Journal of Accountancy Podcast

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and the start of tax season are two topics squarely on the minds of CPAs these days. This episode analyzes the Jan. 25 update by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) about processing second-draw loan applications and looks at what recent IRS announcements mean for tax season. Kari Hipsak, CPA, CGMA, a senior manager at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, and Alistair Nevius, J.D., the JofA’s editor-in-chief, tax, are the guests for this quick look at recent news that affects the accounting profession. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why PPP loan applicants should be patient and vigilant. The practical applications of the SBA’s recent update. A preview of the JofA’s February print issue. What the announced date that the IRS begins accepting tax returns means for practitioners and filers. Effects of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), P.L. 116-260, on tax season.

Earlier, Eileen Sherr, CPA, CGMA, MT, a director of the AICPA’s Tax Policy & Advocacy team, discussed prospects for reversing by legislation the IRS’s position regarding deductibility of business expenses paid with loan proceeds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that are ultimately forgiven. Now, that legislation has been enacted, by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), P.L. 116-260. Sherr returns to outline that and other changes. Plus, we look ahead to possible developments during 2021 in tax legislation and pandemic relief. What you’ll learn from this episode: What the CAA resolved regarding deductibility of business expenses paid by loan proceeds from the PPP, along with other AICPA advocacy priorities — and what remains unresolved. Possible emphases for tax legislation going forward from the Biden administration and the new Congress. Ongoing pandemic-related tax relief measures and advocacy at the federal and state levels.

Accountants played a crucial role in helping millions of organizations, most of them small businesses, receive $525 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans last year. Now, the PPP is back and businesses will again be looking to CPAs for advice and assistance in accessing the program, which provides forgivable loans that borrowers can use for payroll and other essential expenses as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to roil the economy. What do CPAs need to know about the new PPP? How is it different from the program that ran for five months before its loan application window closed in August? And what should accountants be doing to help businesses access the $284 billion available in the PPP’s second iteration? Those topics and more are addressed by Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of the AICPA’s business subsidiary CPA.com, and Lisa Simpson, CPA, CGMA, the AICPA’s vice president–Firm Services. What you’ll learn from this episode: When lenders can start submitting PPP loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Details about the new PPP second-draw loans. Why many banks won’t be submitting PPP applications at the beginning of the application period. What the AICPA has been doing to support the accounting profession with the PPP over the past nine months. Why it is important for PPP borrowers to have two paths they can take in pursuing a second-draw PPP loan. More information about the CPA Business Funding Portal (see link in resources below). What CPAs can do to help businesses prepare for increased SBA scrutiny of PPP loans. The importance of helping businesses know their E-Tran number from their first PPP loan. Why firms will play a more important role in the second round of the PPP. The importance of keeping the intent of the PPP in mind when choosing the accounting method for calculating the decline in gross receipts to determine whether a business qualifies for a second-draw loan. Whether a business seeking second-draw PPP loans must spend all its first-draw PPP loan before the second-draw funds are disbursed. That some banks may require PPP borrowers to file for forgiveness on their first loan before processing a second-draw application.

In late 2020, Robert Half’s Paul McDonald delved into the hiring outlook for 2021. The second part of that conversation addresses the ways organizations can keep those already on staff during COVID-19. McDonald, Robert Half’s senior executive director, says the businesses that already had strong culture in place were better equipped to adapt to COVID-19. He offers advice for managers, details on their retention concerns, and insight into what employees are looking for beyond flexible work arrangements. What you’ll learn from this episode: The reasons nearly 90% of senior managers are worried about losing talent. The steps companies and managers can take to show that they value employees. Why McDonald says company culture is more like an ocean liner than a speedboat. The types of nonfinancial benefits workers are seeking in the absence of raises. The steps employees can take to make themselves more marketable. McDonald’s thoughts on what office work might look like in 2022.

As the year draws to a close, many clients are pursuing charitable giving. Mike Landsberg, CPA/PFS, partner at Homrich Berg in Atlanta, discusses what he’s seeing in terms of charitable giving this year, how the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136, has affected giving, and how clients can use giving to save on taxes while contributing to causes that matter to them. What you’ll learn in this episode: Why 2020 is a good year to give to charity. (1:43) How the CARES Act has affected charitable giving. (2:47) Giving strategies clients can use to save on their taxes (5:03), even if they’re not high-net-worth. (8:25) How to start talking about charitable giving with your clients. (8:59) One way to help clients specifically interested in COVID-19 relief. (11:11)

Eileen Sherr, CPA, CGMA, MT, director of the AICPA’s Tax Policy & Advocacy team in Washington, D.C., discusses recent IRS guidance regarding the tax treatment of loans under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This guidance holds that the amount of a PPP loan that is forgiven under the SBA’s procedures is not included in the loan recipient taxpayer’s gross income, but any expenses used to qualify for the forgiveness cannot be deducted on the taxpayer’s income tax return as an ordinary and necessary business expense. We also look ahead to what the change in presidential administration in 2021 might spell for a broad range of taxpayers. What you’ll learn from this episode: How PPP loan forgiveness is excluded from taxpayers’ gross income for income tax purposes, but the IRS regards related business expenses as nondeductible. The progress of efforts by members of Congress to clarify in new legislation that the PPP forgiveness-related expenses are intended to be deductible as ordinary and necessary expenses of loan recipients. What form advocacy on this issue by the AICPA and its members is taking. How and when tax law changes proposed by the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris presidential campaign might be reflected in a proposed budget by the Biden administration.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented hiring freezes, job losses, or furloughs in 2020. While the outlook on hiring remains somewhat unsteady, there are reasons for optimism, according to Paul McDonald, the senior executive director at staffing firm Robert Half. In this episode, McDonald discusses the roles and certifications that are in demand, how remote work’s rapid rise has affected organizations’ approach to recruiting and hiring, and why the broad unemployment rate is not one that McDonald pays attention to the most. McDonald is the guest on the Journal of Accountancy podcast for the first of a two-part conversation. The second part, focusing on company culture and retention concerns, will be posted in early 2021. What you’ll learn from this episode: The types of jobs that continue to be in high demand in the United States. How organizations are rethinking geographic obstacles to hiring. Why McDonald says that a preliminary discussion about salary is not a negotiation. The specific unemployment statistic that McDonald tracks. The ways organizations are adapting their pursuit of talent.

Kelly Richmond Pope, CPA, CGMA, Ph.D., is an accountant and a professor. She’s also a storyteller and TEDx speaker. Keeping people engaged is a better way to educate, said Pope, an associate professor at DePaul University’s School of Accountancy and MIS in Chicago. In this episode, Pope discusses another way to keep learners engaged: gamification. Turning learning into a game helps with the recall and understanding of new concepts, whether in a college classroom or continuing professional education for accountants. What you’ll learn from this episode: Examples of gamification that are already part of our daily lives. How learning to drive a stick-shift car applies to gamification. Why gamification is not just for younger generations. How COVID-19 has disrupted traditional CPE and how virtual meetings could be better for learning in some cases. How a speaker’s style can help maximize learning through PowerPoint slide presentations. The ways organizations can gamify CPE-worthy content such as podcasts or TED Talks.

Several months into the pandemic, we take a look at how some CPA parents are faring. They talk about the struggles they’ve faced, how they balance parenting and working from home, what they do to recharge, and the unexpected joys they’ve experienced while spending more time with their families. Our guests for this episode are Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA, and Chris Hervochon, CPA. Stevenson is vice president of finance at 1st Financial Bank in North Sioux City, S.D., founder and CEO of Origin Evolution LLC, and mom to three sons: a 19-year-old college student, a 17-year-old high school student, and a 7-year-old second-grader. Hervochon is the owner of Chris Hervochon CPA, located in Hilton Head Island, S.C., and dad to a 7-year-old boy and 4-year-old twins.

In an economic downturn such as the one that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic, not-for-profit organizations can feel pinched in two ways. People who have lost jobs or fear losing them may be less likely to donate to the NFPs at a time the services offered by the organizations are needed most. Strategies and models must be changed to find new opportunities and deal with the challenges presented on multiple fronts. Amy West, CPA, CGMA, the CFO of AHRC in New York City, shares advice on how to adapt and find new paths during tough times. West also is a member of the AICPA Not-for-Profit Advisory Council.