Ask the question, what if we don’t do this ‘what’s the RONI or risk of not investing?’ Listen as Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA and CEO of MACPA and the Business Learning Institute, discusses becoming future ready. Go from being essential to indispensable - have a conversation with clients, reimagine your business and transform.

Join Javier Goldin, CPA, of the Goldin Group, as he shares insights through learning, growing and sharing as part of the Digital CPA community. As well as the improvements and modernization that he and his firm developed to become recipients of the 2019 Innovative Practitioner award.

In this podcast, you’ll hear from Rebecca Toffolon, JD from CNA’s Accountants Professional Liability Claims department. CNA provides insurance solutions that many CPA firms rely on to better manage their risks and grow profitably, and their extensive claim history reads like a roadmap of CPA firm liability risk areas on which to focus. Prior to joining CNA, Rebecca was in private law practice and in addition to her law degree, Ms. Toffolon has an M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University.

Rebecca and Steve will take listeners through some eye-opening numbers from claim data and will discuss key insights for CPA firms that can be gleaned from this information.

OUR GUEST
Rebecca Toffolon, JD, Assistant Vice President, Accountants Professional Liability Claims, CNA

INTERVIEWER
Steven A. Menges, Product Team – Assurance, CPA.com

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Lawsuits and claims and potential claims (oh my!)
• The “Pain Period” – a new statistic every firm should know
• Severity: How much, why, and who; key indicators for which to watch (and avoid

Links:
Here are links to AICPA and other guidance and other explanatory content on the topics discussed in this episode:

• Engagement Letters: Foundational Best Practices podcast episode with Stan Sterna, JD, Vice President, Aon Insurance Services and Sarah Ference, CPA, Risk Control Director, Accountants Professional Liability, CNA
• Privity in Third-party Audit Claims podcast episode with Stan Sterna, JD, Vice President, Aon Insurance Services
• “Be Aware or Beware: Common Indicators of High Severity Claims” OnDemand webinar presented by Sarah Ference, CPA and Rebecca Toffolon, Esq.: Webinar Download (83 MB wmv)

In this podcast, you’ll hear from Laura Lapidus, an employment attorney and the Management Liability (EPL) Risk Control Director at CNA, Timothy Domanick, Principle at Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s preeminent workplace law firms, and “Modernizing Your Practice” lead Steven Menges as they discuss a topic that is especially important to growing firms, employment practices liability (EPL) risk. Laura, Tim and Steve will discuss EPL and share both data and experience-based insights, including unique factors impacting growing CPA firms, challenges regarding compliance with new and updated employment regulations and discrimination laws, and how firms can set a “tone at the top” regarding maintenance of a non-discriminatory and safe workplace as the firm and modern workplace grows and changes.

Whether your firm is rapidly growing organically, adding new practice areas, or is involved with a merger or acquisition of another firm, you don’t want EPL risks to negatively impact your growth plan and future success.

OUR GUESTS·

• Laura Lapidus*, Management Liability (EPL) Risk Control Director, CNA
• Timothy Domanick, Principle, Jackson Lewis P.C.

INTERVIEWER

Steven A. Menges, Product Team – Assurance, CPA.com

*“Ms. Lapidus’ opinions are her own: they should not be construed as legal advice; they are not solicitations to buy insurance, and they do not necessarily reflect those of the positions of the CNA insurance companies. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions, and exclusions for an insured in the context of a specific claim situation.”

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• EPL and employment law issues for growing firms in the remote working era
• Good firms gone bad: Discrimination, Harassment, and still often charting at #1: Retaliation
• Tips to both stay true to your firm’s roots and avoid EPL risk as you grow

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In this podcast we dive into some key matters for consideration (MFC) for assurance firms and discuss how firms can use that information to build a plan to up their quality (while better managing risk). CPA.com’s Matt Towers digs into how to build a “Quality and Risk Wellness Plan” with his guests, Richard Hill, a peer reviewer for over 25 years and the managing partner at Mitchell Emert & Hill, P.C. in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kristy Illuzzi, Senior Technical Manager and staff liaison to the AICPA’s Technical Issues Committee, and Mike Glynn, Senior Manager with the Audit & Attest Standards team at the AICPA.

Data collected during peer reviews is ideal to identify trouble spots and opportunities for improvement, so we’ll speak with those who know it best and dive into the consequences of not having a strong plan, including some interesting data around where firms are struggling (e.g. reporting, proper engagement letters, documenting review procedures and analytical procedures and inquiries, etc.). We will also dig into what the core requirements of a solid firm quality wellness plan look like, along with suggestions for how a firm can begin executing on this type plan.

OUR GUESTS

• Richard Hill, Managing Partner, Mitchell Emert & Hill, P.C.
• Kristy Illuzzi, Senior Technical Manager and Staff Liaison to the AICPA’s Technical Issues Committee (TIC)
• Michael Glynn, Senior Manager, AICPA Audit & Attest Standards Team

INTERVIEWER
Matt Towers, Product Lead – Assurance, CPA.com

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• What matters come up when auditors review their peers?
• Importance of building a firm quality wellness plan
• What firms can do to begin creating and executing against a plan right now

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