If one challenge has marked our profession and dominated my almost two years as the MACPA’s CEO, it is undoubtedly the talent pipeline. In early January, the MACPA held its annual CPA Summit. Instead of focusing on technology trends and disruptors, we talked talent. As I prepared the opening slides, presenting data and context on our challenge, I felt overwhelmed by the myriad of issues: declining birth rates, slowing immigration, increasing educational costs, licensure barriers, stagnant starting salaries, and the intangible but significant issue of our profession’s brand. The possible solutions were just as broad and varied and, frankly, overwhelming. Yet amidst the complexities, I found hope in embracing multiple solutions, realizing that no single approach would resolve our challenges.
By working together, we can overcome challenges and seize opportunities that will shape the future of our profession in meaningful ways.
I speak more about these pipeline challenges and how we can unify the profession to overcome them on page 29 .
Rebekah Olson, CPA MACPA CEO
5 Four Marylanders named ‘Most Powerful Women in Accounting’ for 2024
9 Former MACPA Chair Michael Manspeaker named to Auditing Standards Board
23 MACPA’s 38th annual PFP Conference focuses on planning with IRAs, life insurance, ETFs, and more 26 Future Leader, Casey Claveria Member Profile
27 MACPA Foundation awards $56,000 in scholarships to 31 Maryland accounting students Professional Resoures
29 Accounting’s talent pipeline: Focus on ‘and,’ not ‘or’
31 IRS makes Direct File a permanent option for filing federal tax returns
35 A.I. is coming, but workforces feel unprepared
37 Unifying client service
39 Spend management advisory: Top six questions answered
47 A.I. can be a weapon for hackers. Here’s what businesses should do
There’s No One Silver Bullet Fixing the profession’s talent issues will require more than one solution. Changing our narrative is one of them. Page 11 COVER STORY
Solving problems and thinking critically Page 3
MACPA’s 2024-25 Board of Directors Page 19
4 ways to protect your accounting clients’ data Page 43
MACPA UPDATES
Momentum builds for strengthening our profession, but plenty of work remains
Our profession’s Great Pipeline Debate rages on, and almost everyone has an idea or three for how to best solve our talent issues.
As conversations continue throughout the profession about potential compliance-related solutions, particularly as they relate to the 150-hour education requirement, other interested parties are putting some interesting ideas to the test.
Some, like Ernst & Young U.S., think money might be part of the answer. The firm plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years in an effort to make the profession more attractive to young professionals. The money will go mainly toward compensation and new technologies like A.I.-powered audit and tax software.
Others, like the National Pipeline Advisory Group, are suggesting a more broad-based approach that takes aim at several potential issues. The NPAG is a group made up of 23 leaders representing a cross-section of the profession, and they’re committed to developing a unified pipeline strategy that reflects the needs of multiple stakeholders, leverages unbiased research, and leads to meaningful change. The group released its final report in August that recommended action in six key areas:
Making the academic experience more engaging.
Addressing the time and cost of education.
Growing support for CPA Exam candidates.
Prioritizing strategies to expand access for underrepresented groups.
Enhancing the employee experience by evolving business models and cultures.
Telling a more compelling story about accounting careers. At the MACPA, our focus is on changing the narrative about this profession — to stop talking so much about what we do and spend more time talking about why we do it, and get back to the passion and purpose behind this profession.
We’re doing that in a few ways.
We’ve created a web page where MACPA members can share their passion for their profession and the why behind their work. A new series of weekly LinkedIn Live interviews allow
THOMAS WHITE, CPA, CGMA Director of Accounting, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
some of our more engaged members to share their stories with the next generation of accounting and finance professionals. We’re also inviting CPAs everywhere to share their own stories about why they chose accounting as a career path and what they love about the work.
Our goal is simple inspiration. We’ll be sharing these stories with students and other young people in an effort to inspire them to consider accounting and finance as a career. I hope you’ll join that effort by visiting MACPA.org/why-cpa and sharing your CPA story.
It’s the kind of work the MACPA Foundation was built to do. Incorporated in 1992, the Foundation works to build a strong and diverse pipeline of talent to help strengthen the future of the profession. It supports diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; provides training; grants scholarships’ and facilitates mentorship connections to help increase growth and engagement. This year, the MACPA Foundation awarded a record $56,000 in academic scholarships to 31 accounting students at universities and colleges throughout Maryland (see story, page 27 ).
This work is a passion of mine, but I’m even more passionate about the opportunity to meet these students and future CPAs in person and learn about the things that inspire them. Speaking with these students, hearing their stories, and seeing their reactions to the roles CPAs will play going forward encourages me greatly about the future of our profession.
Our job now is to build on that enthusiasm, and you’re an important part of that work. I hope you’ll support our efforts to strengthen our profession, lend your voice to those efforts when the need arises, and walk with me as we clear a path into the profession for the next generation of CPAs.
I’m proud to take the reins as chair of the MACPA’s 2024-25 Board of Directors. The members of this board are as excited to begin the work ahead as I am, and we are all excited to work for and with you as we reimagine what this profession can become. Our profession needs your passion — and your support — more than ever. I hope you’ll join me in working to ensure that our profession remains as vital and important tomorrow as it is today.
MACPA CHAIR
Share your own CPA story by visiting MACPA.org/why-CPA
The MACPA is collecting stories from members about why they joined the profession, what they love about their careers, and the purpose behind the critical work they do. Our goal is to inspire more students to consider accounting and finance as a career, and to show them the passion that supports this profession.
Solving problems and thinking critically
In this edition of The Statement, we’re featuring insights from immediate past MACPA Chair Christine Aspell, managing partner of the Baltimore office of KPMG LLP; and current MACPA Vice Chair Maxene Bardwell, assistant inspector general for the Office of the Inspector General at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
What attracted you to accounting as a career option?
Maxene Bardwell, CPA/CITP, CIA, CFE, CISA, CRMA, CIGA MACPA Vice Chair & Assistant Inspector General for the Office of the Inspector General, WSSC
The problem-solving aspect of accounting struck a chord with me. It’s not just about crunching the numbers. It’s interpreting the data and utilizing it to do something productive.
In my case, I help organizations see where there may be some areas that are in need of improvement. My field is internal auditing, so I might point out different ratios that indicate that debt is higher than it needs to be, or that there are some internal control weaknesses that are permitting employees to bypass a control that was intended to prevent something from occurring. I’m currently serving as an advisor to the Finance Committee of an organization that helps women, and I’m able to offer a different perspective to issues that may not be readily apparent by looking at their financial statements. My purpose is to leave organizations in better shape than when I found them — to give them the tools to achieve their strategic goals and objectives. As an auditor, I’m looking to see if they’re operating efficiently, effectively, and economically. I’m looking at ways they can prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. My ‘why’ is to help organizations be successful, and that gives me tremendous gratification.
Accounting teaches you how to think critically. It gives you that baseline knowledge to be able to ask difficult questions. It teaches you how to think about things critically in a different way. I’ve always said that if I had not become an auditor, I could have been a private investigator. Accounting teaches you how to look at something and say, ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ It shows you how to look at a problem through a different lens and flip it on its side and think about it differently.
Accounting really is the language of business. At one point early on, I thought, ‘Maybe I don’t want to do accounting. Maybe I want to do something a little different.’ But I stuck with accounting, and I’m so glad I did. As an accountant, you do anything in that business world. It gives you a broad base on which to build, and it also gives you a very specific skillset and a lifelong opportunity to continue to build and grow.
Four Marylanders named ‘Most Powerful Women in Accounting’ for 2024
BY BILL SHERIDAN, CAE
Maryland continues to produce some of the most powerful and influential leaders in the world of accounting and finance.
The most recent examples were honored on June 4 as the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor announced their Most Powerful Women in Accounting for 2024.
Four Marylanders and MACPA members were among those honored:
Samantha Bowling, CPA, CGMA, CFE, managing partner of GW CPA LLP in Prince Frederick, Md., and a former chair of the MACPA’s Board of Directors. She is the first female partner and managing partner in her firm’s history and an active volunteer with both the MACPA and the AICPA.
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CITP, CGMA, CISA, chief executive officer with KET Solutions, a former board chair for the MACPA and AICPA, and a tireless volunteer and advocate on behalf of the profession.
Lexy Kessler, CPA, CGMA, Mid-Atlantic regional leader and partner with Aprio and a former chair of the MACPA’s Board of Directors who currently serves as a board member with the Association of International Certified Public Accountants.
Jessica McClain, CPA, CITP, CISA, PMP, CGFM, chief financial officer for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital and a former MACPA Women to Watch Award winner who has been recognized numerous times as one of the top young leaders in the profession.
The honorees were recognized in front of nearly 4,000 attendees at the AICPA’s 2024 Engage Conference at the Aria in Las Vegas.
Honoring women leaders is part of the AICPA’s broader diversity and inclusion mission, which is ably supported by the volunteers who serve on its Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee.
“Each year, we have the opportunity to recognize women who are making the accounting profession a better place for all of us,” said Gail Perry, CPA, editor-in-chief of CPA Practice Advisor. “This year’s nominees continue to carry this torch of excellence. CPA Practice Advisor is proud to partner with the AICPA to present the Most Powerful Women in Accounting awards.”
Others named among the Most Powerful Women in Accounting for 2024 are:
Lara Abrash, CPA, chair, Deloitte U.S.
Julie Boland, CPA, U.S. chair / managing partner and Americas managing partner, Ernst & Young
Jeannine K. Brown, CPC, founder and CEO, Everyday Lead
Danielle Supkis Cheek, CPA, CFE, CVA, vice president, head of analytics and A.I., Caseware International
Amy Vetter, CPA, CGMA, CSP, CEO, The B3 Method Institute
Geni Whitehouse, CPA, CITP, CSPM, president of ITAlliance. com and countess of communication at BDCOCPA.com
Jennifer Lee Wilson, partner, co-founder, ConvergenceCoaching LLC
Nominated by their peers and selected by a group of independent judges, these women personify leadership,
inclusivity, and going above and beyond for the accounting profession. Although some global leaders have appeared on the list, it is largely focused on the U.S. market. For a full list of award criteria, visit the Most Powerful Women in Accounting webpage.
“Amplifying the many diverse voices of the profession is critical,” said Crystal Cooke, the AICPA’s diversity and inclusion director. “Not only does this award provide visibility into the amazing things that women are doing in our profession, it also shows what is possible with hard work and determination. In order for women to believe there is space at the top for them, they need to see it!”
Now in its 13th year, the Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award was created by CPA Practice Advisor and is jointly administered by the AICPA & CIMA and CPA Practice Advisor to promote and support the success of women leaders as part of its broader mission of sustaining the profession.
Women are nominated from their peers, and a group of independent judges select the award recipients, using the following criteria for candidates:
She has been playing an active role in innovation and excellence within her organization, and that role is carrying over to the accounting profession at large. Examples include creating and/or overseeing new
programs for modernization, enhancing productivity, improving profitability.
She is one of the top leaders in the accounting profession or in an organization that serves the accounting profession, and her leadership has had a demonstrable effect upon the accomplishments of the organization during the past year.
She is a mentor, a sponsor and/or a role model, and someone who stands out in her ability to encourage and help those around her thrive and flourish. This includes attention to inclusivity and supporting and inspiring others within the profession.
She contributes to the future of the profession, is influential, and has a positive impact on the accounting profession as a whole.
She is visible within the profession, through writing, speaking, educating, and any other ways of extending herself beyond her own organization.
She represents the accounting profession outside of her day-to-day job through participation in her community and outside organizations.
Bill Sheridan, CAE, is editor of The Statement and chief communications officer of the Maryland Association of CPAs.
Former MACPA Chair Michael Manspeaker named to Auditing Standards Board
TFormer Maryland Association of CPAs
Chair Michael Manspeaker, CPA, CGMA, a consultant and former member at SEK, CPAs & Advisors, has been appointed to the Auditing Standards Board by the American Institute of CPAs.
he ASB is the AICPA’s senior committee for auditing, attestation, and quality control. Manspeaker will serve three one-year terms.
The ASB is made up of 19 members who are nominated by the AICPA Audit and Attest Standards staff director and then approved by the AICPA Board of Directors. The members represent various industries and sectors, including public accountants and private, educational,
The ASB is the AICPA’s senior committee for auditing, attestation, and quality control. Manspeaker will serve three one-year terms.
and governmental entities. The ASB issues statements, interpretations, and guidelines that CPAs must adhere to when performing audits and attestations.
Manspeaker provides assurance and advisory services to SEK’s clients and consults on technical matters related to professional standards. With a tenure dating back to 1986, he became a member of the firm in 1990 and transitioned into his consulting role in 2022. He served
as the firm’s director of audit, accounting, and quality control for 18 years.
Manspeaker served as chair of the MACPA’s 2015-16 Board of Directors and has also been active on a number of MACPA chapters and committees, including the MidMaryland Chapter, the Nominations Committee, the Peer Review Committee, and the Accounting Reform Implementation Task Force. He currently serves as the CPA on staff for Coastal Peer Review Inc., a joint peer review administration entity created by the MACPA and the North Carolina Association of CPAs.
He also has served as a member and chair of various distinguished committees within the AICPA, the North Carolina Association of CPAs, and Allinial Global over the past 25 years. His engagement has led to meaningful contributions to the wider accounting community.
Active in his community, Manspeaker serves as board member and president / treasurer of Haven Lutheran Church, and as a board member and High School Key Club advisor of the Kiwanis Club of Hagerstown.
Visit the Statement archives ... ... to read Michael Manspeaker’s featured article in the July 2015 issue of Statement
Don’t miss the tax fun in 2024!
Each year, MACPA hosts the Don Farmer Tax Workshops, noteworthy programs that skillfully combine humor with up-to-the-minute tax updates.
Individual Income Tax Seminar Cor porate/Business Income Tax Seminar
November 20, 2024
Baltimore, MD + Online
CPE: 8 | PTIN/IRS CE available
November 21, 2024
Baltimore, MD + Online
CPE: 8 | PTIN/IRS CE available
CPE: 8 | CFP & PTIN/IRS CE available
Register for any combination of these three events → MACPA.ORG/DON-FARMER
THESE COURSES HAVE BEEN PRE-APPROVED FOR BOTH IRS AND CFP CREDITS.
THERE ’S NO ONE SILVER BULLET
New MACPA Chair Thomas White says fixing the profession’s talent issues will require more than one solution. Changing our narrative is one of them.
BY BILL SHERIDAN
In an increasingly urgent exchange of ideas, accounting and finance leaders throughout the world are seeking ways to best address the profession’s talent shortage.
Thomas White says there’s plenty of room at the table for CPAs everywhere to join the conversation.
White, director of accounting at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, was named chair of the MACPA’s 202425 Board of Directors during the association’s annual meeting on June 22, and he brings with him a message for all Maryland CPAs: Each of you has a role to play in the effort to solve our pipeline challenges.
The shortage of new talent entering the profession has left leaders scrambling to meet their staffing needs. It’s also left experts wondering about the quality of future audits and other accounting and finance work.
And while debates continue about possible solutions, White believes making the profession an attractive career option for students means changing the narrative about what CPAs do. The key is to spend less time talking about what CPAs do and more time talking about why they do it -- the purpose and passion behind the profession. Our work, he said, is about more than numbers. It’s about the impact CPAs make on businesses, communities, and people’s lives.
White wants every CPA to feel and share that purpose and passion in the hopes that as we share these powerful stories, students and young professionals will be inspired to join the profession and continue this vital work.
With talent challenges and the future of the profession at the forefront, White sat down recently with MACPA Editor Bill Sheridan to talk about her priorities for the coming year.
Here’s what he had to say.
Bill Sheridan: Why accounting for you, Thomas? What drew you to the profession?
Thomas White: It’s funny, I still remember the day I decided to be an accountant. It was in eighth grade and we had a career assembly. The usual people spoke — firefighters and lawyers and doctors — and there were a couple of FBI agents there as well. They talked about what they did on the job, and not just carrying a gun around and protecting people, but also the white collar crimes they investigate and those types of things. They ended their presentation by telling us that the quickest way to become an FBI agent is to get an accounting degree. They said, “We want accountants. They’re the ones who investigate all the white collar crimes.” So as soon as I got into high school, I started taking accounting classes, and it clicked. Then, for a myriad of reasons, I determined that the FBI was not the right way to go in my career, but accounting stuck with me. It’s always been something that clicked, something that I enjoy, which is maybe a little dorky, but I’ve just continued to enjoy it. Since eighth grade I haven’t let it go. I’ve never doubted that it’s the right way for me to move my life forward.
BS: I’ve spoken with a number of our members recently about how they got their start in accounting, and many of them point to this idea of solving problems: Accounting brings out the problem solver in them. It seems like that might be ingrained in folks who gravitate toward this profession.
TW: There’s a massive problem-solving aspect to it. I think there’s also a massive intertwining between problem solving and understanding the root cause of
everything, even if it’s not a problem at the end of the day. Whether people believe it or not, everything kind of ends in numbers and money, and that’s where we come in. You can trace almost anything back to that and figure out where it’s going and why it’s going there. You’re either solving the problem or trying to understand the root cause. I think accountants typically are pretty good at diving into those types of things. It’s energizing when you have a task to get to and there’s a known way to get there. Accounting tends to be that known way to get to the finish line.
BS: Congratulations on assuming the chair of our Board of Directors. What are your priorities — or our priorities as an association — for the next year?
TW: I’m here to help the association, to support and lead in any way I can. I think our top priority is to continue telling the CPA story, our purpose. I’m going to contradict myself — I used words earlier like dorky and nerdy — but we need to emphasize the cool parts of our job. If you talk to anybody in our profession who is heavily invested, they all love the profession and think it’s fun and cool. Theirs are the stories we need to tell, the stories of all the cool things we get to do — the mergers, the acquisitions, even the challenging stuff like fraud and ransomware. All of that stuff is highly entertaining, highly complex, and highly relevant.
We need to get out and tell those stories, especially to middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, people who are considering a second career or a career change, because it is not the old green bar paper profession where you’re sitting in a room doing nothing but writing down numbers and making sure they balance. There’s a lot more to it than that.
People from very diverse backgrounds can come together to bring something unique to companies and firms if they have that foundation in accounting. Those differences are what make teams and the entire accounting world work. My view is very different than my boss’s view, than my peer’s view. When you
put all of those views together, you have a phenomenal accounting team. So telling those stories is critical.
I hope to build off (2023-24 MACPA Chair Christine Aspell’s) purpose campaign, because I think that was phenomenal. It then becomes a matter of leveraging all the work being done by the AICPA and the National Pipeline Advisory Council. There’s no one silver bullet. Between the work being done nationally and locally of telling our story and our purpose and getting out there and talking to people, I think we’ll continue to move this profession forward, especially in Maryland. Hopefully we can continue to build a healthy pipeline of people who are energetic and ready to come in and learn and be part of this profession.
BS: What are the biggest challenges the profession faces in addressing the pipeline issues?
TW: Everybody has the profession’s best interests at heart. I think we need to focus — on the state, national and international levels, if we’re being honest — on how to come together on the solutions. Again, no one person has a silver bullet. If we’re all running in different directions, if we all have different priorities and agendas, we’ll fracture. I don’t want to see the industry fracture, and I don’t want to see us lose mobility. It’s really about working together across multiple organizations in multiple states. We have to pull different industries in and say, “How can we solve this together? What is in the best interest of all of us?” That will lead us to the right decisions and the right paths forward — and there will be multiple paths forward. Those are some of the advantages we have right now.
There’s work going on at the MACPA and the state level, and then there are national groups like the AICPA that are working on certain pieces. NASBA (the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) is working on others. I think you have to string all of those pieces together to make sure you’re solving multiple factors. Just solving 150 (credit
hours) versus 120 isn’t going to solve all of it. We have to tell our story and make it fun. We have to remove barriers and financial challenges for people, but we also have to agree that we’re not going to get in each other’s way. We’re not going to pull other people down because we think one thing’s best for our state over other states. The great thing about mobility and the way we currently have it set up is that as a CPA, I can go back to North Carolina tomorrow in practice because I have a license that’s recognized there. That’s what makes us great together, and that’s the value of our brand. I don’t want to see that lost because we’ve become fractured in working on different aspects of the pipeline. I think our biggest challenge with regard to the pipeline is making sure everybody is working toward a common cause.
BS: What kinds of opportunities exist for the profession in working through an issue like this?
TW: I think there are tremendous opportunities here. There’s an opportunity to listen to ideas about things to which we need to be more adaptable. The way education works around changing classes — how can we be more adaptable there? How do we make the exam more adaptable? That’s always been a challenge; CPA Evolution (the revamped format for the CPA exam which was launched in January 2024) took how many years? Adaptability and agileness are massive opportunities.
Technology is another piece that makes it attractive — we’re not going back to a green bar paper. And then you have a new generation that looks at things very differently than my parents’ generation, than my generation. They’re focused more on the cause that I’m standing behind, not just the dollars going into my bank account. Our opportunity is to bring some of those views forward. That may help us address some of the greed in the market because we’re focused more on the purpose behind the work. I think most CPAs in Maryland — at least the ones we work with — are very purpose driven. It is nice that we’re all compensated
well, but I think the purpose behind our work is another one of those massive opportunities. How do we highlight that?
BS: As new generations enter the workforce, it seems they’re gravitating more toward the type of work that allows them to express themselves in terms of what’s important to them and where their passions lie and doing purposeful work.
TW: Exactly. And I think one of the other opportunities that we can leverage is the fact that CPAs are everywhere. We’re part of every business. If you have a passion, you could be a CPA working within that passion. I am never going to be able to sing like Taylor Swift — let’s be honest about it. But I’ll bet you Taylor Swift has a handful of CPAs that work for her and do things that support her. The CFO of the Baltimore Ravens is a CPA. When the Ravens win — not if but when they win — another Super Bowl, he gets a Super Bowl ring. How we tie those things into accounting is another piece of the puzzle. Those are great stories to tell. Those are the ways that people can meet their purpose, stay energized, and still find work that’s rewarding.
BS: I don’t know if it was due to the pandemic or the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in recent years, but it just seems there’s been a emphasis or reimagining of the importance of relationships and the power of associations. How do you think the MACPA’s role has evolved as a result of what we’ve seen over the last five years or so?
TW: Our role becomes even more crucial as we move forward. We played a key role in connecting people with other people and critical information during the pandemic. It becomes exceptionally more important as we move forward to maintain those connections and relationships. I wouldn’t be where I am without the MACPA because of the connections I’ve made. I had two phenomenal mentors just by joining the MACPA’s mentor program. I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to get involved. The MACPA facilitates those connections.
THE CFO OF THE BALTIMORE RAVENS IS A CPA
When the Ravens win – not if but when they win – another Super Bowl, he gets a Super Bowl ring ... Those are great stories to tell. Those are the ways that people can meet their purpose, stay energized.”
I was having lunch with somebody the other day and we were joking around about winning the lottery and asking, “Would you keep working?” I would keep working. That’s how important the MACPA is to my career. Not that I think it would happen, but I’m not worried about losing my job. If that were to happen, I could call three people at the MACPA and be lined up with leads in 24 hours. Those connections become exceptionally more important as we move forward. Whether the economy’s good or bad, those connections help us see what’s going on. What’s impacting our business? What resources do we have? Maintaining those connections becomes even more important as we move into this hybrid / remote work environment in which we may not be in an office to make those connections with coworkers every day. But if you get involved in some of the MACPA’s online communities, if you can get plugged into some of our events, those connections are taking place, and they’re really fun to watch and be part of. You never know who you’ll connect with and then call three months later and say, “I need help with something,” and they’ll say. “Whatever you need, let me know how I can help.” Facilitating those connections is a huge part of what the MACPA does.
BS: What is the value of membership in your eyes?
TW: The value is huge. Even as I talk to CPAs in the community, most will say that even if their employers don’t reimburse their membership, they continue to maintain their membership because of the value we offer. It’s the connection to information and communities, the access to events, the access to thought leadership, which is mind-blowing. The number of thought leaders we have in
Maryland that are willing to come forward is amazing. And then there are the things I didn’t have a clue about a handful of years ago — how important our advocacy work is in Annapolis and the ripple effects it has. Our profession would be hit by tsunami waves of impact if the MACPA weren’t down in Annapolis doing that critical work with the General Assembly and comptroller. We have to keep communicating the impact of what we do so that CPAs are aware of the tremendous value that membership in this association offers them.
BS: And getting more important. The scuttlebutt that we’ve been hearing is we had to deal with a bill that introduced sales tax on services this past year, and it’s going to be back next year too. That’s not going anywhere. And so yeah, that work I think becomes more important as time goes on. The legislation is one of those hard trends that just never goes away. And it just makes it more and more important that not only the MACPA is doing what they do, but that the members are vigilant and paying attention and can contribute to the cause when they can.
TW: Well, and I think there’s an aspect of it too, of how do we continue to share, we’re not just people at public accounting firms and there’s business in industry and the a CPA is protecting those interests too, because yes, sales tax on services hurt CPA firms, they got to charge it. Me as a consumer of services that CPA firms provide my organization, my costs go up. And I think it’s that type of knowledge that we share of what this does. And it’s not just the MA CPA has never framed it that way of it’s only impacting CPA firms. But I think that protection, those type of things that we’re seeing are holistic. It’s not just a, oh, it’ll impact our license or it’ll impact CPA
firms. It’s going to impact the profession, the communities, people you work with, companies you work with. And I think that’s where that advocacy work becomes even more important in challenging times with things like sales tax on services.
BS: What other issues have your attention this year?
TW: Nationally, it starts with the pipeline and the challenges on mobility and substantial equivalency. The other thing I’m heavily involved with in Maryland — and more so nationally, because it supports the pipeline — is how we support the entire profession. By no means am I minimalizing at all the need for CPAs and what our license means, but I think there’s an opportunity: How do we support the people in our profession who are not CPAs but work closely with us? I’m heavily involved with the CGMA apprenticeship program at the AICPA, which we have launched here in Maryland. I was in Florida recently as they get ready to launch it there. I think that’s another opportunity for us to continue to strengthen our brand by expanding our reach.
There’s a bit of a void there right now. Nationally, the AICPA does a good job of supporting CGMA members and CPAs. Here in Maryland, we have an opportunity at the MACPA association to say, “Yes, CPAs are absolutely our focus. They’re our guiding star, our No. 1 priority. We can’t lose track of that. But we can fill this void by understanding that other professionals work within our profession and bringing them into the fold. It’s not an “or,” it’s an “and.” I am a CPA and a CGMA. Long-term, I think this question can also apply to our pipeline challenges — working with CGMAs and other accounting professionals to also pursue their CPA. I’d love to see us build those bridges knowing that it benefits the entire profession long term.
BS: As you see where we are now and where we’re going, what does the future of the profession look like to you?
TW: At the end of the day, the debits and credits are never going to go away. The need for precision and accuracy around those things, whether it’s auditing them or completing them, will never go away. I think things will change as those things will become more routine and product-based and less hands-on. Technology is going to continue to move those things forward. It’ll be less of a lift for CPAs to do those things. The bigger piece moving forward is: How do we implement and gain efficiencies from new technologies?
And then on the back end: How do we tell the story? Accountants see everything from end to end, from forming a company to selling a company to buying a company — all of it. We see every piece of that. We see the monthly results, the audit results, the controls. How do we tell that story? We have an opportunity to become really good storytellers because we have that phenomenal base knowledge of how everything works.
And then there’s the question not only of how do you become a great storyteller, but how does that story become a massive value-add for your company or firm? That baseline knowledge, knowing everything that’s going on inside a business, and piecing it together leads to that value-add information, but what are
the actionable things that can be done, the recommendations we can make? That’s where CPAs will be going forward. We are trusted advisors, but I think we’ll also be trusted storytellers and the trusted people who make great recommendations moving forward. The question organizations will be asking going forward is, “What does the CPA think?” That’s probably the action we’ll want to take. It’s not about what the numbers are, but where does the CPA think we should go from here? It’s all about that future view. Yes, we can see the past, but we can also see where the past should be leading us going forward. That allows us to be in a unique position — to be that future-focused leader.
It’s going to be a great year. I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with everybody at the MACPA and leaning into that and giving back for everything I’ve received from the association in the last few years. I hope the association gets as much out of it as I’ve gotten out of them, but I’m always here to help … and I’m really proud of the work the association’s done and will continue to do this year and into the future.
Bill Sheridan, CAE, is editor of The Statement and chief communications officer for the MACPA.
September 18-19, 2024
Baltimore, MD* & Online
CPE: 16
Attend virtually on your own, or join us on Day 1 for an in-person watch party at Junior Achievement of Central Maryland, in Baltimore, MD.
Electric Auto and Energy-Saving Credits Legislative and Economic Update Navigating the IRS Estate
Daraius Irani, PhD Towson University
David De Jong, CPA, LLM, ABV, CVA Stein Sperling
Stuart Schabes Baker Donelson
FEATURED SPEAKERS
2 DAYS. 8 COURSE OPTIONS. Four for Fall is a two-day CPE event offering courses in a wide range of topics. Each day there are two, 4-hour CPE sessions, with different options for each session. Attendees can create their own custom curriculum.
A TOTAL OF 16 HOURS OF CPE ARE AVAILABLE.
Fields of Study:
NOVEMBER 13 ONLINE
Ethics and Professional Conduct: Updates and Practical Applications
Individual Income Tax Update: Navigating the Current Tax Landscape
Interpreting the New Revenue Recognition Standard: What All CPA’s Need to Know
Business Income Tax Update: Navigating the Current Tax Landscape
14
Preparation, Compilation, and Review Engagements: Update and Review
The Complete Guide to the Preparation of Form 1041
The Bottom Line on the New Lease Accounting Requirements
Practical Guide to Trusts
MACPA’s 2024-25 Board of Directors
The MACPA’s 2024-25 slate of officers and directors was voted into place at the association’s Annual Meeting, held June 26 in Baltimore. Here’s a closer look at this year’s Board of Directors.
Officers
CHAIR
Thomas White, CPA, CGMA
Director of Accounting, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
An MACPA member since 2010. Has more than a decade of accounting and audit experience in various industries, currently focusing on health care. Has extensive knowledge of health care finance, internal audit, and compliance. Started his career in public accounting with large firms, focusing on international, public, and non-profit clients. Transitioned into industry at CareFirst. An active MACPA and AICPA volunteer, including involvement with the MACPA’s mentor program and Scholarship Committee as well as the AICPA’s Council and Health Care Expert Panel.
VICE CHAIR
Maxene M. Bardwell, CPA, CIGA, CIA, CFE, CISA, CITP, CRMA
Assistant Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
A well-credentialed executive with more than 20 years of experience leading internal audit establishments in the financial services and public utility industries. Earned her master’s degree from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. A member of several professional organizations. In addition to her exemplary career and professional achievements, she holds several board and committee positions. Currently serves as a member of the AICPA Council, president of the Central Maryland Chapter of ISACA, vice chairman for the City of Laurel Ethics Commission, and board member of the Association of Inspectors General. She is also a volunteer course manager and instructor for the Association of Inspectors General Institute and mentor for the MACPA’s Mentor Program. She is the winner of the 2021 AICPA Outstanding CPA in Local Government Impact Award.
SECRETARY / TREASURER
Savedra N. Scott, CPA, CGMA, CrFAC, MSA, MBA
Owner, Savvy Financial Solutions
An MACPA member since 2007. An outsourced accountant and owner of Savvy Financial Solutions. Has been in business for 11 years and has 20 years of experience. Earned a master’s degree in accountancy from George Washington University and an MBA from Frostburg University. Loves working with non-profit clients to make their lives easier so they can focus on their work while she focuses on the numbers. When not working, she loves hanging out with family and binging her favorite shows.
An MACPA member since 1991. Has more than 25 years experience in providing assurance services to clients in the financial services industry and specializes in serving clients in banking, investment services, insurance, and real estate. Partner-in-charge of the Baltimore chapter of KPMG’s Network of Women, where she established the chapter in 2004. A member of KPMG’s Women’s Advisory Board, which helps oversee the advancement of women. Chair of the Loyola Accounting Advisory Board. A member of the Greater Baltimore Committee Board of Directors, the Downtown Partnership Board of Directors, the Center Club Board of Governors, the My Sister’s Place Leadership Council, the Maryland Zoo, the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, the New America (Better Life Lab), and the St. Ursula School Finance Committee. A “Maryland Top 100 Women” winner in 2012, 2015 and 2018.
Directors
Karl Ahlrichs, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CSP
Senior Consultant, Gregory & Appel
Joined the MACPA’s Board of Directors in 2023 as a public (non-CPA) member. Involved with the MACPA for 15 years as a content provider and thought leader, Ahlrichs is a human capital expert in the people side of finance and accounting and holds the highest certifications of the human capital field. A contributor to the AICPA and the Business Learning Institute’s catalog of continuing education and a contributing author to the Journal of Accountancy. Has direct experience with the strategies accounting and finance professionals need to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of fewer than 800 speaking professionals who are qualified as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) by the National Speakers Association. Routinely presents to business and industry audiences on challenging subjects.
Monique Booker, CPA
Chief Operating Officer, SB & Company, LLC
A founding partner at SB & Company, LLC. Has more than 30 years of experience in public accounting and has performed audits for not-for-profit entities, education sector clients, including public and private colleges, state and local government clients, and for-profit entities throughout the country. Monique received her Bachelor of Science in accounting from Hampton University in 1992, and is a former senior manager with Arthur Andersen, LLP’s Baltimore practice. Monique is SB & Company’s partner in charge of the firm’s Single Audit Practice as well as audit quality and implementation of new auditing standards. She serves as a frequent speaker on various auditing and reporting topics. Serves on the AICPA’s Government Auditing Quality Center Executive Committee and has served in the past on the Auditing Standards Board of the AICPA.
PAST CHAIR
MACPA’s 2024-25 Board of Directors
Directors
Jackie Cardello, CPA
President and Managing Partner, GRF CPAs & Advisors
An MACPA member since 1995. Has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting, specifically in auditing and advisory. As president and managing partner of GRF CPAs & Advisors, she is responsible for leading the firm, focusing on strategies that elevate GRF as a premier provider of accounting, assurance, tax and advisory services to non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals. She also spearheads initiatives that focus on recruiting and mentoring young CPAs as well as programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, not just for GRF but for the profession as a whole. A board member and immediate past chair of CPAmerica and incoming chair of the AICPA G400 Practice Advisory Group. Graduated from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and is a member of the Smith School AIA Advisory Council.
Has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Currently serves as the managing principal of CLA’s Maryland office and the Mid-Atlantic leader of CLA’s employee benefit plan practice. In these roles, she has the ability to create opportunities for others through client service, support the Maryland community, and develop CLA family members. She is part of CLA’s leadership team and is involved in the development and launch of CLA’s future forward strategy, which includes the workforce of the future, solutions driving innovation, and capturing market potential. She is excited about her role as a board member as she is passionate about growing the accounting profession, removing barriers to recruit talent, and changing the stereotypes associated with the profession. Obtained her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Stevenson University.
Bo Fitzpatrick, CPA
COO / Director of Executive Programs, Dembo Jones, PC / 20-20 Services LLC
A seasoned professional with more than 30 years of experience in and around the public accounting profession, both in practice and as a consultant. Currently serves as COO for Dembo Jones CPAs & Advisors while also providing leadership development training programs for 20-20 Services. From 2018 through 2022, he was the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., offices of Citrin Cooperman. Through his career, he has held various roles including founder / president at 20-20 Services, president and COO of AuditWatch, and senior manager at Ernst & Young. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Bo also has a certification in leadership coaching from Georgetown University. He was recognized in 2004 by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.
Robert Goldstein, CPA
CFO, Paul Davis Restoration of Greater Baltimore
An MACPA member since 2017. Has more than 30 years of public and private accounting experience, as well as more than 10 years as a consultant providing strategic advisory services for privately held middle-market companies within the manufacturing, distribution, and professional services sectors. Currently serves on the MACPA’s Business and Industry Committee and has moderated and presented at past conferences.
Also currently serves on the CFO Leadership Council Advisory Board (Baltimore chapter) and The Associated’s Caring and Community Relations Managing Council. Serves on the JCC of Greater Baltimore’s Finance Committee and is a past board member.
Gregory Repas, CPA
Vice President and Comptroller, McCormick & Co., Inc.
An MACPA member since 2016. Joined McCormick in April 2017. Is responsible for the controllership, financial reporting, and internal control activities for McCormick. Interacts with the global finance team on matters such as business initiatives, acquisitions, internal controls, and the interpretation of existing accounting standards. Previously served as vice president and chief accounting officer for Algeco Scotsman, a global provider of modular space, secure portable storage solutions and remote workforce accommodations. Also served as vice president and assistant chief accounting officer for Stanley Black & Decker after starting his career at Ernst & Young. Earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University.
An MACPA member since 2019. Brings 15 years of expertise in transforming financial operations, driving growth, and optimizing business performance. As CFO of CREW Network, CREW Network Foundation and CREW Network Canada, she supports an international network of women in commercial real estate. Previously served as CFO at Achieving the Dream Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the community college network. Also served as director of finance at the Society for Human Resource Management and controller for two technology companies. Prior to becoming an accountant, she spent 10 years managing refugee programs in the U.S. and abroad in which she leveraged government and non-governmental resources to support refugees in camps with education and food assistance and assist in their resettlement in the U.S.
A member of the AICPA’s CFO Planning Committee and co-chair of the Advisory Board for the Baltimore chapter of the CFO Leadership Council, Janice is also a competitive Ironman triathlete.
MACPA’s 2023 PFP Conference focuses on planning with IRAs, life insurance, ETFs, and more
BY SETH HAMMER, CPA, PH.D.
The MACPAs’ 2023 Personal Financial Planning Conference, presented virtually with an optional in-person watch party, addressed a variety of cutting-edge personal financial planning issues impacting CPA advisers and their clients.
Presentations were led by leading experts in their fields, including keynote speaker Robert Keebler of Keebler & Associates. Mr. Keebler is well recognized for having received more than 200 favorable private letter rulings and authoring more than 100 articles and columns. He is also chair of the AICPA’s Advanced Estate Planning Conference.
Mr. Keebler’s first of two presentations included an examination of critical IRA updates, beginning with a discussion of the broadly applicable IRS Notice 202354, which announced that the IRS, in 2023, would not disqualify or assess excise taxes on retirement plans subject to the “10-year” distribution rule. He then followed his overview of that notice with detailed guidance as to how to optimally use trusts as beneficiaries, particularly in light of proposed Treasury regulations, which provide new guidance on identifying beneficiaries. Highlights of these proposed regulations include the allowance for employees to name classes of individuals as beneficiaries. A benefit, for example, would be that grandchildren can be named as a beneficiary class and that the birth of an additional
grandchild would not cause a disqualification issue.
Also addressed, in consideration of the proposed regulations, were the use of multiple beneficiary trusts, including Type II “see-through” trusts, which provide solely for disabled or chronically ill eligible designated beneficiaries.
In Mr. Keebler’s second presentation, “Mathematics of Estate Planning,” he explained his use of quantitative techniques and how he and the conference participants could potentially incorporate them to reduce future estate tax liabilities.
Lee Slavutin, MD, CLU, of Stern Slavutin-2 Inc., presented “Life Insurance in 2023: A Guide for CPAs.”
Mr. Slavutin began by addressing basic life insurance planning issues (e.g., life insurance policy audits) and then delved more deeply into advanced planning topics, including buy-sell life insurance agreements (i.e., redemption and cross-purchase agreements) and the use of splitdollar plans. An increasing concern for policyholders and investors following the COVID-19 peak, he explained, should be the financial strength of life insurance companies. He recommended that insurers under consideration have a Comdex score (a composite percentile ranking, on a scale of 1 to 100, of insurer strength) of more than 90. In his discussion of developments affecting more advanced planning for high-net-worth taxpayers, he cited Estate of Marion Levine vs. Commissioner (2022), a case
in which the creative use of split-dollar life insurance served to significantly reduce estate tax liabilities.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, presented “The ETF Era will be Here for a While,” in which he described the ongoing growth and evolution of the ETF industry. The ETF industry, he explained, is continuing its extraordinary growth (compound growth of approximately 15% from 2010 through 2022), while evolving to include more accounts that are actively managed and others that hold investments in increasingly specialized sectors of the investing market.
The conference also addressed other topics highly relevant for CPAs and financial advisers, including methods to determine a client’s retirement income style, using the science of investing to create more efficient portfolios and reduce the risk of “black swans,” tax planning for equity compensation, and the “Jumanji Economy,” an economic update that provided a broader context for understanding the current turbulent economic environment.
Registration is now open for MACPA’s Personal Financial Planning Conference, scheduled for November 12th. Click here for more information or to register.
Seth Hammer, CPA, Ph.D., is chair of the MACPA’s Personal Financial Planning Conference Advisory Group.
Your expertise is your client’s PEACE
OF MIND
Your clients trust you with their financial security – make sure you’re advising them with the best information available. The Personal Financial Planning Conference is designed to give you up-to-date insights into the issues and trends that impact local, regional, and global markets.
November 12, 2024
CPE: 8
CFP credits pending. Check online for more information.
Online + Watch Party
A special in-person watch party will be hosted at the SC&H Group, Inc. Office in Sparks, MD.
Make sure you register early for our in person watch party, we will have limited seating!
FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA Partner, Keebler & Associates, LLP
Dr. Daraius Irani, Ph.D. Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research at Towson University
Managing government engagements with PRECISION
The Government Contractors Conference is designed to help CPAs and their team address the current issues affecting government contracts, enabling them to respond to opportunities and threats.
• ESG Sessions include: CPE: 8 Online & Watch Party at Aprio Offices | Rockville, MD October 30, 2024
• DCAA Update
• Accounting and Regulatory Update
• Cybersecurity
• Legal Updates
Future Leader
CASEY CLAVERIA
Future Leader highlights a future accounting and finance leader in Maryland as they share their inspirations, challenges, opportunities, and lessons they’ve learned about leadership and our profession along the way.
Why do you think it is it important to be involved as a student member of the MACPA?
The MACPA provides student members with resources and scholarships to help students in their pursuit to be a CPA and pass the CPA exam, fostering academic success and professional development in accounting.
Why did you change your major from business to accounting?
As a first generation immigrant from the Philippines, I opted to start my academic journey at a community college to pursue business before transferring to a four-year university. The career enrichment programs provided by my college allowed me the invaluable experience of securing an audit internship at Aprio LLP. This experience ignited my passion for accounting, and has guided me towards a determined and fulfilling professional path.
Montgomery College Accounting Student
MACPA Foundation awards $56,000 in scholarships to 31 Maryland accounting students
BY BILL SHERIDAN, CAE
A record $56,000 in academic scholarships has been awarded among 31 accounting students at universities and colleges throughout Maryland as part of the MACPA Foundation’s 2024 scholarship program.
The numbers are up from $52,000 awarded to a total of 29 recipients in 2023.
“We are thrilled to be able to award more scholarship dollars than ever to this year’s roster of talented future accounting and finance professionals,” said MACPA Chief Executive Officer Rebekah Olson, CPA. “Juggling the financial obligations of earning an advanced degree is more complicated than ever, and the MACPA Foundation is proud to do our part to ease those obligations and help pave the way into our profession for a growing number of Maryland students.”
We are thrilled to be able to award more scholarship dollars than ever to this year’s roster of talented future accounting and finance professionals.”
–
Rebekah Olson, CPA CEO, MACPA
This year’s MACPA Foundation scholarship recipients are:
Amol Ajmera, University of Maryland
Akshita Alousyes, University of Maryland (Mehta Family Scholarship recipient)
Matthew Anderson, Loyola University
Jessica Anthony, University of Maryland Global Campus
Abby Benton, University of Maryland
Katie Boettinger, University of Baltimore
Marques Carr, Morgan State University
Urszula Cieslak, University of Maryland
Casey Atalie Claveria, Montgomery College
Benoit Codjia, University of Maryland Global Campus
Mikayla Graham, University of Maryland
Se Gwag, University of Maryland
Diana Jacota, University of Maryland Global Campus
Ibiyemi James, Bowie State University
Carly Leishear, Stevenson University
James Lemus, University of Maryland
Kaiulani MacRae, Towson University
Tanya Magana, Anne Arundel Community College
Jeremy Nupp, Howard Community College
Oluwafemi Ogundolie, Stevenson University
Jubelo Oyeniran, Stevenson University
Kimberly Paliza, Towson University
Isabelle Julianne Paule, Towson University
Andres Perez Cabrera, University of Maryland
Samantha Preston, Salisbury University
Daphne Ranti, University of Maryland
Braden Rodriguez, Frostburg State University
Mykeal Spivey, Towson University
Wilber Villeda, University of Maryland
Jordan Williamson, University of Maryland (Kimberly EllisonTaylor Scholarship recipient)
Wesley Winkler, University of Maryland
The MACPA Foundation’s scholarship program is designed to support those who are pursuing a career in accounting, allowing for a diverse and successful future profession.
About the MACPA Foundation
The MACPA Foundation works to build a strong and diverse talent pipeline with resources for future CPAs and educators. The Foundation supports diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, provides training, grants scholarships, and facilitates mentorship connections in order to increase the growth of and engagement within the profession.
Annually, the foundation invests thousands of dollars in multiple academic scholarships tailored to both need and student achievement. This enables scholarship recipients to overcome financial barriers and fulfill their career aspirations.
Bill Sheridan, CAE, is editor of The Statement and chief communications officer for the Maryland Association of CPAs.
We’re renewing our commitment to the future of the CPA profession. For a str onger CPA pr ofession
The MACPA Foundation works to build a talent pipeline and ensure the strength of the CPA profession for years to come.
Your donations support:
Pipeline
Providing training for young talent and educators
Mentorship
Connecting experienced CPAs with young professionals
Diversity
Advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives
Scholarships
Granting scholarships to accounting students
Accounting’s talent pipeline: Focus on ‘and,’ not ‘or’
BY REBEKAH OLSON, CPA, MACPA CEO
If one challenge has marked our profession and dominated my almost two years as the MACPA’s CEO, it is undoubtedly the talent pipeline. The MACPA Board has discussed this issue extensively over the years. Almost a decade ago, it led to the creation of our first Student Leadership Academy. Five years ago, it spurred the expansion of our MACPA Foundation to fund pipeline initiatives, partnerships, and increase scholarship awards.
In early January, the MACPA held its annual CPA Summit. Instead of focusing on technology trends and disruptors, we talked talent. As I prepared the opening slides, presenting data and context on our challenge, I felt overwhelmed by the myriad of issues: declining birth rates, slowing immigration, increasing educational costs, licensure barriers, stagnant starting salaries, and the intangible but significant issue of our profession’s brand. The possible solutions were just as broad and varied and, frankly, overwhelming. Yet amidst the complexities, I found hope in embracing multiple solutions, realizing that no single approach would resolve our challenges.
While I am passionate about the profession’s future and its talent, I admit that I recently felt weary of this seemingly impossible fight. But last week, I had the privilege of attending the AICPA Council, the bi-annual gathering of the AICPA’s governing body, and I came away with renewed hope.
Last spring, the AICPA Council made a resolution that resulted in the formation of the National Pipeline Advisory Group. I am incredibly grateful for the diverse group of leaders who came together to serve our profession, including past MACPA Chair Lexy Kessler, who led the group. Earlier this month, they released their draft report. Although some might argue the solutions aren’t new or
fast enough, I was encouraged. Their work demonstrated how stakeholders from across the profession, with differing beliefs and priorities, could unify to amplify each other and embrace the “AND” over the “OR.”
One of the six themes of the National Pipeline Advisory Group’s recommendations is “Telling a more compelling story about careers in accounting.” This theme and call to action has unified our Board of Directors’ thinking as we sought to tackle the complex issue. And it’s truly where each and every member of the profession can do their part. To help tell this more compelling story, the MACPA created The Purpose of the CPA campaign. I hope you are inspired to remember your “why” and impact as a CPA and to share it loud and #MarylandCPAProud.
As we move forward, I challenge the CPA profession to continue exemplifying the spirit of unity and collaboration. Let’s amplify the “AND” over the “OR” in our efforts, recognizing that diverse solutions can coexist and complement each other. By working together, we can overcome challenges and seize opportunities that will shape the future of our profession in meaningful ways.
Here’s to a bright and promising future!
Together, we can make a difference and secure a vibrant future for the CPA profession.
Share your why : Join our MACPA CPA Purpose Campaign by sharing your story and impact as a CPA. Let’s inspire others by highlighting the impact and purpose of our profession. Review the NPAG’s final report Take the Pipeline Pledge : Commit to doing your part in growing future CPAs.
WE’RE HIRING TOP TALENT!
Grossberg is a unique environment where talented and highly sophisticated professionals excel. Our staff and partners are some of the best and brightest in their field, operating at the highest level of professionalism and technical expertise.
Here, you find a culture of people who enjoy the challenge of untangling today’s highly complex web of business, transactional, financial and tax issues, while enjoying the benefits of working at one of the area’s premier firms.
Our mentorship program ensures that everyone has access to one-on-one training by industry experts who encourage their professional development. In addition, the boutique nature of our firm allows us to interact regularly and learn from one another in more casual ways. This provides us with the ability to offer skilled professionals tremendous opportunities for growth and job satisfaction, as well as a great work environment.
Our culture is defined by our people. We pride ourselves on fostering an environment of collegiality and camaraderie; we truly care about each other and work together to meet the demands of our elite group of clients. It is only through this teamwork that we are able to meet our professional demands, advance our business and technical skills, and still support each other to maintain a healthy work/family life balance.
This is an integral part of who we are, why we are successful, and how we have maintained our reputation as one of the best firms in the country. That’s why for over 90 years, we have our clients’ most trusted business advisor.
Growth in our business has created new opportunities for experienced CPAs. If you are seeking to the move to the next level in your career, consider joining the Grossberg team!
Qualifications
•5+ years of professional experience in public accounting
• Ability to research issues and apply concepts to clients’ situations
•Proficiency in technical writing and research
•Ability to communicate with clients and staff at all levels
•Comfortable with working in a team environment
IRS makes Direct File a permanent option for filing federal tax returns
FROM THE IRS
Following a successful filing season pilot and feedback from a variety of partners, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will make Direct File a permanent option for filing federal tax returns starting in the 2025 tax season.
The IRS is exploring ways to expand Direct File to make more taxpayers eligible in the 2025 filing season and beyond by examining options to broaden Direct File’s availability across the nation, including covering more tax situations and inviting all states to partner with Direct File next year.
The IRS plans to announce additional details on the 2025 expansion in the coming months.
The decision follows a limited pilot during the 2024 filing season, in which 140,803 taxpayers in 12 states filed their taxes using Direct File. The IRS closely analyzed data collected during the pilot, held numerous meetings with diverse groups of stakeholders and gathered feedback from individual Direct File users, state officials and representatives across the tax landscape. The IRS heard directly from hundreds of
organizations across the country, more than 100 members of Congress and from those interested in using Direct File in the future. The IRS has also heard from a limited number of stakeholders who believe the current free electronic filing options provided by third party vendors are adequate.
The IRS will continue data analysis and stakeholder engagement to identify improvements to Direct File. However, initial post-pilot analysis yielded enough information for the decision to make Direct File a permanent filing option. The IRS noted that an early decision on 2025 was critical for planning and programming both for the IRS and for additional states to join the program. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel recommended to Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen to make Direct File permanent. He cited overwhelming satisfaction from users and improved
We’re mindful that the most important decision we made during the pilot was to focus on executional certainty,” Werfel said. “We took the time to get it right. We found the right first step to test the demand and the user experience and build a strong product. We will apply that same critical lesson for next year as we take a strategic approach to expanding Direct File’s availability and capabilities.”
ease of tax filing among the reasons for his recommendation, which Secretary Yellen has accepted.
“The clear message is that many taxpayers across the nation want the IRS to provide more than one no-cost option for filing electronically,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “So, starting with the 2025 filing season, the IRS will make Direct File a permanent option for filing federal tax returns. Giving taxpayers additional options strengthens the tax filing system. And adding Direct File to the menu of filing options fits squarely into our effort to make taxes as easy as possible for Americans, including saving time and money.”
State and eligibility expansion
Building on the success of the limited pilot – where taxpayers with relatively simple tax situations in 12 states were eligible to use Direct File – the IRS is examining ways to expand eligibility to more taxpayers across the country. For the 2025 filing season, the IRS will work with all states that want to partner with Direct File, and there will be no limit to the number of states that can participate in the coming year. The agency expects several new states will choose to participate.
The IRS is also exploring ways to gradually expand the scope of tax situations supported by Direct File. Over the coming years, the agency’s goal is to expand Direct File to support most common tax situations, with a particular focus on those situations that impact working families. Announcements about new state partners and expanded eligibility are expected in the coming months.
“User experience – both within the product and integration with state tax systems – will continue to be the foundation for Direct File moving forward,” Werfel said. “We will focus, first and foremost, on continuing to get it right. Accuracy and comprehensive tax credit uptake will be paramount concerns to ensure taxpayers file a correct return and get the refund they’re entitled to. And our North Star will be improving the experience of tax filing itself and helping taxpayers meet their obligations as easily and quickly as possible.”
Direct File’s role in the tax system
During the agency’s review, many taxpayers told the IRS they want no-cost filing options. Millions of taxpayers who did not live in one of the 12 pilot states visited the Direct File website to learn more about this option or asked live chat assistors to make Direct File available in their state.
As a permanent filing option, Direct File will continue to be one option among many from which taxpayers can choose. It is not meant to replace other important options by tax professionals or commercial software providers, who are critical partners with the IRS in delivering a successful tax system for the nation. The IRS also remains committed to the ongoing relationship with Free File Inc., which has served taxpayers for two decades in the joint effort to provide free commercial software. Earlier this month, the IRS signed a five-year extension with industry to continue Free File.
As the IRS works to expand Direct File, it will also work to strengthen all free filing options for taxpayers, including Free File, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program (TCE).
Pilot analysis and feedback
In the six weeks following the close of the Direct File pilot, the IRS closely analyzed pilot data and gathered feedback from diverse groups of stakeholders, including Direct File users, state officials and representatives across the country’s tax community. While data analysis and partner engagement are ongoing, the IRS’ post-pilot analysis has yielded three conclusions that support making Direct File a permanent tax filing solution:
1. Taxpayers overwhelmingly liked using Direct File
As detailed in the IRS Direct File Pilot: Filing Season 2024 After Action Report PDF, more than 15,000 Direct File users participated in the General Services Administration’s Touchpoints survey, which collects comprehensive user feedback about government systems:
90% of respondents ranked their experience as Excellent or Above Average.
When asked what they particularly liked, respondents most commonly cited Direct File’s ease of use, trustworthiness and that it was free.
Additionally, 86% of respondents said that their experience with Direct File increased their trust in the IRS.
90% of survey respondents who used customer support rated that experience as Excellent or Above Average.
For the primary quantitative measure of taxpayer opinions of Direct File, the IRS selected the Net Promoter Score (NPS) customer sentiment metric, which asks users, “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend Direct File to a friend
or family member?” NPS scores range from -100-+100. Direct File has a NPS of +74. If compared to benchmark scores from financial services companies, Direct File would lead in eight of nine categories.
2. Direct File made the tax filing experience easier Direct File’s users reported saving time: Filing taxes with Direct File generally took less than an hour, and many reported filing in as little as 30 minutes. Nearly half of Direct File users reported paying for tax preparation the previous year, and the Treasury Department estimates that Direct File users saved $5.6 million in tax preparation fees this filing season.
3. Direct File helps catalyze the IRS’s digital transformation
To build Direct File, the IRS assembled a team of experienced tax experts, digital product specialists, engineers and data scientists from across the federal government. The agency partnered with the U.S. Digital Service and GSA’s 18F, as well as private sector partners, who all brought critical agile technology expertise. Working side by side at IRS headquarters and collaborating with
remote team members across the country, the Direct File team developed and delivered a strong technology product.
3. The Direct File pilot also gave the IRS the chance to test customer service innovations on a large scale.
Live Chat served as Direct File’s primary customer support channel because it could be integrated directly into the product. This allowed customer support to gradually expand in concert with the overall number of users in each phase of the pilot. The IRS is exploring how this approach could impact taxpayer service overall as the agency works to provide taxpayers with more choices in how they can interact with the IRS.
“We’re mindful that the most important decision we made during the pilot was to focus on executional certainty,” Werfel said. “We took the time to get it right. We found the right first step to test the demand and the user experience and build a strong product. We will apply that same critical lesson for next year as we take a strategic approach to expanding Direct File’s availability and capabilities.”
Employers want talent with an aptitude for artificial intelligence, but this demand has not translated into further employee training, according to recent data. A fear of being left behind in a changing job market has left workers searching for alternative resources to keep them employable in the future.
Seventy-one percent of leaders say they would rather hire a less experienced candidate with A.I. skills than a more experienced candidate without them, according to the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn. As digitisation needs across sectors become more complex, 66% of leaders say they would not hire anyone without A.I. skills.
However, despite high demand for technical skills, companies are not investing in upskilling existing talent, the report said. Forty-five percent of executives in the United States are not currently investing in A.I. tools or products for employees,
A.I. is coming, but workforces feel unprepared
Employers want an A.I.-ready workforce, but many are not investing in the training needed to make that happen.
BY STEPH BROWN
and only 39% of people globally who use A.I. at work received training through their jobs.
The report, conducted by independent research firm Edelman, surveyed 31,000 full-time employed or selfemployed knowledge workers across 31 markets between February and March.
Workforces want to sharpen their A.I. knowledge, according to the report. Seventy-nine percent of workers say A.I. skills will broaden their job opportunities; 76% believe they need A.I. skills to remain competitive in the job market; and 69% think AI skills could help them be promoted.
But many feel unprepared for their roles to evolve and are looking for alternative routes to upskill, the report said. “In the past six months, the use of LinkedIn learning courses designed to build AI aptitude has spiked 160% among nontechnical professionals,” the report said, “with roles like
There is a growing need for organizations to modernize their learning delivery tools to meet the expectation of modern workers,” Alex Ball, Learning Services director at KPMG UK, said in the release. “(Companies should) take control of the learning content and ensure that the learning consumed by their employees is aligned to their ambitions as an organization.”
project managers, architects, and administrative assistants looking to skill up most.”
Globally, skills are projected to change by 50% by 2030 (from 2016), with generative A.I. expected to accelerate this change to 68%, the report said. But leaders are at risk of widening tech talent gaps in their organizations: only 25% of companies are planning to offer training on generative AI this year, further cementing this training deficit.
Case study
Workers in the UK are using social media or online platforms to upskill in digital topics to compensate for the lack of training they are receiving in the workplace, a new survey report from KPMG found. In that survey, only 44% of respondents said they have the right digital skills to perform their roles.
“Most UK workers (62%) have used social media or online platforms to learn new workplace skills, with 20% doing so regularly,” a news release said, “which suggests employers
must develop more interactive ways of delivering their own in-house learning.”
The findings from KPMG suggest that limited options, poor quality, and lack of accessibility in workplace learning have employees seeking alternative, interactive ways to learn. KPMG surveyed 2,000 UK desk-based working adults from various sectors about the training offered by their employers and other learning avenues they used.
“There is a growing need for organizations to modernize their learning delivery tools to meet the expectation of modern workers,” Alex Ball, Learning Services director at KPMG UK, said in the release. “(Companies should) take control of the learning content and ensure that the learning consumed by their employees is aligned to their ambitions as an organization.”
Half of all respondents said they preferred to learn new skills organically through on-the-job experience and practice, but that figure drops to 36% for 18- to 24-year-olds, suggesting those early in their careers want more structured learning.
Contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com ... ... to comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article
Unifying client service
BY ARIANNA CAMPBELL
Editor's note: The following article was originally published by Boomer Consulting. It is reprinted with permission.
Unifying client service across your firm’s various service lines is essential for creating a seamless client experience that reinforces trust and value.
As your accounting firm’s business model evolves from traditional transactional and compliance services to include advisory and consulting services, it’s important to take a holistic approach to client service.
Unifying client service across your firm’s various service lines is essential for creating a seamless client experience that reinforces trust and value. Here are a few questions to guide your efforts to unify client service across your firm.
How do you approach client service when the client is shared across service lines?
Ideally, clients engage your firm for multiple services, such as tax, audit, advisory, wealth management, strategic planning, etc.
1. Understanding roles and responsibilities
Each service line plays a unique role in client service. Understanding and clearly defining these roles is critical. For example, while Audit focuses on financial reporting, Tax deals
with optimizing the client’s tax obligations. Sometimes, these roles might overlap or complement one another.
Coordinating these roles is critical to ensure that all team members know their responsibilities and understand how their work intersects with and impacts another department.
2. Communication strategies
Effective communication is the backbone of seamless service delivery. Implement strategies to ensure different service lines have the information they need to serve clients properly.
For example, when audit and tax use an integrated workflow management platform, auditors can notify the Tax Department when the client’s trial balance is finalized so Tax can start preparing tax returns.
Ensure consistency in communication by standardizing the messaging through training programs that emphasize the firm’s approach to client service.
3. Conflict resolution
Conflicts between service lines can arise — particularly when different departments try to prioritize resources or client strategies.
Setting up a central decision-making body can help mitigate such conflicts by aligning all departments under a unified strategy. This body can also act as a mediator to resolve disputes impartially and maintain the focus on the client’s best interests.
When one department selects new software, how does this impact client service for other departments?
It’s easy to have blinders on when selecting new software for a particular department. However, these decisions can impact multiple service lines.
1. Impact of technology changes on service integration
When one service line adopts new technology, assessing the impact on other departments is vital.
For example, say Audit is evaluating new audit management software. Auditors may believe this solution only impacts their workflows. However, the Tax Department may need access to calculate deferred tax calculations, update tax disclosures, etc. It might also affect how tax advisors gather information to prepare returns.
Incorporating other service lines into technology decisions ensures everyone can provide input into how the new solution will affect their workflows and client data management. Collecting feedback from other service lines during the selection process and after implementation can help ensure the new solution meets the needs of the entire firm—not just one department.
2. Interdepartmental collaboration
Different departments must collaborate closely to ensure software transitions don’t disrupt client service. Establish regular update meetings and conduct joint training sessions on the new software to facilitate a smoother integration.
3. Evaluation of impact
Collect metrics to assess the impact of new technology and processes on client service and collaboration across the firm. These metrics might include response time to client queries, error rates in data handling, and client satisfaction scores.
How is client experience connected to client service?
Many organizations use the terms “client service” and “client experience” interchangeably, but there is a difference. The client experience encompasses all client interactions with a firm, from first learning about your services to engaging the firm and even ending their relationship with it.
Client service is a part of the client experience, but it focuses on delivering solutions and support that align with client expectations and needs.
1. Identifying key processes
Identify which processes in your service delivery most significantly impact client satisfaction. These processes could range from response times to phone calls, time from the end of audit fieldwork until the financial statements are issued, or invoicing for a tax engagement.
Once you identify these critical processes, look for ways to improve them. This will help you focus your process improvement efforts on areas that have the greatest impact on client service.
2. Client feedback utilization
Regularly gather and analyze client feedback about your processes and integrate this feedback into service improvements to address gaps or shortcomings.
3. Cross-departmental collaboration
Encouraging collaboration across different departments can significantly enhance service delivery. For example, you might schedule a joint workshop to explore how different departments can work together more effectively to enhance overall client service and improve the client experience.
Shared objectives help align different teams toward common goals.
Unifying client service across various service lines will enhance operational efficiency in your firm and benefit client satisfaction and loyalty. As your firm continues to expand its service offerings, integrating these elements into a cohesive strategy will help you maintain a competitive advantage and drive long-term success.
Arianna Campbell is a shareholder and chief operating officer for Boomer Consulting, Inc.
Spend management advisory: Top six questions answered
BY KIM BLASCOE, CPA
There are many reasons why your clients may encounter challenges when trying to manage their cash. Often, it’s because proper tracking and controls aren’t in place. Taking a reactive approach to expenses, like waiting until after a purchase was made to find out that the purchase wasn’t needed, can greatly impact budgets and future financial opportunities.
But there’s good news. Technology has presented firms and clients of all sizes with an opportunity to improve how they manage their cash.
Modern spend management platforms like BILL Spend & Expense give your clients the tools to proactively monitor cash flow as money is actually being spent, as well as set and monitor budgets for employees and departments. For your firm, spend management is an in-demand service that can help you set the foundation for your advisory practice while helping your clients get a better handle on managing expenses. Here are some of the most common questions about spend management services I receive when working with firms, along with the opportunity this service can provide to your firm and your clients.
What is spend management?
Spend management is the ability to view, control and manage a business’s cash flow (including expenses) in real time within a single, centralized location. It is driven by technology to capture the expense at the time of transaction. With spend management, budgets are preset, and controls are in place so credit card spend is accounted for prior to being spent.
Spend management technology includes a corporate card linked to a software platform that offers visibility into client spending. Firms who adopt this technology gain insights into spend patterns, client budgets and overall financial health. This strategic approach facilitates smarter decisionmaking and enhances opportunities for advisory discussions.
How is spend management different from expense management?
Spend management focuses on the big picture of your clients’ finances, while expense management focuses on tracking dayto-day transactions and financial activity that has happened in the past. The goal of spend management is to keep expenses controlled, stay within preset budgets and eliminate the use of expense reports.
How can offering spend management services benefit my firm?
Offering spend management services can provide several benefits to your firm:
Improved financial visibility into client financials.
Process optimization.
Deeper conversations with clients that result in better retention.
Opportunity to grow margins through new service offerings.
When adding a new advisory service, a major challenge is conveying its benefits to internal stakeholders. As you engage in discussions with colleagues, emphasize spend management as a low-effort, high-reward service that can enhance staff efficiency and boost firm margins. Some efficiencies firms experience with spend management include:
Automation: Eliminate transactional tasks and operational obstacles in expense management, working towards a continuous close. Freeing up more time for client conversations and growth.
Standardization: Using technology that works for you and your clients allows convenient access and simplified spend controls with real-time categorization and budget controls. This provides your firm an opportunity to scale.
Integration: Effortlessly sync transactions between BILL Spend & Expense and your accounting systems, eliminating the need for manual data downloads. Your internal advisory team can now create customizable workflows and access data in one central location.
Reporting: Modernize your advisory services by catching abnormalities when they happen through custom reports. Enhanced reporting details allow you to drill down into spending by department, team, project or individual budget.
How can offering spend management services
benefit my clients?
There are a number of ways that offering spend management can benefit your clients.
BILL Spend & Expense’s budgeting software syncs automatically with employee corporate cards, stopping overspending from
happening and giving decision makers real-time visibility into spend by department, team, project or individual budget. Each employee gets a corporate card, with virtual cards available to make payments even easier and more secure. Predefined budgets in the platform allow for more intuitive and detailed spend control. Mobile reminders are also sent when a transaction occurs, so there’s no more hunting down receipts. One of the best parts—no more expense reports!
When an employee makes a purchase, the BILL Spend & Expense solution is trained over time to recognize the transaction’s vendor and suggests the proper coding. The employee still has the opportunity to edit the app’s suggestion before finalizing the transaction.
BILL Spend & Expense also provides the ability to input custom fields on expenditures and tie them directly to your accounting system with numerous industry integrations.
What
security features are built into the BILL Spend & Expense solution?
There are several security and data management features built into the BILL Spend & Expense solution.
The BILL Divvy corporate card uses merchant category code blocking which enables you and your clients to only allow a specific type of merchant or vendor to charge that particular card. This security feature prevents someone from stealing the card number and using it with an unauthorized vendor.
BILL Divvy corporate credit cards are backed by BILL’s partner bank, Cross River. Since these cards are Visas and MasterCards, the BILL Divvy card features the same fraud protection as other cards affiliated with the Visa and MasterCard payment-processing network.
Administrators of the platform can set individual budgets for each employee or account so they can’t go over the spend limit. If there are erroneous charges or an employee decides to go rogue, the admin can shut off the card within minutes.
What are the next steps to getting started with offering spend management services?
If you’re looking to learn more about offering spend management services at your firm but aren’t sure where to start, begin by watching this short video, What is Spend Management . Next, review our 5 Steps to Spend Management Advisory whitepaper for more on how to define roles and responsibilities, guidance on creating client budgets identifying an ideal client, and how to price and package spend management as an advisory service.
Kimberly K. Blascoe, CPA, leads CPA.com’s CAS 2.0 practice transformation programs, focusing on helping firms establish and grow optimized CAS practices through consulting, practice development and training offerings.
4 ways to protect your accounting clients’ data
BY HANNAH BRUNO
Today’s accounting professionals know that data security is a more urgent concern than ever. CPAs are in possession of their clients’ most sensitive personal and financial details, so it’s no surprise they’ve become prime hacking targets.
Today’s accounting professionals know that data security is a more urgent concern than ever. CPAs are in possession of their clients’ most sensitive personal and financial details, so it’s no surprise they’ve become prime hacking targets.
The IRS has advised CPAs to review all aspects of their data security strategies, including administrative practices, building protection, computer security, staff, and information systems. But does this mean you have to immediately become an Internet security expert if you want to avoid becoming the next headline or cautionary tale?
Absolutely not.
Protecting sensitive data can be simple for CPAs to do. The following steps will help ensure better data protection in your practice and are easy enough that any firm can implement them.
1. Identify your cyber assets
The path to a more secure firm starts with creating a simple document detailing your practice’s IT assets. List
all of the technology you use at your firm to the best of your knowledge, including:
Networking infrastructure: Do you have wired (LAN) and wi-fi networks? What is connected to each? Is there a guest network? Who has access to the wi-fi passphrase(s)?
Systems and other hardware: Take an inventory of all of the PCs, laptops, mobile devices, file servers, and network-attached storage (NAS) that are present in the practice.
Applications and data: What business software are you using, and what are those applications responsible for? Common software for accounting professionals includes practice management suites, billing and payments solutions, and document management tools.
Users: Make a comprehensive list of any and all users with accounts on your systems, including what privileges and capabilities these users have.
2. Strengthen your passwords
Everything in your office, from your network itself to your personal computer, is only as secure as the password you’ve created for it. What steps can you take to protect your personal information and your firm’s valuable data?
Use a password manager
A password manager provides a secure way to store and find all of your passwords and only requires you to remember a single master passphrase to gain access.
Create a strong passphrase
A passphrase is basically a stronger, more complicated password. Strong passphrases have the following characteristics:
They contain both upper and lowercase letters.
They have digits and punctuation symbols as well as letters.
They contain at least 12 or more letters, numbers, or symbols.
They are not a word in any language, slang, dialect, or jargon.
They are not based on any personal information.
Enable multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is available on many sites and protects you by requiring both your password and a code to access your account.
3. Fortify your physical and digital office
Securing both physical and digital office environments is crucial, particularly with wi-fi networks serving as the backbone of connectivity. While convenient, they pose significant security risks if not properly configured. Start by securing administrative access to your wireless router with a strong, unique password through the router’s configuration website, ensuring default passwords are changed.
Additionally, consider physical security measures such as locking up routers to prevent unauthorized resets.
4. Ensure data security and PCI compliance
Every business that accepts credit or debit card payments must be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standard (PCI DSS). Launched in 2006 by the PCI Security Standard Council (which in turn was created by major card brands), the PCI DSS ensures that businesses accepting card payments maintain safe practices throughout the year to prevent sensitive cardholder data from falling into the wrong hands.
To become compliant, businesses must complete a selfassessment questionnaire on an annual basis. The SAQs are based on the 6 standard groups outlined by the PCI DSS (and their sub-requirements), which are:
1. Build and maintain a secure network: Ensure that your systems have firewalls installed and are regularly updated.
2. Protect cardholder data no matter what: The best online payment solutions store and protect sensitive cardholder data for you. If you do have cardholder data stored on computers, be sure to enable whole-drive encryption.
3. Maintain a vulnerability management program: This simply means using antivirus and anti-malware software and keeping it up to date.
4. Implement strong access-control measures: This involves limiting access to sensitive cardholder data to only those with a business need to access it.
5. Regularly monitor and test networks: This involves documenting who can access what and making sure these practices are working correctly.
6. Maintain an information security policy: Draft a security policy that outlines how your business uses technology and handles sensitive data. Go over your security standards with each member of your team and anyone you do business with.
Establish a reputation clients can trust
For more tips on how to increase your firm’s security, check out the comprehensive guide “Cybersecurity: Best Practices for Accounting Firms.”
When it comes to safeguarding your financial information, CPACharge is the go-to solution for CPAs. With end-to-end encryption and strict compliance with industry standards, you can trust that your clients’ data is in safe hands.
So why wait? Reach out for a demo today and take the first step toward building a reputation as a trusted, secure firm.
Hannah Bruno is a senior content writer at CPACharge. She is based in Austin, Texas.
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A.I. can be a weapon for hackers. Here’s what businesses should do
BY MATT MILLER
Editor’s note: The following article was originally published by the Georgia Society of CPAs. It is reprinted here with permission.
Artificial Intelligence has transformed the way we live and work, offering immense potential for innovation and progress.
However, as with any technology, A.I. also has its drawbacks. Emerging technology like deepfakes — A.I.-generated synthetic media that can convincingly manipulate or fabricate audio, video, and images — have rapidly gained popularity among cyber criminals as a potent tool for cyberattacks. By leveraging deepfakes, these criminals can easily manipulate information, deceive individuals, and exploit vulnerabilities within organizations. The consequences of these attacks can be severe, ranging from financial losses to reputational damage.
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, both the opportunities and risks in terms of detection and defense against deepfakes are expanding. Many businesses now have access to the technology and can potentially use it to defend themselves against an attack. However, implementing these tools can be challenging due to external regulations and internal barriers such as skill gaps within the workforce and financial constraints giving the advantage to malicious actors who may exploit the opportunity first.
A May 2024 KPMG survey found that 76% of security leaders are concerned about the increasing sophistication of new
cyber threats and attacks. Hackers have found various ingenious ways to use deepfakes as part of their existing cyberattack strategies to make them more credible, such as business e-mail compromise (BEC) scams, insider threats, and market manipulation.
BEC scams involve impersonating high-ranking executives or business partners to deceive employees into transferring funds or sharing sensitive information while phishing attacks are used to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information. Deepfakes make these scams even more convincing, as hackers can manipulate audio or video to mimic the voice and appearance of the targeted individual. This increases the likelihood of victims falling for the scam, leading to data breaches, financial fraud, and identity theft.
Meanwhile, as far as insider threats, deepfakes can be used to create fake videos or audio recordings of employees, which can then be used to blackmail or manipulate them. Hackers exploit these deepfakes to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or compromise the integrity of a business or financial entity. Insider threats pose a significant risk, as they can cause substantial financial and reputational damage.
And deepfakes can also be employed to spread false information or manipulate stock prices, resulting in financial gains for hackers. By creating realistic videos or audio recordings of influential figures, hackers can create panic or generate hype, causing significant fluctuations in the market. This can lead to investors making uninformed decisions and suffering financial losses.
As the threat continues to rise, acquiring the necessary funding needed to detect advanced deepfake technology — which requires maintaining the necessary computing power, forensic algorithms, and audit processes — has been a major challenge.
Additionally, while businesses look to implement effective countermeasures, the rate of digital transformation only continues to pick up. This speed can come at the expense of security. As organizations innovate and embrace digital acceleration, the attack surface expands, and the number of assets requiring advanced security increases, putting them at risk.
This is why it is crucial for CISOs to have conversations with senior decision makers to ensure
cybersecurity budgets account for the costs associated with implementing new processes, tools and strategies if they want to protect their organizations from deepfake-related malicious attacks. Improving organizational risk intelligence can help build a stronger argument to get the necessary funding by quantifying the financial impact of security risks and threats posed by manipulated content.
Once sufficient funding has been acquired, KPMG recommends taking several measures to address the cybersecurity threat posed by deepfakes. First, it is important to develop a strong cybersecurity culture and promote good hygiene practices among employees. This includes educating employees about deepfakes, their potential risks, and how to identify them. By training employees to be cautious when interacting with media content, for example, businesses can reduce the likelihood of falling victim to deepfake attacks. Implementing robust authentication measures to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive information or systems is critical. This can involve using multi-factor authentication and biometrics to strengthen security.
Leveraging a zero-trust approach can also offer several benefits for mitigating attacks. It provides a comprehensive framework for mitigating deepfake cyberattacks by prioritizing strong authentication, access control, continuous monitoring, segmentation, and data protection. Organizations can implement granular access controls, allowing them to restrict access to specific resources based on user roles, privileges, and other contextual factors. By doing so, it helps prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to critical systems and data that could be used to propagate deepfakes.
Furthermore, zero trust encourages continuous monitoring of user behavior and network activity and promotes network segmentation and isolation. By actively monitoring for suspicious behavior or anomalies, organizations can detect and respond to potential attacks in real-time, minimizing the damage caused. By separating critical systems and data from less secure areas, organizations can limit the spread of deepfake content and prevent it from infiltrating sensitive areas. Lastly, it protects data at all stages, including data in transit and at rest. By implementing strong encryption and data protection measures, organizations can safeguard their data from being manipulated or tampered with to create deepfakes.
In addition, businesses should proactively employ advanced monitoring and detection technologies like A.I.-based tools and algorithms to identify anomalies in audio, video, or image files that may indicate the presence of deepfakes. In fact, according to the recent KPMG survey, 50 percent of cyber security leaders are already using A.I. and advanced analytics to predict potential threats. Other proactive measures can include collaborating and sharing information with regulatory agencies to leverage their expertise and resources critical for the development of effective policies which can ultimately help safeguard critical systems against emerging threats.
Development of an incident response plan specifically outlining the steps to be taken if a deepfake attack occurs, including communication protocols, legal considerations, and technical countermeasures, should also be a priority for leaders.
Lastly, regular organization-wide system updates and patching are crucial to maintaining a strong defense against deepfakes as well. Keeping all software, applications, and systems up to date with the latest security patches helps protect against known vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber criminals.
Overall, the rise of new technology such as deepfakes presents a significant threat to businesses and financial entities. The scale at which deepfake attacks can cause financial harm, reputational damage, and data breaches should not be underestimated. And as A.I. technology continues to advance, so too will the capabilities of deepfakes. Hackers will undoubtedly find new and innovative ways to exploit this technology for their malicious purposes. Businesses and financial entities need to be vigilant by collaborating with cybersecurity experts, researchers, and law enforcement agencies to stay updated on the latest deepfake techniques and countermeasures.
In this ever-evolving landscape of A.I. and cybersecurity, it is essential to remain proactive and adaptive. By staying informed, implementing best practices, and leveraging the power of A.I. for defense, businesses and financial entities can mitigate the risks posed by deepfake attacks and safeguard their operations, reputation, and stakeholders’ trust.
Matt Miller is principal of cyber security at KPMG.
Meet the MACPA Team
We are excited to introduce you to members of the dedicated MACPA Team – the incredible individuals working tirelessly behind the scenes.
They’re all passionate about ensuring your membership experience is not only positive, but also rewarding and delivers exceptional value. Through this series, you’ll gain valuable insights into the team, their roles, and how their hard work directly benefits you as a member. Dive in and get to know the amazing people who make MACPA so special!
JUSTIN CHASE
Member Service Representative
What are your primary responsibilities at MACPA?
I am the member service representative here at MACPA. I handle inbound and outbound calls, assist with our live chat support, manage member accounts, and assist my team with various projects. My primary responsibility is to provide outstanding service to all of our members.
How long have you been with MACPA, and what drew you to work here?
I have been with MACPA since January of this year. What drew me into this organization was the job description. I have always enjoyed customer service roles and this sounded like a great fit. After interviewing with the team, I knew I would find a permanent home here. It’s safe to say I absolutely love working here. The MACPA has a phenomenal work culture and work / life balance.
What is the most rewarding part of working with MACPA members?
I enjoy engaging with the members, being able to help assist them with day-to-day concerns, and helping them manage their accounts. The most rewarding part of working here at the MACPA is the culture. I have never worked for a company that truly values its employees. From job flexibility to the way management communicates and how even our CEO is so accessible, it feels like a second family and I love going to work every day.
Can you share a memorable experience or a favorite moment you’ve had while working at MACPA?
My favorite moment while working here was when we did the group cooking class. We had a lot of fun cooking together, laughing and just being able to have that kind of team interaction.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy exercising with my children in the gym, art, cooking, taking long walks, watching horror movies, and just being a family man. Playing UNO is a big deal in our house … I’m the current champion! I also just love being around my family.
Justin Chase with MACPA colleague Mary Beth Halpern at the MACPA group cooking class
Need to get in touch with the MACPA team?
Our Member Service Center will direct your inquiry to the right department for a fast response.
LAUREN McDONOUGH Director, Member Engagement
What are your primary responsibilities at MACPA?
As director of member engagement, I have the privilege of working closely with our members. My key responsibilities include overseeing the Member Service Center, managing the membership renewal process, and supporting our student members on their journey to become a CPA.
How long have you been with MACPA, and what drew you to work here?
I’ve been with MACPA for 10 years, starting as a member service representative right after graduating from college in 2013. I was referred to the position by my childhood babysitter, who was the membership manager. She believed I would be a great fit for the role, and I quickly saw the amazing potential of this organization. From the beginning, I loved everything about my job and the opportunities the MACPA offered for professional growth and development.
What is the most rewarding part of working with MACPA members?
I enjoy the variety of job duties I have. Every day brings something new. Whether it’s assisting members with problems they are facing, planning our Swearing-In Ceremony for newly licensed CPAs, or creating scholarship opportunities for students, each day presents something new!
I’d say the most rewarding part of my job is watching our student members and CPA Candidates transition to CPA members.
I’d say the most rewarding part of my job is watching our student members and CPA Candidates transition to CPA members
Can you share a memorable experience or a favorite moment you’ve had while working at MACPA?
My favorite moment at the MACPA is the Newly-Licensed CPA Ceremony, which happens annually. Every year, we host an event in which we welcome individuals who have just passed the CPA exam. The room is filled with family and friends celebrating their loved ones’ hard work. It’s amazing to see the community of support they have in their journey!
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love spending time with my wonderful husband and our three children. Keeping up with their various activities and interests keeps us very busy. My favorite hobby is camping, and last year we got an RV. We’ve had a great time taking the kids on adventures!
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Trusted by accounting industry professionals nationwide, CPACharge is a simple, web-based solution that allows you to securely accept client credit and eCheck payments from anywhere. – Cantor Forensic Accounting, PLLC
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Albright Crumbacker Moul & Itell
Askey, Askey and Associates, CPA, LLC
Balsamo, Stewart, Lutters & Ruth, PA
BDO
Benedict & Slack CPA’s
Berger, Nyborg & Cannon, P.A.
Berlin, Ramos & Company, P.A.
Berman, Goldman & Ribakow, LLP
Betz, Goldman, Clearfield, Kramer, & Ocampo, LLP
Bormel, Grice & Huyett, PA
Bridgett Mock & Associates
BSC Group
Butler, Lavanceau & Sober, LLC
CG Accounting Group, LLC
Chambers & Nier, PC.
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP - Baltimore
Cohen & Company - Baltimore
CohnReznick - Baltimore
CohnReznick - Bethesda
Crumback & Associates, LLC
Dembo-Jones
DeLeon & Stang, CPAs
Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP
Dorman CPAs & Business Consultants
Ellin & Tucker, Chartered
Faw, Casson & Co., LLP
French Shepley & Strong, LLC
Garbelman Winslow CPAs
Gary R. Bozel & Assoc., P.A.
Glass, Jacobson & Associates, P.A.
Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn P.A.
Grandizio, Wilkins, Little & Matthews
GRF CPAs & Advisors
Gross, Mendelsohn & Assoc., PA
HeimLantz CPAs & Advisors
Hitt & Company, LLC
Huber, Michaels & Company
KatzAbosch
KBST&M
Kensington Business Solutions, LLC
Kest, Forte & Rottenberg, P.A.
Key & Associates
King, King & Associates, PA
Klausner Bendler + Associates, PC
KPMG - Maryland
Kullman CPA, LLC
Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm & Doyle, P.C.
Lebson & Associates, PA, CPA’s
Leonard J. Miller & Assoc., Chtd.
Lindsey & Associates, LLC
Linton Shafer Warfield & Garrett P.A
Lombardo Ayers & Company, LLC
MKS&H CPAS and Business Consultants
Mister, Burton and Associates, LLC
Mullen, Sondberg, Wimbish & Stone, P.A.
Murray, Wamsley & Schrader, LLC
Myers & Stauffer, LC
Novotny, Larash & Grainger, P.A.
Penan & Scott, P.C.
Polan and Hollis, LLC
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Radcliffe Corporate Services, Inc.
RLH CPA’s & Business Advisors LLC
RS&F LLC
SC&H Group - Sparks
Selby & Poulin, PA
Smith Elliott Kearns & Company, LLC
Sturgill & Associates, LLP
Squire Lemkin + Co, LLP
The Rodeheaver Group P.C.
TMDG, LLC
Tonneson + co - Columbia
Turnbull, Hoover & Kahl, PA
TRS CPA Group PA
UHY LLP - Columbia
Varanko & Black CPA’s
Weil, Akman, Baylin & Coleman, P.A.
Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra, Chtd.
YHB CPAs & Consultants
Thank you to our Maryland CPA firms that support our profession with 100% membership.
Want your firm to be on this list?
Contact the MACPA Member Service Center at 800-782-2036.
Together, we connect, protect, and achieve as a profession.
CLASSIFIEDS
Join a dynamic team at Bowie State University as an Executive
Director of Business and Auxiliary Services!
Under the supervision of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, the Executive Director for Business and Auxiliary Services will provide strategic planning, oversight, and delivery of high-quality auxiliary support services to the faculty, staff and student population of the University.
Develops overall business strategies for the selfsustaining, revenue-generating auxiliary enterprises and activities that ensure their fiscal stability.
Provide briefings to the Cabinet/Sub-Cabinet, student organization, and other campus faculty and staff organizations as needed.
Support and encourage student businesses on campus through direct counsel and guidance, as well as, coordination with the Entrepreneurship Academy.
Plans services evaluation, process improvement, performance indicators and special projects.
Participates in the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) and other associations.
Establishes and implements short-and-long range goals and objectives for each operating unit.
Trains and evaluates personnel.
Plans and implements staffing plans for business operation.
EDUCATION: Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance or Accounting or related field preferred.
EXPERIENCE: Ten (10) year record of progressive leadership in a complex organization, preferably higher education. For a full description and to apply, visit https://bowiestate.peopleadmin.com/ to apply online. Paper application submissions will not be considered.
Bowie State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities are available upon request. Please contact the University’s EEO Officer at 301-860-3442.
In accordance with the Cleary Act of 2000, you are advised to contact the Bowie State University Campus Police Office for Disclosure of Criminal Incidents that occur on our campus.
Maryland Practices For Sale
Gross Revenues Shown: NEW $715K Northern Essex Co Practice; NEW $277K Plymouth Metro Area CPA,Tax, Accting Practice; NEW $892K Southern Bristol Co CPA Practice; $326K Newton/Needham Area CPA Practice; $544K Berkshire Co CPA Practice; $1.725M Metro West CPA Practice; $399K Braintree CPA Practice; $325K Beverly/Danvers Area CPA Practice; $490K Mid-Cape CPA Practice
For additional information or to see nationwide listings and register for free email updates visit us at www.APS.net.
Thinking of Selling Your Practice?
Accounting Practice Sales is the leading marketer of tax and accounting practices in North America. We have a large pool of buyers, both individuals and firms, looking for practices to purchase. We also have the experience to help you find the right fit for your firm, negotiate the best price and terms and get the deal done. We welcome the opportunity to talk to you about our risk-free and confidential services.
For more information please call Bradley Holmes with the APS Holmes Group at 1-800-397-0249 or email Bradley@apsholmesgroup.com.
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FUTUREPROOF
with Bill Sheridan
These on-demand episodes hosted by Bill Sheridan provide dynamic perspectives on the latest trends in the accounting profession.
Join us for insightful discussions with industry thought leaders on advocacy, culture, technology, and more. Complimentary for members!
Listen anywhere you go, click here for links to all streaming platforms macpa.org/podcast
