ASCPA Magazine June 2015

ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE JUNE 2015

STRATEGIC PLAN ISSUE

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants P.O. Box 242987 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-2987 1-800-227-1711 334-834-7650 www.ascpa.org OFFICERS Dr. Lowell S. Broom, Chair James R. L. Carroll, Chair-Elect Don McCleod, Past Chair BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lynne N. Bozeman Michael L. Brand Caitlin F. Glass Paul Marcus Hamilton M. Buddy Johnsey Lisa M. McKinney Gregory E. Sellers Dennis E. Sherrin Rachel M. Taylor Macaroy Underwood AICPA COUNCIL MEMBERS Dr. Lowell S. Broom E. Lamar Reeves John P. Shank Jimmy L. Williamson, Past Chair, AICPA The Alabama CPA Magazine is published by Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants as a membership service to Society members.

Views and opinions appearing in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the ASCPA. The deadline for submitting materials for publication is the first of the month preceding issue date.

Jeannine P. Birmingham, CPA, CAE, CGMA President and CEO Diane L. Christy, Editor ON THE COVER

ASCPA Board of Directors

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Message from the Chair...

I hope your summer has gotten off to a fast start…. that’s “fast” as in slow and relaxing. Somehow, I doubt that is the case for all of you, but there’s nothing wrong in hoping!

I am thrilled about the prospect of serving as your Chair over the next 12 months. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to meet many of you for the first time as I visit all of the chapters across the state. I’m just as excited about the chance to see many long-time friends again. Let me take this opportunity to thank Don McCleod for the wonderful job he did this past year as our point man. He represented so well our roughly 7,000 members and will be a tough act to follow. I’ve had the privilege to be with Don in several different venues lately in which he represented our organization, including the Spring AICPA Council meeting in Washington, D.C. in late May. Don always presents such a positive image on behalf of all of us and I am grateful for his willingness and ability to do so.

In May, your ASCPA board met for two days of strategic planning destined to affect not only the direction of the ASCPA during the next year, but for many years to come. At that meeting we spent several hours working with a marketing consultant to determine exactly what the ASCPA is, what we need to become, and how we might go about doing so. It was a very interesting discussion. Clearly, what we are and need to become is what the membership wants us to be!

There are a couple of problems with that, however. One is that it is very unlikely that each of our members would agree on what we should be as an organization. Secondly, it is not always possible for your leadership to know what you want the ASCPA to be. You can certainly address that second issue. Let your board members and Jeannine hear from you. In addition, I encourage you to get involved at the chapter level and express your views to that group. I am fairly certain that if you want to become more involved, opportunities will be provided for you to do that.

I am of the opinion that we have in Jeannine Birmingham, and her staff, the best leadership of any state organization of CPAs in the country. We need to take advantage of their leadership, commitment, and skill to lead us in the appropriate direction. No one is more committed to our profession and to making the ASCPA the best that it can possibly be, but that cannot happen without your input and involvement. Find a place to serve!

I certainly hope that you are planning to attend our annual meeting on June 4th in Birmingham (or already have by the time you read this).

I look forward to visiting with you there!

Lowell

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

Meet the Chair...

L

owell S. Broom, CPA, Ph.D. grew up in Picayune, Mississippi about 40 miles out of New Orleans. He was a basketball player in high school and recruited by a few SEC schools. He ended up accepting a scholarship offer from at William Carey University in Hattiesburg and literally “played” his way through his undergraduate degree in mathematics. He did not discover accounting until the spring semester of his junior year. Broom did take almost all the classes necessary to complete the major in accounting and finished the remainder in conjunction with his graduate studies. Graduate work was undertaken at Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss.

“After taking my first accounting class I was hooked. I loved the application aspect of accounting. In my math classes at that time, we never discussed application. It was all theory. I had a cousin who was one year ahead of me who was majoring in accounting at Mississippi State. He had offers from several of what was, at that time, the “Big 8” accounting firms. When I learned through him about the career opportunities that a degree in accounting offered, that sealed the deal.”

Broom cited his father as a key motivator, making it very clear that he was off his payroll after graduation!

“I had wonderful parents with great values who provided a great example for me of how to live with purpose. But I just always wanted to be able to do something meaningful when I left college that would allow me to support myself and a family one day. I’ve wanted to succeed for as long as I can remember.”

“My undergraduate career was kind of tough. Basketball demanded a lot of my time. I was serious about my studies and knew I was not looking at a career in the NBA. My sophomore year I started dating a young lady from New Orleans who was also a student at William Carey.

I thought she was awesome and that made life a lot more exciting. We married in June between my junior and senior years of undergraduate school. We’re still married!”

From his undergraduate program Broom felt like he needed to go right into a masters program because he didn’t have a formal accounting degree.

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

“I wanted to go to work for one of the “Big 8” firms and I wasn’t going to get that opportunity with a degree in math from William Carey University. That proved to be a good decision for me as I landed with Ernst & Ernst fresh from my masters program. I traveled a lot in public accounting; I liked the work and the people I worked with, but the traveling got old fairly quickly. I decided to accept a job teaching at a community college, to provide some basic financial support and benefits, while I developed my own public accounting practice. I had no intention of staying in college teaching, but I fell love with it almost immediately and decided to go back to school to earn the doctorate that I knew I would need to have a meaningful career in higher education.

When I went back to school, my oldest child was 18 months old and my wife was 5 months pregnant with our second child. I wouldn’t say my timing was very good on that decision.”

Broom’s first faculty position out of his doctoral program was at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

“Baylor is a wonderful institution and we came close to spending the rest of our lives there. But in the end, we wanted to live in the southeast and a little closer to family. The opportunity to move to Samford presented itself and we made the decision to move to Birmingham. After 2 years at Samford, I had an opportunity to move to UAB. Unlike now, the Samford School of Business was struggling a bit and UAB looked much more stable.”

He stayed at UAB for 21 years and it provided me the opportunity to work with a group of wonderful educators who were dedicated to their students and with students who were dedicated to the task at hand. I became a department chair and associate dean while at UAB.” During the years Broom was at UAB, the Samford School of Business really blossomed. [Businessman and banker] Harry Brock provided the school with some significant funding and the leadership at Samford took full advantage of those resources.

“In 2008, my situation was beginning to change at UAB and when the opportunity to return to Samford as chair of the accounting program Continued on page 8 3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Considering the Future of the Alabama Society T he Alabama Society’s Board of Directors met at Ross Bridge May 7-8 to set the course for the next year (and beyond).

Present were chair Don McCleod, past chair Renee Hubbard, chair-elect Lowell Broom and board members Dennis Sherrin, Marc Hamilton, Lisa McKinney, Michael Brand, Caitlin Glass, Mac Underwood, Lynne Bozeman, Buddy Johnsey, Greg Sellers, Jason Miller, Rachel Taylor, Jamey Carroll, and AICPA Council representatives Lamar Reeves and John Shank.

On hand to lead the discussion on Thursday were managing partner of Stamp Idea Group David Allred and account executive Victoria Belton. Stamp had been tasked with creating a strategic plan for the ASCPA and was ready to share some of their findings and recommendations.

Stamp’s exploratory process was detailed and extensive, and involved learning a lot about the Alabama Society and its members.

In order to be effective as an organization, the questions revolved around who are the Society’s audiences; the stakeholders who affect the ASCPA’s success.

Board members entered the process and ended up identifying these nine key groups:

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Explore the options of digital marketing for branding, membership and education.

Caitlin Glass*, Dennis Sherrin, Mac Underwood and Jason Miller 3. Identify the top firms of influence in Alabama and discover ways in which the ASCPA can best serve them. Jamey Carroll*, John Shank, Renee Hubbard and Rachel Taylor 4.

Create customized education options across all member sectors. Marc Hamil-

ton*, Mike Reibling, Lynne Bozeman, Don McCleod and Lisa McKinney Member surveys and focus groups will be part of the further exploration of the task forces. Please be willing to share your time and feedback in an honest and direct fashion. The world is whirling at an increasing pace. The Alabama Society must keep in step in order to maintain its position and relevance in the professional life of the state’s CPAs. *Task Force chair

1. CPA members 2. Young CPAs 3. Top 25 Alabama Accounting firms – managing partners, HR and marketing staffs 4. College accounting students – declared majors in junior, senior and graduate years 5. Teachers and professors 6. Non-member CPAs – those who never joined, are newly-licensed or left the ASCPA 7. Elected officials 8. Associate members 9. Affiliate members Stamp will make their final report in the coming weeks with recommendations for implementation of specific tactics. In addition, the board created task forces which will work with Stamp’s recommendations for the year to come.

1. Conduct a thorough communications audit, including all channels. Lamar Reeves*, Kate Ham, Lowell Broom and Buddy Johnsey 4

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

STATE BOARD NEWS

Boyd Busby, CPA

A new era begins at the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy B

oyd Busby, CPA, is the new executive director of the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy. He comes to the position with a well-rounded resume that includes pecan harvester, okra farmer, copier repairman, automobile salesman and truck driver on the Wiley Sanders midnight shift, all before he even thought about going to college and becoming a CPA. Actually, he drove the truck while attending Troy University. By then he was married to his middle school sweetheart and the father of two.

Busby was too busy acquiring life skills to look seriously at college after graduating from Theodore High School, south of Mobile. He had been involved in their co-op trade school program and learned about business machines as an employee of ARI, American Reprographics. During his early teens in the hot south Alabama sun, he suited up like a beekeeper to work his okra crop.

For three years Busby sold cars at Joe Bullard Oldsmobile – the “College of Joe Bullard” – and it was when his father-inlaw’s brother was looking for a car for his daughter (stay with us) that his life took a sharp right turn.

He delivered that car to Jack Hawkins, Chancellor of Troy University, the uncle by marriage, who was impressed with his willingness to go the extra mile. Hawkins drove Busby all over the Troy campus and started selling him on not only going to college, but going to Troy.

“He must have seen something in me because he kept saying ‘You’ve GOT to come to Troy’. We ended up selling everything and moving there when I enrolled.

I drove trucks at night, took classes during the day and found about 2-3 hours to sleep.”

Busby did extensive research on what would be a good major (“I thought environmental science was the next Big Thing”) and, after presenting his case to Hawkins, was calmly told that accounting was the only major to pursue. And if the hard sell from the university president wasn’t enough, then Busby was told to talk to an accounting professor to seal the deal. You guessed it, Tom Ratcliffe was the accounting professor. For those who never met THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

or took a class from him, he was the most dynamic, passionate and skillful instructor, wringing the best out of his students and, as Busby says, “He basically told me that everyone should be an accounting major.

If you weren’t, you were a foolish person”.

Busby didn’t have a chance, accounting it was.

He was graduated in 1999, joined Wilson Price and stayed there through August 2001. The next challenge was Hodges Warehouse, a family-owned business with its fingers in a variety of pies. He came on board to work some magic as controller/ CFO, and stayed for 14 years. His title remained CFO, but his role was as chief operations officer, running all the family’s third party companies. He also was a principle of Hodges Business Services, an internal CPA firm.

Busby became active with the ASCPA shortly afterward, becoming a CPA Ambassador and performing all kinds of speaking engagements on behalf of the Society.

“First of all, I was amazed to be part of a profession. Not just a regular job, but having these very smart people as my colleagues. I have never really gotten over that. It made sense to me to pay it forward by doing all I could to support the profession, and the simplest way to do that was through the ASCPA.” Now he’s making the jump from industry to the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy and there are very specific reasons why it made sense for him to seek it out. There are three issues which have affected him deeply and informed his phi-

losophy about regulation and the profession.

“First, I was deeply affected by the accounting scandals of the early 2000s.

Here I was, just entering this profession that I revered so much and we’re getting a black eye. It made me decide that regulation, well framed, will create greater accountability. Second, as 2006/07 rolled out heavily-leveraged real estate empires began to teeter. We truly thought it was the end of the real estate world as we knew it. Some of the problems were clearly because of banking de-regulation and the ‘bucket shops’ [brokerage houses which create and trade certain types of over-thecounter securities] which were allowed to flourish. Frankly, we’re just now recovering. Finally, as I managed properties, I became aware of the long-term effects of toxic waste disposal which occurred in the past. We’re just now dealing with the thoughtless, permanent damage done. I think we can do a better job to protect the public on all these very different, yet related, issues.”

These crises, from his brief career as a CPA, have made him sensitive to industry trends in the marketplace. He feels this awareness will help him continue to preserve and protect the CPA brand as the most trusted advisor.

The Alabama Society looks forward to working with him as he assumes his new position. And Troy Chancellor Jack Hawkins is very proud that both Busby and Jeannine Birmingham, president and CEO of the ASCPA, are both Troy graduates.

Basil Ford Wear, Jr. May 5, 1921 – April 14, 2015 / Decatur, Alabama / Certificate #687 Mr. Wear (“B.F.”), 93, was a life-long resident of Decatur, a practicing CPA at Wear, Howell, Strickland, Quinn & Law from 1960 until his retirement. He served on a number of corporate and civic boards over the years, was founder and first president of the Wheeler Basin Chapter of the ASCPA, served on the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy as member and chair, became a lifetime member of the ASCPA in 1995, received the ASCPA’s Public Service Award in 1996, and was a 40 year honorary member of the AICPA.

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Zoebelein on Tax

Time to Consider the Reverse Audit for your Clients Tom Zoebelein, CPA, Tax Manager with Pearce, Bevill, Leesburg, Moore P.C.

N

ot a news flash that states need revenue as state spending outpaces tax collections.

State governments seem reluctant to make the logical fiscal choice to either cut spending or raise taxes. That leaves State Departments of Revenue the task of looking under rocks for additional revenue. My suggestion to you is help your clients clean up their tax accounts before the examiner(s) come knocking on your clients’ door.

What I am suggesting is you offer to conduct a reverse audit of your client’s tax records.

Think of a reverse audit as a tax examination with the goals reversed. The governmental auditor looks for underpayments of tax while the reverse auditor is looking for over payments of tax. During my 28 years in industry, I would be approached by firms (bounty hunters) wanting to conduct a compliance audit (reverse audit) of our company at no cost to the company. Nothing is free so bounty hunter reward was a percentage of the any tax savings they uncovered. The concept of a reverse audit is a sound one but even better is to fuse the roles of the examiner and the bounty hunter for your client.

Part I of a two part series on reverse audit techniques deals with sales & use taxes.

Reverse Audit Guideline-Sales & Use Tax The first place I would start is the area of sales and use taxes. Regardless of whether your client is a manufacturer or a physician group, experience has shown me this is an area where your clients are most likely exposed. To help you in this area, in the detail that I would like to do, is beyond the space I have been allotted so I will give you an outline to follow. Think of it as your PPC audit guideline sheet.

Manufacturers • Review the categories your client is treating as exempt. Make sure it truly is a component of the finished product and not consumed in the manufacturing without any trace element in the finished goods.

• Look at what items your client is considering subject to the machine rate. Look to see if it might actually be exempt as pollution. I found this mistake by my predecessor when I was in industry.

• Look at shipping and packaging to see if it is being taxed, whether it might actually be taxexempt shipping supplies.

• If your client has a direct pay permit, look for purchases where tax was incorrectly paid to 6

the vendor. I am talking about those purchases of, say, a computer from Best Buy. Under the direct pay permit, your client still must report the purchase and seek a refund from the vendor. I got burned on this one in an audit and to this day it still bothers me.

• Check to see that your client’s sales tax exemption permit is still in date. The Department of Revenue is now issuing exemption permits with an expiration date.

and Jefferson County while the practice was in Shelby County and Hoover.

• Look to see what the tax rate really is being charged – I have seen out of state vendors charge their state and local rate and not Alabama’s.

• Watch to make sure in an acquisition of another practice that the occasional sale rule has been employed, especially upon audit.

• Watch for the magazine subscription service that is low hanging fruit for the examiner as it is often missed.

Wholesale/Retailer clients • Make sure your client’s exemption certificate file is current. Have your client run any new customer’s sales tax number through the state’s data base to make sure they are a retailer. Keep in mind the exemption is only good from the date on the certificate.

Professional practices • Use tax exposure is often missed by medical practices, especially when they are forced to purchase from out-of-state vendors due to the unavailability of an in-state source. I discovered the potential for this exposure while helping a practicing physicians group prepare for a local sales and use tax audit. Reviewing the physicians’ records, it became clear that they had failed to pay any sales or use taxes on purchases from vendors outside of Alabama.

The practice had purchased both costly medical equipment and medical supplies from out-of-state vendors during the examination period, but neither sales nor use taxes had been paid by the practice. A medical practice may also find that even where it is invoiced for Alabama state tax when purchasing instate, it may still have a county and local use tax exposure. This happens when the vendor does not have a tax presence in the local taxing jurisdiction where the practice is located and, as such, is not required to collect the local sales tax.

• Check to make sure that your client is correctly handling drop shipments from their out-ofstate suppliers. In-state customers should be charged sales tax on out-of-state drop shipments to in-state customers.

• If your client is a dual business, such as a retailer with a repair service, make sure the proper local tax is collected. Remember, removal from inventory is often the taxable event for local sales tax.

• Decorator clients are normally taxable on their fee when they are also providing the merchandise used in their design • Make sure your client is charging the proper local rate.

• Look to see your client is only collecting local tax where he has a true nexus.

• Department of Revenue’s recent rule-making in this area expanded the definition for local nexus to more closely follow the state nexus.

This may increase or decrease the number of local jurisdictions in which your client’s needs to file and collect sales tax.

• A medical practice may find it was invoiced for state tax but not local tax.

• The medical practice may be overpaying to the out-of-state vendor.

• The vender may be taxing exempt labor and freight. Look at your client’s maintenance and service agreements for proper taxation.

• Make sure the proper local rate is being charged for the practice’s actual location. I had a client’s vendor charging Birmingham City THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

DOING IT BETTER

Complex Sales Tax Issues?

• Recommend that your client look at using the state’s “One Spot” system for reporting and remitting sales and use tax.

Contractor Clients • Make sure your client has a copy of the blanket sales tax exemption when subcontracting on a tax exempt job.

• Watch for local tax exposure as it can often be higher than the state rate.

How Real is Your Client’s Exposure?

The first step in assessing your client’s exposure is to check for out-of-state (non-drug) suppliers by checking suppliers’ mailing addresses. Though not foolproof, this method should point out some of your outof-state vendors.

A quick review of a few of the invoices from this group will let you know whether Alabama sales tax was charged and paid. Second, have your staff check invoices of recent equipment purchases to determine whether Alabama sales tax was charged. This quick check should help indicate a possible use tax exposure. If you find client errors, think about reducing the exposure by volunteering the information, especially with the state. There are programs for doing this, but that is beyond this article’s scope. Remind your client of the one local tax rule when tax has been paid to the wrong local jurisdiction; only after receiving the refund of the incorrect tax remitted does the proper jurisdiction’s tax come due.

Part II will appear in next month’s magazine, where I will examine the Reverse Audit Techniques for property tax.

I hope this has started to get you thinking about offering this to your clients during the slower summer months which could prove to be a win-win for your firm and your clients. You can fill up some extra capacity while offering your client a special reduced billing rate. Remember if you don’t offer your clients this type of service, someone else might—be it a bounty hunter or, worse, an examination. _____ 110 Office Park Drive, Suite 100, Birmingham, AL 35223, 205-323-5440, www.pearcebevill.com

There are solutions for that.

Brandon Houk, Avalara

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n the past, sales tax was not routinely discussed by CPAs and their clients, and for good reason – it was never as complicated as it is today. In the last five years, however, the emergence of several market forces have changed the relevance of multi-state sales tax compliance from something few CPAs needed to care about to an area of increasing risk for thousands of businesses and the CPAs who advise them.

The 2008/09 recession brought job loss, income loss, and slowed consumer spending. Decreased revenues from state income tax and sales tax resulted in budget shortfalls that are still projected for 22 states in 2015. At the same time, it has never been easier, or more profitable, for even the smallest business to open an online store and sell their goods online.

The popular belief that tax-free purchases made online might provide a discount to the consumer has not gone unnoticed by the states who have lost billions of dollars in uncollected sales tax over the years from Internet sales.

Now states are looking at online sales tax revenues with renewed vigor, both by hiring auditors to improve enforcement, and also in expanding the definition of nexus to capture the business activities of remote sellers.

To emphasize, more businesses today are using ecommerce and mobile commerce to open markets across states and countries at the same time that states are aggressively trying to collect sales taxes on those very sales.

For the first time, even a CPA sole proprietor has a high likelihood of clients that are exposed to multi-state sales tax compliance. The questions for CPAs now are: Which of my clients might have business operations that could expose them to sales tax nexus? And, more frightening still: Do I know how to quantify this risk and propose solutions to my client?

Don’t let the complexity of these questions be a deterrent; view them as an opportunity.. Gain the knowledge necessary to proactively identify and quantify potential sales tax risk for a client, then use that knowledge to recommend a solution. It will add real value to your business and that of your client.

Avalara and Alabama Society of CPAs are partnering together to simplify sales tax compliance for members by providing education and resources to improve your sales tax knowledge and to offer discounts on Avalara software for members. For public members, Avalara has recently launched “SALT-ina-Box”; a program of tools, training and resources specifically for public CPAs who want to identify and resolve any potential sales tax risk among their clients.

There are similar options available for CPAs in industry.

About Avalara Recognized as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies, Avalara is integrated with leading ERP and ecommerce software systems that serve millions of businesses worldwide. Avalara provides technology solutions to manage sales and use tax rates, rules, and exemption certificates on behalf of a business and to file and remit tax returns to the proper authorities.

Avalara employs more than 800 people at its headquarters on Bainbridge Island, WA and in offices across the U.S. and in London, England and Pune, India. More information at: www.avalara.com.

Tom Zoebelein

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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Meet the Chair

Continued from page 3

presented itself, I was thrilled and jumped at the chance. The past seven years at Samford have been wonderful. It has been a really exciting place to be. I feel like God has blessed me with professional opportunities far beyond what I have deserved.”

Broom currently teaches auditing and governmental/not-for-profit at this point. Earlier, he taught a pretty wide variety of accounting subject, everything but tax and systems.

In looking back over his career, one of the ways in which the profession has changed involves the proliferation of professional standards. The second most significant change is in technology.

“The way work gets done and documented these days, in both public accounting and other types of accounting work, is worlds apart from what it was when I started. Finally, I would say that the range of services offered to clients by public accountants has grown exponentially. All of these changes are really positive, but they can create a significant increase in stress, as well.”

Broom seems bemused by the fact that he has spent the majority of his professional career as a college professor.

“I would have never dreamed that would happen. I had no aspirations to go in that direction as a young man, until I sort of stumbled into a college classroom.”

When asked whether student have changed over the years, he said he was fortunate to teach in a discipline where the student who is not serious just doesn’t survive very long!

“I feel like all of my students over the years have worked hard. I loved

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interacting with my students when I first started teaching and I still love it today. I supposed if they have changed over the years, I just changed along with them. Today’s students may be more interested in work/life balance than students in the past. But even that may not be true, maybe today’s are more willing to admit the need for balance. While we’re discussing this, let me make it clear that students want to be successful and they are willing to work. They may not want to sacrifice for professional success to the degree that an older generation of professionals were willing to, but they’re not lazy.”

Broom went on to say that it is the students who keep him motivated every day.

“Working with college age young men and women at such an exciting point in their lives is such a wonderful experience. Their excitement is so contagious. I really think being around them helps keep me young. I know they depend on me, to some extent, to prepare them to enter the profession (including passing the CPA Exam) and I desperately want to live up to that responsibility.”

He concluded the conversation by speaking enthusiastically about his family. He and Redonda have three adult children, two daughters and a son, all of whom are married and have provided five “absolutely awesome” grandchildren. They range in age from 10 years to 6 months and all live in the Birmingham area, enabling the Brooms to be an active and daily part of their lives. He loves to play golf (“I’m not going to be quitting my day job to go on the Senior PGA tour anytime in the foreseeable future, but I do love to play”). And enjoys spending time with his family at their beach house on 30-A. “Being there with my wife, kids, and grandkids is like heaven on earth.”

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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STUDENT SUCCESS

Alabama CPA candidates can take exam at 120 hours

T

he Alabama Society of CPAs’ 120/150 legislation, sponsored by Senator Clyde Chambliss, becomes Act #201-0163 and is effective January 1, 2016. The act reduces the number of education hours required to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam in Alabama from 150 to 120. Following many years of tracking Alabama CPA candidates, it became evident to a joint task force of ASCPA and Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy members that it was time for Alabama to amend Section 34-14-4, Code of Alabama 1975, revising the education hour requirements to sit for the CPA examination. The following reasons justified the legislative effort: 1. Students are prepared to take the CPA examination before they have completed the 150 hour curriculum requirement.

The 150 curriculum hour requirement remains in effect for a person to earn the CPA designation.

2. For years, Alabama students have been taking the CPA exam under another

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state’s law so they could have the exam completed before graduation and before they begin work; 3. Presently more than 50% CPA candidates take the CPA exam following another state law so they can have the exam completed upon graduation; 4. Thirty-four states allow a student to take the CPA exam after they have completed 120 semester hours; 5. Students taking the exam under another state law pay fees to that state for each of the four exam sections, thus losing revenue for Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy; 6. CPA firms do not mandate completion, but typically pay more attention to the student (prospective employee) who has completed the CPA exam during their graduate (fifth) year; 7. Technology has changed the way course curriculum is offered. Technology and the changes to accounting curriculum

prepare a student to be ready to sit for the CPA exam before full 150 curriculum hours have been earned; 8.

Many Alabama universities offer CPA exam review as a part of the fifth year curriculum; 9. Alabama students must transfer grades (if they have taken and passed the CPA exam under another state law) into Alabama (ASBPA) in order to have an Alabama CPA certificate.

10. There is no evidence suggesting that those candidates who wait to take the CPA exam until they have completed 150 semester hours are better prepared to successfully pass the CPA examination.

While Act #201-0163 allows a CPA candidate to sit for the CPA exam in Alabama on completion of 120 education hours, they must still attain 150 hours and an experience requirement to earn the CPA designation in Alabama.

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

Accounting Achievement Awards - 2015 Congratulations to these students, recipients of the Alabama Society’s Accounting Achievement Award. The AAA is awarded “for excellence in character, personality, leadership and academic achievement” and goes to the top graduating accounting student.

Alabama A&M University Reginald Amerson

Troy University – Phenix City Danielle Ondrusek

Alabama State University Jalesa S. King

Tuskegee University Tina Bordenave

Athens State University Melody Flowers

University of Alabama Louis Williams

Auburn University Amanda Gwin

University of Alabama at Birmingham Danielle Brannock

Auburn University Montgomery Dena Roate

University of Alabama in Huntsville Jessica Michelson

Huntingdon College Carlee Gardner

University of Mobile Erin Taylor

Jacksonville State University Kendalyn Allen

University of Montevallo Perry Hilyer

Samford University Selina Schirmer

University of North Alabama Joshua Yarborough

Spring Hill College Courtney Harlan

University of South Alabama William Beeker

Troy University – Dothan Haiye Egli

University of West Alabama Jennifer Crombie

Kelly Higgenbotham of Pearce Bevill Leesburg & Moore presented the ASCPA Accounting Achievement Award to Danielle Brannock at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s annual awards program.

Troy University – Montgomery E-10373-615 AL_Layout 1 4/24/15 4:28 PM Page 1 Chrystal Todd

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E-10373-615 AL

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION JESSICA ROBERTS

T

he “new girl on the block” is Jessica Roberts, CPA. She became the continuing education director in March and is gearing up for an exciting education season.

The schedule is set, new speakers are on board and she’s gotten the hang of what exactly happens when you manage conferences, seminars and hundreds of webinars for ASCPA members.

Roberts is from New Brockton, in Coffee County, near Enterprise. She was graduated from high school there and took an accounting course in high school, lighting a spark. Her big brother was a student at Troy University, just a few miles down the road, and she joined him for her freshman year. He was a member of the Sound of the South band, and, since she’d been a band kid in high school also, joined him. The hours and hours of practice and performance were too much for a nonmusic major, so Roberts opted out after that first year. (He’s now the band director at T.R. Miller High School.)

Roberts completed her undergraduate degree, went straight into graduate school and received an MBA with a concentration in accounting. She began taking sections of the newly-computerized CPA exam in the fall following her graduate year and continued until she completed it in the next fall.

“It was easy to focus and concentrate. I was working for Warren Averett in Anniston and knew no one in town. Studying nonstop was the only thing I had to do. It obviously worked, I passed all the sections the first time around.”

She worked at Warren Averett for two years, doing mostly audit work, and actually did some work for (then) Governor Bob Riley, who was a good friend of a partner at the firm. She married Matt, whom she’d met at Troy, and they moved to Montgomery. She joined Wilson Price, working for Greg Sellers and other partners, doing a little bit of everything. After two and a half years, she became financial officer for the Central Alabama Community Foundation, a non-profit which manages donations and makes grants in the River Region and Wiregrass.

In the six years she was there, the Foundation consisted of three full-time staff, with several part-time help. They created Bridge Builders Alabama, a youth leadership program for high school students from diverse backgrounds. To fund the initiative, the THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

Foundation helped start the Dragon Boat Festival down at the Montgomery riverfront.

An ASCPA member who was on the Community Foundation’s board, Ed Reifenberg, was instrumental in offering support for both Bridge Builders and the Dragon Boat Festival.

Roberts learned the position at the ASCPA was open and felt it was a good fit, offering her a challenge at a critical point in her career. It took about a month on the job for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

“Somehow, when you come to a class, it’s all so organized and seamless that you have no idea of the moving parts which go into creating even one class. Speakers, topics, locations, materials, dates all play a part in making continuing education work. One day, after being immersed in all these details, I had one of those ‘Eureka!’ moments and it started to make sense.

Now I’m looking forward to moving through this first season and taking lots of notes to help us make next year even better.”

Away from the office, Roberts has Addie Grace, 3 and Marshall, 1 to keep her busy.

Matt works with the 187th Air National Guard unit at Dannelly Field and they live in the country 18 miles from the office.

“This position is a real departure for me, but having another CPA on staff to look critically at our education offerings will be a good thing. I hope that members will get in touch, and give us the feedback we need to keep our program relevant to their careers.”

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SOLUTIONS

Birmingham | Mobile | Huntsville | Nashville 15

2015 No.

Date

CPE Calendar

City

Credit

Hours Title

Standard Fee Non-Member Fee

Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Dothan Montgomery Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Dothan Montgomery Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Montgomery Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Montgomery

Tax Tax Tech Tax Tech AA AA Tax AA Other Tech Tax AA Other Tax AA Tax Tax AA Tax AA Tax AA AA Other AA/Other AA/Other

8 4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 4 8 8 8 8 8 4 4

New “Repair Regs” - Sec. 263(a) IRS Disputes: Identifying Options for Your Client Do It Yourself Business Intelligence Social Security and Medicare: Maximizing Retirement Benefits QuickBooks Online - Changing the Paradigm of Small Business Accounting Core Issues Related to Properly Assessing and Responding to Financial Statement Audit Risk A&A Year in Review: Exploring the Latest Issues and Challenges Facing CPAs The Best Income Tax, Estate Tax and Financial Planning Ideas of 2015 Internal Controls and Risk Assessment: Key Factors in a Successful Audit Digging Deeper with Data Analytics Excel-Based Dashboards Construction Contractors: Special Tax and Accounting Considerations Special Purpose Frameworks: Preparing and Reporting on Cash, Modified Cash and Tax Basis Financial Statements Determing How Much Money You Need to Retire, and Tax Ideas and Money Management in Retirement Surgent Individual Tax Update Alternatives to GAAP - Using Special Purpose Frameworks Basis/Distributions for Pass-Through Entities: Simplifying the Complexities Medical Finances: Enhancing Your Value to a Medical Practice Internal Control Best Practices for Small and Medium Sized Intities Health Care Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications Annual Accounting and Auditing Update Healthcare Workshop Auditing Employee Benefits Plans Community Banking Update Advanced Business Law for CPAs Avoiding the Arrow - Alabama Professional Liability Risk Management New Standards are Everywhere (and More are Coming) - Alabama Practice Update

285 190 190 190 190 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 285 190 285 285 285 285 285 190 190

+50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50

Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Birmingham Birmingham Mobile Mobile Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Montgomery Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Montgomery Montgomery Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville

AA AA Other Tax Tax Tax AA AA Other Tax AA AA AA Tax AA Tax Gov/NP AA Tax Gov/NP AA Tax AA Tax Tech AA

8 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 16 8 8 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 8 8 4 4 4 4

2015 Accounting and Auditing Update 2015 Compilation and Review Update Buisness Law-Accountant’s Liability Sirote’s Hottest Tax Topics for CPAs Tax Considerations in Property Dispositions Loss Limitation Rules for Tax Purposes Fraud: Recent Findings, Red Flags, and Corruption Schemes Data Security Buisness Law-Accountant’s Liability Health Care Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications Yellow Book Workshop: Super Circular and Advanced Topics in a Single Audit Identity Theft: Preventing, Detecting, and Investigating Employee Benefit and Retirement Planning: Pension and Deferred Compensation Tools The Complete Guide to Payroll Taxes and 1099 Issues Revenue Cash and Receipts: Common Frauds and Internal Controls Hot Tax Planning Developments Under the Current Tax Law GASB Statement No. 68 Audit and Accounting Workshop Fraud: Recent Findings, Red Flags, and Corruption Schemes Reviewing Individual Tax Returns: What Are You Missing?

Not-for-Profit Organizations: Key Accounting and Reporting Considerations Audits of 401(k) Plans: New Developments and Critical Issues for an Effective and Efficient Audit Making the Best of Bad Situations Compilation, Preparation, and Review Engagements Update Key S Corporations Tax Strategies and Compliance Issues Technology Update Engagement Essentials: Preparation of Financial Statements

285 285 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 500 285 285 285 190 190 190 190 190 190 285 285 190 190 190 190

+50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50

Seminars July 020 021 022 024 025 032 163 165 026 027 028 033 164 166 167 029 030 031 034 035 168 036 037 038 039 171 175

7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/27/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/28/15 7/29/15 7/29/15 7/29/15 7/29/15 7/29/15 7/29/15 7/30/15 7/30/15 7/31/15 7/31/15 7/31/15 7/31/15

August 040 041 177 187 172 173 042 043 178 180 044 045 046 047 050 051 052 053 054 055 048 049 056 057 058 059

8/3/15 8/4/15 8/11/15 8/11/15 8/12/15 8/12/15 8/13/15 8/13/15 8/13/15 8/13/15 8/13 - 8/14/2015 8/14/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/17/15 8/18/15 8/18/15 8/18/15 8/18/15 8/18/15 8/18/15

Ready to register?

Go 16 to www.ascpa.org

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

FULL CPE SCHEDULE AVAILABLE ONLINE No.

Date

City

Credit

060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 185 190 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 086 087 088 089 090 091 082 083 084 085 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 111 112 115 116 117 109 110 113 114

8/18/15 8/18/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/19/15 8/20/15 8/20/15 8/20/15 8/20/15 8/21/15 8/21/15 8/21/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/24/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/25/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/28/15 8/28/15 8/28/15 8/28/15

Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Montgomery Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Dothan Dothan Dothan Dothan Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Dothan Dothan Dothan Dothan Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Huntsville Huntsville Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Montgomery Montgomery Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa

179 181 182 184

8/31/15 8/31/15 8/31/15 8/31/15

Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville Huntsville

Tax 4 Tax Planning Strategies for Small Businesses: Corporations, Partnerships and LLCs Tech 4 Securing Your Data - Practical Tools for Protecting Information AA 8 Internal Controls and Risk Assessment: Key Factors in a Successful Audit Tax 4 Sirote’s Hottest Tax Topics for CPAs Tax 4 Cancellation of Debt for Individuals and Businesses 4AA/4Tech 8 Advanced Excel AA 4 Current Issues in Accounting and Auditing: An Annual Update Tax 4 Cancellation of Debt for Individuals and Businesses Gov/NP 4 Compilation and Review Guide and Update AA 4 The Most Common Financial Statement and Asset Fraud Schemes: How to Detect and Prevent Them Tax 4 Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts AA 8 Annual Update for Preparation, Compilation, and Review Engagements AA 4 Purhasing, Inventory, and Cash Disbursements: Common Frauds and Internal Controls Gov/NP 4 The Auditor’s Responsibilities Related to Fraud and Abuse Under GAAS and the Yellow Book AA 8 FASB Review: Common GAAP Issues Impacting ALL CPAs Tax 8 Federal Tax Update - Individual & Business Current Developments Gov/NP 4 Tailoring the Audit to Suit a Not-for-Profit Entity AA 8 Forensic Accounting Investigative Practices Tax 8 Basis Calculations and Distributions for Pass-Thru Entity Owners - Schedule K-1 Analysis 6AA/2TX 8 Construction Contractors: Critical Accounting, Auditing, and Tax Issues in Today’s Environment AA 4 Revenue Cash and Receipts: Common Frauds and Internal Controls Tax 4 Hot Tax Planning Developments Under the Current Tax Law AA 4 Fraud: Recent Findings, Red Flags, and Corruption Schemes Tax 4 Reviewing Individual Tax Returns: What Are You Missing?

AA 4 Revenue Cash and Receipts: Common Frauds and Internal Controls Tax 4 Hot Tax Planning Developments Under the Current Tax Law Gov/NP 4 GASB Statement No. 68 Audit and Accounting Workshop AA 4 Fraud: Recent Findings, Red Flags, and Corruption Schemes Tax 4 Reviewing Individual Tax Returns: What Are You Missing?

Gov/NP 4 Not-for-Profit Organizations: Key Accounting and Reporting Considerations AA 4 Interpreting the New Revenue Recognition Standard: What All CPAs Need to Know Tax 4 Key S Corporations Tax Strategies and Compliance Issues AA 4 Engagement Essentials: Preparation of Financial Statements Tax 4 Healthcare Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications AA 4 Interpreting the New Revenue Recognition Standard: What All CPAs Need to Know Tax 4 Key S Corporations Tax Strategies and Compliance Issues AA 4 Engagement Essentials: Preparation of Financial Statements Tax 4 Tax Planning Strategies for Small Businesses: Corporations, Partnerships and LLCs AA 8 Upcoming Peer Review: Is Your Firm Ready?

AA 8 Accounting Standards Review for Controllers and Finance Professionals Tax 8 Sales and Use Tax Workshop AA 8 Revenue Recognition: The New Perspectives Tax 8 Payroll Taxes and 1099 Issues: Everything You Need to Know AA 4 GASB Statement No. 68 Audit and Accounting Workshop Tax 4 Individual Income Tax Update AA 4 Annual Update for Governments and Not-for-Profits Tax 4 Corporate Taxation: Advanced Issues AA 4 Sprecial Purpose Frameworks- Alternatives to GAAP Tax 4 Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits AA 4 Cost Segregation and the Tangible Property Regulations Tax 4 Individual Tax Planning Ideas for 2015 AA 8 Revenue Recognition: Mastering the New FASB Requirement Tax 8 Multigenerational Financial and Tax Planning for Clients IND 4 CFO Update AA 4 Small Business Fraud: The Lessons Behind the Stories AA 4 Revenue Recognition: The New Perspectives Other 8 The Eight Hour MBA Tax 8 Hot IRS Tax Examination Issues for Individuals and Businesses AA 8 Recognizing and Responding to Fraud Risk in Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations Tax 8 Surgent’s Handbook for Mastering Basis, Distributions, and Loss Limitation Issues for S Corporations, LLCs, and Partnerships Other 4 Buisness Law-Accountant’s Liability Tax 4 Tax Considerations in Property Dispositions Tax 4 Loss Limitation Rules for Tax Purposes AA 4 Audit Workpapers: Documenting and Reviewing Field Work

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

Hours Title

Standard Fee Non-Member Fee

190 190 285 190 190 285 190 190 190 190 190 285 190 190 285 285 190 285 285 285 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 285 285 285 285 285 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 190 285 285 190 190 190 285 285 285

+50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50 +50

285 190 190 190 190

+50 +50 +50 +50 +50

Save $25 when you register at least 10 days before class date.

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THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

ASCPA Continuing Professional Education Registration Form

THE ALABAMA CPA MAGAZINE

19

Presorted Std US Postage PAID Permit No. 131 Montgomery, AL JUNE

2015

The Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants 1041 Longfield Court P.O. Box 242987 Montgomery, AL 36124

CLASSIFIED MEMBERS IN MOTION PROMOTIONS AND NEW POSITIONS YOUR PRACTICE WANTED: We are North America’s leader in practice sales. Let us navigate the complexities, locate the best match from a deep pool of qualified and serious buyers, and optimize your return on the years invested in building your practice. If you are considering a change, contact Alabama broker Lori Newcomer, CPA, at (888) 277-6040 or LNewcomer@apsleader.com for a confidential discussion.

CPA Wanted: How does living in a vacation destination sound? NFH is seeking a CPA with 2-5 years individual and entity tax experience. Candidates should be very technically proficient, desire direct client communication and work in a team environment. We offer a competitive salary package. Come visit the beach and stay! Please send your resume to info@nfhcpa.com.

IN MEMORIAM EFFORD WAYNE GREER November 19, 1921 – February 26, 2015 Mobile, Alabama / Certificate #268 HARRY O’NEAL WHATLEY March 28, 1933 – February 27, 2015 Birmingham, Alabama / Certificate #688 SHELBY CURRIE TRICE January 1, 1924 – April 14, 2015 Mobile, Alabama / Certificate #280R

James L. Hart has been reappointed to a second 4 year term on the Alabama Securities Commission by Governor Bentley and confirmed by the Alabama Senate. He will continue to serve as chair of the commission. Hart was first appointed by former Governor Riley in October of 2009. Hart is a senior partner with Dent, Baker & Company, having recently completed 15 years of service as the firm’s managing partner and CEO. His specialties include forensic accounting, strategic consulting services, firm management and quality control.

COMMUNITY NEWS At the Birmingham Business Journal’s annual Best Places to Work awards banquet, Barfield Murphy Shank and Smith received a lifetime achievement award based on their having been recognized for all ten years of the program.

Your ASCPA membership fee is now due Pay online, www.ascpa.org Mail the statement with your check (so old school!)

Or stop by the office.... we love seeing members.