CHAIR’S COLUMN Legislative volunteers help change the narrative of what a CPA does

BY HERBERT J. GEARY III, CPA, CGMA / PARTNER, UHY LLP

There were no legislative emergencies — no rush to raise revenue by enacting a sales tax on professional services, no misguided attempts at tort reform that would raise the cost of doing business in Maryland.

The MACPA and its legislative volunteers keep a close watch on the General Assembly’s docket each spring on the off chance these hot-button issues should surface. Thankfully, all was quiet.

No emergencies doesn’t mean no action, though. In fact, this might have been the MACPA’s busiest legislative session ever.

Our tireless volunteers provided testimony for an astounding 21 bills this year — an all-time record. They offered comments on bills related to corporate tax rates and reporting issues, estate taxes, income taxes, the electronic filing of tax documents, and proposed financial literacy education in public high schools. Some of their most impactful testimony centered on Maryland’s Office of the Comptroller.

• The MACPA submitted testimony in support of a properly funded budget that will allow the Comptroller’s Office to retain its current team, hire additional qualified personnel by offering competitive salary levels, and allow for a more modern IT system.

• We supported legislation that would create a “21st Century Financial Systems Council,” which would be tasked with improving the operations and efficiency of the state’s financial systems.

• Legislative volunteer Jeff Lawson, chair of the MACPA’s State Tax Committee, testified in support of a bill that would create a Taxpayer Advocate Division within the Office of the Comptroller “to assist taxpayers and their representatives in resolving certain taxpayer problems and complaints and represent taxpayers’ interests in a certain manner.” Members of the MACPA’s Tax Community have supported the creation of a Taxpayer

Advocate in Maryland for years. This year, they finally had the opportunity to formalize that support.

And though they offered no testimony on the issue, our volunteers also offered guidance for lawmakers tasked with implementing the voter-approved sale of recreational cannabis to adults in Maryland. That guidance came in the form of 12 guiding principles of good tax policy that elected officials should take into account as they consider new legislation.

Equally impressive is the fact that all of this incredible work — much of it done by members of the MACPA’s Tax Community — took place during our profession’s busiest time of the year. Volunteering for work as important as this while also navigating the complexities and time constraints of tax season is a herculean effort indeed.

Our sincere gratitude goes out to all of our legislative volunteers who took up the cause. In my eyes, these are CPAs who can clearly answer the question I posed in a previous column: Why did you choose to become a CPA?

Debates continue throughout the profession on the best ways to address our depleted talent pipeline. Reasoned arguments and thoughtful ideas abound, and we continue to seek insightful ideas to add to the conversation. I’m convinced that a huge part of that conversation must include a change in the narrative about our profession. We’re not boring, stodgy, overworked numbercrunchers. We are passionate professionals whose work is vital not only to our clients and the economy, but the public at large. Students who are considering accounting as a career need to understand why.

The work our legislative volunteers do is as important as anything else they do in their professional lives. It’s not selfish work, either. This isn’t entirely about protecting our profession. As CPAs, our middle name is “public,” and testifying to our lawmakers in

Annapolis — either in person or in writing — is work that directly protects the public interest. I can’t think of a better purpose than that.

In a 2019 podcast interview, recently retired leadership expert Tom Peters spoke directly to our profession on this very point.

“Do not limit your definition of what you are,” he said. “A CPA is not somebody with technical skills. They are a business professional who can help people run their hospital, or their non-profit, or their retail operation better. The point is being helpful. There’s no reason why a three-person CPA firm can’t be the McKinsey of their community.”

Each of us has a story that illustrates the importance of the work we do and the reasons why we do it. The hard part is digging deep enough to find those stories. It’s critically important work, though. Those stories will help others see our profession as one worth joining. Here are some questions that might help you unearth your story:

• Whose life is different because of what you do?

• What is your proudest moment in your career?

• What was your most meaningful transaction?

• Who is your most satisfied customer? Why?

• What was the moment you knew the work you do is worthwhile?

The stories that will help attract a new generation of CPAs to our profession lie in the answers to these questions. Though my year as MACPA chair is coming to a close, I look forward to telling those stories with you in the weeks and years to come — and to strengthening our profession in the process. My sincere thanks for affording me the privilege of serving our profession on your behalf. It has been an honor.