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Tax Season Resources for You

By Amy Pitter posted 7 days ago
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I hope all our members in public accounting are having a smooth busy season so far! We all know CPAs are best equipped to handle any tax-related challenge, but did you know the MSCPA runs advertisements during tax season to promote the value of using a CPA? You can check them out here . As a reminder, members can access all resources of our tax season ad campaign and use them for your firm's own marketing efforts. To view and share our campaign resources, click here . If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Emanuelson at eemanuelson@mscpaonline.org .   Our friends in New Jersey also put together this fun video of CPAs explaining ...
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Protecting the CPA License

By Amy Pitter posted 14 days ago
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In our winter edition of the Capitol Account , we touched on a growing threat to the CPA license – proposed legislation that deregulates occupational licenses. These bills are promoted under the guise of championing social and financial equity while eliminating industry-specific barriers to entry and are propped up by well-funded organizations with missions to diminish the rigorous standards of the CPA license and those of other learned professions. For more information, read this article in Accounting Today .  While the proponents may offer a compelling story that licensing requirements are a financial burden for some, these bills don't consider ...
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Educators Conference: Perspectives on a Changing Profession

By Amy Pitter posted 21 days ago
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With technology rapidly changing how CPAs work and the services they provide, it's imperative for colleges and universities to adapt their curriculum to these changes so they can best prepare future CPAs to enter and succeed in the accounting profession.    Today, over 55 leaders in academia, accounting faculty, career services and members of college advisory boards convened at Bentley University for our Educators Conference: Perspectives on a Changing Profession. This bi-annual event fostered important conversations on the technologies disrupting our industry and how those changes affect the skills future CPAs will need to have. We heard from: AICPA ...
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Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Series

By Amy Pitter posted 28 days ago
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"A lot of managing partners think they have this covered. Trust me...they don't." This is a comment received after our first session last week in our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) series for firm leaders. This program, in partnership with the AICPA and Bentley University's Center for Women and Business, is the Society's response to what we hear from firm leaders all the time. They believe in the business case for diversity and are committed to making changes, but they lack practical skills for making real change in their organization that will create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace. This first session focused on unconscious bias and understanding ...
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2020 MSCPA Fitness Challenge

By Amy Pitter posted 01-17-2020
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With winter and busy season upon us, the MSCPA is excited to bring back our popular Fitness Challenge to help you stay healthy and active over the next few months. Sponsored by  Integrated Partners , this friendly competition is a great way for your office to come together as a team to out-step other challengers!     The fourth annual Fitness Challenge  will begin at 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 5 and end at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15.  Steps will be tracked using the Challenge Runner app or by manually inputting them via  ChallengeRunner.com . To sign up and to join/create your team,  click here .    Team totals will be calculated by ...
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January Events and Conferences

By Amy Pitter posted 01-10-2020
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I am writing to you today from Newport Beach, California, where I have been this week attending our annual midwinter meeting with the CEOs of other state societies throughout the country. Naturally, the highlight of the meeting was a candid conversation with Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, president and CEO of the AICPA and CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, who heavily focused on CPA evolution, sharing how we can continue to retain top talent while providing them with the essential skills they need to adapt to the rapidly changing profession. He also discussed why we must focus on the future of assurance and stressed the ...
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Hear from Experts on All Things Tax at This Month's State Tax Conference!

By Amy Pitter posted 01-03-2020
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Happy New Year! I hope your 2020 is off to a wonderful start. For many members in public accounting, the beginning of a new year is a sign that busy season is just around the corner, and I want to remind you that we are here to help. On January 16, we will host our State Tax Conference that will cover tax reform, tax policy changes, developments in the cannabis business, gifting tax and the qualified business income deduction, audit compliance and much more. You'll also hear from leaders at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) on the latest administration initiatives, news from rulings and regulations and a briefing from the taxpayer advocate. ...
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Takeaways from This Week's Board Retreat

By Amy Pitter posted 12-20-2019
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The accounting profession is experiencing tremendous changes in technology, client expectations, staffing needs and in well, pretty much everything. We find that change is impacting our members in so many ways depending on firm or company size, strategy, services, etc. At the MSCPA, we want to make sure that we keep pace with these changes, so we can evolve with you and provide you with the tools and skills you need to successfully navigate this new landscape.    To achieve this, we seek guidance from our board. Earlier this week, we had a board retreat to talk about where we are and where we are going. Much of the discussion centered on how we can be more ...
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This Week's Federal Tax Camp

By Amy Pitter posted 12-13-2019
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Thank you to the 800+ of you who attended Federal Tax Camp this week! We've heard wonderful feedback from you about this conference, and I hope the information from our tax guru Sue Smith, CPA will help you have a smooth busy season! At the Society, Tax Camp signifies that the end of the year is fast approaching. Many of us look at the New Year as a fresh start. One of my goals in 2020 is to do more to help you learn and network in your career. Coming together with your peers to share ideas, challenges and resources is one of the most valuable aspects of membership, and that's why I'm so excited for our Firm Administrator/Operations Manager Luncheon on January ...
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Make a Difference in a Student's Life

By Amy Pitter posted 12-06-2019
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Like so many of you, giving back is at the core of our beliefs and values at the Society. We know there are a lot of demands on your generosity this time of year, but they say charity begins at home and there are loads of amazing young people who need your help in realizing their dreams of becoming a CPA ( you can read some of their stories here ). That's why I'm asking for you to consider giving back to your profession with a donation to the MSCPA's Educational Foundation Scholarship Program .   Thank you to everyone who donated on #GivingTuesday – it was our best year yet! Even though the day is over, you can still donate to the Scholarship Program through ...
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Greetings from Our Annual New England Practice Management (MAP) Conference!

By Amy Pitter posted 11-22-2019
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Greetings from Foxwoods! I'm writing to you from our annual New England Practice Management (MAP) Conference and have spent the last three days networking with 160 firm leaders and learning from experts in the accounting industry. Conversations have centered on the latest trends transforming how firms operate and what we should do now to adapt to the sweeping changes affecting our industry. This conference was developed by the MSCPA's Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Committee, and I'd like to thank them, our sponsors and Society staff for not only making the conference possible, but for making it a roaring success! To learn more about the MAP Committee, ...
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Join the Find a CPA Directory

By Amy Pitter posted 11-15-2019
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The Society is always looking for opportunities to help our members succeed. One of the ways we do that is by increasing your exposure to potential clients. Our Find a CPA Directory is a popular search engine for individuals and businesses looking for a CPA firm in Massachusetts. There were over 8,000 visits to the Directory in the last year, and the MSCPA actively promotes the Directory through advertisements targeting the general public and Massachusetts businesses throughout the year.  Sign up today and grow your client list before busy season! Firms that join the Directory will be listed through December 31, 2020, and those in our Firm Sponsored Membership ...
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MSCPA Firm Visits & More

By Amy Pitter posted 11-08-2019
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What a week! I've been visiting firms across the state to discuss trends in the profession and ways that we can better serve our members. One way we're trying to reach more of you is by making our programs and events more accessible to members throughout the Commonwealth (traffic, as we all know, is a nightmare for everyone). We recently expanded our regional roundtables to nine locations, and we've heard great feedback from members that you would like more opportunities to connect with local peers to share ideas, challenges and build your network. Our roundtables are topic-based, so if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like us to cover, please reach ...
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Recent and Upcoming MSCPA Events

By Amy Pitter posted 11-01-2019
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Last week was one of my favorite MSCPA events – our Women’s Leadership Summit – where over 200 attendees celebrated seven outstanding women in the profession. Congratulations to our 2019 Women to Watch Award winners Rebecca Connolly, CPA, Danielle Donovan, CPA, MSA, Kristen Longobardi, CPA, Mon Chau, CPA, Laura McNeil, CPA, Laura O'Brien, CPA, MST and Amy Phelan, CPA . You are extraordinary role models for other women in accounting and I look forward to witnessing first-hand as you continue to change both our profession and community for the better.  One highlight for me was the Women to Watch panel, which was expertly moderated by one of our keynote speakers ...
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The AICPA's Fall Council Meeting

By Amy Pitter posted 10-25-2019
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This week was the AICPA's Fall Council Meeting, which is an opportunity for CEO Barry Melancon and his team to share their views on the top challenges in the profession, and what they're doing to address them. Much of the discussion centered around CPA Evolution, and its potential changes to the licensure process and CPA Exam, which will focus more on technology and data science. This will help attract students with those skills and help firms find qualified new hires. The concept of CPA Evolution centers on these principles about the profession: We must adapt quickly due to technological disruptions such as data analytics, robotics, artificial intelligence ...
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Attend the MSCPA's First Cannabis Networking Group Meeting

By Amy Pitter posted 10-18-2019
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This summer, MSCPA staff attended the annual Interchange Conference, where state societies come together to learn, network, share ideas and discuss the latest trends we're hearing from members. One topic that was heavily discussed was the evolving cannabis industry and how our members can get involved, which led to a post on  the HUB , where we presented the idea of creating a Cannabis Networking Group for interested members.   With that being said, after receiving interest from 30+ members,  I am pleased to share that we will be kicking off our first meeting on Wednesday, October 30 at the MSCPA's Boston office from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.  If you are practicing ...
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2019 Federal Tax Camps

By Amy Pitter posted 10-10-2019
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I know that this is a busy time for many of our members as the October 15 deadline looms, and I wanted to let you know that the Society is here to support you. If we can be of any assistance to you during this time, please feel welcome to contact our main line at 617.556.4000 or you can contact me directly at apitter@mscpaonline.org . And, you can always ask your fellow MSCPA members questions by posting on the HUB, our member-only online community .  They say once tax season is over, a new one begins, and the Society has designed our Federal Tax Camps to help you prepare for what’s ahead. Offered in three locations and on broadcast, Tax Camp will bring ...
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The AICPA 2019 Trends Report

By Amy Pitter posted 10-04-2019
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The AICPA has just released its 2019 Trends Report. This biennial report identifies key trends in the U.S. for both supply (accounting enrollments and graduations) and demand (hiring of new graduates in the public accounting sector).  On the supply side, there is good and bad news. Bachelor and graduate enrollments are down, but still at historically high levels. The number of people sitting for the CPA Exam dipped to its lowest level in 10 years. Some, but not all of that can be attributed to candidates rushing to take the Exam in 2016 before a scheduled change to its length and complexity. The good news is that our efforts at increasing diversity in the ...
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Changes to the MSCPA Educational Foundation Scholarship Program

By Amy Pitter posted 09-27-2019
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I'm thrilled to announce that we've made some recent changes to our Educational Foundation's Scholarship Program . Our strategy is to provide fewer scholarships in higher amounts, so that we can have a greater impact on the lives of these students as they pursue accounting degrees and the CPA designation. Click on the video below to learn more: Please click here to donate . The deadline to contribute to our 2020 Scholarship Program is December 31, 2019. Thank you for your continued support
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2019 Women's Leadership Summit

By Amy Pitter posted 09-20-2019
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In honor of our year of Diversity and Inclusion, our annual Women's Leadership Summit will feature two powerful speakers: Kim Drumgo and Terri Trespicio. Kim is the is the director of diversity and inclusion at the AICPA where she provides expertise in driving cultural change through cross-functional team engagement and inspiring a community of understanding. Her presentation will explore the key characteristics of an inclusive leader and how they are helping to grow the accounting profession. Terri is an award-winning writer, speaker and brand advisor who works with individuals and organizations to help nail their messaging and engage clients, customers and ...
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