies on accounting skills to improve in triathlon and applies triathlon persistence to her role as finance chief.

Stucke is the CFO of CREW Network, the acronym standing for Commercial Real Estate Women. In this JofA podcast episode, Stucke shares her somewhat unconventional path to becoming a CPA, how she developed interest and expertise in technology implementations, and how she has dealt with panic-inducing moments.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         Stucke’s nontraditional path to becoming a CPA.

·         What “your comfort zone will kill you” means for Stucke, who is preparing to compete in a 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon: 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run.

·         How Stucke has navigated fear and anxiety before and during competitions.

·         Time management and other prioritization advice.

·         Details on the spring 2025 CFO Conference.

Jeff Drew, the JofA’s editor-in-chief, is the guest on today’s episode, the 400th in the history of the JofA podcast. He’s recapping for listeners some of the top articles of the summer and looking ahead to content in future issues.

Drew, a former JofA senior editor and manager with the AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section, has focused on content for the daily and monthly magazines for more than a decade.

He reviews or previews coverage on numerous topics, including the retirement of AICPA & CIMA CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA.

Resources

September JofA: HTML version | Flipbook

Articles (HTML links)

How academia is tackling the accounting talent shortage

Rewriting accounting’s employment narrative

Taxation of influencers: Gifts with strings attached?

Using ChatGPT-4o with Excel

Using ChatGPT to build a standard operating procedure

Summer feature articles

·         Single-owner firms: The thrill of flying solo

·         What not-for-profits need to know about UBIT

·         How CPAs can benefit from not-for-profit board service

·         Guiding not-for-profits through post-pandemic challenges

·         What to know to avoid deficient not-for-profit audits

Technology Q&A

·         How to find errors in Excel formulas

·         How to create a watermark in Excel

·         Identify and delete duplicates in Excel

·         Get more out of Teams with these 5 features

·         4 features for enhancing PDFs

·         Building an HR guide with ChatGPT 

Professional Liability Spotlight

IRS funding and a potential rise in malpractice claims

Issue links:

August HTML | Flipbook

July HTML | Flipbook

June HTML | Flipbook

Podcast episodes:

Barry Melancon part 1

Barry Melancon part 2

If you have article ideas or other magazine feedback, you can reach Drew at [email protected].

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         The “incredible range of backstories” in an article focusing on sole practitioners and sole proprietors.

·         The focus of several recent Technology Q&A articles.

·         Highlights of a summer Professional Liability Spotlight article.

·         The link between Barry Melancon and Muhammad Ali.

·         A preview of the October digital edition of the JofA.

Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, managing partner of the firm AAFCPAs, began her one-year term as AICPA chair in May. In this JofA podcast episode, she said that “whirlwind” was a good description of the first few months in the role, “but in a good way.”

“If you truly love what you do, somehow it doesn't seem so arduous and it goes by real quick,” McCall said, labeling interactions with numerous people in the profession as “rewarding.”

In this episode, McCall reflects on what she’s learned about herself, why her firm has benefited from her “front-row seat,” and her message to accountants about doing their part to grow the talent pipeline.

Resources

n  McCall’s June 2023 appearance on the show

n  More about McCall’s points of emphasis as AICPA chair and AICPA & CIMA co-chair

Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, AICPA & CIMA associate director – Management Accounting Research and Development, discusses in this JofA podcast episode the reasons that finance executives in a quarterly AICPA & CIMA survey continue to lower their optimism about the U.S. economy.

He also reveals what CPA decision-makers now view as their organization’s top challenge. For the first time in a long time, it’s not inflation.

On the episode that detailed the previous quarter’s survey, Witt noted that inflation “seems to be settling out a little bit.” This quarter’s survey data shows that was an accurate assessment, as inflation concerns are diminishing somewhat.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

·         Details about Witt’s assessment of this quarter’s results as “interesting.”

·         The surprising parts of the third-quarter data.

·         Updated projections for revenue and profits in the coming 12 months.

·         How election-year uncertainty is affecting CPA decision-makers’ business forecasting efforts.

·         The percentage of finance executives who say that a potential lowering of the federal funds rate would have a favorable impact on their business.