Journal of Accountancy Podcast

The role shift of the finance function was accelerated by the pandemic, and CFOs and controllers continue to adapt to provide value for their organizations. Few people have more insight on that topic than Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, executive vice president–Business Engagement & Growth for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA. Hood is a featu...

IRS service issues are a top concern for firms small and large, according to results of the 2022 AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues Survey. But those service issues are not the only concern . Lisa Simpson, CPA, CGMA, AICPA vice president–Firm Services, and Carl Peterson, CPA, CGMA, vice president–Small Firm Interests, take a closer look at the issues and what those...

Today's CPA devotes time and energy to focus on areas not even in existence a generation ago. As a result of technology and other changes in business, there is a need for updated testing of the skills needed to become a licensed CPA. Lori Kelly, CPA, lead manager–Exam Content for the AICPA, explains how the 2024 CPA Exam, based on proposed Blueprints, will look; why the changes are being proposed;...

Tim Keefe, CPA, CGMA, is continuing a family tradition in the profession. His grandfather, father, and two siblings have been accountants. Keefe has worked in several industries over the course of his career, and he found value in the mentorship of several people along the way. Keefe is curious by nature, and he likes to see new places. That's one reason he's in the middle of traveling to every U....

Risk management came to the forefront for many organizations during the Great Recession. Now, in the midst of the Great Resignation and other highly disruptive events, risk management continues to be vital. An annual report on the state of risk oversight takes a closer look into where organizations stand and what they can learn about their own gaps. Mark Beasley, CPA, Ph. D., a professor at North...

Harvard Business School professor and author Ranjay Gulati says that sentiment is growing among business leaders that companies have a larger role to play than simply providing shareholder value. This episode is a rebroadcast of Gulati's appearance on the FM  podcast to discuss that topic and others highlighted in his recent book, Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies .

Aaron Beam became a millionaire in the 1980s as a corporate CFO, but his story is a cautionary tale. In this episode of the podcast, Beam discusses his tenure at HealthSouth, the fraud that occurred, and the advice he has for students and leaders to avoid repeating his mistakes.

In her role at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Kristy Illuzzi, CPA, CGMA, works with small and midsize entities, including CPA firms. Her conversations with those organizations around the world have brought to the surface some of the ways in which the Great Resignation is affecting the accounting profession. In this episode, Illuzzi offers advice for organizations on flexibilit...

For Anoop Natwar Mehta, CPA, CGMA , the path to becoming chair of the AICPA board of directors might not seem traditional. First, he hasn't worked for a public accounting firm. Second, he's been with one company for just about all of his professional life. Mehta joined profession leaders for a discussion at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2022, and this episode is a rebroadcast of that conversation from the T...

AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 22 emcee Jill Schlesinger, a CBS News business analyst, reviews some of the top moments from the event last week in Las Vegas. Schlesinger had conversations with keynote speakers and CPA profession leaders and has memories and knowledge to share from several of those conversations. Journal of Accountancy content mentioned in this episode: A previous JofA podcast episode with EN...

Fellow tax podcaster Damien R. Martin, CPA, ( Simply Tax ) perhaps put it best on Twitter : "No one can rap 1202 like Master Nitti." Martin was referring, of course, to IRC Sec. 1202, the exclusion for gain from certain small business stock, and one of its foremost interpreters, Tony Nitti, CPA, as Nitti spoke about Sec. 1202 and other selected business tax topics at AICPA & CIMA's ENGAGE 22 confe...

Carla Harris is an author, speaker, and executive with Morgan Stanley, and she was one of the keynote speakers at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2022. In this episode, she explains the terms "powerful presence" and "performance currency" and gives advice for those seeking a career shakeup. Also, several news articles are referenced, including the ongoing release of the IRS's "Dirty Dozen" tax scams: part 1 o...

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) voted in May to approve new quality management standards . In this episode, Sara Lord, CPA, the chair of the ASB, explains more about what those standards will mean for firms going forward and what changes they will need to consider.   To learn more, visit the AICPA's resource page on quality management. The AICPA has also developed a four-part webinar seri...

On May 24 in New York, the AICPA and CPA.com hosted the inaugural ESG Symposium, bringing together a group of accounting leaders, investors, standard setters, and others to exchange ideas and perspectives on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. One presenter and a leader in the ESG field is Ami Beers, CPA, CGMA, senior director–Assurance and Advisory Innovation at the AICPA. In the...

J'Maine Chubb, CPA, CGMA, studied avionics in high school and also took an interest in a law career. He followed a familial career path, however, becoming an accountant, and he discusses some of that journey in this episode of the Journal of Accountancy podcast. Chubb, now the CFO at TravelWifi, was previously CFO of the Houston Airport System, where he worked for almost six years. Read more about...

About three years ago on the Journal of Accountancy podcast, Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA, spoke about how to get over fearful moments in our careers . That topic is revisited in this episode, a follow-up conversation with Stevenson, now the chair of the AICPA Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. Stevenson talks about CPAs and their comfort zones and discusses some of the key points in her car...

Amy Radin, the author of The Change Maker's Playbook: How to Seek, Seed and Scale Innovation in Any Company , serves on the board of directors for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. She wrote for FM magazine on how CFOs can enable innovation in late 2020. And, in early 2021, Radin was a guest on the FM podcast to discuss establishing innovation metrics . Innovatio...

Burnout at work was a concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic quickly left so many people isolated. The components of burnout are heightened now , according to author Britt Andreatta, Ph. D., in a December interview. In this episode of the Journal of Accountancy podcast, you can hear more about burnout and how it can affect overall mental health. Stefan van Duyvendijk, Accounting Operations Evan...

How soon is too soon to have a debrief after busy season? And what should be the goal of such a debrief? Those topics are addressed in a special crossover episode with the AICPA Town Hall series. Hear three CPAs discuss the topic, how it's applicable to more than tax season, and how firm leaders of different sizes approach the debrief. The full Town Hall episode is here , and the speakers in this...

This episode of the podcast focuses on a busy week in news and a story of finance transformation in action. Janis Parthun, CPA, and Steve McKechnie, leaders in RGP's finance transformation practice, explain how a recent client engagement led to efficiencies for the client, a global food and beverage company, and lessons learned for RGP. Also, here are links to Journal of Accountancy articles menti...

Because of their training and experience, CPAs are rightly considered the foremost providers of tax services to taxpayers. Some CPAs also serve the taxpaying public at large — with appreciation for Congress's task to enact equitable tax laws and the IRS's job to diligently and fairly administer them — by recommending improvements to both. They can do so in many ways, but in this episode, we'll exp...

Donny Shimamoto, CPA/CITP, CGMA, is one of two accounting firm leaders presenting at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE on where to begin when it comes to starting a technology-focused advisory practice. Client advisory services (CAS) are a growing opportunity for firms , so the presentation by Shimamoto and Liz Mason, CPA, is timely. In this episode, Shimamoto takes a look back — at how firms and CPAs in genera...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it's the focus of this episode of the Journal of Accountancy podcast. Kari Hipsak, CPA, CGMA, senior manager–Firm Services at the AICPA, explains why mental health matters to her and shares advice for how managers and organizations can better promote mental health of their staff. Several resources are mentioned in the episode: Hipsak's interview about ment...

Sean Stein Smith, CPA, CGMA, DBA, is speaking June 7 at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE on the blockchain ecosystem . Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are a part of that ecosystem. In this podcast episode, Stein Smith explains what NFTs are and aren't, how baseball cards or other physical items can be "tokenized," and more. Also, get an update on two recent IRS items, related to estate and gift tax proposed changes...

Sandi Matthews, CPA, CGMA, was ready for a new adventure when she was hired in 2018 as an accounting manager for not-for-profit Khan Academy. It was not just a new job she accepted — it was a role in a faraway location. Matthews helped to establish Khan Academy's subsidiary in India in its early days. She's now head of finance, and in this podcast episode, Matthews discusses the barriers she faced...