CONNECTIONS m a y
MEMBERSHIP ISSUE
•
J U N E
2 0 1 6
MEMBERSHIP ISSUE 12 | IRS Partnership Audit Rules By Bruce P. Ely William T. Thistle, II 16 | Client Acceptance 18 | From the Stylus to Being Stylish 26 | Marriage of Two Firms J. Kenny Crow, Jr., CPA
DEPARTMENTS 4 | Message from the Chair
15 | Meet the Candidates
8 | Member Profile: Roger Spain
20 | Changing Face of Peer Review
21 | ASCPA 2016 22 | Remembering 24 | Member News
FRONT COVER Roger Spain
INSIDE THE ASCPA
33 | Classifieds
Photo courtesy of Diane Christy 3
29 | Continuing Education Schedule
MESSAGE FROM THE
cHAiRMAN W
hat a wonderful time of year this is. I’m a golfer, you see, and this time of year is one of the best to play golf. The weather is almost perfect. Everything seems to be greener this time of year. And that’s just one of the things that make late spring, early summer so exciting. School will be ending soon for the children and summer vacations are just around the corner. There’s just so much to look forward to. Without being overly cheesy, I think one of the things that those of us who are CPAs have to look forward to this time of the year is the ASCPA Accounting Connections Conference (ACC)….. formerly known as the ASCPA Annual Meeting. Now I wouldn’t say that the Accounting Connections Conference excites me as much as a round of golf on a beautiful day on a well-manicured golf course, but it is a wonderful event that is worthy of some excitement. I thoroughly enjoy many things about this conference. I’ve been a college professor in Alabama for a long time. I love seeing so many of my former students and other professionals with whom I have worked with over the years. It’s a family reunion in many ways.
I also enjoy the opportunity to hear about what is going on in our profession from individuals who are on the frontlines of the process. This year Alabama CPAs have an opportunity to do that as never before. Barry Melancon, AICPA President and CEO, will speak about major issues facing the profession. One of the things that I have enjoyed most about my time as Chairman of the ASCPA is the opportunity that it has provided for me to hear Barry speak on several occasions. He is the best I have ever heard at explaining the issues with the potential to affect the CPA profession moving forward, and how those issues could/should be addressed. Every time I hear Barry speak I feel that I understand issues that I didn’t even know existed prior to hearing Barry explain them. Barry travels approximately 260 days a year…..not only in the US, but all around the world. I hope everyone who is an ASCPA member realizes how fortunate we are to have him at Accounting Connections in 2016. Please don’t miss this opportunity to interact one of the greatest leaders ever in our profession.
visiting with so many old friends, learning about important issues in our profession in general and the ASCPA in particular, and honoring the accomplishments of so many with our members is just an awesome opportunity. I hope I will see you in Birmingham this June!
Of course, it has been true for a long time that ACC offers a great opportunity to get some quality CPE. But to me, the opportunity to do that, while
Lowell
Given that this will be my last chairman’s Letter, I want to thank all of you one more time for allowing me the privilege of serving as your chair for the past year. The pleasure has been absolutely mine. I hope none of us will ever take for granted the wonderful job that our organization, the ASCPA, does for each one of us. I am convinced that our Alabama Society, through all of its volunteers and its paid staff, is doing an absolutely wonderful job of accomplishing its mission: Protect, Educate, Connect. Its work goes a long way toward making accountancy the wonderful profession that it is. Godspeed to you all!
New members of the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy: Steve Grice, Delbert Madison and Earl Blackmon 4
look for the Society’s new video celebrating
M E M B E R S H I P
“The reason why I joined the ASCPA was to gain a wide network of colleagues who I could communicate with…whether it was asking a question or [sharing with] someone who was going through the same thing I was.” – Georgina Perry, Kassouf & Co.
KEEP yOUR MEMBERSHIP AlIVE! Membership fee statements were sent via email on April 19. Go to the website to schedule your payment, www.ascpa.org. Remain a member to receive all the great benefits and educational opportunities you’ve come to expect from the ASCPA.
July 25-29 • Sandestin, FL 20 CPE Credits • SEC16
Register at ascpa.org/sec16 6
Summer Education Conference with the ASCPA and Society of Louisiana CPAs
July 24 – July 29, 2016
Hilton Sandestin Spa & Golf Resort Register by July 8, 2016 to get the Early Bird Discount
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Sunday, July 24th
3:00pm - 5:00pm 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Registration Opening Reception
Monday, July 25th
8:00am - noon
2016 A&A Update James D. Martin, CPA, CGMA, MAcc Baytowne Golf Course - Golf Tournament
1:00pm
Tuesday, July 26th
8:00am - noon
Professional Issues Update & Cyber Security Ron Gitz, CPA, Jeannine Birmingham, CPA, & Lisa Traina, CPA
1:00pm – 4:00pm
Annual ASCPA Beach Party with water slide and sno-cones
Wednesday, July 27th
8:00am - noon
Regional Sales and Use Tax Update, Tax Services and Q&A Jaye Calhoun, Esq., Bruce Ely, Esq., Representative Paul DeMarco and Representative Julie Stokes
Thursday, July 28th
8:00am – noon
Forensics for Cash Heavy Companies Kevin Andrews, Esq. Fishing Trip Harbor Dock Marina
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Friday, July 29th
8:00am - noon
Federal Income Tax Update Alfred “Ted” Stacey, IV, CPA
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meet Roger Where did you grow up? I grew up in Montgomery and attended public schools from first through twelfth grades.
How has your career path developed? I worked for ten years with Jackson Thornton, primarily in their Utility Group. When I began there was a solid client base but it was not formally a division or niche practice.
During those years I was involved with YMCA programs, playing sports, participating in Youth Legislature, and even overseas exchanges. Youth Legislature was great fun, with students from all over the state convening in Montgomery for the better part of a week to conduct a mock legislature. Each student submitted a bill and walked it through all the steps in trying to get it passed and signed by the Governor. As a high school senior I served as the Youth Governor and, through heavy participation in that program, was fortunate to travel to France while in high school and to Japan as a college student. I’m not sure if I can really explain how those trips changed me, but they did give me a window on a world beyond Montgomery.
There were few other firms with our level of interest in utilities. Jackson Thornton showed a willingness to take a risk and, looking back, they were quite visionary in investing staff time to get it going. I worked primarily in the electric and gas areas and it was fun being in on the ground floor and watching it grow. After those ten years, I then had the opportunity to work with Aldridge, Borden & Company in its Consulting Group. It was led by Dave Borden and was building momentum. That proved to be interesting work as it focused primarily on business valuation and litigation consulting Roger Spain engagements. As part of developing a consulting practice, I earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation after completing the three levels of testing over a three-year period. The CFA designation was a difficult challenge because the body of knowledge in the curriculum is quite broad. But, having a deep background in accounting proved to be a strong and important foundation that allowed me to complete the certification. Performing litigation support often included deposition or court testimony and was extremely challenging as it draws on one’s entire scope of experience. In my case, even my high school experiences in Youth Legislature contributed to my effectiveness (such as it may have been) in that arena.
When did you decide on accounting as a career? I began engineering coursework at Auburn as my father and older brother had done before me. My dad is a civil engineer and worked mostly on commercial structural engineering projects. My brother is six years older and is a mechanical engineer with Southern Research Institute in Birmingham. Interestingly, he has worked on NASA projects and been involved in designing tests for various space craft components. After becoming disinterested in engineering, mostly by the intensity of the pure science classes, I took an accounting class. Even before taking that class I thought that accounting was a highly-regarded course of study. Accounting made perfect sense to me from the first principals class onward, and as I completed additional business courses, I realized that accounting was a good fit.
After fourteen years of business valuation and litigation consulting work, I recently joined Oakworth Capital Bank as Managing Director of Commercial Banking. As the principals in the bank made the decision to launch in Montgomery, they invited me to join their advisory board. After several conversations, we realized that Oakworth was interested in adding someone with a financial background to bring a different viewpoint and skillset to its clients. Fortunately for me, their willingness to depart from the more traditional banking team model led to what promises to be a fun challenge – the opportunity to grow the bank in its first market expansion. My experience and background in accounting and business valuation were important factors in joining Oakworth, which is resolved to provide a different level of service than at other banks. I’ve already found that succession issues in closely held businesses are a key area where I can make a difference. I have always enjoyed the “public” side of public accounting and my role with Oakworth provides a similar opportunity for client service.
Did you have a mentor in high school or college? I was fortunate to have numerous wonderful influential people in my life as I grew up. They were in my schools, church, YMCA, and among friends. That was such a blessing and is one of the reasons I do volunteer work. Tell us about your undergraduate experience. My experience in the Auburn business school was fantastic. They did a wonderful job, not only in educating accounting students, but also in shepherding them through the placement process. Recently, I have had the good fortune to meet the current dean of the College of Business, Dr. Bill Hardgrave, and I am happier than ever about the leadership and prospects for Auburn’s business school, and consequently what that will mean for its accounting students and our Society’s future members. What did you do following graduation? Following graduation, I went to work with Jackson Thornton in Montgomery, making a deliberate move into auditing. I wanted to get my certificate and see how things would develop after that.
What have been the biggest changes in the profession during your career? Graduating and entering public accounting in 1990 was an interesting time to begin a career. Personal computers were just becoming
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MEMBER PROFIlE mainstream and gaining utility in the business world. Processes at that time were just beginning to move from manual and labor intensive to being automated more as a function of computer and data processing. As a result of continued technological advancements in business processes, accounting graduates today, whether in public practice or private industry, begin their careers performing analytical functions. This is a sharp contrast to the naturally slower development of staff necessitated by the more manual nature of the work performed by young accounting majors emerging in the workforce around 1990. Graduates in accounting and financial fields today also must be many times more nimble than was required for success or survival when I started. I think it is an exciting time to enter the field. Advancement in accounting today favors the adaptable, motivated and intellectually curious.
potential practice growth outside of previously limiting geographic regions, and a number of issues too numerous to list, and challenges and opportunities that none of us have even identified at this point. Tomorrow’s successful firms will be those with a sense of what is important versus what is distracting noise and the foresight and willingness to change to meet new challenges. Key among them, of course, is maintaining a strong human touch while taking advantage of business efficiencies. What do you do to relax away from the office? Hobbies? Travel? I exercise, play an unimpressive game of tennis, fly fish when I can (also in an unimpressive manner), travel when my well-organized wife plans a great trip, and enjoy the company of my sons, family and friends. You’re involved in lots of community service. Describe why it’s been important to you both as an individual and as a CPA. Non-profits and community service efforts need the expertise and analytical skills that CPAs have developed through their educational and professional experiences. We are in a unique position to offer our skills for the common good by doing what comes naturally. Additionally, I believe we should all ask the age old question: If not me, then who?
What has surprised you the most as your career has evolved? A strong background in accounting can serve as a platform for expansive options in professional development. I have friends and colleagues that work in an impressive and diverse array of careers and occupations that all started in accounting. They include members of academia, real estate developers, entrepreneurs, attorneys, manufacturers, and many others. Coming out of school I had no idea that a background rooted in accounting would support almost any subsequent business pursuit, such as my recent move to Oakworth in commercial banking.
What keeps you up at night? Not much. Everyday must end, then we rest and attack the next day. Tell us about your family. I have been married to a very patient person for 25 years. We have two sons: a freshman in college and a junior in high school. For me, they are two promising members of the inspirational next generation I referenced earlier.
What prompted you to become a member of the ASCPA? Upon obtaining my CPA certificate, it never occurred to me that I would NOT join the ASCPA. As my career has progressed and I have learned better what all the Society does for our profession, I remain firmly in support of its mission. How did membership benefit you as a CPA in public accounting? Like most Alabama CPAs, I register for CPE offerings from the Society and use ASCPA events to connect with colleagues around the state. However, I have come to appreciate much more the education and outreach performed by the Society targeted at two diverse audiences: lawmakers and students. These efforts improve our collective voice to affect the legislative process in a very professional, informative and positive manner, and to help us keep the pipeline of talented young students full to prepare the next generation of even smarter professionals. What keeps you inspired and motivated each day? Young people – newly minted college graduates, and those behind them as well, are smart, energetic and well educated. I love their passion and enthusiasm. I tend to be optimistic, and I think it is easy to find motivation in what the next generation of business leaders will bring to our profession. What are the biggest challenges facing the profession right now? Technology, and it is both a challenge and an opportunity. Firms will have to stay current with technological innovations and applications no matter their size. The issue presents different problems, challenges and opportunities to different sized firms, practice areas and industry specializations. But firms and individual practitioners will have to adapt to changes caused or facilitated by technological advancement in order to remain competitive, and possibly even relevant. Issues include cloud-based services, using overseas support services, security issues caused by an increasingly mobile workforce,
877-277-0272 David L. Akins, CPA
Licensed Real Estate Broker David@AkinsProfessionalBrokerage.com
We Specialize in the Brokerage of CPA and Accounting Firms.
www.AkinsProfessionalBrokerage.com 9
Support the Young CPAs Charity Golf Tournament with a team and your sponsorship. Information is available through the website or contact Rebecca Schweiger, 334.386.5753, rschweiger@ascpa.org. Recipients of the net proceeds are The Exceptional Foundation of Birmingham and the ASCPA’s Educational Foundation.
The scholars hip meaningful to s provided by the Soc iety’s Educa the state’s ac tional Foun counting stu submitted w dati dents. Here ith scholarsh a re excerpts fr on are very ip applicatio om short ess n s to give voice “As an upco ays to the studen ming senior, ts you suppo I have receiv taken out fe rt.
ed limited a deral studen cademic sch t loa which make olarships an s it even more ns to pay for my educati d have on. I am als d ifficult to find in search of o a studenta job that wo financial help a thlete, rks around m fo long-term go y schedule. al of becomin r the final year of my un I am dergraduate g a CPA.” – studies, with University o “Receiving th f West Alabam the is scholarsh a ip is importa part-time no n t to me beca n-accountin g job and foc use it will a school. I ca llow me to q us on studyin n then focus uit my g for the GM on passing th A T exam for gra e CPA exam.” “As the first duate A labama State member of m University y Latin Ameri great honor can family to to receive th attend a univ is scholarsh ersity, it wou ip.” Univers “This schola ld be a ity of North A rship will ass labama ist me in earn ultimately, le ing my MAc ad to a care c degree, CP er in public University o A designatio accounting f Alabama a n and, by easing th t Birmingham e financial b urden.” “Working 25 hours a wee k, self-fundin student loan g my educati s required th on and the n at I pace my the opportun eed to minim c ourse load. ity to make ize my Your scholars my dream o could on my hip will provi f b ecoming a C own.” Jeffe de me PA true so m rson State C ommunity Co uch sooner llege and Un than I iversity of M ontevallo
ACCounTing ConneCTionS ConferenCe
All the cool kids will be there.
You know all about the Young CPA Charity golf Tournament on June 8, and about Day one of the Accounting Connections Conference on June 9. You’ve heard about all the impressive speakers who will be there, including a rare opportunity for Alabama members to hear AiCPA President and Ceo Barry Melancon give one of his legendary Professional Issues Updates. It’s an amazing presentation that you will NOT want to miss. You know that Celebration of Success, honoring outstanding members of the profession, will immediately follow Day One. There will be light food and drink and another chance to connect with friends and colleagues. There’s no charge for Celebration of Success. But what about Day Two? There will be three concurrent sessions. Lisa McKinney will present a federal Tax update, followed by Blake Madison with Sales and Use Tax for Alabama. That’s a single four hour tax session. The Young CPAs will have their own session with Warren Averett’s Director of Talent Scott Bradbary and former Alabama State representative Cam Ward. Bradbary has vast experience in professional development of CPA firm staff and management and will offer the Young CPAs a look at where leadership skills will take them in their careers. Mr. Ward will emphasize the importance of legislative advocacy as their careers develop. A brand new event is facing the future, a special session for accounting students and educators. Keynote speaker is Jeff Phillips of Accountingfly. Many public accounting firms have participated in Accountingfly’s (formerly College Frog) virtual career fairs. He has a passion for recruiting and has worked closely this year with the AICPA’s PCPS to promote the value of mid-size public accounting firms to students. There will also be a panel of decision-makers from public accounting, industry and government on what they’re looking for as they recruit and iTAC’s CAo Charles Baughman will discuss business etiquette, the value of networking and walking through the interview. The mid-morning break will be timed so that students can meet and mingle with Young CPAs and work on their skills. Any ASCPA members are welcome to sit in on the Facing the Future session, it will be a fun event. These students are really pumped about the profession and eager to meet all of you. Auburn Montgomery is offering 10 students a $250 scholarship to attend as many parts of ACC as possible. They challenge other schools to do the same.
We are a recognized leader in assisting clients with business and nonprofit tax issues in Alabama for more than 40 years.
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What if I can’t find my unique voting information once I’m Direct Link via e-mail ready to vote? If you have a valid and current email address registered with the AICPA If you have a validemail and current email address registered with the AICPA as of March 22, you will receive your ballot information through asthe of March 22, you will receive your ballot through email If you doinformation have a of valid and the is week of April 18 from third vote administrator under An independent third party coordinating thethe vote onparty behalf of AICPA. As the An independent third party is coordinating the vote on behalf the AICPA. the week of Aprila 18 from the third current party vote administrator email address onunder file the name “AICPA Independent Tabulator”. This email will contain unique As a regular of the AICPA, you areTabulator”. entitled to proposal. a regular member of the AICPA, you are entitled to votemember on the name proposal. 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BABC SAlT CORNER PREPARING yOUR ClIENTS FOR THE NEW
Since emerging from tax season, you’ve probably heard or read a good bit about the IRS’s new authority to audit and assess Subchapter K entities, i.e., partnerships and multi-member LLCs, as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the “Budget Act”). The new rules apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. That may sound far off, but your partnership clients should use this time to prepare for the changes by amending their partnership/ operating agreements, selecting a new Partnership Representative (“PR”), and making decisions that will affect internal operations for years to come. The IRS has stated that it will be ramping up its partnership audit efforts and training its auditors on these new rules. In fact, we’re already hearing of increased audit activity. GEE, THIS MAY BE BECAUSE Congress projects these new procedures will generate more than $9.3 billion in new revenue over a 10-year period! Many states will likely jump on board once we receive further guidance on how these new rules will work. Relatively few partnerships are audited by the IRS, primarily because the agency can’t assess partnerships directly, but instead must pursue each partner for their share of any assessment, often through multiple tiers. The default rule under the Budget Act requires the IRS to assess the partnership if filing errors are detected during an audit, and the PR must then quickly decide whether the partnership itself (the current partners,
Initially, the managing partner or member (we think) makes the decision whether the partnership can and will opt-out of the new rules. The first step in that analysis is determining whether opting-out is even available. To be eligible, the partnership must have 100 or fewer partners, and all partners
indirectly) or those who were partners during the audit period, should pay the assessment. First and foremost, a PR should be designated well before the end of 2017. The PR will be the sole contact person with the IRS auditor and is authorized to make all
By Bruce P. Ely William T. Thistle, II Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Birmingham, Alabama must be either individuals, S corporations, C corporations, or estates of deceased partners. If there is an S corporation partner, then you must count each of its shareholders for this purpose. And if even one of the partners is another partnership/LLC, or a disregarded single-member LLC (unless future guidance says otherwise), or a trust, the partnership is automatically
decisions regarding how to handle the audit, including whether to appeal the assessment or settle, and whether the partnership will “push out” the assessment to the former partners or pay the assessment itself. Unlike the role of the Tax Matters Partner (TMP), the partnership and all its partners will be bound by the actions taken by the PR in connection with the audit.
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thrown into the new regime. No opt-out will be available. We encourage you to warn your partnership clients (in writing) that their current TMP is automatically terminated for tax years after 2017, and if a new PR hasn’t been designated, the IRS has the authority to designate one. So urge your clients to start thinking about (1) who the new PR should be, (2) what level of indemnification will be afforded to them against any costs or liabilities that may be incurred in acting in that role, and (3) the level of accountability they will have to the partnership and its partners. While the PR need not be a partner, we wouldn’t normally recommend that you offer to serve as your clients’ PR. Lastly, you should inform those clients contemplating a new business venture that will be classified as a partnership for tax purposes (including a joint venture) or if they need to amend an existing operating agreement anyway, these changes should be incorporated into the new or revised agreement immediately – even though detailed guidance from the IRS isn’t expected until later this year. If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact one of us (bely@babc.com or wthistle@babc.com) or Stuart Frentz (sfrentz@babc.com). © Bruce P. Ely/ William T. Thistle, II/ Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP April 2016.
14
MEET THE CANDIDATES OFFICERS Chair
One Year Term:
Jamey CaRRoll
Keina HoUSeR
Three Year Term:
miCHael BRanD
montgomery
athens
mDa Professional Group
Jackson thornton
Carroll is a partner at MDA Professional Group in Huntsville. He works primarily in audit with clients in manufacturing, construction, emergency services, government contracting and employee benefits sectors. Carroll is a past member of the Young CPA Board and served as its president. He’s been an active member of the Huntsville ASCPA Chapter performing in all officer roles at least once.
Manager in Jackson Thornton’s Montgomery office. She has more than 20 years of accounting experience and specializes in exempt organization taxation and payroll taxation. Graduate of ASCPA Leadership Academy Class II.
Accounting/auditing and quality control partner. Brand teaches CPE seminars for ASCPA and AICPA, and has won multiple outstanding speaker awards from both organizations.
Chair-elect
Managing shareholder of firm with offices in Fairhope, Brewton and Foley.
Huntsville
Johnson, Feigley, newton & Brand
BRian GRainGeR
Birmingham
Horton, Lee, Burnett, Peacock, Cleveland & Grainger Manager working primarily in audit in the areas of manufacturing, construction, and governmental. He was a past board member of the Birmingham Chapter of the Young CPAs and currently sits on the board for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama.
DenniS SHeRRin
Fairhope
Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore
liSa mCKinney
tuscaloosa
University of alabama Lecturer at the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, following eight years in public accounting. Teaches tax accounting and financial accounting. Former campus advisor for Accounting Career Awareness Program, summer residential high school program, in partnership with the National Association of Black Accountants.
maRC Hamilton andalusia
CDG engineers and associates, inc. CFO for civil engineering firm specializing in a variety of geotechnical, wastewater and environmental consulting. He is a past president of the Tuscaloosa ASCPA Chapter. Hamilton practiced in public accounting for 10 years with Deloitte in Nashville and with KPMG in Atlanta and Birmingham.
Past chair
tim SmitH
mobile
Managing partner at Smith Dukes. He works in tax for clients in construction contracting, professional services and non-profits. Former president of the Young CPA Board.
Two Year Term:
maCaRoy UnDeRwooD
Birmingham
General manager at Birmingham water works Board
lowell BRoom
Birmingham
Samford University Professor of accounting and former department chair
Responsible for managing day to day operations of the largest water system in Alabama with revenues over $160,000,000.
lynne Bozeman
montgomery
Richard, Harris, ingram, Bozeman Partner active in all phases of the firm’s practice. Specializations include taxation of timber and extractive materials and agriculture, audits of small governments, schools and school boards and not-for-profits.
15
CHeRion SiBley
Birmingham
Barfield Murphy Shank & Smith Senior manager specializing in tax services and financial planning with an emphasis in planning, compliance and administration for estates and trusts.
laine SPRUiell
albertville
Progress Rail Services Corporation International controller for whollyowned subsidiary of Caterpillar. They are a supplier of railroad and transit system products and have 157 facilities spread across North America, Europe and Brazil. Spruiell has been with the company 26 years, through multiple changes of ownership.
ClIENT ACCEPTANCE: WHEN TO
DIG DEEPER
This is an exciting time for Joe’s accounting firm. Joe started off twenty-five years ago as a sole practitioner preparing personal tax returns. Today, he is the managing partner of his own tax advisory firm employing ten CPAs and a large support staff. A CPA friend of his is about to retire who specializes in executor/trustee work, investment advice, and concierge services for wealthy families in these areas. Joe plans to take on his friend’s clients and eventually offer these services to his existing clients. While these areas involve more than the tax services historically provided by his firm, Joe feels that if his staff studies the applicable standards pertaining to these services and obtains practical experience by working with his friend before he retires, his team will be up to the challenge. Is that enough? Even the most extensive technical preparation cannot fully prepare a CPA to successfully manage the risks associated with new clientele. It is imperative that a CPA not only vet prospects through standardized firm acceptance procedures but also customize that evaluation to the specific engagement. Only by taking such steps, can a CPA truly address all of the inherent risks when taking on new clients.
assessing new clients and checklists to further ensure completion of client acceptance decision-making process. These checklists confirm such things as: Meeting in person with the prospect Reviewing their credit history and prior tax returns Contacting the predecessor CPA The facts and circumstances regarding how the prospect was referred to the firm Whether the prospect is consistent with the firm’s business plan and risk appetite, The prospect does not pose a threat to the firm’s independence (if applicable) or create an actual or potential conflict-of-interest An overview of their civil, criminal, bankruptcy litigation history and regulatory/licensing actions While standardized procedures and checklists are important, new client evaluation should be tailored to the needs of
overall client acceptance considerations A key component of client acceptance is due diligence on the potential client prior to accepting the engagement. Many CPA firms establish specific procedures for
16
the particular prospect. In other words, a CPA firm needs to understand the new client within the context of the work to be performed and then, in addition to following standardized client review procedures and checklists, assess the potential risks applicable to the specific engagement. When considering expanding its practice, a CPA firm should implement a focused approach towards Continuing Professional Education (CPE), requiring staff to take CPE classes that address client acceptance quality control procedures and specific issues relevant to a prospective client base rather than random classes simply to satisfy individual licensing requirements. This will help ensure that all personnel fully understand the importance of identifying potential risks and the need to escalate same to management for additional due diligence.
Additional procedures for fiduciary services In our scenario, before Joe agrees to serve as a trustee or executor, he needs to go beyond knowing the technical aspects of estate administration and understand the risks associated with this particular client base, such as the needs of all parties impacted by the administration of the assets. As a trustee or executor, Joe will have a fiduciary duty of care that extends beyond his direct client, the grantor. Remember, the beneficiaries did not engage Joe so they have no loyalty to him or his firm. As such, their interests may not align with the interests of Joe’s client – the trust or estate. While interviewing beneficiaries is not always possible or practical, if Joe can understand the peripheral factors that may impact this type of engagement, he will be in a much better position to determine whether this is a client he wants to accept or an area of practice he feels comfortable getting into long term.
ExPECT IN THE NEW YEAR
Additional procedures for investment advisory services
Additional procedures for “concierge” services
family members before taking on such an engagement. He will also have to assess client continuance annually; as the risks associated with concierge services can evolve over time due to changes in the services, family dynamics, or financial status of individual family members.
The ability of individual clients Similarly, Joe’s expansion into to control their emotions and “concierge services” creates certain rationally make financial decisions risks peculiar to this type of varies widely. When determining clientele. Concierge services vary whether to provide investment widely but often include insurance advice to a particular client, Joe advice; bill payment; hiring and needs to understand current managing staff, medical care market conditions and interview providers and contractors; real prospective clients with an eye estate and wealth management; towards ascertaining their risk and money transfers. Due to the tolerance, ability to objectively financial wealth of such clients, the follow advice, and how they are number of family members involved, likely to react to market changes that and the variety of services offered, affect their investments. Likewise, claims involving concierge services when assessing the prior litigation typically involve substantial damages, history of a new investment client, and litigation tends to be protracted Joe should focus on claims alleging and expensive. Like beneficiaries, financial losses so he can assess each family member may have whether a prospect tends to accept different goals and objectives based responsibility for their financial upon their lifestyles and financial decisions or whether they tend to objectives. Joe must carefully blame others for negative results. consider potential disputes among
Simply put, there is more to new client acceptance then just becoming well-versed on technical standards and skills. In our scenario, unless Joe establishes sound firm policies for evaluating new clients, a focused CPE study plan, and the flexibility to tailor those procedures to particular prospects, his expected lucrative business expansion may result in a morass of disgruntled clients, liability claims, and increased insurance costs. Please consult with your respective professional advisors (attorneys, Aon
Insurance Services representative and your professional liability carrier), who can provide related insurance and risk management advice. Stan Sterna is Vice President for Aon Insurance Services, the national administrator of the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program since 1974, specializing in accountants professional liability for nearly 20 years. For more information, please contact Aon at 1.800.221.3023 or visit the website at cpai.com. This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide individualized business, insurance or legal advice, You should discuss your individual circumstances thoroughly with your legal and other advisors before taking any action with regard to the subject matter of this article. Only the relevant insurance policy provides actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions, and exclusions for an insured.
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CYBER ATTACK?
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*CPA NetProtect® is offered for an additional fee as part of the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program. Aon Insurance Services is the brand name for the brokerage and program administration operations of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (TX 13695), (AR 100106022); in CA & MN, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency, Inc. (CA 0795465); in OK, AIS Affinity Insurance Services, Inc.; in CA, Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (CA 0G94493), Aon Direct Insurance Administrators and Berkely Insurance Agency; and in NY, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency. One or more of the CNA companies provide the products and/or services described. The information is intended to present a general overview for illustrative purposes only. It is not intended to constitute a binding contract. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions and exclusions for an insured. All products and services may not be available in all states and may be subject to change without notice. “CNA” is a service mark registered by CNA Financial Corporation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Certain CNA Financial Corporation subsidiaries use the “CNA” service mark in connection with insurance underwriting and claims activities. Copyright © 2016 CNA. All rights reserved. E-11347-516 AL
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From the StyluS to being StyliSh thoughtS on the Second (or third) oldeSt ProFeSSion
dr. Jan heier, cPA, Professor emeritus Auburn University Montgomery School of Accountancy
1905 Journal of Accountancy is published for the first time
1906 AAPA creates a committee for study and creates ethics standards
1908 The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
1915
The first CPA bill is introduced but fails in the Alabama legislature.
1913
1894
The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permitting a federal income tax is ratified
The AAPA passes its first standard to include a balance sheet in a financial statement
1905 1887 American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA) is formed and issues certificates based on experience
1890
1915
Christine Ross becomes the first female CPA
The Beta Alpha Psi accounting honor society is formed.
1896 New York passes the first CPA law
1895
18
1900
1905
S
ince the invention of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians nearly 5,000 years ago, scribes have made their impact on the development of society by making sense out of business transactions. This, by definition, makes accounting probably the second oldest profession. These transactions ranged from the first “tax accountants” shown on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs accounting for the payment of tribute to the pharaoh by his vassals, to clay tablets and papyrus prepared with a stylus and ink that recorded such mundane activities as the yield of the annual harvest and distribution of food. By the time of Greco-Roman era, accounting had developed to a point where it possessed its own language with a professional scribe called a rationales that roughly translated to “the keeper of the official book”. These professionals completed their work using a tally system that would transform into a proto-double entry method using the adversaria (or rough records journal) to make a final accounting in the codex rationurn (the book or accounts or ledger). The term adversaria came about because people often used these personal records to defend themselves from frivolous lawsuits in the very litigious Roman society. It appears two millennia later that little has changed except for the names of lawyers. Unfortunately, the records were completed using Roman numerals that are very hard to manipulate. Imagine trying to add Ix + IL.* Enter an amazing little machine that is still in use today, the abacus. The relatively simple accounting of the Romans spread through most of the
old Roman Empire and by the medieval period in the British Isles during the medieval period scribes called clarkes were managing the great estates of the period. Old English word clarke would eventually morph into the modern term clerk. So if you have the last name of Clark (or Clarke), chances are someone in your family tree was an accountant. Talk about dead wood! Although these records were useful for managing the estates, they were still missing accounting’s heart and soul – the double entry ledger. This fabulous invention would not be practical, however, and could not come about until, finally, some enterprising person in Arabia, or India or wherever, invented our modern numerical system, (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), that also included an amazing and very useful numeral called ZERO. Zero allowed for adding and subtracting (you know – from 2nd grade - add the one, carry the zero) without the need of an abacus. More importantly, it allowed accountants to increase and decrease individual accounts and fix upon an end number, called a profit or loss, because once you have zero you can also have positive and negative. Double entry accounting had arrived. The first overall discussion of this masterful invention came in 1494 with the publication of the of the first book on accounting titled De Computis et Scripturis (Of Reckonings and Writings)* by Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli. The book taught the “Venetian” method of double entry based on the fundamentals of algebra. So important was this book to commerce at this time that it became one of the first technical books published using the Gutenberg
1919 1919 George Rosson of Mobile becomes Alabama’s first Certified Public Accountant
At first, the accounting profession was seen through the lens of Charles Dickens’s 1843 portrayal of Bob Crachit, Scrooge’s back office counting house bookkeeper in A Christmas Carol at a high desk with green eyeshades and shirt garters. The actual public accounting profession, depending on whom you ask, began in 1854 with the formation of the Glasgow (Scotland) Institute of Accountants and Actuaries. That institute created the core of a new English profession called the Chartered Accountant or CA. It evolved because of a need for audits of British stock companies, started
1923
1921
University of Alabama institutes its undergraduate business degrees including accounting
John Cromwell is the first African-American CPA
ASCPA Committee on Legislation begins a long history of political action to combat attempts to repeal CPA laws, or to change them to the detriment of the profession.
1910
1915
19
under the auspices of several British “Companies” Acts that that regulated accounting and reporting. Eventually, these accountants would come to America in the guise of well-known companies such as Price Waterhouse or Peat Marwick Mitchell. The United States soon would have its own fledgling accounting profession with the designation of certified public accountant, CPA, when New York passed the first law in 1895. Frank Broaker was issued New York certificate #1. It would be another twenty-five years before the Alabama Legislature would follow suit. George Rosson of Mobile passed the first Alabama exam and would hold Alabama certificate #1. In the succeeding century, the CPA profession has become the trusted business partners to most all economic endeavors providing accounting, tax, audit and business consulting services. A profession that started with sharpened styluses recording harvests, in a mere four thousand years, has become, dare we say it, stylish. Over the next several years, the ASCPA will publish a series of articles in advance of its centennial in 2019 and that of the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy. These articles will be on the history and development of the profession in Alabama. As part of this effort, a side-by-side timeline of the development of the accounting profession in the United States and Alabama is presented below. * If you are curious, it is 9 + 49 = 58 or LVIII *Note: This was part of a much larger book entitled Summa de arithmetica, geometria. Proportioni et proportionalita or, simply, Everything about Mathematics
1925
1922
The first board publication is The Director, discountinued in 1924.
1919
The Alabama Legislature passes the state’s first CPA law. It creates the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy and its requisite regulations.
1919
Pacioli’s principles outline in 1494 allowed for a flexibility in the double entry system of accounting that combined utilitarian expediency and “rock-solid” orthodoxy (assets = liabilities + owner’s equity). This allowed businesses to initiate, to expand, and to flourish in a neverending stream of accounting discussed by the Periodic Principle still unchanged in most intermediate accounting classes. This allowed changes in equity capital that permitted the expansion of international trade using the “shipvoyage” as a unit of business to be closely monitored. Some say that this helped pave the way for the Age of Discovery and was the basis for modern capitalism. Over the next three hundred years, double entry would become the gold standard for business accounting and would spawn a new, and well-respected professional on par with physicians and lawyers.
1922
Ten charter members form the Alabama Society of CPAs
1919
press, invented forty years prior. Within a short period, it the book was translated and published into most of the major languages of Europe.
Lehman vs. Alabama State Board of Accountancy affirms the right of the board to discipline its member and, if necessary, revoke CPA certificates.
The ASCPA incorporates and approves a formal set of by-laws
1927 The first local Society chapters are organized
The state board issues education and experience regulations, including two years working as a CPA or a degree from a recognized “educational institution”.
1927 Stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, and New Deal era
1929 Ultramares case defines accountants’ liability in cases of negligence.
1920
1925
The Changing World oF Peer revieWMichael Brand, CPA, CgMA Since the beginning of my career in public accounting back in 1990, peer review has been a practice area that always had my attention. At that time, peer review had only been mandatory for AICPA members for about 2 years. However, peer review has a long history with CPAs since the 1970s. Fast forward and peer review continues to focus on the profession’s efforts to improve performance of accounting and auditing engagements and to maintain the CPA’s reputation for quality and integrity in these engagements. In a profession where change seems to be the name of the game, the AICPA Peer Review Board has approved changes to its standards that will significantly affect the practice of CPA’s who provide and receive peer reviews. My path to peer review is probably similar to many peer reviewers today. Because of my heavy involvement in our own firm peer review, the team captain performing our firm review encouraged me to take the initial training. I attended the 2-day team captain training, taught by my friend and seasoned peer reviewer Kerry Weatherford, filled out my resume’ on the AICPA website, and was “ready� to do some peer reviews. My first couple of reviews were especially important learning experiences for me. They also both happened to be “fail� reports. The learning for me took place through numerous discussions with experienced members of the ASCPA’s peer review committee and technical reviewers who helped me determine the appropriate conclusions and recommendations to help educate and remediate the firm. While many see peer review as a punitive process, the intent from the beginning has been to educate and remediate firms.
Shortly after becoming qualified to perform peer reviews, I was encouraged to get involved in the ASCPA’s Peer Review Committee. The first couple of years of service on the committee, the other members were curious as to whether I could speak at all. I was doing my best just to learn from the experienced reviewers on the committee. Although I still have a great deal to learn, I speak up more frequently and I think many of the committee members now wish I’d just be quiet! So where does peer review go now? The last significant changes in peer review occurred in 2009. Think about what has happened to most professional standards since that time. We now have clarified audit standards, clarified quality control standards, clarified attestation standards, clarified preparation, compilation, and review standards and the list goes on from there. Specialized industry engagements, such as the Department of Labor (DOL) engagements and
those engagements regulated by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), have come under increased scrutiny. This scrutiny has affected both peer reviewers and peer reviewed firms. Changes to professional standards coupled with the results of the DOL’s most recent study have made changes to the peer review standards necessary. As part of the AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality (EAQ) initiative, the Peer Review Board has implemented numerous changes to the standards to raise the effectiveness of both firms and reviewers. One of the first significant changes focuses on enhanced peer reviewer training requirements. One of the areas of emphasis for peer review training will focus on “high quality� training requirements for the must select industries. These changes are effective for reviews commencing on or after May 1, 2016. Changes focusing on resolving disagreements between the CPA firm and the reviewer, increasing qualifica-
ĆŤ
On a personal level, the education I have received from performing peer reviews and through our own firm peer review has been invaluable to me and to my firm. I learned early in the process that you better have a good knowledge of what the professional standards require and how to apply those standards. My peer review clients often look to me as a resource for industry-specific consultation and training and also as a source of efficiencies when it comes to performing engagements. Numerous times my clients have also provided me with effectiveness and efficiency recommendations that I am able to implement in my own firm. In addition to learning from my peer review clients, I have learned from so many other reviewers.
20
tions required to serve as a peer reviewer, and strengthening the consistency of peer review performance criteria to help facilitate prompt remediation or removal of deficient reviewers became effective for reviews that commenced on or after December 31, 2015. Finally, earlier this year, the Peer Review Board issued a discussion paper to state CPA society staff leaders outlining its consideration of potential longterm changes to the peer review administration process. These potential changes in the administration of peer review may impact state society operations and resources significantly. The Peer Review Board feels the proposed changes are a natural progression, along with the other significant changes discussed earlier, to improve audit quality. The proposed changes to administration are on the agenda for discussion during the annual Peer Review Conference that will be in San Diego August 9-10. I would encourage all peer reviewers to try to make it there. The conference provides an excellent venue for peer review education and networking. I’ve been a proponent of the AICPA Peer Review Program for many years and plan to continue to be one. I would much rather be “self-regulated” than to be regulated by someone outside of my profession. In order to protect the public interest, firms and reviewers must devote substantial effort and resources to improve the performance of engagements. I think the Peer Review Board is devoting such time and effort to update their standards to improve the peer review process. Are they the right changes? Only time will tell. But I do believe the time is now to make significant changes to help ensure we remain a self-regulated profession. Michael Brand has been a partner in the firm of Johnson, Feigley, Newton & Brand since 2005. He was graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1989 and has practiced public accounting since then. He has been involved in various committees at both the state and national levels. He is the current chair of the AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee and served on the ASCPA’s Peer Review Committee for X years, as chair for X years. He was formerly on the Peer Review Board, Joint Trial Board, and Quality Control Standards Task Force of the AICPA. He also teaches continuing education classes across the country for state societies and individual firms and has been awarded the AICPA’s Outstanding Discussion Leader multiple times along with the ASCPA’s Thomas A. Ratcliffe Outstanding Discussion Leader Award. •
ASCPA 2016 The phones have been quiet for the last couple of months, but all that changed after April 18. The ASCPA team is ready to assist you in planning and attending high-quality, continuing professional education events from now through September 30. With a CPA as our Education Director, CPE has been designed with what you really need to stay current. We have 8 and 4 hour live sessions, a library of webcasts courtesy of our business partners and specialized conferences. We also expanded and refreshed ASCPA self-study selections and will continue to schedule occasional one-off events to address hot topics. We invite you to attend the Accounting Connections Conference, formerly the annual meeting, June 9-10. All the details are available on the ASCPA website. Always a member favorite, this year’s conference offers more sessions, a lunch that is designed to allow greater conversation with colleagues, better space for exhibitors, the opportunity to get as many as twelve hours of education and the Celebration of Success awards program. View the video on the website for more information As I sat down to write this, the Alabama Legislature is still meeting. During this legislative session we had several issues that we faced. First, ASCPA sponsored a bill that will conform Alabama tax return due dates to the new federal due dates for partnerships and corporations. His bill is set up to pass. Defensively, there were a couple of major bills where we worked collaboratively with the legislation sponsor to voice concerns. Ban-the-Box and Registration of Tax Preparers are two examples of legislation where ASCPA worked to protect Alabama CPAs. Please take a few minutes to review members who have been nominated to lead the Alabama Society on page x. These colleagues are committed to working proactively on the board of directors and are your voice. Board members will officially be voted on at the June 9th Accounting Connections Conference. We enjoy bringing you profiles of members and the series continues this issue with Oakworth Capital’s Roger Spain on page 8. Crow Shields Bailey managing partner Kenny Crow is the author of an article on mergers on page 26 (you’ll like his description of “dating” a firm). And we’ll begin a series of articles from Dr. Jan Heier. He’s writing an entertaining history of the ASCPA as we move closer to the 100th anniversary. We’re excited about welcoming Class VI of Leadership Academy, and sad to let go of Class V, which will graduate 29 young professionals on May 12. We appreciate the organizations who continue to send us their very talented staff. The curriculum for Class VI has gotten a spring cleaning. Read facilitator Joe Fehrmann’s assessment on page 25. Since this is the membership edition of Connections magazine, I have to say a big thank you to all of you. Thank you for joining the ASCPA, for remaining a member and for being an active part of the Society. We exist to serve you, to make Alabama a better place in which you do business. Do not hesitate to pick up the phone or send me an email when you see that we can do a better job of serving you.
Jeannine
Jeannine P. Birmingham, CPA, CAE, CGMA President and CEO 21
REMEMBERING FRAnK GRAY
VICKIE HAll HowARd
ASCPA Life Member Frank Gray died on February 15 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years. He was graduated from the University of Alabama’s School of Accountancy in 1960 and went to work for Ernst & Ernst in Atlanta as a CPA. He returned to Tuscaloosa and began his own practice, which lasted for more than 40 years. He was involved in multiple businesses over the years and as a Northport County Councilman 1984-1988.
Vickie Hall Howard was 49 when she died in March at UAB Hospital. She grew up in Tuscaloosa and was graduated from Tuscaloosa County High. Howard attended the University of Alabama, receiving a finance undergraduate degree and masters of accountancy. She was passionate about her work as a CPA for NHS Management, which provides management and support services for nursing homes. She taught Sunday school for many years at First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa. She loved spending time watching her son play baseball and her daughter cheer. Ms. Howard had been a member of the ASCPA since 1997.
December 11, 1937-February 15, 2016 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama Certificate #2157R
February 21, 1967-March 12, 2016 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama Certificate #7726
Most dear to Gray’s heart was his service to others. He was a long time member of First Baptist Church where he was a life deacon, sang in the choir and taught Sunday school. He was known for his thousands of visits to nursing homes. More than the number of visits he made, however, were the special times of sharing and selfless giving for which he felt blessed and called by God to perform.
KEITH A. wInKlER
July 24, 1925-February 28, 2016 | Mobile, Alabama Certificate #320
He and his prayer partner, Howard Jackson, were called upon many times in their 40 years of service together to assist a family or individuals through a difficult time. For this and other duties, he was named Tuscaloosa Baptist Association’s Man of the Year in 1995. He was interviewed for Alabama CPA magazine just as he was retiring from his accounting practice, but planned to stay involved in his many real estate projects. Those projects included working with former University of Alabama football players Gene Washington, Siran Stacy and Joe Namath.
Mr. Winkler was a native of and lifelong resident of Mobile. He died peacefully on February 28. He was 90. He served his country honorably in the US Army as a staff sergeant during World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. He was a graduate of Murphy High School and the University of Alabama. He retired from his own firm in 2015. Winkler joined the ASCPA in 1955 and remained a member for 61 years.
As he was interviewed, Gray was in the middle of cleanup and restoration after the devastating April 27, 2011 tornadoes in Tuscaloosa. “I go to the jobsite every Friday and distribute checks to all the sub-contractors; I enjoy being on site to watch as this area begins to rebuild. It’s going to be a long process, too. While some kinds of recovery take muscle at the very beginning stages, there will be plenty of places for CPA volunteers as time goes by.”
Mr. Winkler was a member of the Jaycees, a volunteer with the Mobile Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Order of the Arrow and the Silver Beaver awards for his service. He was a master gardener and volunteered at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. He was involved in many charitable endeavors, including Wilmer Hall, Episcopal Cursillo Ministry, Christian Businessmen’s Connection, a prison ministry and as an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, five children, 12 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
ColumBuS (C.E.) moRRISon, JR.
dEBBIE lYnn KoRnEGAY
C.E. Morrison was born in New Market and raised in Madison County. He attended Rison High School where he participated in many sports and represented the school at Boys State. After graduating, he joined the Air Force in 1949 and served for six years. While home on leave he married the love of his life, Erlene Lusk, and they would remain together for 61 years until her death.
Ms. Kornegay was a friend of the Alabama Society, a former Miss Wheelchair Alabama and a graduate of the University of Alabama with both her undergraduate and MAcc degrees. She was the subject of a “CPA Standout” article in the October 2007 issue of the Alabama CPA magazine and an update in May 2010 following the grand opening of her firm, Debbie L. Kornegay, CPA. Her interview was frank, funny and full of advice on how to become a CPA.
August 18, 1931-March 6, 2016 | Huntsville, Alabama Certificate #471
April 4, 1969-February 23, 2016 | Brent, Alabama Certificate #10224
Following his discharge from the military, he moved his young family to Tuscaloosa, enrolling in the University of Alabama School of Business. He worked exceptionally hard supporting his family while pursuing an accounting degree. They moved first to Birmingham, then back home to Huntsville where Morrison was a practicing CPA for 47 years. He was a member of the ASCPA for 49 years.
The muscular dystrophy that challenged every aspect of her daily life was rarely referred to. It was simply a fact of life to her. She taught at Judson College following her graduation from UA, then joined David Turnipseed and Company, a small accounting firm in Tuscaloosa, after passing the CPA exam. She learned from that experience and started her own firm three years later. “I love knowing that I have the opportunity to build something, to have a successful career, to have ownership in something…something that will be greatly influenced by the decisions that I myself make.”
He was active in numerous civic and charitable organizations and was honored to accept the charter for the Alabama Society of CPAs’ Huntsville Chapter in 1962, serving as president. Morrison was hard working and dedicated in everything he did. He had a passion and love for Alabama football, but it was nothing compared to his great love for his family. He will be missed by friends and family but was ready to dance once again with his loving wife. 22
REMEMBERING PAmAlA SnEll wAldEn
lIndA FRAnKS ColE
Ms. Walden was born in Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from Vestavia Hills High School and from UAB summa cum laude. She was a CPA in both corporate and public accounting for more than 20 years and a senior sales director for Thirty-one Gifts. She was a breast cancer survivor and fought a valiant battle. Ms. Walden was a loving and caring wife, mother and a friend to all she knew. Memorials can be directed to any breast cancer charity.
Cole was a partner in Lawler & Cole CPAs and was tragically shot and killed in her office, allegedly by a former client. Ms. Cole was born September 24, 1954 in Marion County to Faye McCombs Parker and the late David Leamon Franks. She was a graduate of Athens State with a degree in accounting. She enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, traveling to the beach and reading daily devotions. Ms. Cole loved life and held her family near and dear to her heart.
August 3, 1960-February 13, 2016 | Birmingham, Alabama | Certificate #6160
September 24, 1954-February 10, 2016 Hamilton, Alabama | Certificate #6029
Steve Emerson, a CPA in Helena, was a friend. “I was so stunned when I heard about Linda’s passing. She was such a sweet lady who was always full of smiles and a giving heart. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, clients, colleagues and the community in and around Hamilton, Alabama.”
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23
MEMBER NEWS
was promoted to staff II accountant and is an alumna of the University of Alabama. Her experience includes tax preparation, litigation support and she specializes in audit services. Thigpen is now a senior accountant at the firm, having served an internship with the firm while completing both her undergraduate and MAcc degrees at the University of Alabama. She is also a member of Class V of the ASCPA Leadership Academy and a member of the Birmingham Young CPA Chapter Board of Directors. VanArsdale was promoted to staff II accountant. He, too was an intern at hb&k, leading to his being hired by the firm. He is a graduate of the University of South Alabama.
MOVING UP AND MAKING CHANGES
WARREN AVERETT LLC, is pleased to announce that audit supervisor ADAM HiMeL, has earned his Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation. The CISA designation is a globally recognized certification for Information Systems audit, control and security professionals. A CISA certification showcases Himel’s audit experience, skills and knowledge, and demonstrates his capability to assess vulnerabilities, report on compliance and institute controls within the enterprise. ____________________ BEASON & NALLEY announced both the retirement of DonALD W. nALLeY, Jr. as the firm’s president and CEO and the election of CeCeLiA C. HiLL to those posts effective February 22, 2016. She was previously the firm’s CFO. Nalley has been part of the firm since 1984 and was instrumental in positioning growth to remain competitive. He will transition into a second career in industry. Hill joined the firm in 1990, became an owner in 2006, a director in 2010 and CFO in 2014. She specializes in business taxation working with government contractors, real estate decelopers, medial and professional groups, manufacturers and not-for-profits.
CONGRATUlATIONS
Plan Audit Quality Center (EBAQC). ____________________ KiM fieLDBinDer, CFO at SourceMed and SCoTT STeWArT, assurance partner at RSM, were named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40. ____________________ AMY B. MurPHY of Auburn University has been elected a director of AuburnBank and its parent company, Auburn National Bancorporation. Murphy currently serves in the School of Accountancy as director of graduate and online programs. She holds both undergraduate and MAcc degrees from Auburn. Her extensive experience in banking, auditing and teaching were cited as valuable qualities for the board.
COMMUNITy NEWS LeeAnn MAY, MATT neTTLeS and erAnn THoMPSon were promoted in audit and assurance services at Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore, while KATe THigPen and CHriS VAnArSDALe were promoted in tax services. May was promoted to manager and has been with the firm since her graduation from Troy University. She assists with the firm’s Leadership Academy and is financial advisor for the University of South Alabama Chi Omega chapter. Nettles is now a senior accountant currently completing Class V of the ASCPA Leadership Academy. He works with nonprofit, governmental, contractor and employee benefit plan clients. He’s a graduate of the University of West Florida. Thompson
WILKINS MILLER, LLC announced that partner MiCHAeL KinTz has been appointed as a member of the City of Mobile Citizen’s Budget and Finance Advisory Committee. The committee is tasked with providing a public forum to review and analyze existing city financial management and reporting, finance policies and procedures, and ideas and strategies that could be implemented to improve the city’s financial management and reporting. Kintz graduated from Spring Hill College. He has experience in many facets of public accounting, but principally in auditing and accounting. He is a member of the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) and Employee Benefit 24
Life DATA LABS, inC. HonoreD for exPorT SuCCeSS Eight Alabama companies were honored in early March with the Governor’s Trade Excellence Award for their successful exporting strategies. For Cherokee’s Life Data Labs, Inc. exporting has been part of its business for more than 30 years. About one-third of the company’s sales are international. The familyowned, 15-employee operation manufactures animal nutrition and health care products, including its flagship Farrier’s Formula, a hoof supplement that’s a household name in the equine world. “Internationally, we sell to wholesale suppliers that sell to tack and feed shops, farriers and veterinarians,” said DArrYL g. SPenCer Life Data Labs’ chief financial
officer. “The ultimate consumers of our products are primarily horse and dog owners. We are extremely proud to receive this award. It is difficult for a small family-owned company to navigate all of the requirements to export products around the world.” ______________________ WArren AVereTT enCourAgeS innoVATion THrougH “THinK TAnK” CoMPeTiTion
Think Tank is a take-off of the popular NBC television series, Shark Tank. Warren Averett employees were given the opportunity to develop unique and impactful ideas. Their ideas were vetted, and the best ideas were presented to the “sharks.” Winners were chosen and announced on January 26. Senior Manager PAuL PerrY of Birmingham earned the Most Innovative award and a $5,000 prize. His idea, Data Analysis Group Outsource, has an implementation plan in place to market the savings and efficiencies experienced from the creation of the firm’s Data Analysis Group to other businesses and organizations. The Data Analysis Group reviews a company’s data to understand habits, patterns or trends of that organization in order to make better business decisions. Using that data to change the future of the business and industry is critical, and is becoming a “must have” in the current business environment.
Leadership academy curricuLum updated for today’s Leaders The Alabama Society of CPAs and The Rainmaker Companies recognize the need for an in-depth and progressive leadership development training program for Alabama’s emerging CPA professionals. Training Magazine conducted a survey in 2015 that showed staggering results in the need for leadership development programs in the workplace. 71% percent of organizations
content. It was vital that the program built a strong framework between leadership development and the business needs of the firm, while also developing high-quality leaders at all levels. “We regularly review all our programs to ensure they reflect the current needs in the accounting profession,” said Angie Grissom, president of The Rainmaker Companies. “We did our research for ASCPA’s Leadership Academy, which included interviews with managing partners, a survey of past participants, and an analysis of research of top accounting industry concerns and issues.” The review confirmed that Leadership Academy content was on target, but that there was an opportunity to introduce two broad areas of particular importance: retaining qualified staff and managing work that is profitable and sustainable for team members as well. Leadership Academy content is being adjusted to place additional emphasis on these two areas. The highly successful Leadership Academy program continues to provide four interactive, skill-based workshops spaced over one year with webinars, project assignments, and individual coaching sessions between each workshop. This arrangement provides opportunities to practice the concepts learned in the classroom along with coaching from a firm champion as well as a Rainmaker Companies coach.
said their leaders were not ready to lead into the future, and 77% indicated that their leadership strategy was only somewhat, or not at all, aligned with their business strategy. Coaching, communication, resiliency, critical thinking, collaboration, and data analysis were identified as the six skills most essential for all leaders, but the survey showed a significant gap in mastery of them. The ASCPA has continued to provide a solution that allows its members to become the success leaders of today by partnering with The Rainmaker Companies, a leading provider of business development, leadership and communication training, consulting and alliances. At The Rainmaker Companies, we understand that any leadership development program should be designed to meet strategic and long-term business goals, not provide shortterm solutions. With new business trends and models on the horizon, Rainmaker and ASCPA re-examined Leadership Academy
Joe fehrmann senior trainer & consultant
Joe serves as a consultant and trainer with The Rainmaker Companies, helping accounting professionals develop the leadership, consulting, and marketing skills they need for personal and professional success. Joe places particular emphasis on increasing client skills in personal planning and self-management, a clear line of sight from strategic vision to daily tasks, clear and tactful communication, and a culture of involvement and accountability.
Joe Fehrmann
Senior Trainer & Consu
Joe brings more than twenty years of experience to his work with clients. His background includes management and Joe serves as a consultant and consulting roles in the construction, with The Rainmaker Companies, public utilities, manufacturing, accounting professionals devel professional services and defense leadership, consulting, and m industries, as well as teaching business skills they need for personal and professional success. Joe places “We’re dedicated to providing Leadership and human resources courses at the emphasis on increasing client skills in personal planni Academy participants with concrete skills self-management, university level. He is active in the Society a clear line of sight from strategic vision to da they can begin working on immediately that clear and tactfulfor Human Resource Management and communication, and a culture of involvem will address concerns - from being successful accountability. the American Society for Training and in their roles, managing their teams and being Development, and is certified as a Senior effective overall in the growth engine at their Joe brings more than twenty years of experience to his w firm”, continued Grissom. Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). clients. His background includes management and consulting rol Additionally, he is co-author of several construction, public utilities, manufacturing, professional serv Since it was first offered in 2011, over 150 partraining guides published by American defense industries, as well as teaching business and human ticipants have attended the program in MontMedia and HRD Press. courses at the university level. He is active in the Society for Human gomery. ASCPA’s Leadership Academy has the
Management longest successful track record for growing and the American Society for Training and Developme as a SeniorJoe earned his BS in Education at Kansas Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Addition today’s leaders in accounting thatcertified The RainNewman College and his MS in training guides published by American M maker Companies has ever seen. co-author of several HRD Press. Educational Administration at Wichita Accepted into Class VI are the following particState University. In his spare time, Joe ipants. We congratulate them andJoe hope that his BS in Education at Kansas Newman College and h earned enjoys fishing and backpacking; he’s you will support their growth in the coming Educational Administration at Wichita State University. happiest when doing them both at the year. Curious about what they’re learning? spare time, Joe enjoys fishing and backpacking; he’s happiest wh same time. them both at the same time.
by Joe fehrmann,
Senior Trainer and Consultant
25
f o e g a i r r a M e Th wo Firms T Making
Your Merger Successful
A
s the number of CPA firm combinations continues to increase, Crow Shields Bailey, PC recently took the plunge ourselves and merged in a smaller local firm, McKean and Associates. We had many objectives in doing so, and while we are still in the early stages of our combined firm, we believe we are well on our way to achieving them. So, how do you know when it might be right for your firm to consider a merger?
J. Kenny Crow, Jr., CPA
Here are the factors considered in making our decision and the implementation process followed to make it happen.
26
Why Merge?
Our objectives in merging with another CPA firm were to: • Expand our talent base to deal with regulation overload • Increase the range of services offered our clients • Attract top-notch firm recruits • Give our employees more career-growth opportunities • Realize economies of scale by streamlining our firm’s operations • Prepare and provide for our partners’ succession
Our pre-merger firm had 34 employees with offices in Mobile, Daphne and Gulf Shores. The merged firm McKean and Associates, was about a fifth our size, with one office in Mobile and seven total staff members. While there is not necessarily a known ideal size for midsized CPA firms, we felt that our combined practices would enable us to meet goals and not just survive, but thrive for many years to come. THe ProCeSS Buy-in: The merger process requires a great deal of time and effort from your entire leadership team. Everyone must agree on the idea of merging and be willing to do their part to make the transition successful. Our team members committed to spend time and invest in necessary resources to give the merger a real chance to succeed. Compatibility: Once you make a team decision that a merger aligns with your goals, you need to start identifying potential firms to combine with. Finding an ideal merger firm is perhaps the most difficult step throughout this process—and the most critical. When Crow Shields Bailey began researching “target” firms, we considered many compatibility factors: Do they share our core values? Do our cultures align? Is there a complementary range of services between our practices?
as gross billings, types of services offered, organization charts, software utilizations, IT systems compatibility, peer review reports and insurance coverage. We traded firm financial information and looked at potential cost savings from items like reduced rent and software combinations. Our firm administrator interviewed each member of the other firm to assess their abilities and cultural fit. The last step was sharing our client lists and discussions of possible independence issues or other potential conflicts. And of course, at the very beginning of our “getting serious” stage, we signed confidentiality agreements for client and firm protection. THe engAgeMenT: Once all parties were ready to move forward, we had our attorney draft a letter of intent. After reviewing content by both parties, our attorney prepared a final merger agreement reviewed by their legal counsel. Both firms were corporations, and the deal was structured as the smaller firm merging into Crow Shields Bailey and their shareholders receiving stock in our firm. We then computed the number of shares on a valuation done of each firm. MArrieD Life: Once the merger agreement was in place, our goal was to build a mutuallybeneficial foundation for long-term success. The honeymoon was over and it was time to (205) 807-4466
transform the two firms from mine to ours. Our tax and assurance leaders and administrative personnel met to evaluate each firm’s processes and systems to choose the best procedures for the combined firm. Once our combined leadership team was on the same page, we developed a comprehensive communications plan to promote these changes to our clients with consistent messaging. We found it helpful to be inclusive and considerate of what each firm was bringing to the table, and to ultimately be willing to give and take. Because yes, even in the best of marriages, issues do spring forth. Our combined firm has dealt with a few challenges, and I’m very proud of the attitude that every team member has demonstrated in making this transition successful. ConCLuSion I feel it is imperative for our firm to continue growing. Growth, resulting from healthy mergers, enables us to recruit new talent, retain key team members and provide quality client service. Our merger process took a little over six months, starting in February of 2015 and becoming effective September 1. It was a monumental task, but well worth the end result of building a stronger firm.
steve@cpapartnerships.com
Does this target firm have specialty niches to complement our current service offerings? What type of clients do they serve? We quickly realized that having one-on-one conversations outside of traditional research could answer a lot of these questions more efficiently. DATing: Yes, you read that right. Once you have identified a likely prospect, it’s time to dig a little deeper and ask your prospect out on a date. I suggest a passive approach, maybe a casual lunch, so as not to scare anyone off by coming across as too aggressive. This first meeting’s goal is to simply test the waters and assess if there is any potential for a long-term partnership. This approach was successful for our recent merger. We spent the time to have a handful of meetings between the principals of both firms over a few months to determine whether or not to move forward with a merger. After each meeting, we would assess the progress made and decide if it made sense to continue moving forward. We’re geTTing SeriouS: At some point in our dating process, both firms had reached a mutual level of comfort and realized that this combination might not only work, but be successful. With these mutual revelations, we decided it was time to share more intimate information. We started exchanging data such
Steve Steve Emerson Emerson
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27
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GULF SHORES CLUSTERS The Beach Club | 925 Beach Club Trail | Gulf Shores, AL 36542 | For more info, please visit ascpa.org/gulfshores
TUESDAY AM
Current Issues in Accounting and Attestation: An Annual Update 002 Practical Tax Tips and Techniques for Closely-Held Businesses 003 K2’s Microsoft Office 2016 - Improving Productivity with New Features 004
WEDNESDAY AM
TUESDAY PM
Guide and Update to Compilations, Reviews, and New Preparations 005 K2’s Advanced QuickBooks Tips and Techniques 007 Smart Tax Planning Strategies for Individuals 006
WEDNESDAY PM
Tax Consequences and Reporting Issues of LLCs, LLPs, LPs, and Other Partnerships 009 Preparing Special Purpose Framework Financial Statements: Cash, Modified Cash and Tax Basis 008 Controller’s Update: Today’s Latest Trends 010
The Statement of Cash Flows: Preparation Guidance & Presentation Illustrations 011 Capitalized Costs and Depreciation: Key Issues and Answers 012 Analyzing a Company’s Financial Statement 013
THURSDAY AM
Financial Forecasting: Planning for Success 019 Financial Statement Disclosures: A Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses 017 Tax Planning Strategies for Small Businesses, Corporations, Partnerships, and LLCs 018
Critical Skills for Budgeting Success 016 IRS Disputes: Identifying Options for Your Client 015 Advanced Concepts in SSARS 21 and Nonattest Services 014
FRIDAY AM
Fraud Basics: Protecting the Company Till 020 Health Care Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications 021 Risk, Cost, and Cash Management for Controllers and Financial Managers 022
THURSDAY PM
FRIDAY PM
Analyzing Costs, Productivity, and Efficiency: Three Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line 025 Proven Controls to Steer You Clear of Fraud 023 Social Security and Medicare: Maximizing Retirement Benefits 024
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2016 CPe SeSSionS
For full schedule, see the CPE catalog or visit www.ascpa.org.
038 Taking Your Medicine: Health Care in 2016 7/28/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Susan Smith
052 Employment Law Update: Key Risks and Recent Trends t 8/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Robert Walter
039 Working With, Storing, and Securing Digital Information 7/28/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Karl Egnatoff
053 4 Most Overlooked Business Risks: Preparing for the Future 8/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: William O’Brien
028 The Casual Tax Preparer: 1040 Forms Update for 2016 7/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Susan Smith
040 Surgent’s Essential Depreciation Update for Practitioners 7/28/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Lyvonnia Poppell
054 Analytics and Big Data for Accountants 8/17/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Robert Walter
029 K2’s Budgeting and Forecasting Tools and Techniques 7/26/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Stephen Phelean
041 2016 Compilation & Review Update for the Local Firm 7/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Mobile | Instructor: James Martin
055 The Top 10 Tax Topics of 2016 8/17/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Jon Ingber
030 Understanding, Creating, Implementing, and Maintaining an Internal Control Structure 7/26/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Karl Egnatoff
042 The Casual Tax Preparer: 1040 Forms Update for 2016 7/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Mobile | Instructor: William Taylor
026 Audits of 401(k) Plans 7/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Leigh Dykes 027 K2’s Excel Tables and Data Models - Efficiently Managing, Analyzing & Reporting Your Data 7/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Stephen Phelean
031 Taking Your Medicine: Health Care in 2016 7/26/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Susan Smith 032 Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits 7/26/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Susan Smith 033 From Hiring to Firing & Everything in Between: Legal, Tax, & Health Care Issues 7/27/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Susan Smith 034 Taking the Self Taught Excel User to the Next Level 7/27/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Karl Egnatoff 035 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 7/28/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: James Martin 036 From Hiring to Firing and Everything In-Between: Legal and Payroll Tax Issues 7/28/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Susan Smith 037 The New Leasing Standard: It’s Here and It’s Huge 7/28/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: James Martin
056 Form 990: A Comprehensive Approach to Accurate Preparation 8/17/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Thomas Sheets
043 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 8/11/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: James Martin 044 Surgent’s Federal Tax Camp 8/11/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Frost 045 The New Leasing Standard: It’s Here and It’s Huge 8/12/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: James Martin 046 Shortcuts to Tax Cuts: Business Tax Planning Strategies for S Corporations and LLCs 8/12/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Frost 047 Advanced Business Law for CPAs 8/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Huntsville | Instructor: Robert Walter 048 Audits of 401(k) Plans 8/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Randy Dummer 049 Private Company Accounting: New Directions, New Challenges 8/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: William O’Brien 050 Auditing Employee Benefit Plans 8/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Randy Dummer 051 Form 990: Exploring the Form’s Complex Schedules 8/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Thomas Sheets
t Yellow Book credit |
057 Audits of 401(k) Plans 8/22/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Michael Morgan 058 The Top 10 Tax Topics of 2016 8/22/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Michael Frost 059 Construction Contractors Advanced Issues 8/22/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Jennifer Elder 060 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 8/23/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Auburn | Instructor: James Martin 061 2016 Compilation & Review Update for the Local Firm 8/23/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Auburn | Instructor: James Martin 062 Governmental and Not-for-Profit t Annual Update 8/23/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Michael Morgan 063 Conducting Business the Right Way – How to Add and Keep More Customers and Clients 8/23/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Mobile | Instructor: Karl Egnatoff 064 Practical Tax Tips and Techniques for Closely- Held Businesses 8/23/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Michael Frost 065 Hot Tax Planning Developments Under the Current Tax Law 8/23/2016 | 01:00pm-12:00pm | 4 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Michael Frost
066 Making Sense of the Updated COSO Framework: What you need to know to create an effective system of Internal Control 8/23/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Jennifer Elder 067 The Complete Guide to Payroll Taxes and 1099 Issues 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Art Auerbach 068 Advanced Concepts in SSARS 21 and Nonattest Services: Are You Certain You Are in Compliance? 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Brand 069 The Eight Hour MBA 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Jennifer Elder 070 Smart Tax Planning Strategies for Individuals 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost 071 The Most Common Financial Statement and Asset Fraud Schemes: How to Detect and Prevent Them 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Kevin Andrews 072 Practical Tax Tips and Techniques for Closely- Held Businesses 8/24/2016 | 01:00pm 04:30pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost 073 Updated COSO Framework: What You Need to Know 8/24/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Kevin Andrews 074 Excel PivotTables – Powerful and Not Hard to Use…Really! 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Karl Egnatoff 075 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 8/24/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Tuscaloosa | Instructor: James Martin 076 2016 Compilation & Review Update for the Local Firm 8/24/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Tuscaloosa | Instructor: James Martin 077 Determining How Much Money You Need to Retire, and Tax Ideas and Money Management in Retirement 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Art Auerbach
(continued on next page)
Webcast | $30 discount | $175/4hr course | $275/8hr course | Save $25 by registering 10 days in advance 29
078 Managing Engagement Risk – Exposures Lurk in Every Practice Area 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Steve Platau 079 Yellow Book Workshop t 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 16 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Jason Harpe 080 Frequent Frauds Found in Not-for-Profits t 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Jack Georger 081 Health Care Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost 082 Frequent Frauds Found in Governments t 8/25/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Jack Georger 083 Social Security and Medicare: Maximizing Retirement Benefits 8/25/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost 084 Becoming an AICPA Peer Review Team or Review Captain: Case Study Application 9/8/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Michael Brand 192 Advanced Auditing for Defined Contribution Retirement Plans 8/25/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 16 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Randy Dummer 085 Sales and Use Tax Workshop 8/26/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Bruce Ely 086 The New Controllership: Keys to Boosting Financial Performance 8/26/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Brent McClure 087 The New Controllership: Keys to Boosting Management Skills 8/26/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Brent McClure 088 Capitalized Costs and Depreciation: Key Issues and Answers 8/26/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost 089 U.S. GAAP: Latest Developments for Business & Industry 8/26/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Jack Georger 090 Hot Tax Planning Developments Under the Current Tax Law 8/26/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost
105 Social Security and Medicare: Maximizing Retirement Benefits 8/30/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Dothan | Instructor: Peter Towle
091 Interpreting the New Revenue Recognition Standard: What All CPA’s Need to Know 8/26/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: Jack Georger 092 Critical Tax Issues and Planning for Accounting Periods, Methods, Related Party Transactions, and Form 3115 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Frost 093 A&A for Tax People Who Hate A&A 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: James Martin 094 Accounting and Auditing Update 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Dothan | Instructor: Thomas Newell 095 Capitalized Costs and Depreciation: Key Issues and Answers 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Dothan | Instructor: Peter Towle 096 Preparation, Compilation, and Review Engagements Update 8/29/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Dothan | Instructor: Thomas Newell
107 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: James Martin 108 K2’s Introduction to Excel Macros 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm-4 | Other Montgomery | Instructor: Mac McClelland 109 K2’s Technology Update 8/30/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Mac McClelland 110 K2’s Excel Financial Reporting and Analysis 8/31/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Mac McClelland 111 Critical Tax Issues and Planning for Accounting Periods, Methods, Related Party Transactions, and Form 3115 8/31/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Huntsville | Instructor: Michael Frost
097 Smart Tax Planning Strategies for Individuals 8/29/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Dothan | Instructor: Peter Towle
112 The New Leasing Standard: It’s Here and It’s Huge 8/31/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Huntsville | Instructor: James Martin
098 K2’s Advanced Excel 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Mobile | Instructor: TBA 099 Advanced Concepts in SSARS 21 and Nonattest Services: Are You Certain You Are in Compliance? 8/29/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Michael Brand
113 Audit Skills Training - 1 9/1/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 16 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Robert Wells 114 Advanced Auditing of HUDt Assisted Projects 9/13/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: William Wagner
100 Individual Income Tax Update 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Frost 101 Introduction to Business Valuation 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Kevin Andrews 102 Partnerships and LLCs: Avoiding Common Pitfalls Facing Practitioners 8/30/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Frost
115 Beyond CPA “Best Practices” Taking Next Steps in the Future of the Client/Customer Service 9/13/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Karl Ahlrichs 116 2016 FASB Update for the Real World 9/13/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: James Martin
103 Health Care Reform Act: Critical Tax and Insurance Ramifications 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Dothan | Instructor: Peter Towle
117 Annual Update for Governments and Not-for-Profits t 9/14/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: William Wagner
104 Updated COSO Framework: What You Need to Know 8/30/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Dothan | Instructor: Thomas Newell
t Yellow Book credit |
106 The Most Common Financial Statement and Asset Fraud Schemes: How to Detect and Prevent Them 8/30/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Dothan | Instructor: Thomas Newell
118 Blue Oceans and Clean Paper - Using the ACA and Wellness as a Catalyst to Move Organizations 9/14/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Karl Ahlrichs 119 Not-for-Profit Accounting and Auditing: Practical Cases for CPAs t 9/14/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: William Wagner 120 Applying “Lean” Thinking to Making Employees Your Competitive Advantage 9/14/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Other Birmingham | Instructor: Karl Ahlrichs 121 What’s New In Compilation, Review & the Cash and Tax Basis of Accounting (Latest Edition) 9/14/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Ray Thompson 122 FASB’s Triple Threat: Practical Responses to the New Standards for Revenue Recognition, Leases, and Financial Instruments 9/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Ray Thompson 123 Integrated Estate, Financial and Asset Protection Planning - A Breakthrough Approach 9/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Aurthur Werner 124 Applying the Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards in Your Single Auditst 9/15/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: William Wagner 125 Lean Accounting: Apply Lean Thinking to Financial Management 9/15/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Don Minges 126 How Good Companies Become Great: Secrets to Success 9/15/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Don Minges 127 Accounting Six Pack: You Get to Choose (2016 Edition) 9/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Ray Thompson 128 Estate Planning - Local Issues 9/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Aurthur Werner 129 Executive Education’s Annual CFO Spotlight: 4 Select Issues 9/16/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Other Montgomery | Instructor: Don Minges
Webcast | $30 discount | $175/4hr course | $275/8hr course | Save $25 by registering 10 days in advance 30
130 How to Settle an Estate for a Client from A to Z 9/19/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Thomas E. Bazley
136 Federal Tax Update – Business Current Developments 9/19/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Pat Garverick
141 Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Michael Frost
147 Reviewing Individual Tax Returns: What Are You Missing? 9/21/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Michael Frost
131 Forensic Accounting: Uncovering Schemes and Scams 9/19/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Dan Bradley
137 Fiduciary Income Tax Returns Form 1041 Workshop with Filled-in Forms 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Thomas E. Bazley
142 Proven Controls to Steer You Clear of Fraud 9/20/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Curtis Quickel
148 Controller/CFO Update: Hot Topics Facing Today’s Financial Professional 9/21/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Other Mobile | Instructor: Brent McClure
143 Mastering Basis Issues for S Corporations, Partnerships, and LLCs 9/20/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Michael Frost 144 Audits of 401(k) Plans 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Leigh Dykes
149 Estates and Trusts: Mastering Complex Income Tax Issues 9/21/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Michael Frost
132 Applying the Risk Assessment Standards to Enhance Audit 9/19/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Dan Bradley 133 Critical New COSO Internal Control Framework Concepts 9/19/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Curtis Quickel 134 Federal Tax Update – Individual Current Developments 9/19/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 Tax Mobile | Instructor: Pat Garverick 135 Simplify Your Reporting by Converting to FRF for SMEs 9/19/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Curtis Quickel
138 Common Frauds and Internal Controls for Revenue, Purchasing, and Cash Receipts 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Dan Bradley 139 Federal Tax Update – Individual & Business Current Developments 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Montgomery | Instructor: Pat Garverick
145 Basis Calculations & Distributions for Pass-Thru Entity Owners Schedule K-1 Analysis 9/21/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 Tax Birmingham | Instructor: Pat Garverick
140 A Guide to the New Revenue Recognition Model for All CPAs 9/20/2016 | 8:30am-12:00pm | 4 A&A Mobile | Instructor: Curtis Quickel
146 Fraud Workshop 9/21/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Tommie Singleton
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150 Gaining a Competitive Advantage: Critical Skills for CFOs and Controllers 9/21/2016 | 01:00pm-04:30pm | 4 Other Mobile | Instructor: Brent McClure 151 Identity Theft: Preventing, Detecting, and Investigating Identity Theft 9/21/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Montgomery | Instructor: Dan Bradley 152 Upcoming Peer Review: Is Your Firm Ready? 9/22/2016 | 8:30am-04:15pm | 8 A&A Birmingham | Instructor: Michael Brand
ASCPA Continuing Professional Education Registration Form Mail form to : ASCPA P.O. Box 242987 Montgomery, AL 36124-2987
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ASCPA eMPLoYee BenefiTS WorKSHoP Thursday, May 19th | ASCPA offices | Montgomery, AL
featuring Marcus Aron of the u.S. Department of Labor news & insights from local experts Q&a Panel Discussion 8 Hours CPe Credit
WWW.ASCPA.org/eBWS 2016 Conferences
Staff
SAVe THe DATe
taX traininG OppOrtunity
ASCPA ACCounTing ConneCTion
June 8, 9, 10, 2016 | Sheraton Birmingham
invest in your top talent by sending them to ASCPA’s staff tax training course. This innovative series offers comprehensive training for tax practitioners at varying stages in their careers. Developed by university of Alabama professor Lisa McKinney, your new staff will learn core business skills and fundamental technical tax topics while your experienced staff will focus on increasingly complex compliance and planning strategies. Contact Jessica roberts at jroberts@ascpa.org for additional information.
SouTHeASTern eDuCATion ConferenCe
Partnership with Louisiana Society of CPAs July 24-29 | Hilton Sandestin
TeCHnoLogY ConferenCe
August 18-19, 2016 | Pelham Civic Complex www.ascpa.org/tech2016
24Th AnnuAL finAnCiAL ACCounTing AnD AuDiTing ConferenCe
Level 1 – June 20 Level 2 – June 21 Level 3 – June 22
Partnership with Auburn University at Montgomery September 23, 2016 | www.ascpa.org/faac2016
29Th AnnuAL goVernMenTAL ACCounTing AnD AuDiTing foruM
Each level qualifies for 8 CPE hours Sheraton Birmingham
november 30-December 1, 2016 | Birmingham Marriott www.ascpa.org/gaaf2016
33
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The Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants 1041 Longfield Court P.O. Box 242987 Montgomery, AL 36124