November 2011 Newsletter

President's Message

Marja Beltrami, CPA

What we have here today is a call to action. I hope you read, then I hope you respond. Even if you have responded before,the call for action is here again. This past October the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) has rejected the AICPA's Blue Ribbon Panel's recommendation for Private Company Financial Reporting. This is a time in our profession where we as individuals can have a say in our own regulation, and be a part of a change in the tide.

Don Rulien, our current council person, is reporting on the fall council meeting and the proceedings that took place. I hope you read his article and I hope I don't bore you with too much repetition. I will take that chance because I want to stress the significance and importance of this issue.

CPAs began to address the issue of big GAAP little GAAP (now known as Private Company Financial Reporting) back in 1972 formerly addressed in the (Jim) 'Castellano Report'. It has been almost 40 years of trying to make change and trying to get the FAF  to listen to and assist the everyday business owner.  It's the everyday CPA who is in the trenches with 28,500,000 small businesses who are struggling with complicated and irrelevant reporting policies and rules, who have been ignored for almost 40 years now. Compare that number to the 17,000+ public companies in the U.S. today. Good standards and good GAAP should be good for everyone. Private companies, however, don't have the same audience or users of their financial statements as public companies do.

Partially due to the extremely slow process and non-response from the FAF regarding this issue, the AICPA is proposing a separate standards-setting board for private companies. They will be pushing their agenda hard and heavy. There is a separate rising tide for this action, and an undercurrent of CPAs ready to break away from FAF and start anew with a new standards-setting board of their own. Many believe there is enough wide spread support that they don't need FAF's blessing or direction, or support. Sounds far fetched but so did Senator Lisa Murkowski's write-in candidacy.

If you have ever wanted to participate in setting standards, now is the time that the FAF needs to hear from from you; from all of us. From our clients, bankers, bonding companies, etc. too. So whether you support a separate governing board, or want to see change effected inside the structure we currently have, or don't want any change, now is a good time to speak. Speak with your words, your time and your money. Have you made a contribution to the Alaska Society’s PAC? How about the AICPA's PAC?

Check us out on Face Book (Alaska Society of Certified Public Accountants) or log into www.PCPS.org and check out the FAFs position, the Blue Ribbon Panel's report, and a letter writing wizard that literally takes only seconds to complete.

Why am I a member of the AKCPA?

Cathleen Hahn, Director

I enjoy being a member of a group of accounting professionals that are willing to share their knowledge of the business; my participation in the various groups and activities has helped me expand the opportunities I have to increase my expertise and business contacts.

Membership in the AKCPA Society is about opportunity.  I can't grow intellectually if I don't connect with others.  I can't grow my practice if I don't keep up with changes in my profession.  The society gives me opportunities to do both.

2011 License Renewal Information

All licenses expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years regardless of when first issued, except new licenses issued within 90 days of the expiration date will be issued to the next biennium.

Licensees who receive their original license within 12 months of the expiration date pay the full license fee and then at their first renewal pay a prorated renewal fee (half of the current license fee).

You must renew your license on or before the expiration date to continue practicing in Alaska. There is no grace period to practice on an expired license. Renewal forms will be mailed at least 30 days before the expiration date to the last address you provided to the board. You must report all new addresses to the Board in writing.

Before a license can be renewed, certified public accountants must complete no less than 80 hours of approved continuing education (CE) within the two-year concluding licensing period and at least 20 hours of required CE must be completed within each year of that two-year period. For each renewal, at least 4 hours of the required continuing education must cover ethics and Alaska statutes and regulations.

Ethics for License Renewal and Reinstatement

Alaska requires at least four hours of Alaska specific ethics and statutes and regulations covering AS 08.04 and 12 AAC 04.   The following courses were used by licensees for their licensing renewal. This is not a complete list of all courses available;   other courses may be acceptable to the board.

The RIGOS course offered through the Alaska Society or www.accountingethics.com

'Ethics and Professional Conduct for Alaska CPAs' through Professional Education Services, LP or www.mypescpe.com

'Ethics for Alaska' through PASS Online www.passonline.com

'Ethics and Professional Conduct for Alaska CPAs' through Western CPE www.westerncpe.com

'Alaska: Ethics for Alaska' through www.cpethink.com

‘Ethics and Professional Conduct for Alaska CPAs’ through CPE World inc. or www.cpeworld.com

‘Ethics for Alaska’ through 360 Training or www.360training.com

Fall Meeting of Council Phoenix, AZ

Don Rulien, CPA AICPA Council Representative

The fall meeting of council was held in Phoenix, AZ with the following members attending John Rodgers. Marja Beltrami, Bethe Davis, Linda Plimpton and myself.

Paul Stahlin stepped down as chairman of the board and Greg Anton from Colorado is now our new Chairman.  We’re hoping to have Paul speak at our next annual meeting next spring.

As many of you already know in October 2011 the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) rejected the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendation of establishing a private company standards board under the FAF that would set differences in U.S. GAAP standards for privately held companies.  FAF recommended that a new body be established which could take up to an additional 4 years to establish.  Council passed a resolution that strongly disagreed with the FAF findings and asks that the AICPA consider all options, including the creation of a committee or board within the AICPA or a standard-setting body as a separate entity, or other independent standard setting body to develop private company generally accepted accounting principles (PCGAAP) or a comprehensive private company-specific basis of accounting that would deliver meaningful, lasting improvement to private company financial reporting consistent with the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations.

The major issue discussed at the fall meeting of council was “CPA Horizons 2025”.  The AICPA initiated CPA Horizons 2025 to harness the insights of CPAs, regulators, thought leaders and futurists.  This visioning initiative helped to examine the local and global trends that affects CPAs in their daily work, predict how they will impact the profession in the years ahead and to help identify what actions CPAs can take to meet challenges and leverage opportunities now in the coming years.

The primary objective of this initiative is to revalidate the top five core values, core services and core competencies that were established as a result of the visioning exercise in 1998.  As the AICPA moved forward on the profession wide initiative, they considered all the segments of the profession and designed various tools to give everyone an opportunity to engage in the initiative and in the dialog with others in the profession.  These tools included leveraging technology for a survey and for online discussion forums.  AICPA also conducted in-person forums in eight locations across the country and conducted four focus groups.  They also sought input from key regulators, thought leaders, AICPA executive volunteer committees and CPAs practicing in different segments of the marketplace.

After the information gathering ended on July 31, 2011 the AICPA had an overwhelming response from the profession.  Approximately 5,600 CPAs responded, devoting a total of over 5,000 hours and providing more than 75,000 comments on the future by participating in one of the research activities.

The following represents the results of this effort:

• Understand and leverage relevant technology in conjunction with core CPA competencies to deliver superior services.
• Evolve the educational framework to keep pace with the changing dynamics of business, government and our profession.
• Position the CPA as a pre-eminent designation of the accounting and finance profession throughout the world.
• Encourage pride among CPAs in the CPA profession and in the value CPAs create throughout society.
• Continue to offer opportunities that enhance the appeal of the profession and be proactive in addressing both the US and global demographic shifts.
• Promote the CPA as the trusted advisor who, in addition to providing core CPA services, develops solutions to complex problems by integrating knowledge, expertise, and resources from multiple disciplines.
• Leverage the strengths of the profession to expand market permissions.
• Address continual changes in the marketplace, economy, businesses, and regulations by managing change.
• Increase the visibility of the professions value proposition by demonstrating the professions core values in multiple areas of business and society.
• Preserve the role of the CPA as the trusted attester of financial and other information.

And finally, I’d like to also say thank you to John Rodgers for his years of service.

If you ever have any questions regarding the council meetings please feel free to contact me at anytime.

Alaska State Board of Accountancy Report

Melody Schneider, CPA Board Liaison

The Board of Public Accountancy met in Anchorage November 3^rd & 4^th .Subsequent to their last meeting, the Board determined the penalty approved at the August meeting can not go into effect without regulation change. Therefore, a penalty for late filing will not impact this renewal. Additionally, the renewal will be available online later in November (estimated for November 15^th) and all licensees must send a copy of their certificate from the Alaska specific ethics course taken (or the course certification list provided by the State Society).

The position for the Executive Administrator has not yet been filled. The position will reopen later this month, and a link will be available from the ASCPA website. Please watch for notification and let anyone who might be interested know about this position.

The western regional meeting of NASBA will be in Anchorage next June. Additional information and opportunities for support and attendance will be reported as the information is available.

January 23^rd & 24^th the Board will be meet in Juneau.

Val Steed of K2 Enterprises

Top Ten iPad Apps

1.       GoodReader

GoodReader is a well-known document reader.  I prefer GoodReader to any other one as it is cheap, fast, and easy to work.  I can easily annotate a PDF and store the annotations in the file or as a separate file.

2.       Dropbox

Free for up to 2GB, Dropbox is probably the best synchronization tool I have ever used.  I have it loaded on my iPad, laptop, and desktop.  All files sync in seconds and are available across all systems.  Be sure to have strong Windows passwords and invoke the security keys on the iPad.  In seconds I can create a file on my desk system, access it in Dropbox on my iPad, and then open it in GoodReader.

3.       Speed Test – Ookla

Free speed test.  There are many speed test apps so be sure to get the right one.  Only the one from Ookla is this good; great graphics and reliable results.  You would be surprised at how often the speed of your internet connection changes.

4.       FaceTime

No doubt one of the best communication tools ever invented.  The only issue is that the person on the other end of FaceTime must have an iPad or iPhone 4 or newer. Despite the fact this is an Apple app, and comes with your iPad, do not overlook its power and capabilities.

5.       Photobucket

2GB of free cloud storage and an interface that works great across all devices.  The key to Photobucket is that it becomes your library of photos and videos that you can easily link to for Facebook, LinkedIn or any other website posting.

6.       MLB.com

I am a baseball fan so this ranks high on my list despite the fact that you have to buy an annual subscription to the service each year for around $15.  You get to see any game, not blocked by blackouts, in HD (internet connection permitting).

7.       Intellicast HD Weather

I guess I am part Eubank (local joke).  Truth is, I love weather and especially like to know what I am headed for when traveling.  This is the best of the weather apps to date as it gives you HD radar.  Try zooming in/out and you can examine the world in detail, even ocean beds!

8.       Keynote

Not free, Apple app.  This is a pay for app that is the PowerPoint of the Apple line.  If you want to do presentations from your iPad, this is the tool.  Create the presentation in PowerPoint on your PC, transfer the file with Dropbox, open with Keynote, and present.  Viola, it is that easy but it will cost you $9.99.

9.       Dragon Dictation

Free app - best voice recognition to date.  You talk, it types; this can help with email responses especially when they become lengthy on the iPad.

10.   Concur

The app is free; the account with Concur will not be free.  You can get a personal free account by signing up for the Concur Accountants program.  See http://www.cpafirmsoftware.com/cpaprograms.html click on the Concur Accountants Program and join.  Then you can use this app on your iPad to help track and report expenses.  We have our entire company signed up and this is a great tool.

NASBA Launches CPAverify.org

Free National Database Offers the Public Single-Source Access to U.S. CPA Licensee Data

NASHVILLE (October 24, 2011) – The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) today announced the launch of CPAverify.org – a website featuring a central database of state licensee information about Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) practicing across the nation. Populated by official state regulatory data received from State Boards of Accountancy, the website is free and open to the public. In its initial launch, the CPAverify.org website will include licensee data for 22 states with additional states being added regularly until all 55 U.S. CPA licensing jurisdictions are included.

A national database of this kind has been in high demand for some time now as corporations, individuals, CPA firms and organizations such as the IRS and PCAOB have expressed a need for up-to-date access to CPA records across multiple jurisdictions. To address this growing need in the marketplace, CPAverify was designed as an outward-facing version of an internal CPA database that has been in operation by NASBA for several years and only available for use by authorized state board personnel.

"With database platforms, data processes, privacy policies and freedom of information laws varying from state to state, it is quite an undertaking to synchronize all those various data feeds into one useful tool that can be available to help support the State Boards with public protection and enforcement efforts," stated David Costello, CPA, NASBA President and CEO. "For this reason, NASBA and the State Boards are very proud to be launching the service for public consumption and additional states’ data will be added regularly until all 55 CPA licensing jurisdictions are included."

Whether sourcing talent to fill open positions or searching for the ideal CPA to assist with an income tax return, CPAverify.org will provide individuals and organizations alike a convenient and credible way to research whether a CPA is officially licensed in a particular state without having to search each state board website individually. The tool also goes one step further by providing general license history for CPAs. To learn more about CPAverify.org or to conduct your own search, visit www.cpaverify.org.