Journal of Accountancy Podcasts

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 presented on multiple fronts. Amy West, CPA, CGMA, the CFO of AHRC in New York City, shares advice on how to adapt and find new paths during tough times. West also is a member of the AICPA Not-for-Profit Advisory Council.

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 business. What you’ll learn from this podcast episode: - Why Loop says now is the time to learn lessons and be better prepared for the next crisis. - Why there seems to be a disconnect between board members and corporate crisis management plans. - The lessons boards have learned about digital transformation, customer habits, and corporate real estate needs. - The board topics on which male and female directors differ.

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 legislation. What you’ll learn from this episode: - An explanation of the difference between cannabis, hemp, and marijuana. - More on the cannabis-specific guidance for accountants offered by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. - The professional risks to consider before adding clients from cannabis-related industries. - The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on cannabis businesses. - Why legalization in some states does not mean those states become cannabis epicenters. - How legislation could change the landscape for cannabis businesses.

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 be repaid. Ed Karl, the AICPA’s vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, described the memorandum in the first podcast episode. Now he returns to describe what the guidance in Notice 2020-65 provides — and what it still leaves unclear. He has also written a post on the AICPA Insights blog titled “Employee Payroll Tax Deferral — Is It Workable?” that outlines what CPA advisers can tell their business clients with employees about the deferral. What you’ll learn from this episode: -The notice puts the responsibility for deferring — and repaying — the taxes squarely on employers. -Although the notice doesn’t say so dir

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, the last before the Nov. 3 presidential election. What you’ll learn from this episode: - How finance leaders view the domestic economy and their own businesses. - Why election season brought about a change to the list of top challenges this quarter. - The component in the CPA Outlook Index that ranks higher than others by a wide margin. - The business sectors showing improvement and the ones that continue to struggle. - How the pandemic may be changing the real estate needs of businesses.

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 Advocacy team in charge of the AICPA State and Local Tax Technical Resource Panel, or SALT TRP, and Bell-Jacobs is a senior manager at RSM National Tax in Washington and a member of the SALT TRP.

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 portion of Social Security tax, currently 6.2% of covered wages and compensation — and a comparable rate of tax under Sec. 3201 — that’s the Railroad Retirement tax — for Sept. 1, 2020, through the end of the year. We’ll explore the range of issues that Treasury and the IRS face as they implement this order and what it all could mean for employers and employees.

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 second of two parts, takes an in-depth look at what the report’s findings mean for leaders and organizations. In part one, Association CEO and AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, shared more about this transformational time. Then Joel Bailey, a director at EY Seren and a report author, delved into the research behind the report. In this second part, executive coach and consultant Gretchen Pisano offers practical applications from the report and discusses how its findings dovetail with what she’s hearing from leaders. Pisano is the CEO and co-founder of pLink Leadership, a management consultancy

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 uncertainty. This podcast is the first of two parts that take a closer look at the report’s findings and action items. In this episode, Association CEO and AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, shares more about this transformational time. Then Joel Bailey, a director at EY Seren and a report author, delves into the research behind the report. In the second part, executive coach and consultant Gretchen Pisano offers practical applications from the report and discusses how its findings dovetail with what she’s hearing from leaders.

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 know. What you’ll learn from this episode: - Starting conversations about racism with Black Lives Matter and police violence may not be the most effective thing to do. - An expert or coach can facilitate conversations about racism, help people work with their emotions, and create learning environments. - It’s necessary to customize diversity and inclusion training based on the roles and positions people hold in the organization. - Programs that succeed in recruiting and mentoring Black employees involve everybody in the organization.

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 future business planning: “You cannot rely on the same kinds of estimates and expectations that you have in the past.”

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 business climate.

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 July 15 is long enough, and what other relief taxpayers and their CPAs need.

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 future of remote work, why a company’s approach to flexible work can define its culture, and more.

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 Roberts shares insight on why some organizations and leaders resort to silence instead of speaking about racism, why it’s easier to talk about diversity and inclusion than about race, the qualities of an effective public statement, and what follow-through after the statement looks like.

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 accountants themselves. Participating in the episode are two of the top technology experts in the accounting space: Donny Shimamoto, CPA/CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC, and Amanda Wilkie, a consultant with Boomer Consulting. They are joined by small firm owner Nikki Winston, CPA, who leverages technology to provide accounting services and CPA Exam coaching through her firm, The Winston CPA Group.

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 hard trends and why they matter for accountants now.

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 jurisdiction’s response. What you’ll learn from this episode: - In what ways state tax filing and payment relief measures do and don’t correspond to those of the federal government. - What further provisions the AICPA has recommended for state and local tax administrative and filing and payment relief during the pandemic. - Links to AICPA resources for learning more about state and local tax relief provisions and guidance related to COVID-19.

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 episode: - How family businesses are faring during the current economic crisis. - How these businesses can improve liquidity during the economic downturn. - Advice for family business leaders having hard discussions with stakeholders. - The strengths of family businesses that can help them endure in this crisis. - What role continuity planning can play in crises of this nature.

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 relatively simple tool that’s an essential first step for businesses struggling to get a handle on their situation. - What businesses should do first if they find themselves short on cash. - Why demand for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is so high. - How businesses can determine whether they’re eligible for the PPP, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or both. - What clients should know about applying for government stimulus programs.