NEWS

More Big Firms Shut Their Doors to New College Grads

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Some 88.7% of top firms rate problem-solving skills among the most important criteria in hiring new college grads. Technical skills rank fifth, at 67%. (NACE)

Firms that overhired in the COVID-19 boom are now trimming their ranks.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Despite widespread concerns in the profession about a talent shortage, the largest accounting firms in a new survey are cutting back on their hiring of new college accounting graduates by 16.1 percent this year.

MORE in STAFFING & RECRUITING: Employee Retention Is Easier Than Attraction | Payroll Leads Job Gains in Tax & Accounting Sector |  Disruptors: Talent Crisis? What Talent Crisis? |  Letting Staff Go After Tax Season? Bad Idea |  Firms Culling Clients as Staffing Woes Persist | Compensation’s Up, but Up Enough to Retain Staff?

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Reflecting broader economic uncertainties and budgetary constraints, half of all the biggest firms surveyed are gearing down for a recession, marking a sharp turnaround from the hiring spree sparked by a global pandemic that forced industries across the globe into transformational change, often staffed and driven by the biggest accounting and consulting firms.

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Unraveling the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank | Accounting ARC

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Delving into financial disarray and what contributes to the shutdown of community banking institutions

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).
Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, and Audacy.

Accounting ARC 
With Donny Shimamoto, Liz Mason, and Byron Patrick
Center for Accounting Transformation

In the labyrinth of financial intricacies, the collapse of a bank sends shockwaves through the economic landscape, leaving stakeholders scrambling for answers. In this episode, “Accounting ARC: Unraveling the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank” dissects the demise of Silicon Valley Bank to unravel the intricate web of factors that precipitated its downfall.

MORE: Harper & Co. CPAs: The Perspective of a Non-Accountant is Imperative | Menlo Innovations: Improve Office Culture by Overhauling Internal Reviews | Dustin Wheeler: For Serious CAS Success, Hire Tech Teams | Chase Birky: Overcoming Paralysis By Analysis |

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Hosted by seasoned financial experts, this Accounting ARC episode, featuring Terry Sherrill, CPA, a managing director with TPS Thayer in Sugar Land, Texas, dives deep into the underlying causes of bank collapses while offering invaluable insights for CPAs, auditors, and financial professionals to fortify against such catastrophes.

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CPA Profession Facing More Battles Across the Country

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Disputes revolve around required hours, definitions and “substantial equivalency.”

By Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

Of all the states whose legislature has run amok this past year, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 813 – Certified Public Accountants – by both the Florida House and Senate. This bill creates a new “retired status” license category for CPAs. The legislation will now be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis for consideration for being signed into law.

MORE: 150 Hours Revisted: The Profession Needs a Makeover | How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | Which is Better: A Year of Education or A Year of Experience? | Sell Service, Not Hours | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership | CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee Model | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement
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According to the Florida Institute of CPAs CEO, the thinking behind this is to “… uphold retired CPAs’ profound sense of pride and accomplishment and preserve their professional identity.” However, they cannot reflect to the public that they have an active license because many believe the public thinks that if you have “CPA” after your name, you have an active license. If an individual wants to return to public practice, they can complete 80 hours of CPE every two years as part of renewing their license.

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MOVE Announces Best Firms for Women, Best Firms for Equity Leadership

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Pinched between immediate capacity shortfalls and applying talent to innovation, firms are crafting new ways to recognize and reward women’s resilience.

By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

You can’t go the distance on an empty tank.

It takes pacing, re-fueling and constant systems checks to achieve long-term goals, for both accounting and advisory firms and women in the profession. Individual career sustainability is essential for firm growth – and vice versa.

In the recently released 2023 Accounting MOVE Project report, a talent-starved profession receives a fresh influx of strategies and inspiration for investing in the women it must attract and retain to achieve short goals and survive long-term. With nearly 75% of accounting firm leaders eligible for retirement, and accounting degree college enrollment continuing to drop, the profession is at a crossroads. It is more important than ever for firms to find ways to attract and retain employees to not only meet increasing client needs, but to simply survive. So, what are firms that are outpacing the industry doing differently?

MORE: Jina Etienne: Practice Fearless Inclusion | CSR for CPAs: The Missing Ingredient | New Study: Embracing Diversity in Accounting |Why the Diversity Problem Won’t Be ‘Fixed’ |Sponsorship Might Keep Talent from Exiting | New Study: Embracing Diversity in Accounting
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The Accounting MOVE Project report finds firms embracing the new super skill of career sustainability are rising to the occasion. For women, career sustainability addresses the capacity to maintain motivation and energy at every step, while rebalancing the personal and professional with each engagement. For firms, it engenders a leadership culture, defining new capabilities, qualifications, and measurements for unmapped growth. And for both, this super skill is the ability to “skate to where the puck is” on slanted ice through upended physics. Through it all, mutual respect and collaboration remains paramount, the inescapable legacy of the workplace upheaval brought on by the pandemic.

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Forvis and Mazars Combine to Form New Top Ten Global Firm

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But it’s not your typical merger.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Beta: This article was created using generative A.I

In a significant development for the global accounting and audit industry, FORVIS and Mazars have announced their intention to form a new top 10 global network. This move represents a major shift in the audit market landscape, aiming to challenge the dominance of the Big Four.

The merger is a strategic decision that leverages the strengths of both firms — FORVIS, known for its deep expertise and presence in the United States, and Mazars, which boasts a strong international footprint. With this union, the new network sets its sights on expanding its global reach and enhancing its capabilities to provide a wider array of professional services to clients worldwide.

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When Live Events Fail

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How to do in-person conferences the right way.

By Seth Fineberg

Some of you may know my views on the importance of live events in accounting. But now we’re witnessing a shift in why attendees go or need to go: Human support.

MORE SETH FINEBERG: Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today | Accounting Tech Doesn’t Have to Be Daunting | Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients? |  Time Management Rule #1 for Accountants |  Plan to Go ‘Live’ Post Tax Season |  Why VC Is a Bigger Threat Than AI  |   What Does Taking Control of Your Firm Mean? | Accountants Need Each Other More Than Ever | Marchternity: Just Say ‘No’ | Some Thoughts on In-Person Events | So You Think You Know Accountants? | What Bogs Down Accountants

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Sure, CPE, networking, and quality content are indeed a thing when it comes to considering the time and expense of attending an in-person event. But accountants these days need more. They need each other more than ever.

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Bill Gates Behind Next-Generation Nuclear Plant

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The new plant could be in operation as early as 2029. 

By Rick Richardson
Technology This Week

Even by Wyoming standards, Kemmerer is far away – it’s a 50-mile diversion from Interstate 80.

MORE: Your Boarding Pass Could Onboard Hackers | Generative AI Coming to Microsoft 365 | Electronic Skin That Can Sense Touch Will Transform Robotics | ChatGPT Passes CPA Exam on Second Try | Stanford Scientists 3D-Print Heart Tissue | Four of Today’s New Technologies That Will Be Tomorrow’s ‘Norm’ | Cyber Insurance Costs Rise in Health Care as Attacks Soar | Phishing Attack Hackers Have a New Trick
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It draws tourists who stop by to look for local fossils, even though its elevation is higher than its population. However, different types of fossils, or fossil fuels, produce the best jobs. Three power plants are powered by a coal mine and gas wells, which together employ around 450 people. However, Kemmerer officials see the writing on the wall with the declining use of fossil fuel and all the efforts to migrate to cleaner energy.
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Why the U.S. Must Act Now to Protect Our Online Privacy

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Lawmakers need to step up. Don’t expect Big Tech to help.

By Jonathan Baron

I’m thankful for the European Union. They watch out with much more diligence to protect privacy and do so with an eye to cybersecurity as well. But at least our regulators in the U.S. are fairly good, but slow, followers.

MORE CYBERSECURITY: Top Tax Vendors Caught Red-Handed Selling Private Taxpayer Data | How Hacker-Proof is Your Firm? | It Takes a Village to Stop Cybercrime | One-Third of Cyber Attacks Involve Small Businesses | Cyber Insurance Costs Rise in Health Care as Attacks Soar | The Why, What and How of Cybersecurity for Accountants | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | Cybersecurity for Tax Professionals |

MORE JON BARON: Top Tax Vendors Caught Red-Handed Selling Private Taxpayer Data | Client Accounting Services Poised to Surge in Post-Corona World | Tax Pros Retake Market Share from DIYers | Three New Technologies that Will Change Everything [VIDEO] | Economic Mega-Trends [VIDEO] | Today’s Best Opportunities for Accounting Firms [VIDEO] | Re-Invest in Your Firm or Get Out? [VIDEO] |  When Tax Work Dies [VIDEO] |  The Big Shift and The Shakeout [VIDEO] | Why the U.S. Lags the World in Tax Tech [VIDEO]

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I was reminded of this because the other day, I received my quarterly report from DeleteMe, which I use to periodically clean up my data being bought and sold without my knowledge on the open market. Since our last report, my wife and I have had over 20 new third parties needing cleanup. Unbelievable.

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Remembering John Stokdyk

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John Stokdyk
Stokdyk

The profession mourns a loss.

By Seth Fineberg
At Large

How does one honor a life? It’s a heavy thing upon initial approach. But when you start from a point of celebration of what was lived and not mourning what was lost, I think you begin down the right path. But this isn’t about me or anyone other than the man I knew barely eight years of chronological time and who, I believe, should be remembered in the accounting community.

MORE SETH FINEBERG: Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients? |  Time Management Rule #1 for Accountants |  Plan to Go ‘Live’ Post Tax Season |  Why VC Is a Bigger Threat Than AI  |   What Does Taking Control of Your Firm Mean? | Accountants Need Each Other More Than Ever | Marchternity: Just Say ‘No’ | Some Thoughts on In-Person Events | So You Think You Know Accountants? | What Bogs Down Accountants

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To know John Stokdyk as an editor, thinker, avid statistician and collector of all manner of data on accountants and related technology only touches the surface. I met him as he still held the Editor title of AccountingWEB UK, which still boasts the largest audience of accountants in the UK. He and then AccountingWEB US Publisher Andy North interviewed me for the vacant Managing Editor role here.

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ChatGPT Passes CPA Exam on Second Try

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Its average score was 85.1.

By Rick Richardson
Technology This Week

An improved and better-trained version of ChatGPT took a simulated CPA test after an earlier failure and passed, similar to the roughly half of human applicants who fail on their first attempt. But does this trial suggest that ChatGPT will soon compete for accounting positions?

MORE: Smartwatch Saves Two Lives | First e-Road Charges Electric Vehicles as They Drive | Stanford Scientists 3D-Print Heart Tissue | ChatGPT Unlikely to Replace Accountants | Cancer Vaccine Available by 2030? | Four of Today’s New Technologies That Will Be Tomorrow’s ‘Norm’ | ChatGPT Spurs Competition in Different Ways | ChatGPT: What It Is. Why You Need to Know.
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“This calls into question the ‘competitive advantage’ of the human accountant relative to the machine. To our knowledge, for the first time, AI has performed as well as most human accountants on a real-world accounting task. This raises important questions of how machines and accountants will work together in the future,” the study’s authors said.
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Accountants Raise Alarms on Small Business Outlook

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The Avalara Accountants Confidence Report points to difficulties ahead for small businesses to access capital, increase profits, raise revenues, hire new employees, and control costs.

Looking ahead 12-18 months, accountants expect increasingly acute hardships, led by problems in accessing fresh capital, hiring, and managing labor costs. But new technology and automation could help cushion the pain for some.
https://cpa.click/smb23outlook
Click to download (PDF 19 pages)

Avalara, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, released a new survey of over 500 Main Street accountants representing more than 100,000 small businesses.

Survey responses revealed that looming economic headwinds could create challenges for small businesses in the next 12–18 months. The survey, conducted during the 2023 tax season, shows that accountants believe small businesses will face challenges in accessing fresh capital, increasing profits, managing payroll costs, weathering supply chain difficulties, and hiring new staff.

Get the instant download here:
The Avalara Accountants Confidence Report

The 2023 Avalara Accountants Confidence Report, produced in conjunction with CPA Trendlines, queried trusted advisors with clear insights into the financial health of small business clients. The report measures accountants’ attitudes and outlook on a variety of pressing issues, leading with sentiment on the health of small business clients, and providing a read on the national economy and the state of smaller accounting practices. Accountants were surveyed as they combed through business clients’ financials and prepared their tax returns.

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Trump Indicted. And, Yes, There’s a Tax Angle

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Download the indictment (PDF)
Download the indictment (PDF)

“The participants also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme.”

Read the Indictment and the Statement of Facts for yourself

Statement by District Attorney

District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump

  • The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the indictment of DONALD J. TRUMP, 76, for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election. During the election, TRUMP and others employed a “catch and kill” scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.

TRUMP is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

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