Position Paper Discusses Demand from Lenders and Investors for Authenticated Data Sources

ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2016) – CPA.com today released a position paper, “Addressing the Need for a Private Company Clearinghouse,” that makes the case for the secure digital distribution of private company financial information.

“Reliable financial information is one of the foundations of capital markets,” the document states. “Emerging trends and market demands suggest the current process in the United States of exchanging private company financial information between CPA firms, clients, banks and investors is not working and needs to be dramatically improved.”

Among other findings, the report:

• Discusses current practice for distributing financial statements and other critical financial data for private companies, which can lead to increased risk of fraud and error
• Examines the digital transformation of financial services, which has led to a growing demand for readily available, authenticated sources of data
• Identifies components of a private company clearinghouse that are required to make it effective

“We created this position paper to shine a light on the growing market problem related to private company financial information exchange.” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “In addition, we identified the key capabilities needed in a private company clearinghouse based on extensive discussions with firms, lenders, and investors over the past two years.”

CPA.com and Confirmation.com have jointly developed RIVIO Clearinghouse, a secure, online financial document exchange that meets the requirements outlined in the report. RIVIO was launched this past May, and has been recognized as an Accounting Today 2016 Top New Product and winner of a CPA Practice Advisor 2016 Tax & Accounting Innovation Award.

The position paper was released at the fall meeting of the AICPA governing Council, where Asgeirsson led a panel discussion on RIVIO. The report was developed with feedback from firms, investors, lenders and private businesses, as well as several AICPA technical committees.

More information about RIVIO Clearinghouse can be found at RIVIO.com

About CPA.com

CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession, and operates such leading websites as the AICPA Store, AICPA.org and IFRS.com.

The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.

Co-workers Developed a Tool to Manage Collateral for Marketing, Sales and Business Development

NEW YORK (Sept. X, 2016) – Caitlin Lacher and Rachael Higginbotham, two marketing team members with the Louisiana-based accounting and business advisory firm Postlethwaite & Netterville, are co-winners of CPA.com’s Innovative Practitioners 2016 Award, which recognizes innovations in process, services or technology implementation in public accounting firms.

Lacher and Higginbotham were the guiding forces behind Pounce, a business development tool for professional services firms that launched this summer. The platform allows CPA firms to manage and match staff resumes, as well as industry experience, service expertise and other firm-related materials, so marketing and sales teams can quickly and effectively respond to new business opportunities.

“Rachael and Caitlin had an innovative idea for a tool that could manage our professional bios and sales materials ensuring that materials are accurate, consistent and available 24/7,” said Bill Balhoff, CPA, CFF, CGMA, managing director and CEO of Postlethwaite & Netterville. “They led the development of Pounce, which is an easy-to-use, web-based system designed not only for our firm, but also for all professional services firms.”

Lacher and Higginbotham will be recognized as winners of the award at the 2016 Digital CPA Conference, which will be held Dec. 5-7, 2016, in Las Vegas. Both women have been invited as guests to the event.

“We’re seeing a lot of excitement and energy from the Digital CPA community as more firms embrace technology and a range of practice management innovations,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Our Innovative Practitioner Award is designed to give a human face to the best practices and breakthrough tools many firms are developing.”

Besides the two winners, three other nominees were recognized for their innovative work. They are:

Runner up

• Charles Postal of Santos, Postal & Co., Rockville, Md., An early advocate of the paperless office, Charles has been at the forefront of technological innovation as managing partner. Under his watch, the firm adopted Yammer.com, Slack.com and OfficeVibe.com, among other services, to provide greater transparency and communication among staff.

Honorable Mention (tie)

• Kathy Ryan of RoseRyan, Newark, Calif. Kathy helped develop her firm’s own in-house application -- the RoseRyan Dream Team System – to automate key processes, such as time tracking, recruiting, revenue forecasting and the like.
• Dixie McCurley of Trusted CFO Solutions, Atlanta. Dixie helps lead CPA.com workshops on client accounting services in the cloud, but also walks the walk with her firm, developing customized accounting models for clients that deliver powerful data analytics for business decision-making.

To read more about these practitioners, please visit the award page. More information about the Digital CPA Conference can be found at DigitalCPA.com.

About CPA.com

CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession, and operates such leading websites as the AICPA Store, AICPA.org and IFRS.com.

The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.

Majority of Small Business Owners See Value in HR and Regulatory Guidance from Trusted Advisors such as CPAs

NEW YORK (Sept. 7, 2016) – CPA.com and Paychex today announced an expanded program to help CPAs broaden their advisory role in human resources, an area that’s becoming increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to manage.

Businesses need the help, according to a survey of small business owners conducted this spring by Paychex. Some 44 percent of respondents agreed it was increasingly difficult to manage HR, twice as many as those who said it was not. And 61 percent said they would find it valuable if their existing trusted advisor –accountant, attorney or other consultant – offered additional guidance on HR and regulatory compliance.

CPA firms, meanwhile, are eager to broaden their role with clients, according to research from CPA.com. Developing new offerings that expand the value CPAs provide to existing clients was the top priority for firms in last year’s CPA.com Innovation in Public Accounting Survey.

Reflecting these trends, the Paychex Partner Program is designed to grow a CPA’s relationship with clients seeking guidance in payroll, retirement benefits, and now, thanks to the expanded program, human resource services. Through the program, CPAs refer clients to partner with Paychex, one of the country’s leading providers of HR and human capital management solutions, solidifying the accountants’ role as expert advisor and creating more strategic, higher-revenue consultation opportunities for CPAs.

CPAs who enroll in the program can offer their clients a suite of best-in-class services, including access to Paychex’s cloud-based platform, which integrates different offerings such as payroll, employee time and attendance, HR applications and benefits administration.

Additionally, CPAs and clients can connect to a host of flexible reporting tools to create comprehensive, customizable reports. CPAs and clients also enjoy anytime access to data and personnel information through industry leading mobile applications.

“From health care reform to new overtime rules to changes in the minimum wage, the HR landscape is evolving at a rapid pace,” said Andy Childs, Paychex’s vice president of marketing. “Keeping up with regulations requires expert guidance, and the Paychex Partner Program puts one of the most trusted advisors – CPAs – in the best position to serve clients.”

“Payroll, retirement and human resource administration are key components in the value equation of client accounting services,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “With the expansion of the Paychex Partner Program, we’re helping CPA firms move further into the advisory space, which we expect to be a growth area going forward.”

Paychex was the first member of CPA.com’s Partner Solutions lineup, and the two companies have a successful, decade-long partnership that designates Paychex as the preferred payroll, HR, and retirement services provider for AICPA members and their clients.

For more information about the Paychex Partner Program, visit www.cpa.com/paychex.

About CPA.com

CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the AICPA, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession. The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by 45 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 605,000 payroll clients across more than 100 locations and pays one out of every 12 American private sector employees. Learn more about Paychex by visiting www.paychex.com, and stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn.

CPA.com/AICPA Event on Dec. 5-7 to Have Increased Focus on Leadership and Practice Development

NEW YORK (July 20, 2016) – While technology is a vital tool, CPA firms also need to focus on leadership and practice development strategies to take full advantage of innovation. This year’s Digital CPA Conference, sponsored by CPA.com and the American Institute of CPAs, is designed to offer insight and resources to help firm leaders set goals, spot trends and identify strengths as they build their client accounting services practices.

A featured speaker at Digital CPA will be business strategist Daniel Burrus, who champions the concept of the “Anticipatory Organization,” one that can analyze long-term trends and move quickly to take advantage of opportunities that come from change. Burrus will discuss what it means to be an “Anticipatory CPA” at the conference, which will be held Dec. 5-7, 2016, at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas.

“This is the fifth year for Digital CPA, and we’ve really seen a maturation in the client accounting services space since we began,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “To reflect that, the conference has evolved, too. We have a greater emphasis this year on firm strategy and practice development, subjects that will give more future-focused firms an edge in the years to come and enable them to fully capitalize on today’s advanced technologies. That’s why our theme this year is ‘Taking the Lead.’”

Other speakers on the Digital CPA program include:

• Bob Bunting, CPA, principal of R.L. Bunting Consulting, former CEO of Moss Adams and onetime AICPA chairman, who will talk about growth strategies for CPA firms
• John Engels, founder and CEO of Leadership Coaching Inc., who will talk about the role leadership development plays in the future of CPA firms
• Neal Spencer, CPA, founder of Thrive or Just Survive consulting firm and former CEO of BKD, who will discuss the decision-making process

This year’s Digital CPA will be co-located with the fall meeting of the Information Technology Alliance, an influential group of CPA firm technology experts, vendors and value-added resellers. Members of the two conferences will be able to attend the others’ keynotes and networking sessions.

Credentialed media interested in attending the event should contact Jeff May, jeff.may@hq.cpa.com, for media credentials. For more information, visit digitalcpa.com

About CPA.com

CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.

CPA.com is a subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession, and operates such leading websites as the AICPA Store, AICPA.org and IFRS.com.

The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.

Financial Document Exchange for Private Companies Honored by CPA Practice Advisor

NEW YORK (June 2, 2016) – RIVIO Clearinghouse, a financial document exchange for private companies, was the recipient last night of a 2016 Tax and Accounting Technology Innovation Award from CPA Practice Advisor, a leading publication for the accounting profession.

RIVIO was developed by CPA.com and Confirmation.com as a secure, online platform to control the flow of financial documents between private companies, CPA firms and lenders and investors. It helps prevent fraud and provides more sophisticated controls than existing delivery methods.

The Tax and Accounting Technology Innovation Award is meant to recognize “outside-the-box thinking in product development, breakthrough technologies, state of the art design and implementation, and cutting edge concepts that help accounting professionals and their clients be more productive and profitable,” according to CPA Practice Advisor.’

“We're delighted that our judges selected RIVIO Clearinghouse as one of the winners of the 2016 Innovation Awards,” said Gail Perry, the publication’s editor-in-chief. “This particular product is going to have a significant and positive ripple effect throughout the accounting profession.”

The award was presented at the California Accounting & Business Show & Conference in Los Angeles.

“We appreciate the leadership CPA Practice Advisor has shown in identifying technology trends in the accounting space,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “We think RIVIO Clearinghouse addresses a pressing marketplace need for source-validated private company financial information, and it’s gratifying when respected voices in the profession endorse that view.”

“We’re excited about the award,” said Brian Fox, president and founder of Confirmation.com. “It’s a great testament to the value of RIVIO to CPAs and their clients.”