Asgeirsson Cites Coming Changes in Tax and Audit, Further Evolution of Client Accounting Services

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 7, 2016) – A significantly faster pace of innovation in tax and auditing will lead to the same kind of transformation that is occurring in client accounting services, spurring CPA firms to devise more refined advisory offerings and seek personnel with specialized skills, CPA.com President and CEO Erik Asgeirsson said in a final day keynote at the 2016 Digital CPA Conference.

Cloud computing has helped turn client accounting into a high margin, high growth line of business, Asgeirsson said. Research from the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section and CPA.com shows that client accounting services have become an important slice of revenue in all CPA firm segments, with increased penetration in larger firms. As more firms find success and build marketable brands around virtual CFO and controllership services, client awareness and expectations are also continuing to rise, he said.

“We need to meet these rising expectations with evolving levels of service, training and best practices,” Asgeirsson said. “In short, we need to continue raising the bar for professionalization in client accounting services – and from what we’ve all seen at Digital CPA this week, we’re moving in the right direction.”

Technology will have a similar impact on tax and audit, he said. On the tax side, practitioners will one day be able to review a client’s entire financial situation on a single dashboard, allowing them to spot patterns and opportunities and deliver higher-value planning and advisory services. The audit, meanwhile, will become more dynamic, complete and real-time in nature.

For client accounting services, Asgeirsson cited three broad areas where CPA.com is helping elevate firm elevate their performance:

Training – CPA.com and the AICPA are launching a Client Accounting Advisory Services Certificate early next year, which will demonstrate defined expertise in this area for practice leaders, key staff and partners. Professionals who earn the certificate can display a digital badge on their website or LinkedIn page.

Leadership Development – CPA.com is offering two virtual classroom programs to help firms develop their most valuable resource: leaders who can anticipate change and inspire top performance. They are:

• A seven-part, on-demand program with leadership training coach John Engels called “Owning Your Leadership,” which allows CPA firms to broaden leadership and interpersonal skills
• The “Anticipatory Organization: Accounting and Finance Edition” program by Daniel Burrus, an on-demand course designed to hone CPA practice leaders’ ability to spot trends and position their firms and clients to take advantage of change

Expanded Offerings – Asgeirsson said firm solutions are moving beyond core accounting and financial applications to “pre-accounting” categories (such as expense management and personal finance management) and “post-accounting” categories (budget and forecasting, among others). Earlier at Digital CPA, he noted, CPA.com introduced its new strategic alliance with leading expense management provider Expensify.

Asgeirsson also gave an update on RIVIO Clearinghouse, the online financial document exchange for private companies that CPA.com developed in partnership with Confirmation.com. RIVIO has drawn broad interest from CPA firms and other stakeholders in investing and lending since its launch in May, he said.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Asgeirsson announced that next year’s Digital CPA Conference will be held in San Francisco on Dec. 4-6, 2017. For more information, visit digitalcpa.com.

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms.

The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the accounting profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

Firms of All Sizes Also Make Strides in Cloud Usage and Other Technology Metrics Since 2014

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 6, 2016) – Client accounting services has become an important line of business for CPA firms in all size segments, even as overall client fees are growing, according to a survey sponsored by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section and CPA.com.

One trend is growing penetration of the client accounting services/virtual CFO services category for larger firms. The slice of net client fees represented by that service area, which includes outsourced finance and accounting services and other back-office support for clients, more than doubled to nine percent for the largest firms with annual revenue of $10 million or more who are active in this area, according to the 2016 National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Survey, topline results of which were released earlier this fall. It also increased by double digits for the next two largest segments: firms with revenue of $5 million to less than $10 million and revenue of $1.5 million to less than $5 million.

“It’s safe to say that nearly 10 percent of revenues in the profession are focused on client accounting,” said Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, the AICPA’s executive vice president of firm services, who discussed the survey results at the 2016 Digital CPA Conference. “And depending on the size of the firm, it may be more or slightly less, but overall it’s a strong category on its own. Tax and audit continue to be the number one and number two revenue categories, but client accounting demonstrates growing significance to the profession.”

Client Accounting Services/Virtual CFO Services as Percentage of CPA Firm Revenue

Note: Percentages represent median values for segments from firms that indicate revenue from this service area.

On another front, CPA firms use of cloud services has grown since 2014. Some 56 percent of all firms surveyed said they use cloud-based software, up 17 percent from two years ago. Six of seven CPA firm revenue segments reported increases, with only the largest category ($10 million in revenue and up) reporting a slight decline (minus one percent). Use of cloud-based remote backup increased 14 percent to 57 percent for all firms, and an identical number reported that they capture source documents digitally.

“We’re seeing broad pickup in cloud services and other emerging technologies,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “The next wave that leads to greater productivity and capabilities for advanced firms is fuller integration of these technologies and the elimination of bottlenecks in work processes.”

Among other findings of the survey:

• Some 38 percent of firms provide staffers with tablets or mobile monitors to work remotely, with 91 percent of the largest firms ($10 million in revenue and up) doing so
• Some 49 percent of firms are using social media for business development, while 29 percent are using it for recruitment, although the latter is far more common for larger firms
• Some 43 percent of firms text clients to obtain information, although the practice is far less common in larger firms with more formal client communications.
• Some 30 percent of firms use Skype to communicate with colleagues and clients, compared to 10 percent in 2014
• Only seven percent of firms indicate that they do not operate in a paperless environment

Methodology: The AICPA PCPS/CPA.com National Management of an Accounting Practice Survey is conducted every two years by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section and CPA.com, the AICPA’s technology subsidiary. Representatives from 1,537 CPA firms were asked details about their latest fiscal year financial results. Responses were gathered from May through July this year. The poll’s main sponsor is Aon.

About the AICPA

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the accounting profession, with more than 418,000 members in 143 countries, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting.

The AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, and offers specialty credentials for CPAs who concentrate on personal financial planning; forensic accounting; business valuation; and information management and technology assurance. Through a joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), it has established the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation which sets a new standard for global recognition of management accounting.

The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, DC, Durham, NC, and Ewing, NJ.

Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Press Center at www.aicpa.org/press.

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms.

The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the accounting profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

Leading Expense Management Platform a Key Component of Client Accounting Services

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 5, 2016) – CPA.com is adding Expensify, an innovative leader in expense management software, to its roster of automated solutions for CPA firms.

Technology is changing the way companies – and the CPA firms that serve them – conduct business. CPA.com has helped CPAs with this transformation through business strategy, education, change management and a lineup of curated solutions for firms, but many pain points remain, including outdated methods of approving client receipts and travel expenses.

Expensify is the fastest growing company in the expense management category, and has won acclaim for the ease and functionality of its user experience. It integrates with all major accounting software applications, including Intacct, another member of CPA.com’s partner program for firm solutions.

“Expensify clients report that using Expensify can reduce time spent on receipt submissions, approvals and reimbursements by 83 percent, which is exactly the kind of pre-accounting automation that can drive real efficiency for firms and their clients,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, who announced the new strategic alliance at the 2016 Digital CPA Conference. “As client accounting services mature, the importance of digitizing all inputs and outputs and getting maximum insight from data will continue to grow.”

Expensify allows CPA firms to manage client expenses and reconcile corporate credit cards in a single console using real-time, continuously updated information. Clients also benefit from Expensify’s easy-to-use mobile app with industry-leading features:

• Expensify's SmartScan OCR technology scans receipts, automatically extracts transaction data and assigns each expense to a reporting category
• Data automatically syncs with all major accounting programs
• Corporate card reconciliation automatically imports the credit card feed and merges each transaction with the corresponding receipt while flagging duplicate expenses
• Next-day direct deposit makes it easy to reimburse employees
• Unique company policies automatically analyze which expenses actually need a manager’s review, and automatically approve the rest

“CPA.com has been a key driver in the reemergence of client accounting services for firms, and we’re thrilled to partner with CPA.com to bring expense management and receipt tracking technology to a wider audience of CPAs,” said David Barrett, founder and CEO of Expensify. “We already partner with many of the nation’s largest accounting firms, many of whom are drawn to the value of being able to analyze and manage a client’s expenses in real-time. With this partnership, we are committed to CPA firms as they expand their role of the trusted advisor to include expense management for their clients.”

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms.

The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the accounting profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About Expensify

Founded in 2008, Expensify has quickly become the innovation leader in automated receipt and expense management with an easy-to-use mobile and web app. With entirely automated expense reporting processes and features such as patented SmartScan technology, company card management, and integrations with all major accounting software, Expensify has quickly grown to serve over 100,000 companies globally. Headquartered in San Francisco, Expensify recently opened offices in London and Melbourne to continue better serving customers in all time zones.

Innovative Tool Determines Which Products Are Subject to Sales and Use Tax

NEW YORK (Nov. 22, 2016) – CPA.com and Vertex SMB today announced the launch of a new product taxability tool that allows CPA firms to advise clients on which products are subject to sales and use tax.

An increasing number of small to midsize companies are expanding into online sales, and they need a trusted business advisor to help navigate complex and changing regulations in the more than 11,000 taxing jurisdictions within the United States. It’s not enough to determine if a company has a sufficiently sizable business presence in a state to be subject to sales tax, or what’s known as “nexus.” Clients also need advice on which specific products or services they sell that might incur taxes.

“If a CPA has a client with sales in 20 states, researching the applicable tax laws and how they apply product by product can be time-consuming and costly,” said Michael Cerami, CPA.com’s vice president of business development and corporate alliances. “We’ve automated this function as part of the Firm Advisory Program we’re offering through CPA.com and Vertex SMB. The offering is a key piece of a comprehensive solution that allows firms to track client activity through dashboards and reports, and to keep on track with regulatory updates and thought leadership.”

For initial setup of the taxability tool, practitioners review their client’s products and select specific taxability codes for each item within the Vertex SMB solution. The CPA firm can then run monthly reports to flag any new or changed regulations so the company remains compliant and up-to-date on tax remittances. This enables the CPA firm to add value for their clients by providing advisory services in the area of product taxability.

“We tracked more than 600 new or significant changes in sales and use tax regulations last year, so the ability for CPAs to provide timely updates on compliance-related matters is extremely valuable,” said Chris Livingston, director of product and operations at Vertex SMB. “We think it is an essential tool for practitioners looking to build advisory services in this space.”

CPA.com and Vertex SMB are offering a free webinar about sales and use tax compliance and product taxability, “Automated Sales and Use Taxability Reports for the Win,” at 2 p.m. EST on Nov. 30.

Besides the Firm Advisory Program, CPA.com and Vertex SMB also offer a referral program for CPA firms who want to assist clients with sales and use tax compliance but don’t want to build out an advisory practice. To learn more, visit www.cpa.com/salestax.

About CPA.com

CPA.com offers a growing list of products and services for practice management, client advisory services and professional development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on cloud technology and has been a driving force around the reemergence of virtual CFO/controller services by firms.

The RIVIO Clearinghouse, a joint venture between CPA.com and Confirmation.com, is an online financial document clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key financial information with lenders and investors.

CPA.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member body representing the accounting profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About Vertex Inc.

Founded in 1978, Vertex Inc. is the leading provider of corporate tax software and services for companies of all sizes, from small to medium-sized businesses to global multinationals.

Vertex solutions enable companies to realize the full strategic potential of the corporate tax function. The company offers a variety of products and services that allow businesses to automate, integrate, and streamline their corporate tax processes. Vertex provides solutions in every major line of tax including income, sales and consumer use, value added, and payroll. Vertex also offers tailored solutions for specific industries including retail, communications, hospitality, and leasing.

Vertex SMB, a division of Vertex Inc., helps automate sales and use tax compliance for small to medium-sized businesses. By enabling calculations and returns in a cloud-based solution and offering flexible service levels and featuring attractive pay-as-you-go pricing, Vertex SMB meets the sales and use tax automation needs of growing businesses.

Known for its innovative culture, Vertex is a privately held company that employs 900 professionals across the globe, at its headquarters in the U.S. (Berwyn, Pa.) and offices in Europe (London), Brazil (São Paulo), Dallas, Fort Collins, Naperville, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sarasota, and Seattle. For more information about Vertex Inc., visit www.vertexinc.com. For more information about Vertex SMB, visit www.vertexSMB.com.