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The Ledger is seeking 2010 sponsors.
If you are interested in sponsorship, contact us. |
FY10 Board of Governors
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John D. Griffin, CPA
President
AARP
Daniel Black, CPA President-Elect
Daniel Black & Assoc.
Stanley Berman, CPA
Vice-President
Global Impact
Abdool Akhran, CPA
Treasurer
Bert Smith & Co.
Hillary Coley, CPA
Secretary
Trout Unlimited
Patricia A. O'Malley, CPA
Immediate Past President
Rubino & McGeehin, Chartered
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Kenneth Emson, CPA
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Brenda Hargett, CPA
Malcolm Karl, CAE
Malkarl Consulting
Daniel Kovlak, CPA
KPMG LLP
Quinn, Lobel & Assoc., P. C.
Sue Marcum, CPA
American University
Patricia Wensel, CPA
USDA, retired
Jacqueline Bryant, CPA
Tate & Tryon CPAs
Joseph S. Drew, Ph.D.
William Eisig, CPA
BDO Seidman
Daniel Lynch
KForce Professional Staffing
Uzma Malik-Dorman,CPA
Thompson Cobb Bazilio
John Wooldridge, CPA
Larson Allen LLP
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Dear Friends ,
Well, my first year has flown by here at the GWSCPA...and what a year it has been! I've
gotten to know so many of you very well as we worked to add new
programs and events and to build on our past successes. We've seen a
slew of new members this year too, despite a tough economy, as the
GWSCPA is increasingly recognized as the premier membership
organization for the CPA profession in greater Washington DC.
I can honestly say I've never experienced an organization with such dedicated volunteers or a profession with such integrity. It is only because of our committed members that we have accomplished so much in just one year with our small staff.
And 2010 will continue to be busy, and a year in which we work to provide even more ways to connect you with your profession and your peers. Be on the lookout for our newly redesigned website (expected to be completed this spring) as well as a variety of new CPE courses, networking events, free monthly members-only CPE offerings and ways for you to get involved in the community.
If you aren't already making the most of your membership, take a look at our upcoming events and committee meetings. You'll see that no one is looking out for you like the GWSCPA, from our local advocacy work to promotion of the profession to our events and educational opportunities - we are meeting the needs of our very diverse cross section of members in industry, firms, government as well as the public interest. So, make this the year you take full advantage of your GWSCPA membership!
Kari Bedell , Executive Director
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What's new at GWSCPA
GWSCPA
Members Can Change Lives, One Return at a Time
This tax season you can be a part of a tremendous
effort that brings over $9 million into the homes of DC's
low-income working families each year!
How? By volunteering as a Tax
Preparer or Savings Promoter with the DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign.
The Campaign is recruiting volunteer Tax Preparers
to help low-income clients file their taxes and claim the credits that they
deserve and they have reached out to the expert members of the GWSCPA for help. Each tax return completed by a volunteer
preparer can raise a low-income working family's income by more than $6,000.
Volunteers
will receive free training and certification on Saturdays and/or weekday evenings
in January and then commit to one 3-4 hour session per week (primarily evenings
and/or weekends) from late January through mid-April (10 weeks) at one of 12
tax sites throughout the Greater Washington, DC area.
For
more information, visit the Campaign's website or contact the DC EITC Campaign's Volunteer Coordinator, Adam
Perry, at volunteer@dceitc.org or 202-419-1442. |
| Upcoming events
2010 Tax Update
Tom Ochsenschlager, AICPA Vice-President for Taxation, will provide an
overview of recent federal tax developments just for GWSCPA members here at our downtown office in order to
get you ready for Busy Season, brought to you by the new GWSCPA Tax Committee!
Tom will cover expiring provisions, including IRA charitable
contributions, the estate tax repeal, the EGTRRA tax rates, and the temporary
COBRA credit that CPAs will need to be ready for as well as his projections for
future developments on some of these issues.
8:30 AM Continental
breakfast and networking
9:00 -10:00 AM Presentation (1.0 CPE
credit)
Please rsvp to kbedell@gwscpa.org or 202-464-6001.
The Clarity 09 Industry Survey
This breakfast meeting of the new GWSCPA Government Contracting Committee is free to ALL GWSCPA members and their guests thanks to our sponsors.
Join us at the Tower Club in Tyson's Corner on Friday morning January 29th, where Rich Wilkinson, VP of Government Contracting at Deltek, will present highlights from their recently released Clarity 09 survey.
8:30 AM -Breakfast and networking
9-10 AM -Presentation (1.0 CPE credit)
We hope you can join us. Please RSVP to kbedell@gwscpa.org or 202-464-6001.
Quarterly Member Meeting -Wed. February 10 (rescheduled from Jan 26)
Topic: AICPA's 2010 Professional Issues Update
Wynne E. Baker, CPA, member of the Board of Directors of
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, will join us at our
GWSCPA offices to provide an update on legislative and professional
issues on the horizon and AICPA activities for 2010.
8:00 AM -Breakfast/Registration/Networking
8:45 AM -GWSCPA update
9:00 AM-FREE one hour CPE Program Begins
10 AM -Meeting Concludes
Members-only tickets are FREE, but space is limited, so
you must register. This session qualifies for one hour of CPE.
To register, rsvp to kbedell@gwscpa.org or 202-464-6001.
_____________________________________________________
Regular Committee meetings
(Please rsvp so we can plan for refreshments and space)
Gov't Auditing & Accounting Committee
Thursday, January 21- 12 -2 PM
Lunch and CPE speaker: Phyllis Fong, Inspector General USDA
rsvp to qcunnningham@kpmg.com
Not-for-Profit Committee
Tuesday January 26, 2010, 8:30-9:30 AM
Breakfast and CPE speaker: Joyce Underwood,-Not for Profit Tax Update
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Legislative/Regulatory Update
IRS
Introduces Proposal to Regulate Paid Tax Preparers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced its plans to regulate paid tax
return preparers in an effort to improve compliance and enhance ethical conduct.
The proposal recommendations, which would be phased in beginning in the 2011 filing
season, include mandatory registration of paid tax return preparers as well as
competency testing and CPE requirements. CPAs, attorneys and enrolled
agents would be exempt from the education and entry-testing requirements.
The proposed IRS requirements
were made in response to a recently published six-month study, "Return Preparer Review."
The Review states that 80 percent of U.S. households rely on third-party
tax preparation services either through return preparers or tax preparation
software. It asserts that, while tax attorneys and CPAs are licensed by the
states in which they practice, a "large share of tax return preparers do not
pass any government or professionally mandated competency requirements before they
prepare a federal tax return."
In general, the IRS's proposed recommendations would
require:
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All signing preparers be issued a unique preparer
tax identification number (a "PTIN" number)
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All preparers (both signing and non-signing) be
subject to Circular 230 ethics rules
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An education requirement be implemented for all signing preparers other than CPAs,
attorneys or enrolled agents
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An entry-testing requirement be implemented for all
signing preparers other than CPAs, attorneys or enrolled agents
In addition to introducing new
requirements for individual tax return preparers, the new IRS proposed recommendations
would also impact companies such as H&R Block Inc. and Jackson Hewitt Tax
Service Inc, requiring them to comply with the new rules as well.
The IRS plans to conduct a campaign to educate the public
about the need to only use regulated tax preparers, and the AICPA will work
with the IRS to help it implement the recommendations to meet the public
interest while continuing to place emphasis on CPAs as the premier providers of
tax services.
For
information on the AICPA's advocacy efforts regarding the IRS's plan, visit the
AICPA Tax Center and JournalofAccountancy.com.
CPAs exempted from New York Tax Preparer registration
New York's Governor David
Paterson has signed into law the bill (A. 40023) that eliminates the requirement for non-New York CPA tax preparers who file New York tax returns to register with the state. The provision (included in section F) clarifies that all CPAs and attorneys, and the people they supervise, will not have to register with the New York State Department of Tax and Finance. for the new Tax Preparer Registration Program. The new legislation as originally passed exempted New York licensees but not out-of-state CPAs. The tax preparer registration provision took effect on December 31, 2009.
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The Profession
SSARS
No. 19 Issued December 30, 2009 - Represents Biggest Changes to SSARSs Since
1978
Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services
(SSARS) No. 19, Compilation and Review Engagements, was officially issued by
the AICPA's Accounting and Review Services Committee on December 30, 2009.
SSARS No. 19 supersedes AR sections 20, Defining Professional Requirements in
Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services; 50, Standards for
Accounting and Review Services; and 100, Compilation and Review of Financial
Statements, in AICPA Professional Standards.
The provisions of SSARS No. 19 are effective for
compilations and reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after
December 15, 2010, with one exception. That exception, which may be implemented
immediately, permits an accountant to include a description in the accountant's
compilation report regarding the reason(s) for an independence impairment.
Major new provisions that will be effective on or after
December 15, 2010, include introducing the term "review evidence,"
incorporating a discussion of materiality in the context of a review engagement
and requiring the CPA to obtain an engagement letter for all SSARS engagements.
For an Executive Summary of the new
standard, a white paper on the compilation reporting option and other
related resources, visit www.aicpa.org/reliability
New Details Posted About CBT-e Launch, Slated for Jan. 1, 2011
A November 30, 2009 letter from Douglas E. Warren, Chair of
the Board of Examiners (BOE) and Craig N. Mills, Vice President - Examinations
announcing CBT-e changes in Uniform CPA Examination section structure, section
time allocations, and scoring weights has now been posted on the CPA
Examination Website. It includes tables illustrating the changes, and may be
found at http://www.cpa-exam.org/download/CBTe_Announcement-Sections-TimeWeights-FINAL.pdf
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Member News
In a year when reports about unemployment, cutbacks and low morale permeated a number of industries, accounting firms continued to stand out among other sectors for employee satisfaction. In fact, a number of GWSCPA Firm members were recognized in Accounting Today's annual 2009 Great Places to Work as outstanding among their peers nationally. Please join us in congratulating them, and check out the full story and why the winners stood out HERE.
E.Cohen and Company-Rockville, MD
Johnson Lambert and Co. -Falls Church, VA
Kearney and Co.- Alexandria, VA
Tate & Tryon-Washington, DC
CONGRATULATIONS!_________________________________________________
GWSCPA Board Member Malcolm
S. Karl, CAE, has been named to the new position of Director of Business
Development for Associations/Nonprofits by the National Association of College
Stores (NACS), an Oberlin, OH-based trade association representing the
collegiate retailing industry.
Karl
was former vice president of business development for EagleBank and previously
served as senior vice president/CFO of the American Society of Association
Executives (ASAE).
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GWSCPA Firm Member Beers + Cutler announced their merger
with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly*) effective December 1, 2009.
Beers + Cutler, based in the Washington, DC region, will
serve as the firm's east coast hub as Baker Tilly continues its national
expansion. The combination of
these two firms will result in a $250+ million firm with more than 1,400 employees,
making it the 13th largest accounting and consulting firm in the U.S.
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For future issues, if you have a topic you'd like to see highlighted, or have an idea for a feature article you'd like to contribute, let us know.
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