Journal of Accountancy Podcast

How an organization frames the discussion around bringing staff back together in the office matters. Jennifer Wilson, partner and co-founder of Convergence Coaching LLC, expands on her recent Journal of Accountancy article about reopening mistakes for organizations. Wilson is a speaker at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2021 on the topic of managing a blended workforce (view the full ENGAGE agenda here). Also, hear a reminder about playing to your strengths from another ENGAGE 2021 speaker, executive coach Rhonda Peterson.

Life and work in the pandemic era can be exhausting. Stress can make it difficult to focus on and execute your goals. ENGAGE 2021 speaker Rhonda Peterson believes taking the time to care for and nurture one’s energy can improve your career success, increase your businesses’ profitability, and provide a deeper sense of fulfilment. Peterson shares her tips for discovering the activities and stresses that drain your energy, making it harder to succeed, and for uncovering the endeavors that bolster your energy. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why your personal energy matters and how it affects your life, business, and career. How to identify significant energy drains in your life. How to find activities that improve and boost your energy. Why managers should be paying attention to their team members’ energy levels and how they can help improve them. The best way to develop a personal energy protection habit.

A recent Journal of Accountancy article by Kelly Williams, CPA, Ph.D., detailed eight ways to calculate depreciation in Excel. Williams, one of two CPA authors of the Technology Q&A feature, shares why it’s helpful to CPAs to have so many methods and which one she prefers. She also talks about Flash Fill as a preview to her Excel session at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2021 in July. In the second interview segment, Mark Beasley, CPA, Ph.D., says one key part of enterprise risk management (ERM) is breaking down silos. Beasley, the director of North Carolina State University’s ERM Initiative, joined the JofA podcast for a discussion of lessons that can be pulled from a recent survey on risk management. An article on the survey appeared on the website of FM magazine. Also, listen to news on a proposed standard by FASB and an update on Paycheck Protection Program funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

CFOs and other leaders have been forced to adapt to challenging and fast-moving circumstances as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, the executive vice president of business growth and engagement for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, reflects on what finance leaders have learned in the past year and previews two of his sessions at the upcoming AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference.

The IRS has issued updated guidance on several aspects of the employee retention credit. April Walker, CPA, CGMA, lead manager on the Tax Practice & Ethics team at the AICPA, touches on the highlights, including filing options for claiming the credit, an extension of penalty relief, and several key questions that have yet to be resolved. What you’ll learn from this episode: What recent IRS notices have addressed regarding claiming the credit in 2021 and penalty relief. Two critical questions about the credit that have yet to be addressed by the IRS. One common mistake that a CPA firm leader says managers should avoid when delegating tasks. Updates on a bill’s passage in the House of Representatives and other news.

Two featured speakers at the AICPA & CIMA CFO Conference, Josh Linkner and LaRae Quy, are sharing previews of their conference sessions in this episode. Linkner discusses how organizations can foster creativity, even in supposedly noncreative jobs, and how that creativity can lead to everyday innovation. Quy, an author and former FBI agent, shares details on the importance of mental toughness. What you’ll learn from this episode: Keynote speaker and innovation expert Josh Linkner’s explanation for calling himself a “creative troublemaker.” Why Linkner believes we shouldn’t link creativity to someone’s job title. The harrowing story of an FBI agent’s first ride-along and how it underscored the importance of mental toughness. The reasons our cerebral brain and emotional brain must work together. Updates on new treatment of excess premium tax credits, an extended comment period for an AICPA Auditing Standards Board exposure draft on quality management, and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program’s rough start.

Ben Nemtin, the keynote speaker May 5 at the AICPA & CIMA Employee Benefit Plans Conference, thought he was going on a two-week road trip with some friends 15 years ago. That trip lasted years, changing his life and those of many others they encountered. Nemtin also shares why it’s more important these days to talk about mental health, along with some of the inspiration he got from seeing complete strangers realize a few bucket-list dreams.

African Americans are still underrepresented in the accounting profession: Only 2% of CPAs are Black. In this second part of a two-episode podcast, we look at what the profession can do to increase the number of Black CPAs. Guests Ruth Harris, the first Black female CPA in Virginia, and Frank Ross, one of the founders of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), share their experiences as Black CPAs and educators, and Theresa Hammond, Ph.D., author of A White-Collar Profession: African American Certified Public Accountants Since 1921, shares her perspective as an accounting professor and scholar of CPA history. This podcast is associated with the Black CPA Centennial Campaign, a yearlong celebration and recognition of the impact of Black CPAs upon the profession.

The requirements for Paycheck Protection Program applicants who are not-for-profits are different from those for for-profit businesses. Dave Moja, CPA, a member of the AICPA Not-for-Profit Advisory Council, explains some of those differences and more about completing Form 990 and Form 941. Also, hear a section of a two-part podcast series that documents the triumphs and struggles of some of the first Black CPAs.

In this first part of a two-episode podcast, we take a look at the remarkable accomplishments of Black CPAs in the 20th century, featuring the testimony of two CPAs who witnessed Black CPA history firsthand: Ruth Harris, the first Black female CPA in Virginia, and Frank Ross, one of the founders of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). Theresa Hammond, Ph.D., author of A White-Collar Profession: African American Certified Public Accountants Since 1921, adds historical context. This podcast episode is associated with the Black CPA Centennial Campaign, a yearlong celebration and recognition of the impact of Black CPAs upon the profession.