Blog

It’s impossible for us to get along with everyone. Here are 9 steps to make the best of tense work relationships. Colleagues are a bit like your family. You don’t get to choose them, but you have to spend a lot of time with them.

We are a community of CPAs and financial professionals cultivating authentic relationships, unique learning experiences, and purposeful advocacy for our future. When the Board of Directors was discussing this statement last year, there was a question about the meaning of purposeful advocacy for our future. It was a great question and one that I was excited to answer.

Running a CPA firm today has plenty of challenges. As business clients expand their operations at an accelerated pace, CPAs must monitor multi-level tax compliance, international treaties and a host of global accounting and reporting standards. Of all these challenges, there is one that can be simplified: CPAs’ and CPA firms’ ability to seamlessly cross state lines to provide services to clients.

Time is literally your most valuable asset. Being in control of how and on what you spend your time can keep you from teetering over the burnout edge. Rule your time! Move your mindset from manager to monarch. You are the queen or king of your time.

During 2019, the Washington State Board of Accountancy is proposing to revise its rules on continuing professional education (CPE). Any draft revisions will be published in spring 2019 for public comment with anticipated full adoption in fall 2019.

Looking for an excuse to take a break? Why not take a few minutes to try to solve the latest WashingtonCPA crossword puzzle? Here’s the puzzle and the solution for your puzzling pleasure.

Zig Ziglar said, “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” As CPAs and financial professionals, we’ve been practicing that for many years as we assist clients and our organizations. There are specific challenges with the cannabis niche, however, that particularly offer new opportunities for CPAs and set Canna-businesses apart from other sectors:

As a CFO of a growing SaaS company, a wife, and a parent to three daughters, I am often asked how I manage it all. Apparently from the outside, it looks like I have it down. Truth be told, there are days I am barely staying afloat. This balance struggle isn’t one only mothers manage, but also fathers or anyone attempting to balance a highly rewarding but challenging career with a life outside of work.

Vicky Dalton, CPA, serves as Spokane County Auditor and is a fierce advocate for CPAs in government. She earned her CPA upon graduation from Idaho State University and has since gone on to make great strides expanding the role CPAs play in Spokane County. Read more about this optimistic leader who says, “We really don’t need politics in local government. We need good decision-making skills.”

On May 31, my term as a Washington CPA Foundation Trustee will come to a close. Some very remarkable changes have taken place since I first joined the board in September 2015.

At the time this article was written, the 2019 Legislature was more than halfway through their 105-day session. The number of bills introduced during legislative sessions is overwhelming. Representatives and staff review, write, and hear hundreds of proposals within a limited time frame.

The 105-day legislative session ended as scheduled on April 28 for the first time in ten years. More than 2,000 bills were considered throughout the session addressing homelessness, criminal justice reforms, broadband internet service, education, opioids, healthcare, and climate change. Read more about some of the issues that WSCPA monitored and provided feedback on throughout the session.

The American Institute of CPAs has recognized Washington State CPA Candidate Michelle Bauer as a winner of the 2018 Elijah Watt Sells Award. The award is bestowed upon candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, passed all four sections of the Examination on their first attempt and completed testing in 2017.

Today’s CPAs are providing services beyond just tax and audit. While CPA firms are quickly advancing beyond traditional financial services, public perception of what CPAs do hasn’t moved quite as fast. So, if your firm is moving beyond tax and audit, how can you grow an audience that recognizes you for your emerging service line?

Spring quarter is starting back up at campuses around Washington. The pressure is increasing to notify all eligible students of the amazing opportunity they have to nab $5,000-8,000 to help offset their college tuition. The Washington CPA Foundation scholarship deadline is February 14.

After a flurried season of political commercials, yard signs, and get-out-the-vote efforts, you can almost hear the nation breathing a sigh of relief and taking a deep breath in preparation for the 2020 elections. Social media users joked about finally finding out what happened to Cheryl’s she-shed from the State Farm commercial after enduring months of campaign ads.

It takes confidence and convictions to be a great leader. Bavan Holloway, CPA, vice president of Corporate Audit at The Boeing Company, approaches life with the philosophy that one’s uniqueness should be cultivated and celebrated. With that in mind, Bavan mentors those around her to help them become their best selves or, in her words, “unapologetically you.”

Welcome to 2019! I hope that this year is full of great things and wonderful adventures for you.

The 2018 Revision to Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) was released in July 2018 and is effective for periods ending on or after June 30, 2020, and for performance audits beginning on or after July 1, 2019. Because the Revision addresses requirements for the entire period under audit, we will want to understand what these changes are before July 1, 2019.

Cybersecurity is a challenge all companies and individuals face today. As an accounting and finance professional, you have the opportunity to become a trusted cybersecurity advisor within your organization and/or to your clients. It is critical for all organizations to manage cyber risks to ensure the security of their and their clients’ data.