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🤔Why SurePrep? Let's ask an expert! ✅Lindsay Whittaker’s got a list of 5 reasons why thriving tax and accounting firms choose SurePrep technology. 📽️Watch the video: https://tinyurl.com/yvm5zu7n

➡️Is your firm a fit for our solutions? 🚀Take our free 6-question assessment to find out: https://tinyurl.com/3fra2fvj

5 Reasons Tax and Accounting Firms Choose SurePrep By offering the most productive 1040 and 1041 tax automation process on the market, SurePrep has created a user-friendly experience for the tax professional ...

📰Developed by and for paid tax preparers and CPAs, the newly updated Written Information Security Plan (WISP) is now available as a result of a yearlong effort. The Internal Revenue Service designed the WISP to help protect tax professionals against the ongoing threats from identity thieves and data breaches.

From CPA Practice Advisor: “This new iteration of the WISP includes several information updates since the first version was released in 2022. The new version highlights best practices for implementing multifactor authentication for any individual accessing any information system, unless their qualified individual has approved in writing the use of reasonably equivalent or more secure access controls, the IRS said.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/5evhrv35

IRS Updates WISP Guide for Tax Pros The new Written Information Security Plan template was updated to help protect practitioners and their clients from identity thieves.

✅😎Successful CPA means successful CFO, right? ❎😐Not exactly. Today’s finance chiefs need extensive skills beyond what’s worked in the past. 📄The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) surveyed 320-plus executives in roles that involve hiring input for CFOs to understand which competencies and sub-competencies were most valued in the position.

From CFO[dot]com: “Within each broad competency area, PICPA listed several sub-competencies, also in order of desirability. For financial acumen, the top sub-competency was capital management/strategy. That, in fact, was ranked first among the 79 sub-competencies measured across the eight broad competencies.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/bdd36s94

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💰$1 b-i-l-l-i-o-n. 😏Just spelling out the big bucks. 🎉Another firm has joined the elite accounting firm ranks with $1 billion worth of revenue. 📈New York City-based CohnReznick achieved $1.05 billion revenue during their most recent fiscal year and is now the 16th largest firm per revenue, according to INSIDE Public Accounting’s top 500 firms ranking for 2024. And it looks like Eisner Advisory Group, the 17th-largest firm per revenue, will also join the billion-dollar club soon, falling shy by $151.3 million.

From CPA Practice Advisor: “There will be a big shake-up in the top 10 firms ranking come this fall, when CBIZ’s acquisition of Marcum becomes official. Once the deal closes, the combined firm will have approximately $2.8 billion in revenue, which will likely vault CBIZ & MHM over Grant Thornton into the seventh spot in the top 10, just behind BDO USA.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/3wzksp7h

'Billion-Dollar Club' Has Its 16th Member Accounting Firm According to INSIDE Public Accounting, 16 firms made $1 billion or more in revenue during their most recent fiscal year.

🤗Working at a top firm? ➡️INSIDE Public Accounting’s annual list ranks the top 500 tax and accounting firms based on net revenue. With recent industry-wide growth and firms’ M&A activity, there’s a lot of development outside the Big Four.

From INSIDE Public Accounting: “IPA’s analysis of the IPA 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 firm groupings help identify and contextualize the challenges and opportunities of the previous year and describe how firms have pivoted to adjust.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/4wttnhn5

IPA | Rankings of INSIDE Public Accounting’s Top 500 CPA Firms Every year, INSIDE Public Accounting ranks the top 500 CPA firms in the nation based on net revenue, from the multi-billion Big 4 to No. 500.

✅Streamline. ✅Standardize. ✅Automate. 🧐😲😁Yep, buzzwords that actually get stuff done for tax and accounting pros. 💪That’s SurePrep!

➡️Is your firm a fit for our solutions? 🚀Take our free 6-question assessment to find out!

✏️Go to assessment: https://tinyurl.com/3fra2fvj

📊👀A Personiv survey found that most finance leaders are outsourcing at least some of their accounting tasks due to staffing challenges. ✍️The top areas: Accounts Payable (65%), Accounts Receivable (48%), and Cash Application (31%). ✅Another reminder that accountants are in high demand these days.

From CFO[dot]com: "Sixty-seven percent of CFOs said they are looking to hire staff accountants, the most desired role to be filled. Some CFOs also are looking to fill senior accountant positions (43%) and tax accounting positions (24%)."

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/4twvyxxz

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📰The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) began a consultation for new guidance regarding sustainability reporting. The purpose is to see how companies can do more to showcase the impact of climate change.

From Reuters: "The examples aim to show investors how such sustainability disclosures, such as net-zero carbon emissions commitments and plans on how to transition to them, impact a company's financial figures on assets, liabilities, income and expenses."

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/459wahcd

Global accounting body wants more rigour in showing climate impacts A global accounting body on Wednesday proposed guidance on how companies can do more to show the impact of climate change on their financial performance, saying standalone disclosures do not give investors the clarity they need.

😲Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal. 🏢CBIZ, the only publicly traded accounting services provider in the U.S., has agreed to acquire Marcum. 📈If completed, the $2.3 billion deal would make CBIZ the seventh-largest U.S. accounting firm, surpassing Grant Thornton.

From The Wall Street Journal: “CBIZ, which focuses on insurance and financial services, said it will pay about half in stock and the remainder in its common stock, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. Consideration for the transaction would include $1.1 billion in cash and 14.4 million shares of CBIZ common stock, based on a per-share price of $76.84.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/mcvamc89

CBIZ Strikes Deal to Acquire Fellow Accounting Firm Marcum Publicly traded CBIZ would take the S**C auditor’s tax and consulting practices public in a $2.3 billion transaction.

🪂Going solo? Running a single-owner firm might be equal parts upside and risk, but it can prove highly successful for some CPAs. 📝The Journal of Accountancy profiled 10 sole proprietors who are also primarily sole practitioners. Their stories reveal the unexpected challenges and fulfilling achievements of going solo.

From Journal of Accountancy: “The terms sole proprietor and sole practitioner are often used interchangeably, and their definitions can vary depending on what state, region, or industry you are in. For this article, sole practitioner refers to true solos, CPAs who run their firms with no other accountants on staff. Sole proprietor refers to CPAs who are the sole owners of their firm but have other accountants on staff who can help with the accounting work.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/3tda945m

Single-owner firms: The thrill of flying solo CPAs piloting their own accounting practices share their challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

😅Adopting technology isn’t like flipping a switch, especially for accounting firms outside the Big Four. Today, mid-tier firms are exploring the productivity-boosting potential of GenAI. 💡Firm leaders at Baker Tilly Advisory Group LP, BDO USA P.C., CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, Forvis Mazars LLP, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, and RSM share their insights on the industry’s progress.

From Bloomberg Tax: “Mid-tier firms have focused on piloting early applications, crafting guardrails for their use and providing training. They continue to roll out productivity tools like Copilot or internal assistants that answer IT or benefits questions.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/3hhbnphm

Mid-Tier Accounting Firms Tread Slowly in Gen AI Transformation Six of the largest mid-tier CPA firms in the US haven’t been in a rush to dive into generative AI, opting for a more cautious approach than their much larger Big Four counterparts to embrace technology transforming how their accountants and consultants work.

🏢🔗🤖The connection between your firm’s business model and AI is worth exploring. Why? The way your firm operates today can help establish the role AI eventually plays to bolster your business. 📈🌅Tangible benefits for your clients, staff, and bottom line may be on the horizon, according to industry expert Hitendra Patil.

From Forbes: “AI is not some magic. It is not a mystery. There is a science to it. There is a method to it. And there are no better professionals than accountants to understand things in systematic ways. After all, you can almost predict what your software will do in a given situation, right? Because you can figure out the software logic.”

Read the full article here: https://tinyurl.com/2twdnybc

Council Post: How Your Accounting Firm’s Business Model Decides AI’s Impact On Your Firm This post is about how the fundamentals of AI might relate specifically to your firm and its business model.