Tax ramifications, smart contracts, and job security are among the issues top of mind for accountants. Given blockchain's rapid rise into the accounting consciousness, it is no surprise CPAs have many questions about the technology. This article addresses five of the most pressing concerns I encounter regarding blockchain, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. To read the full article in th ...

Employee retention and engagement is a big expense. Dick Finnegan tackles one of the biggest challenges of staff turnover head on. “One might wonder why a CFO should care about employee engagement and retention,” said Finnegan, CEO of C-Suite Analytics. “And the answer is, it’s probably their biggest expense.” To read the full article in Financial Management, click: Five Steps to Reduce Staff Turnover. ...

Q. I have a large Excel workbook with many worksheets, and I'd like to summarize the key elements of this workbook into a single dashboard-type report. What's the best way to do this? To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: Microsoft Excel: Create a Picture-Based Dashboard Report. ...

Removing third-parties speeds transactions and reduces their cost. CFOs and finance departments are always looking for reductions in cost and increases in speed and efficiency in business engagements. One option that is attracting more attention is the smart contract. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: How Smart Contracts Can Create a Competitive Edge. ...

A firm can enrich its value to prospective suitors by investing in a top-notch IT infrastructure and exhibiting a willingness to embrace new technologies. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: Building a State-of-the-Art M&A Target. ...

I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. As an African-American, I have long been sensitive to issues like racial and gender equality. The last 12 months have been polarizing in America, from the #MeToo movement to tiki torch-bearing white nationalists to Black Lives Matter and the NFL national anthem protests. Our national melting pot is looking like anything but. To read the full arti ...

The legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, imposes a "toll charge" on the mandatory deemed repatriation of certain deferred foreign earnings. As part of the transition to a territorial tax system, amended Sec. 965 uses the mechanics of the current Subpart F provisions to impose a one-time toll tax on the undistributed, non-previously taxed, post-1986 foreign earnings and ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday voted to change the definition of “smaller reporting company” in an effort to expand the number of companies that qualify for scaled disclosure accommodations. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: With SEC Vote, More Companies Qualify for Scaled Disclosure. ...

At Flint Hills Resources, robotic process automation is supercharging, not eliminating, finance professionals.  The Koch Industries subsidiary shows us how. To read the full article in Financial Management, click: Empowering the Human Element in Automation. ...

As the case for an alternative business model for accounting firms becomes more compelling, traditional partnership arrangements in public practices are being challenged. To read the full article in In The Black, click: Alternative Ways to Structure Your Accounting Practice. ...

The IRS issued a draft version of the 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and instructions for the form, in an attempt to further simplify the task of determining income tax withholding for individual taxpayers after the passage of P.L. 115-97, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). The TCJA eliminated personal exemptions, increased the standard deduction, increased the ...

The SEC has charged an advisor and his wholly-owned RIA firm with operating a nearly $5-million Ponzi scheme that defrauded scores of investors over almost a decade, according to the regulator’s complaint filed in federal court. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: SEC Accuses Advisor of $5M Ponzi Scheme. ...

Like many members of the CPA profession, single audit practitioners will be managing a change process while maintaining an intense focus on quality. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: Strategies for Quality Work in Single Audits. ...

Writing on behalf of BIAC, Will Morris said that many MNEs that have centralized intra-group services centers expend significant sums supporting audits for intra-group payments. He said the goal for this project should be to create clear, simplified, rules and safe harbors, where possible. Existing guidance should be clarified, not expanded, he said. To read the full article in MNE Tax, click: OECD Publishe ...

One purpose of artificial intelligence (AI) is to capture, manage, and analyze amounts of data too large for less advanced technology to handle, and to produce insights faster and more accurately than people can. While AI promises to help businesses prepare better for potential opportunities and risks, the technology presents a challenge for management accountants in financial planning and analysis (FP& ...

Accounting services are rapidly becoming commoditized, and when clients don’t perceive a clear difference between service providers, they may choose the least expensive option. This is especially true for audit services, where clients—as well as auditors themselves—may see little difference between the work of competing firms. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: Add Value to Audits wi ...

People planning to expatriate can do a number of things to avoid this result.  German citizen's failure to establish that he was a resident of Germany meant that he was a "covered expatriate" for Sec. 877A purposes and therefore liable for tax on stock sale gains that would otherwise have been exempt under the United States–Germany tax treaty. To read the full article in The Tax Advisor, click: Failure to A ...

Assertiveness can help improve your productivity and career opportunities.  No one can hear your idea if you're only thinking it.  Many people are content to stay in a comfortably passive nest in the workplace, rather than assert themselves.  But even reserved people have good reason to speak up, for both themselves and the companies they work for. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, cli ...

“One of the greatest powers is to be able to take one person’s idea [and] another person’s idea and make [them] more powerful by bringing them together.” To read the full article in Heleo, click: Know Thyself, Know Thy Company: Microsoft’s CEO on Seeking Purpose at Work. ...

On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the consolidated cases Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-285; Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, No. 16-300; and NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, No. 16-307.  In a 5–4 opinion by Justice Gorsuch, the Court held that courts must enforce arbitration agreements requiring employees to bring employment-related claims in individualized arbitration proc ...