Journal of Accountancy Podcast

Several months into the pandemic, we take a look at how some CPA parents are faring. They talk about the struggles they've faced, how they balance parenting and working from home, what they do to recharge, and the unexpected joys they've experienced while spending more time with their families. Our guests for this episode are Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA, and Chris Hervochon, CPA. Stevenson is vic...

In an economic downturn such as the one that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic, not-for-profit organizations can feel pinched in two ways. People who have lost jobs or fear losing them may be less likely to donate to the NFPs at a time the services offered by the organizations are needed most. Strategies and models must be changed to find new opportunities and deal with the challenges present...

Corporate board work may have changed forever as a result of COVID-19. The lessons corporate directors take away from the pandemic will be critical to company survival and success beyond 2020. Paula Loop, CPA, the leader of PwC's Governance Insights Center, explains in this podcast episode how boards have been changed and what they're thinking about as they navigate the pandemic's effect on busine...

Cannabis for medicinal or recreational use is a fast-growing business, and the advisory opportunities for accountants in the industry are also growing. Along with those opportunities are emerging issues on the regulatory and risk fronts. Ron Seigneur, CPA/ABV, the managing partner of Colorado firm Seigneur Gustafson LLP, shares more on the topic, including what to look for in proposed federal legi...

This podcast episode follows up one posted on Aug. 20 about President Donald Trump's memorandum directing Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of workers' 6.2% Social Security or Railroad Retirement tax for the last four months of 2020. Since then, Treasury and the IRS have issued much-anticipated guidance on just how the deferral applies and how the taxes are likely to have to...

Finance executives in the United States are more confident about their own businesses than about the overall economy. Why is that? And what is the hiring outlook for companies for the next 12 months? Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, a senior manager for management accounting and member engagement at the AICPA, provides further detail and analysis on the quarterly Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey,...

This episode explores the huge implications for state and local taxes raised by workers more often untethered from the employer's physical location, sometimes in another state. And now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote teleworking has become the rule for many professions. Eileen Sherr, CPA, MT, and Mo Bell-Jacobs, J.D., bring us up to speed. Sherr is a senior manager with the AICPA's Tax Advoc...

In this podcast, we touch base with Ed Karl, the AICPA's vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, to discuss questions the AICPA Tax Executive Committee has raised in official comments to Treasury and the IRS concerning President Donald Trump's Aug. 8 memorandum ordering Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of payroll taxes imposed by Sec. 3101(a) — better known as the employee por...

The changes brought about and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic are numerous. Our day-to-day lives have been altered, forcing rapid adaptation. A new report from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and EY Seren, explores the patterns of behavior emerging from this uncertain time. The report, Human Signals, also offers actions for accountants to take. This podcast...

The changes brought about and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic are numerous. Our day-to-day lives have been altered, forcing individuals and organizations to adapt quickly. A new report from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and EY Seren explores the patterns of behavior emerging. The report, Human Signals, also offers advice for accountants in an era of uncer...

The culture of a workplace, be that in a company or an accounting firm, determines how employees and customers are treated, says Stephanie Creary, an identity and diversity scholar and professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. To assess how racism is a factor requires open, frank conversations and leaders willing to listen and learn what they probably didn't...

These days, it's tough to know the best next steps for organizations that are reopening to customers or employees — or considering doing so. Lee Terry, who practices corporate and securities law for the Denver firm Davis Graham & Stubbs, has advised organizations and CFOs for years on crisis management. Terry offers insight into the legal concerns that organizations are facing and this advice on f...

The new principles-based standard on audit evidence, issued last week by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board, addresses issues such as emerging technology, professional skepticism, and expanding sources of information. Jay Brodish, CPA, a partner at PwC, and Bob Dohrer, CPA, CGMA, the chief auditor of the AICPA, discuss the standard in detail, explaining how it can be applied to today's evolving bu...

We check back in with two AICPA leaders: Ed Karl, the AICPA's vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, and Chris Hesse, a tax principal in the National Tax Office of CliftonLarsonAllen in Kennewick, Wash., who also chairs the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. They'll update us on how the 2020 marathon of a tax return filing season is going, whether the coronavirus-related return due date delay until Jul...

The work-from-anywhere revolution received a jolt in March, when office workers were sent home because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. More companies were embracing flexible work practices before the pandemic, but now that movement has been accelerated. Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute, shares insight into the futur...

Laura Morgan Roberts, Ph. D., a professor at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, is an editor of the recent book 'Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience'. She has studied race in the workplace extensively. With attention on racial disparities sparked by killings and then protests, the time is right for organizations to hear her message. Morgan Robe...

Our ninth annual technology roundtable podcast was initially recorded in early March, just before the coronavirus pandemic started wreaking havoc on American lives and the economy. With the world at a dramatically different place than when we first recorded, the roundtable participants agreed to hold another call May 6 to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on accounting, accounting technology, and ac...

A hard trend can be defined as a predictable, future fact. While it's tough to predict the price of oil or the direction of the stock market daily or weekly, finance professionals can focus on hard trends to have a better understanding of where business is heading. Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute, shares insight into three h...

Eileen Sherr, CPA, CGMA, a senior manager in the AICPA's Tax Policy and Advocacy team in Washington, D.C., describes her work with volunteer members of the AICPA's Technical Resource Panel for State and Local Taxation and with state CPA societies as they advocate with state tax authorities for coronavirus-related taxpayer relief at the state and local level, and resources for keeping track of each...

Jonathan Flack, CPA, the U.S. family business services leader at PwC, discusses the struggles family businesses are facing during the current economic crisis, as well as the unique strengths that can help them weather hard times such as these. He also shares advice for clients who are family business leaders, especially around communicating with staff and stakeholders. What you'll learn in this ep...

CPAs are playing a vital role in helping smaller businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Julie Killian, CPA, a shareholder at Clayton & McKervey in Michigan, discusses how her firm's clients are responding to the crisis. She also shares steps smaller businesses can take to improve their financial standing and increase their chances of staying afloat. What you'll learn in this episode: - The re...

Chris Hesse, CPA, the AICPA Tax Executive Committee chair, analyzes how the CARES Act's provisions allowing carryback of net operating losses for 2018 through 2020 interact with other new provisions.

Mary May, principal, and Stephanie Howard, client accounting services manager, at tonneson + co in Wakefield, Mass., discuss how client accounting services can benefit both firms and clients, and share their best advice for firms that are looking to add or expand their offerings in this area.

Boards that fall in lockstep with management decisions are neglecting one of their critical roles: being strong monitors of a company. Refreshment policies that include term or age limits are just one strategy that organizations can employ to keep their boards strong and independent. Corporate governance expert Charles Elson shares insights on board best practices.

Questions about the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans aimed at helping small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic are numerous. Glen Frost, CPA, J.D., and Matthew Kraeuter, J.D., partners in the firm Frost and Associates LLC, share information on eligibility, the amount of money available, interest rates, and more.