Blog

“Do accounting and financial professionals overuse Excel?” It’s a fair question and one that should be considered.Let’s step away from the keyboard for a moment and examine whether other tools might be better for certain purposes. Then we can make a more informed decision about how much we should be using Excel.

We all struggle at times to focus on the things we know we're supposed to be doing. Recently, WSCPA Membership Outreach Coordinator Brian Reid stumbled upon a few pieces of information that helped him figure out how to circumnavigate his moments of distraction. Now, he's here to share those resources so they can help you on your journey to become a CPA.

Intuit released the 2020 version of QuickBooks Desktop in September 2019. As with prior releases of the application, the 2020 versions of QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier and Enterprise 20.0 contain several new features and improvements. Read on for a summary of these new features.

Join us in Olympia on January 15 for one of the year’s most important advocacy events. Learn about current issues facing the profession on a national and state level. Most importantly, meet with your legislators not just as constituents but as representatives of the CPA profession.

Scholarship applications for the Washington CPA Foundation’s next award year are live! With 20 applications started less than a month into the application period (which ends February 17th) it seems that word has perhaps, finally, gotten out.

There are some new rules in town. At the Public Rules Hearing held on July 26, 2019, the State Board of Accountancy approved several continuing professional education rules. Many of the changes clarify or align more closely with the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) and go into effect January 1, 2020.

Generation Z is disrupting recruiting, training, managing, and more in 2019 and beyond. They are entering the workplace. Because of their high-tech and hyper-connected upbringing, they will bring a new set of behaviors, expectations, and preferences into the workplace. Read about the seven changes Generation Z employees will create.

Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and Andy Barr (R-K.Y.) introduced the Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution, H. Con. Res. 68, with 103 additional cosponsors. It provides “for a joint hearing of the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the audited financial statement of the executive branch.”

Helping your employees avoid work burnout isn’t just good for morale; it’s also good for your organization’s bottom line. Here are some tips to help you prevent or counter employee exhaustion and exasperation.

Before Martha Ramirez, CPA, Tax Senior at Moss Adams in Yakima, discovered the accounting profession, she was working as a program coordinator for Washington State University Extension Program, where she provided nutrition education to under-served youth and parents. Frustrated with not understanding enough about her own taxes, Martha decided to enroll in a Liberty Tax course and soon found that she enjoyed the process of preparing tax returns.

WSCPA welcomes CMG Financial and longtime friend of the association, Joel Cambern, as our mortgage Partner.

Savvy CPA firms are taking advantage of opportunities to expand their services and quickly deliver more value. International reporting, cannabis guidance, environmental management, and sports and entertainment taxation are among the areas CPAs are enjoying early success in servicing.

In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision that significantly affected IRS procedures for the assessment of penalties against individuals and other taxpayers. The IRS is now required to possess contemporaneous evidence that a revenue agent’s supervisor approved a penalty before it was assessed. Because obtaining supervisory approval had not been standard operating procedure for revenue agents at the early stages of an audit, many penalties assessed by the IRS are potentially invalid.

We must work together to evolve the CPA credential to remain relevant for the next 100+ years. Fortunately, none of us are alone in this endeavor. Here are three tips on how investing can help us all build the firm of the future.

According to some studies, almost 60% of businesses are using Microsoft’s Office 365 services and products. Are you taking full advantage of all they have available. Let's explore a handful of the ways you can use your business-oriented Office 365 subscriptions to work more efficiently and, in turn, increase your Return-On-Investment (ROI) on the platform.

The Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants remembers John R. Plymyer, former Executive Director, who has recently passed on.

Personal privacy is a “hot” topic in many circles today. Many individuals are becoming increasingly outraged when they learn how much information has been collected about them and how it is being used. If you are concerned about personal privacy and want to get back in control of your own information, here are five easy-to-implement ideas that can help you reach your goal.

Like any good CPA, you want to harness the tools at your disposal to maximize your value. One oft-overlooked example is Excel’s Power Query. Read on, and you will learn how to take advantage of this vastly underrated and underused resource – one that can help you create Excel data magic!

The CPA path is new to me. Despite that, I feel a peace and comfort from being with people that share the same interests, passions, and goals. Being at the Women’s Leadership Summit reminded that I am ever closer to meeting my CPA goals, and that I have found a career in which I feel at home. Here are the ideas I took away from the Summit.

Fall recruiting will be upon us faster than you can say “meet the firms.” You’ll need to be prepared to give your résumé to any stranger at a moment’s notice. Should you make yours pink and scented à la Elle Woods? Optional, but I don’t recommend it. Should you update it? Absolutely. Achieve fall résumé readiness with these tips.