Leaders of Association of International Certified Professional Accountants Give Professional Update

LAS VEGAS (July 28, 2021) — The past year has been a defining time for CPAs and management accountants in their roles as trusted advisors to businesses large and small, with the profession proving its ability to adapt and thrive amid disruption and adversity, senior leaders of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA & CIMA) said during a keynote presentation at the AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE conference.

That resiliency will be needed going forward, with more changes to come from technological disruption, expanded categories of non-financial reporting, and the rapid evolution of new service lines and business opportunities, Association CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said during the panel session at ENGAGE, one of the leading events dedicated to accounting and finance. Clients and employers are also facing increased complexity on several fronts, many heightened by the pandemic, and they're looking for the profession to solve it for them.

"It's hard to argue with the notion that we are in a world reimagined," Melancon said, adding that the profession is nevertheless well positioned to capitalize on opportunities tied to change.

Some of the key topics discussed during the session included:

Digital Transformation. The shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated uptake rates for cloud solutions and related technology. Client advisory services (CAS) practices that embraced the cloud before the pandemic fared well during workplace shutdowns, and many firms showed great creativity in areas such as remote auditing that can have application in the post-pandemic world. "I do think we have to stop thinking of technology as a cost and more as a strategic investment," said Sue Coffey, CPA, CGMA, the Association's CEO of public accounting.

The leap forward that many firms and employers had to take on technology upgrades due to the pandemic sets the profession up well for the next level of changes involving artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning, panelists said. This will be manifested in such initiatives as the Dynamic Audit Solution, an AICPA and CPA.com effort that is transforming the way audits are performed.

Business Model Evolution. One of the great successes of the profession over the past 18 months was its work in small business relief, and it can have an enduring impact for clients as firms deepen new relationships with lenders, particularly the fintech sector, said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. The Association's leaders also noted growth in CAS and other advisory services, as well as emerging areas of non-financial reporting bearing on sustainability, data integrity and supply chains, among others. "Making sense of a changing world – I don't think anyone does that better than a CPA," said Bill Pirolli, CPA, CFF, PFS, CGMA, the chair of the American Institute of CPAs.

Focus on Talent. Ensuring a robust pipeline of new CPAs and Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) and promoting diversity and inclusion are critical, panelists said. "As a profession, we need to look more like the clients we serve and we all need to be part of that solution," Coffey said.

Melancon said students are choosing career paths earlier, so it's essential to make the case for an accounting career before students get to college. That means firms should be showing up at career days and other events to talk up the profession. "We need to be in every high school in the country," he said.

To ensure newly licensed CPAs have the skills and competencies required today and into the future, the AICPA is collaborating with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to update the CPA licensure model. A new exam for the model, called CPA Evolution, is expected in early 2024

ENGAGE continues through tomorrow. To learn more, visit aicpaengage.com.

About the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, and AICPA & CIMA

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association), representing AICPA & CIMA, advances the global accounting and finance profession through its work on behalf of 696,000 AICPA and CIMA members, students and engaged professionals in 192 countries and territories. Together, we are the worldwide leader on public and management accounting issues through advocacy, support for the CPA license and specialized credentials, professional education and thought leadership. We build trust by empowering our members and engaged professionals with the knowledge and opportunities to be leaders in broadening prosperity for a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the world's largest member association representing the CPA profession, sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It also develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination and builds the pipeline of future talent for the public accounting profession.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the world's leading and largest professional body of management accountants. CIMA works closely with employers and sponsors leading-edge research, constantly updating its professional qualification and professional experience requirements to ensure it remains the employer's choice when recruiting financially trained business leaders.

OnPoint Audit is Latest in Suite of Advanced Audit and Assurance Tools for CPA Firms

NEW YORK (July 20, 2021) – CPA.com and CaseWare International today announced the commercial launch of OnPoint Audit. This comprehensive, cloud-based solution is designed to advance the audit approach, enabling CPA firms to quickly increase productivity and effectiveness. OnPoint Audit provides an efficient workflow that reduces manual data entry and redundancies and permits transparent collaboration between colleagues and their clients.

Hosted on CaseWare Cloud, OnPoint Audit is the newest solution added to the OnPoint suite of innovative audit and assurance products, offering firms of all sizes improved capabilities and efficiencies to their workflow. Among the many benefits of using the OnPoint suite, the OnPoint Audit app provides firms with:

• Intelligent content – Use guided workflows and tailored content to increase productivity, eliminate redundancy and reduce the risk of over/under auditing
• Real-time collaboration – Gain more visibility into engagement status, allowing audit teams to collaborate within the same workpaper, with access to real-time information
• Secure client requests – Auditors can securely request and receive prepared by client data, and automatically link information directly within the engagement file
• Integrated analytics – Generate sample size and select samples, perform automated journal entry testing and gather results, all without leaving the engagement file
• Automated financial statements – Produce professional, compliant financial statements in just minutes

“OnPoint Audit offers a significant improvement to the audit experience," said CaseWare CEO David Osborne. “This new solution keeps focus on the evolutionary goal towards the data-driven audit, bringing automation and integration to new levels, all while staying aligned with existing audit methodology. Auditors can now shift their focus to the critical areas of the engagement, delivering better quality results and more value to their clients every time."

Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, added: “OnPoint Audit delivers the latest cloud-based technology capabilities while leveraging existing firm methodologies. Every firm has its own journey to make in moving to a more evolved audit solution. It’s an exciting time for firms to add new capabilities to their practices and new insights for their clients.”

To learn more about OnPoint Audit, please visit cpa.com/onpointaudit. There are also upcoming webinars and related resources for firms that want to learn more.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About CaseWare

CaseWare International Inc. is the leading global provider of cloud enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions. With efficiency, quality and value in mind, CaseWare provides cutting-edge technology to accounting firms, businesses and government entities. Over 500,000 users, in 130 countries and in 16 languages, use CaseWare solutions. For more information, visit caseware.com.

Program Developed by Global Accounting Group and CPA.com Fosters Emerging Technologies that Aid the Profession

NEW YORK (Feb. 23, 2021) – Five early-stage companies pursuing a variety of solutions in finance, automated financial information, data preparation, artificial intelligence and assurance will form the 2021 cohort for an accounting-focused startup accelerator sponsored by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) and CPA.com.

The startup accelerator, begun in 2017, is designed to promote innovation in the accounting profession and give the Association and CPA.com more visibility into disruptive trends from emerging technologies. Finalists get a nominal funding investment and, over the course of the year, guidance on marketplace needs from a panel of experts in finance, accounting and innovation.

“The way the world collects, analyzes and verifies financial and business information has changed radically,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “We’re seeing incredible innovation in advisory services and the business support of clients, and the companies in our startup accelerator are a great reflection of that momentum.”

The members of this year’s group are:

• ByteChek – The Miami-based company’s platform and unique integrations create an automated experience for service organizations working toward a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report. Organizations license the product and CPAs review the results.
• ElectroNeek – Robotic Process Automation (RPA) removes the headache of repetitive, rule-based tasks that consume too much time for accounting firms and finance teams in companies of all sizes. ElectroNeek empowers its partners to deliver automation to accounting clients free of any software charges, making RPA more accessible.
• Guardd, Inc. – The Denver-based company provides critical support for secondary market trading of private company securities. GUARDD is a financial disclosure tool that collects, verifies, and disseminates private company information, including financial data, facilitating transparency for investors and allowing private companies to compliantly trade on Alternative Trading Systems.
• Saasable – Recurring revenue is a key metric for businesses but is difficult to capture and benchmark. Saasable, based in Burlington, Vt., allows clients to automate daily recurring revenue data, customize it and share it with users. Results can be measured against SaasIQ, the company’s artificial intelligence-driven benchmarking tool for small and medium-sized businesses.
• Valid8 Financial – The company, based in Boulder, Colo., is reimagining financial audits and investigations. Valid8 extracts evidence from multiple types of systems and documents to create a fully integrated transaction database to dramatically reduce sample risk and help accounting service professionals deliver "forensic-grade" financial audits with 80 percent less time spent on data preparation.

Besides access to experts and professional insights from the Association and CPA.com, each accelerator company will be able to present information about their business in June at ENGAGE 2021, a leading event for the accounting profession sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

“The value proposition of many of our startup accelerator graduates has been validated by the acceleration of remote work and the proven advantages of automated solutions,” said Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the Association’s CEO. “We’re proud of our work on this program and the success these companies have achieved.”

For more information about the startup accelerator, please visit cpa.com/accelerator.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) is the most influential body of professional accountants, combining the strengths of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to power opportunity, trust and prosperity for people, businesses and economies worldwide. It represents 657,000 members and students across 179 countries and territories in public and management accounting and advocates for the public interest and business sustainability on current and emerging issues. With broad reach, rigor and resources, the Association advances the reputation, employability and quality of CPAs, CGMAs and accounting and finance professionals globally.

New Restricted Domain for the Accounting Profession Promotes Greater Trust and Brand Recognition

NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2021) – Starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, licensed CPAs can apply on an individual basis for their preferred branding under the new restricted Internet domain for the accounting profession, .cpa. Until now, only licensed CPA firms and approved organizations, such as state CPA societies, were eligible.

Top-level domains are the handful of letters at the end of an email or website address, such as .com or .org. Use of a .cpa domain allows practitioners to strengthen their brand identity in online communications and provides better security and resistance to Internet fraud, such as phishing and spoofing. And because the domain is only available to licensed CPAs and licensed CPA firms, it promotes greater trust with clients and the general public.

Response to the .cpa domain has been strong since its launch on Sept. 1, 2020, with thousands of firms registering their preferred choices. Firms have been strategic and creative with the domains they are pursuing. The Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA) recently announced its move to the .cpa domain with its new web address, tx.cpa. The new domain is an extension of TXCPA’s 2019 rebrand and provides the organization with stronger brand recognition while enabling it to build a high-trust online environment for its members.

The AICPA was awarded ownership and management of .cpa in 2019 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). CPA.com is administering .cpa on behalf of the AICPA.

To learn more about .cpa or to apply for the new service, please visit domains.cpa.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, 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 its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

Cloud Audit Solution Boosts Firms' Productivity and Ability to Optimize Engagements

NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2021) – CPA.com and CaseWare today announced a beta release of OnPoint Audit, an intelligent, cloud-based solution built to help accounting firms evolve the way they approach auditing. OnPoint Audit provides an efficient, guided workflow, reduces redundancies and supports real-time collaboration among team members and clients.

The beta release of OnPoint Audit is open only to select CaseWare Cloud and OnPoint A&A Suite customers, allowing these firms an early opportunity to move to complete cloud-only management of their audits. Firms that participate in this beta release will also have opportunities to work directly with the product development team and offer input as OnPoint Audit is refined.

“Today we have hundreds of firms leveraging cloud solutions we have developed with CaseWare, including OnPoint PCR and EBP,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “These current OnPoint solutions, while based on existing methodology, deliver a number of important enhancements and capabilities to firms. The release of OnPoint Audit is a positive step with our overall audit evolution goals and will complement the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS) launching later in 2021.”

Like other OnPoint applications, OnPoint Audit is hosted on CaseWare Cloud and drives efficiency, quality, and value in business services and the audit process. OnPoint Audit relies on existing audit methodology. The DAS initiative, on which the AICPA, CPA.com and CaseWare are also collaborating, will deliver a significant, transformational methodology. The development of DAS, a critical milestone for the profession, remains on track with an initial commercial launch expected later this year.

“OnPoint Audit is a path forward for firms that may not need the transformational approach that DAS promises,” said Matt Dodds, CEO of CaseWare. “Yet it still delivers a more advanced audit solution that leverages the benefits of the cloud and a streamlined workflow.”

Among the benefits firms will realize upon OnPoint Audit’s release are:

• Smart content - Increase productivity, eliminate redundancy and reduce the risk of over/under auditing via tailored content
• Collaboration - Communicate anytime, anywhere with both your team and client
• Workflow – Streamline audits and gain efficiency through intelligent, guided workflows
• Update process - Quickly and effortlessly update engagement files
• Review tools - Visualize content changes to ensure changes are compliant
• Engagement management - Create dashboard visualizations of key data contained in the engagement files and track engagement status
• Integrated analytics – Generate sample sizes, select samples, test transactions and gather results, all without leaving the engagement file
• Automated financial statements – Produce compliant financial statements in just minutes

Existing CaseWare Desktop and OnPoint A&A Suite customers can request access to the beta release by going to cpa.com/onpoint-audit and completing a short form. Upon its full commercial release, planned for spring 2021, OnPoint Audit will become the latest product in the OnPoint A&A Suite, providing a comprehensive set of solutions to help accounting firms succeed in a digital world. To learn more about the OnPoint A&A Suite, please visit cpa.com/onpoint.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About CaseWare

CaseWare International Inc. is the leading global provider of cloud enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions. With efficiency, quality and value in mind, CaseWare provides cutting-edge technology to accounting firms, businesses and government entities. Over 400,000 users, in 130 countries and in 16 languages, use CaseWare solutions.