The Past Year Was a Time of Accelerating Change and Reinvention, says CEO of CPA.com

NEW YORK (Dec. 8, 2020) – CPA firms reaffirmed their value to small business clients in 2020, even as they reshaped the way they deliver their services, said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com.

The CPA profession’s response to workplace restrictions and pandemic-related shutdowns dramatically accelerated key firm trends such as the move to the cloud, advisory services and remote work that CPA.com has been advancing over the past decade with the Digital CPA community, Asgeirsson said during his keynote presentation at Digital CPA, held as a virtual event this year.

“We say that 2020 has become the new 2025,” he said. “The key driver of this is the acceleration of the adoption rate of technology, along with the way firms deliver client services.”

Asgeirsson noted that business agility matured significantly in the past year, with clear advantages to progressive firms that had invested in technology and innovation. And he said the sense of purpose within the profession has never been higher.

The profession’s reputation benefited, meanwhile, from the role CPA firms played in advising beleaguered small businesses seeking relief through the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and related programs. “CPA firms really stepped up and proved their value,” Asgeirsson said. “So much so that we’re seeing business relief emerging as a new category of advisory services. While pandemic-related relief issues will run possibly into 2022, we think business funding will be a fertile new area for firms as an advisory service long after that.”

The remote work environment has also underscored the value of virtual CFO services. CPA.com is launching a new cloud-based business planning solution for firms from Jirav. The financial planning and analysis tool permits fast forecasting and budgeting, with insights presented in engaging dashboards with custom key performance indicators and tailored reports.

Asgeirsson also updated conference attendees on the progress of the AICPA’s Dynamic Audit Solution initiative, which will launch its first commercial version of an evolved audit methodology next year. He also discussed the highly successful U.S. rollout of the .cpa Internet domain, which is restricted solely to licensed CPA firms and – starting in January – licensed individual CPAs.

“This new domain is a significant move for the profession,” he said. “And we’ll be rolling this out around the world.”

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.

Jody Grunden of Summit CPA Group Brings Fresh Ideas to Virtual CFO Services

NEW YORK (Dec. 3, 2020) – Jody Grunden, CPA, a pioneer of subscription-based billing within the accounting profession, has been named the 2020 recipient of CPA.com’s Innovative Practitioner Award, which recognizes innovation in process, services and technology implementation.

Grunden is co-founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, which offers virtual CFO services. Grunden has run a completely remote organization since 2013, which allows him to tap talent across the United States and abroad. His team specializes in creative agencies, such as advertising and marketing firms, and holds weekly video meetings with business owners to go over budgeting, cash flow management, forecasting and tax planning, among other topics. Clients aren’t invoiced – they are charged automatically through their bank accounts each week.

Subscriptions are based on the size of the company, and clients aren’t locked into long-term engagements. “If we can’t perform, then it shouldn’t be the client’s fault,” Grunden said.

A thought leader on virtual CFO services, Grunden offers courses and delivers webinars on the topic. He is also the author of two books, “"Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud," and “Digital Dollars and Cents: A Virtual CFO’s Playbook to help Digital Companies Create a Financial Roadmap to Success.”

“Jody has created a business model that’s streamlined for both his firm and his client companies, one where the connection between the service offering and client success is unmistakably clear,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “The introduction of subscription services in this context is another impressive example of practitioners bringing innovation to their offerings.”

Jenni Huotari, a partner with Eide Bailly LLP, was this year’s runner-up for the award. Huotari built a national client advisory services team for the firm and restructured its CAS service line to make it more technologically advanced.

Award winners are chosen primarily through a vote of their peers. Grunden will be honored during this year’s virtual Digital CPA event on Dec. 8, and will also be joining a panel with leaders from other progressive firms

To read more about Grunden and previous honorees, please visit the Innovative Practitioner Award page. More details about Digital CPA, including registration information, can be found at digitalcpa.com.

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.

NEW YORK (Nov. 18, 2020) – The American Institute of CPAs and CPA.com today recognized former AICPA chair and current CPA.com board member Tim Christen on his appointment to the board of trustees of the prestigious Financial Accounting Foundation.

Christen is chairman of the board of Baker Tilly International and has over 30 years of experience in public accounting. He is the former chairman and CEO of Baker Tilly US, LLP, and served as chairman of the AICPA from 2015-2016. Christen has been honored by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 most influential people in the profession and by Inside Public Accounting as one of the most admired U.S. managing partners.

The FAF is the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Christen is one of five new trustee appointees whose terms will run from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2025.

“Tim will be a great asset to the FAF,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “He’s been a champion of innovation, has great insight into the workings of the profession and understands the critical role that accountants play in our society. We wish him success in this new post.”

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.

Next Phase Shifts to a First-Come, First-Served Basis in Early November

NEW YORK (Oct. 28, 2020) – More than 90 percent of the American Institute of CPAs’ major firms group, which represents most of the nation’s top 100 CPA firms, have applied to secure their existing online branding under the new restricted Internet domain for the accounting profession, .cpa.

CPA.com has seen a similarly strong response from the next 400 largest firms, with more than 70 percent of these firms advancing applications through an early registration process that began Sept. 1. This initial, protected phase ends at 10 a.m. Eastern, Oct. 31. The first batch of preferred names will be released in early November, after which future requests will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Applying for a .cpa domain is an important, long-term strategic decision for CPA firms,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Restricted domains are part of the new way of doing business, a more secure, more on-brand presence for firms and their clients. We’re urging firm leaders who want to make sure they protect their existing digital branding to apply before Oct. 31.”

As a restricted domain, only licensed CPA firms can apply for .cpa. For the initial application period ending Oct. 31, preferred domains are awarded based on logic-based criteria verified by an independent third party and firms will be notified of the outcome of their application by Nov. 5.

Many firms submitted multiple applications that went beyond their current online branding and showed considerable creativity and strategic thinking.

“The profession sometimes struggles with associating advisory services with our credential,” said Jim Bourke, managing director of advisory services for Withum, a Top 25 firm. “By migrating from Withum.com to Withum.cpa, we’re linking the CPA brand to our firm in an unmistakable way and doing our part to link audit, tax, and, more importantly, advisory services with the CPA brand.”

After the early application period, firms can apply on a rolling basis. Individually licensed CPAs can apply for their preferred .cpa domain beginning in January 2021 once general availability opens.

The AICPA was awarded ownership and management of .cpa last year by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). CPA.com is responsible for managing the service.

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.
 

All-in-One Financial Planning & Analysis Solution Enables Higher-Value Advisory Services for CPA Firms

NEW YORK (Oct. 21, 2020) – CPA.com has added Jirav, an all-in-one business planning software for small and medium companies, to its lineup of preferred cloud solutions for the accounting profession.

Jirav has developed a comprehensive financial planning and analysis solution that unifies forecasting, budgeting, reporting and dashboarding, empowering outsourced accounting practice leaders to grow revenue by adding higher-value strategic advisory services. In addition, by automating the monthly reporting process, firms save time so they can develop deeper relationships with their clients.

“Over the past five years, client advisory services (CAS) has grown exponentially as firms embrace the move to higher value engagements.,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “Jirav is the perfect complement to our existing tech stack for CPA firms. Small and medium-sized companies typically lack sophisticated business forecasting and strategic planning capabilities, yet smarter, informed decision-making is more critical than ever as the economy moves toward recovery. CPA firms, as part of their trusted advisor role, can offer clients great value by giving them more actionable information to guide those decisions.”

The solution saves CPAs valuable time in pulling together data and generating insights from it. Firms can:

• Create dashboards combining financial, workforce, and operational data into customizable KPIs. Dashboards can be easily customized to each stakeholder, then shared with an unlimited number of read-only users.
• Create easy-to-read, three-way financial reporting packages for both historical and forecasted periods. Updating rolling forecasts and departmental budgets takes minutes, not hours.
• Harness powerful, driver-based financial modeling that pulls together disparate data sources to aid strategic planning. The Jirav platform allows users to model the cash impact of new hires and capital expenditures on the balance sheet and statement of cash flows, not just the income statement.

“Jirav is designed to help CPA firms keep clients engaged, informed and happy,” said Martin Zych, CEO and co-founder of Jirav. “Firms can manage FP&A for all their clients on one platform and provide each with the right information to drive their business forward with confidence and speed.”

This partnership will further bolster the impressive growth at Jirav, and piggybacks on the company’s recent $8.3M Series A funding in July, which CPA.com participated in.

CPA.com continues to see high demand from firms interested in launching or growing a CAS practice. This year, the company offered virtual versions of its highly regarded CAS workshops and the monthly events continue to sell out. It will be adding content to these events to help CPAs evolve their budgeting and forecasting skills to help optimize the new platform.

A free, CPE-eligible webinar is available at 2 p.m. Eastern, Nov. 18, about Jirav and the benefits of building your CAS practice with forecasting, budgeting, reporting and dashboarding. To learn more about the platform, please visit cpa.com/jirav.

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 Jirav

Jirav is a comprehensive business planning solution for small and medium companies that maximizes the collaborative value of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics so leaders can drive their businesses forward with confidence and speed. Our all-in-one financial planning and analysis software offers faster implementation and a more intuitive interface allowing finance leaders to build financial models in hours, not days and generate financial reports in minutes, not hours. We are headquartered in San Francisco with offices and teams across the world including Seattle, Austin, and Poland. Learn more at www.jirav.com.