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Featured….
North Texas Has 5 of the 15 Fastest-Growing Small U.S. Cities
Mortgage Rates Drop to 7.02%
IRIS Acquires Utah-Based Swipeclock
Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Management Remains a Risk Factor for Many Businesses
Contributors….
Randy Johnston
Darren Root, CPA, CITP, CGMA
Becky Livingston
Garrett Wagner
Richard D. Alaniz, JD
Webinars and CPE….
Webcast May 9: Lease Accounting’s Role in Executing Financial Strategy
Webast: Valuation Considerations in Emerging Markets – July 11, 2024
Events….
Accounting
Xerocon 2024 Nashville: Aug. 14-15, 2024
The event will be hosted at the Music City Center, allowing Xero’s community of accountants and bookkeepers from across the U.S., Canada and beyond the chance to connect, as well as options for earning CPE credit.
Accounting
RightNOW Conference 2024
Top influencer keynotes, transformative tech insights and AI innovators converge to elevate the accounting profession at RightNOW 2024. May 14-16, 2024 | Austin, TX.
The Votes Are In: 2024 Readers Choice Awards
The Readers’ Choice Awards give readers the chance to spotlight the technologies they most respect and trust to provide client services, manage their firms, and help their clients run their businesses.
How to Use Microsoft Copilot for CPA Firm Marketing
If you need help with marketing, consider incorporating Copilot into your marketing arsenal for increased efficiency and creativity.
The Accounting Technology Lab Podcast – Review of Digilence Cloud – May 2024
Hosts Randy Johnston and Brian Tankersley, CPA, look at the Digilence Experience Cloud, a cloud-based digital intelligence solution for accounting firms.
Tesla Troubles Lead to Cuts of 600 Jobs in Bay Area
In the fifth straight week of layoff announcements, Tesla said it is now concentrating on reducing staff at its Bay Area facilities as part of a larger move to cut jobs globally.
North Texas Has 5 of the 15 Fastest-Growing Small U.S. Cities
As the population booms, more housing units have come with it. Four North Texas counties were in the top 15 for overall housing unit growth.
Payroll
Mortgage Rates Drop to 7.02%
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this week that the central bank needs more evidence that higher rates have helped tame inflation pressures.
Technology
IRIS Acquires Utah-Based Swipeclock
Swipeclock is known for its cloud workforce management solutions, such as WorkforceHub and ApplicantStack, for SMBs.
Small Business
Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Management Remains a Risk Factor for Many Businesses
Automation technologies have evolved to meet these challenges, and adept professionals have honed their skills to guide clients through these complex tasks.
Accounting
The Accounting Technology Lab Podcast – Review of MakersHub.ai – May 2024
Brian and Randy look at MakersHub.ai, an automated AP system serving construction, construction services, industrial contractors, automation, and manufacturers, as well as bookkeepers and accounting professionals who serve these clients.
Accounting
New Tech for Accounting Firms Get Spotlight at 2024 Conferences
Solving client issues by leveraging your team member’s expertise is one of the best ways to have a rewarding career and life.
Firm Management
Canopy Secures $35 Million in Funding to Enhance AI-Powered Practice Management for Accounting Firms
The $35 million investment will be channeled towards doubling down on Canopy’s vision for leveraging AI to make firms exponentially more efficient.
Small Business
Lili Launches New Accountant AI for Small Business Financial Management
Lili also partnered with Amazon Bedrock to ensure Accountant AI has robust privacy and security measures to keep businesses’ data safe from potential leaks or misuse.
Accounting Standards
AICPA Auditing Standards Board Approves Revisions to Attestation Standards
The changes are intended to align them with the AICPA standards pertaining to quality management, and related financial statement audit and non-audit standards.
Accounting
Updated CPA Pipeline Report Show Top Reasons Some Decide Not to Pursue Credential
Among all respondents surveyed, “time” emerged as the top-ranked challenge—or deterrent—to becoming a CPA.
Taxes
Biden Seeks to Bolster Solar Manufacturers With Tax and Trade Moves
The measures include expanded tariffs, tax policy guidance, and promises of heightened vigilance for signs of unfair trade.
Taxes
Global Minimum Tax: 3 Key Priorities for U.S. Multinationals
U.S.-based multinational companies can emerge not just compliant but better positioned in a post-global minimum tax world.
Firm Management
TaxDome Rolls Out Client-Facing Status Feature, Elevating Project Transparency and Communication
This addition to the TaxDome platform is designed to enhance transparency, foster trust, and streamline communication between tax firms and their clients.
Firm Management
Baker Tilly to Acquire Top 100 Firm Seiler in California
The deal is the Chicago-based top 10 firm’s first since it announced receiving a large private equity investment in February.
Avantax Acquires GA Investment Management Adding 10-person, $400-Million Practice to Avantax’s Employee-based Model
Since closing the acquisition, $400 million in GA client assets have been onboarded to the Avantax platform, and 10 GA employees are now W-2 employees of Avantax.
Firm Management
Outgoing PwC Boss Already Has a New Gig Lined Up At Citigroup
Tim Ryan, who was to officially step down as PwC US senior partner on June 30, will reportedly leave the firm a month earlier to join Citi.
Payroll
U.S. Inflation Drops in April as Federal Reserve Considers Interest Rate Cut
A measure of underlying U.S. inflation cooled in April for the first time in six months, a small step in the right direction for Federal Reserve officials looking to start cutting interest rates this year.
Legislation
U.S. to Increase Some Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles to 100%
The rate on Chinese EVs will increase from 25 percent to 100 percent this year, while the rate on lithium-ion EV batteries will increase from 7.5 percent to 25 percent.
Auditing
KPMG Leads in IPO Audit Clients for Q1 of 2024
The Big Four firm audited eight of the 46 IPOs, tops among the 20 different firms with at least one IPO audit client in the first quarter.
Payroll
Gen Z and Millennials Are Optimistic and Focused on Purpose in Job Satisfaction Survey
They have cautious optimism that circumstances may improve. Just under a third of Gen Zs and millennials believe the economic situation in their countries will improve over the next year.
Small Business
U.S. Wineries Hopeful about Sustained Sales Growth Over Next 5 Years
While headwinds still persist in the industry, the survey results show wineries are feeling cautiously optimistic about sales growth over the next five years after a challenging destocking phase.
Taxes
IRS Adds Security Protections for CAF Program, Transcript Requests
The risk a compromised CAF number presents to practitioners and taxpayers is prompting these additional security measures.
Technology
Rightworks Unveils Two New Security Offerings
The solutions help accounting firms and small businesses create a WISP to achieve regulatory compliance and resolve security gaps.
Payroll
Utility Overdue Bills Rise for More Households, Says Fed Survey
U.S. household debt has reached a record and more borrowers are struggling to keep up.
Small Business
Sales Tax FAQs for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Seller Clients
As a business grows and sales volume ticks up, all that activity can trigger new tax obligations.
Technology
Tech Gifts for 2024 College Grads
From a very thin and light phone grip to a very comfy desk chair, there’s bound to be a gift idea your grad will love. I’ve included list prices. You may find these items cheaper if they are on sale.
Accounting
CPAs Provide Six Ways to Replenish the Talent Pipeline
From evolving CPA licensure models to better starting pay, the profession can do several things to attract new talent, a new NPAG report says.
Accounting
Avalara Honored as BigCommerce Tech Partner Award Winner
The BigCommerce Global Partner Awards recognize the top-performing partners among BigCommerce’s global network of thousands of agency and technology partners in its open ecosystem.
Sales Tax
How to Explain Communications Tax to Clients
The term “communications tax” often refers to a multitude of federal government charges, state and local taxes, fees, and regulatory contribution charges.
Small Business
U.S. Retail Sales Saw Increase in April
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline) was up 0.4% month over month in April and almost unchanged.
Auditing
PCAOB Replaces Old Quality Control Rules With a New Standard
The new quality control standard will require audit firms to annually evaluate their QC systems and report the results to the PCAOB.