Message from Jeannine

Happy New Year! Our wish is for a successful and prosperous 2022, with a grateful heart for having made it through the storms and turmoil of the last 22 months.

We have a major communications update. The accounting world now has its own web suffix – .cpa. The Society has adjusted all its email addresses to read (for example) jbirmingham@alabama.cpa. This transition has been so successful that our computers send all emails addressed to @ ascpa.org to “junk”! So please make that change in your own communications or with your IT team, we don’t want to miss hearing from you. With this issue, our Tax and Government Relations issue, we’ll address the latest information from our experts on state and local tax from Bruce Ely, Will Thistle and their team, with federal updates from Karen Miller and an ALDOR update from Mary Martin Mitchell.

In a time-honored tradition, the 2021 Legislators’ Tax Guide will be available to you at the start of the 2022 Alabama Legislative Session. We’ll send you the link for it. Thanks to Kee Ruland of Ruland and Ruland, CPAs in Mobile, for his tireless attention to the Guide’s updates for the last 20 years. Speaking of the legislature, it’s another busy legislative season with the ASCPA actively involved in legislation to address ARPA and Build Back Better, the federal infrastructure agenda. There will be a number of ways in which our members will be affected, and our slate of advisers will give you as much clarity as possible. Don’t forget that 2022 is an election year! The Alabama CPA PAC thrives because of your support. It’s critical that we are proactive in helping legislators and other elected officials who understand the needs of Alabama’s CPAs and business community. Please contribute to the PAC on our website. Alabama CPA PAC trustees include Allen Cave, Carl Jamison, Darren Hipps, David Kassouf, David Scott, Gary Anglin, Jim Storey, Jim Ellis, Josh Taylor, Lynne Boucher, Marty Abroms and Robert Miller each representing a specific state geographic area. The ASCPA is constantly nurturing its government relationships. We have a strong partnership with the Alabama Department of Revenue, including its commissioner and staff. Mary Martin Mitchell’s article on pages 10 and 11 will bring you up to date. The ALDOR participated in the ASCPA’s August Board Meeting to talk about issues, challenges, filing season predictions and it is this willingness to work together that benefits our members.

When you get to page 12, you’ll see that we’re back in person for the ASCPA’s Annual Meeting. It will be held at The Club in Birmingham and offer the top-quality CPE experience you’ve come to expect. We always say that Annual Meeting is part family reunion and part professional development! We’re hungry to see ALL members of the family in 2022 and encourage you to attend.

Jeannine

Join us in welcoming the new ASCPA Communications Director, Megan Hughes, APR. She will be responsible for internal and external communications, will serve as editor of CONNECTIONS and manage digital content. Megan has 15 years of professional experience in the field of public relations, 12 of those years spent in higher education. She is active with the statewide public relations organization, PRCA, currently serving as its state president. She will be responsible for member news, so make note of her email address, mhughes@alabama.cpa. Megan is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, respectively, in public relations. She earned her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2015, and supports her community by serving on the Leadership Council at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, the State Committee for Distinguished Young Women of Alabama and the Montgomery Auburn Club Board of Directors. She and her husband, Joel, live in Prattville. Joel works for Troy University’s Continuing Education division doing business development and corporate training. They have two young children, and enjoy spending time with family and friends.