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How to Talk to Your Clients About Charitable Giving

By Amy Pitter posted 2 days ago
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With the end of 2018 in sight, many of our members in public accounting are talking about charitable giving with their clients , and it's a complex, yet important topic. Understanding the client's perceptions of these discussions before you meet will help CPAs plan the best way to advise them, which ultimately strengthens the relationship. That is why we have partnered with the Boston Foundation, The Philanthropic Initiative and the Boston Estate Planning Council to present " The Philanthropy Talk: How Do I Do It & Why Do I Have To? " on Tuesday, December 11 from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.  This free event is open to all members and includes a presentation ...
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Massachusetts Taxpayer Behavior Impact Survey

By Amy Pitter posted 8 days ago
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As you may already know, the Society administers a periodic survey to gauge current and anticipated taxpayer behavior to help the Department of Revenue (DOR) predict monthly revenue collections. State officials are often unsure of taxpayer behavior in a given year or during a particular timeframe as it relates to capital gains, bonus activity, safe harbor or corporate investment, and your advice can make a difference as these leaders plan for the year ahead. Your expert input also elevates the CPA brand and helps position CPAs as valued thought leaders in the Massachusetts business community.  To complete the survey, click here . The feedback we’ve received ...
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Register for Our Emerging Leaders Summit!

By Amy Pitter posted 15 days ago
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CPA firms and companies seeking to stem staff turnover and build capacity in a disruptive world must provide an avenue for staff and managers to learn and practice leadership development, in addition to technical training. That is the message from numerous studies and surveys by the accounting profession, talent placement firms, academics and other human resources experts. As a result, the MSCPA developed our Emerging Leaders Summit, which will be held on Friday, November 16 in Boston. At this one-day summit, attendees will learn how to become leaders in their professional lives and how to be catalysts for change in their organizations. The agenda is jam-packed ...
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2018 Women's Leadership Summit

By Amy Pitter posted 22 days ago
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Yesterday was one of the days I love most at the MSCPA. It was our Women's Leadership Summit, and over 250 people gathered in Boston to hear powerful presentations on being your authentic self in the workplace and strategies for prioritizing your work to-do list. I also had the opportunity to present our 2018 Women to Watch Awards to seven outstanding women in accounting. Congratulations to Angela Barcelos, CPA, Maura Hodge, CPA, Tracy LeMaire, CPA, MBA, Jessica Ackerman, CPA, Cheryl Burke, MBA, Janice O'Reilly, CPA, CGMA and Jane Steinmetz. You are real role models for other women in accounting and you're changing our profession for the better. Click here ...
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Introducing the Redesigned CPAtrack.com

By Amy Pitter posted 30 days ago
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As you know, fueling the CPA pipeline is a top priority at the Society, which is why I am pleased to announce the launching of our redesigned  CPAtrack.com ! Over the past year, our Academic & Career Development team has been hard at work building a new-and-improved website dedicated to helping students become CPAs in Massachusetts.   Some of our new features include an enhanced navigation, so it’s easy to find the resources and information students need most; updated FAQs that reflect the latest information on Exam and licensing requirements; and a responsive interface, so students can easily access it on any advice from anywhere they are. With a beautifully ...
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The Future of Accounting

By Amy Pitter posted 10-12-2018
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I was at Stonehill College today visiting with accounting students to discuss our great profession and what it will look like when they start their careers. Our focus was on technology, and how emerging technologies (like blockchain, AI, robotics, etc.) are changing the skills they’ll need to succeed. To learn more about these technologies and their impact, click here . It was a great day, and the excitement these students have about accounting is nothing short of inspiring. On my ride home, I reflected on why events like this matter. It’s so important to engage with students while they’re still in school, as it’s critical to building a robust pipeline. At ...
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Save Significant Amounts on Training Costs

By Amy Pitter posted 10-05-2018
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As our fall conferences get underway, I wanted to remind you about a wonderful opportunity to save significant amounts on training costs. The Workforce Training Fund reimburses firms and companies for up to 50% on seminars and conferences – you can train two people for the price of one! Businesses with 100 or fewer employees that contribute to the Workforce Training Fund are eligible to apply for an Express Grant, and all for-profit companies automatically pay into the fund. All MSCPA live seminars and conferences are eligible for the reimbursement, but your application must be submitted at least six weeks prior to the training. Here are the deadlines to ...
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Supporting Women in Accounting

By Amy Pitter posted 09-28-2018
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Over the last couple of weeks, I got a small case of whiplash from reading two articles about how the accounting profession embraces and supports women in their ranks. The first was an article in the Wall Street Journal talking about how the Big 4 firms are working hard to increase the number of women in leadership roles but only 11% of the engagement partners for the audits of S&P 100 companies are women. Then yesterday, I saw this article that said the Big 4 and other top accounting firms are among Working Mother ’s 2018 “100 Best Companies” list. Congratulations to our firms on this list! What’s the takeaway? Our hearts are in the right place; ...
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Support the Next Generation of CPAs

By Amy Pitter posted 09-21-2018
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While it’s an exciting time with school recently being back in session and tomorrow marking the last day of summer, the rising costs of education makes pursuing an accounting degree a challenge for many. This reason, coupled with  the profession’s increasing talent shortage , is why I’m asking you to consider giving to the MSCPA’s Educational Foundation, which provides financial assistance for programs that benefit students, educators and ultimately, you. I am proud to say that the Foundation has awarded over $1,000,000 to deserving students since 2006. However, the level of need has never been greater, and with your support, we can help remove the barriers ...
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MSCPA Career Fair & Graduate School Expo

By Amy Pitter posted 09-12-2018
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We’re off to a busy fall! Our Academic and Career Development team has been having a blast visiting campuses across the state and making students aware of all the benefits and resources that our MSCPA student members receive. We are excited about our upcoming annual  MSCPA Career Fair & Graduate School Expo  on September 21 at the Marriott in Boston’s Copley Square. We have 50 exhibitors, a mix of public accounting firms and graduate schools that are excited to meet students and talk about available opportunities!   This is a great chance for students to meet recruiters from local, regional and international firms as well as reps from colleges/universities ...
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MSCPA Media Milestone

By Amy Pitter posted 09-06-2018
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I’m very happy to report that we reached an important milestone this week in our efforts to build and support the CPA brand.  We now have more media placements (72) as of September 1 of this year than we had in all of 2016. These placements highlight the achievements of our members , the expertise of our members , the philanthropy of our members , the generosity of our members and the thought leadership of our members (please note: this article is only accessible to State House News Service subscribers) . We also have been front and center with opinion pieces on tax reform, the impact of technology on the profession and issues of diversity and inclusion. ...
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The MSCPA Launches New Early College Academy

By Amy Pitter posted 08-31-2018
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What an exciting week! I’m thrilled to announce that we’re launching a new early college academy at Haverhill High School this September. The academy is a four-course accounting track that allows interested students to earn up to 12 college credits at UMass Lowell. It is the first accounting-focused, early college initiative in Massachusetts, and our goal is to see it spread across high schools in the Commonwealth and eventually across the country. The MSCPA drove the initial coordination; working with NAF, Haverhill High School and UMass Lowell and forming a 10-person board to help develop the academy. As part of our efforts to fuel the accounting pipeline ...
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The MSCPA's Letter to the AICPA Regarding the ABV Credential

By Amy Pitter posted 08-24-2018
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As many of you know, the AICPA Council voted last spring to open the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential to "Other Qualified Professionals" who are not CPAs. While the AICPA has presented their justification for the expansion, believing that it will lead to greater consistency in valuations, the move has not been well received by many of our members.    I discussed this matter with our Board of Directors who agreed that the move not only devalues the credential for current CPAs with the ABV designation, but it also has the effect of diluting the CPA brand.   The MSCPA always has, and always will, act in the best interest of our membership, ...
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NEW! Women's Mentoring Circles

By Amy Pitter posted 08-17-2018
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I'm excited to announce that we're launching our Women's Mentoring Circles this fall! The program provides members with a confidential forum to discuss issues working women face daily, such as professional development, networking and work-life balance. Each Circle is made up of a group of women of varying levels of experience from a wide range of practice areas and industries. The program benefits women of all ages and in all stages of their career; junior members learn from those with more experience, and mid-level and senior professionals gain an invaluable opportunity to hone management skills, build relationships and develop referral networks. The idea ...
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2018 Women to Watch Award Winners

By Amy Pitter posted 08-10-2018
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I am pleased to announce that our 2018 Women to Watch Award winners have been selected! We had a record number of 33 nominations this year and it was a very difficult decision for the judging panel. The Women to Watch Awards recognize outstanding women in the accounting profession and are given in two categories: Emerging Leaders (fewer than 15 years in the profession) and Experienced Leaders (15 or more years in the profession). Congratulations to these seven outstanding women:  Experienced Leaders Jessica T. Ackerman, CPA, Audit & Assurance Managing Director, Deloitte & Touche LLP Cheryl M. Burke, MBA, Partner and Chief Operating ...
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The Massachusetts Legislature's 2017-2018 Legislative Session

By Amy Pitter posted 08-03-2018
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The Massachusetts Legislature wrapped up the 2017-2018 legislative session in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Throughout the two-year session, lawmakers reached agreements on some key pieces of legislation and MSCPA served as your advocate, both as accounting professionals and employers.   We participated in the successful legal challenge to the so-called “millionaire’s tax,” fought back against efforts to provide confidential taxpayer information to additional state agencies and advised the legislature and administration on the potential impacts of federal tax reform. Additionally, we continued to advocate for meaningful changes to the state’s independent ...
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The MSCPA's Educational Foundation: C.A.M.P. and ACAP Initiatives

By Amy Pitter posted 07-27-2018
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This week I had the pleasure of welcoming a talented and diverse group of high school students during C.A.M.P. (Careers in Management Professions). C.A.M.P. is a one-week residential program for high school students exploring careers in accounting and business. It’s coordinated by UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management and co-sponsored by the MSCPA and EY, as well as Rick Gulman, CPA, partner and co-founder of DiCicco, Gulman & Company, and his wife Susan; Scott and Melissa Kaplowitch; and Mark and Margery Piercey. On Wednesday, the students spent the day in Boston, listening to a panel of MSCPA members at EY’s beautiful conference center, and then ...
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The AICPA’s Interchange Conference and the Changing Profession

By Amy Pitter posted 07-19-2018
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The pace of change will never be as slow as it is today. That’s the key takeaway from the AICPA’s Interchange Conference, which was held in Arizona this week. The conference brings together teams from state societies across the country for a week of learning about the changes happening in accounting, and discussions on how we can help our members navigate the road ahead. Several MSCPA staff attended to learn about trends and best practices, and to network with folks who share our goal of providing the best possible member experience. One of the highlights of Interchange was a presentation from AICPA CEO Barry Melancon who spoke about technology ...
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Help Fuel the Accounting Pipeline

By Amy Pitter posted 07-13-2018
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One of the most important ways we can fuel the accounting pipeline is to remove barriers from entering the profession, and offering scholarships to accounting students is one way we can help build a diverse talent pool. Many accounting students in Massachusetts are only able to pursue their degrees because of financial support from firms, companies and individuals like you – and the level of need has never been greater. As our Educational Foundation enters a new fundraising year, I’m asking for your support. The Foundation strives to award scholarships to accounting students from Massachusetts colleges and universities. The scholarship program was founded ...
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Take the 2018 National MAP Survey

By Amy Pitter posted 07-06-2018
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I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – the emergence of innovative technologies such as data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are predicted to be potential drivers of transformation in the profession, and are expected to change the way accounting firms are managed in the near future.   Technology changes and the pace of change mean that it is more important than ever to be aware of how other firms are responding and keeping up. To make sure you are in the know, I highly recommend that you take the AICPA’s newly designed 2018 PCPS/CPA.com National MAP Survey , which was launched last month and has been streamlined ...
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