Professor Elam

Tx State Board Pubic Accountancy

May 2023 Monthly Report

 

https://www.tsbpa.texas.gov/pdffiles/br/BoardReport.pdf

CPA Mock Exam

 

Emily Stupnik <[email protected]>

To:Emily Stupnik

Cc:Jodi Ann Ray

 

 

Fri, May 5 at 3:55 PM

 

 

Faculty Ambassadors,

 

TXCPA and Surgent are working together to bring students and candidates another FREE mock exam opportunity! Our next event will be Thursday, June 8^th, at 1pm. Testers can register on our website at tx.cpa, just search “mock CPA” to find the event, or at this link: Event Details | TXCPA.

 

Members and non-members can register, but we strongly urge your students to become free student members of TXCPA so they can take full advantage of our membership benefits! Please encourage them to complete the entire registration, as sometimes necessary information can be accidentally left off.

 

I have attached the flyer for this event. Please feel free to share it on your class social media or learning platform, in class, and/or via email. We hope to have a great turnout!

 

Have a great weekend!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Respectfully,

Emily Stupnik

 

Become a Gleim Campus Rep

Monday April 24 2023

I used the very first Gleim CPA Review book when I studied for the exam  in 1975.  Today Gleim offers review material for CPA CMA CIA and EA.

See APril 21 post for on line sample exams.

 

Learn how you  might become our next  Gleim campus rep.

 

SA IIA Social

Tuesday April 11 2023

The San Antonio IIA would like to invite you to the upcoming April Social Event! 

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 April Member Social

Note to students, I was not consulted on this time or location at  5 30 in the afternoon but here it is

I am not planning on braving the  1604 traffic at  5 30 PM

 

Registration Link: Register Now

Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Little Woodrow’s (9840 W Loop 1604 N, San Antonio, TX 78254)

The San Antonio IIA wants to invite all members, future members, and guests to our Chapter's April happy hour & social to celebrate the kickoff of our new chapter year!  It is a come-and-go event that will provide an opportunity to learn more about the Chapter, meet some of the new 2023 - 2024 officers, and network with other members in our area!

The chapter will provide light appetizers, and attendees will receive two drink tickets for happy hour drinks. Please take a look at the restaurant for additional details.

FEI Workshop

4/4/23

As an Academic Member of FEI, you share our passion for helping students launch successful careers in this dynamic field. That's why we're excited to announce the Finance and Accounting Career Workshop on April 25, designed specifically for students who are eager to learn more about finance and accounting and how to kickstart their careers. Whether your students are just starting out in their finance and accounting careers or seeking to advance to the next level, this workshop will provide them with practical insights and actionable advice that they can apply immediately to their job search or current role. Some of the key topics that we will cover include: Career paths in finance and accounting Job search strategies Resume and cover letter writing best practices And much more! Registration is free, but space is limited, so we encourage you to share this email with your students and encourage them to reserve their spot today!

REGISTER NOW   Questions? Please contact Olivia Berkman at [email protected].

120 hour requirement passes Tx Senate

TXCPA Priority Legislation Progresses TXCPA’s legislative priority of the session – SB 159 allowing CPA candidates to begin taking the CPA Exam after completing 120 semester hours – passed the Senate unanimously on March 22. The legislation has now moved on to the House and we will keep members updated on any further advancement. Other items taking major steps include property tax reform, power grid reform and education savings accounts legislation.  You can read more insights and updates in this week’s issue of Last Week in the Legislature written by TXCPA’s Director of Government Affairs and Special Counsel Kenneth Besserman.

Mar 21 CPA Sample Exam

Register by March 21 for This Free Opportunity

Are you truly ready to pass the CPA Exam? Have you studied enough? Are you focusing on the right material? There’s really only one way to find out – give it a try! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to participate in a 4-hour virtual mock CPA Exam hosted by the Texas Society of CPAs and Surgent CPA Review on March 24 from 1 - 5 p.m. CT. Advanced registration is required by Tuesday, March 21, and the email address provided will be used to set up your simulation on Surgent’s software. This will expedite the start of the simulation and provide you proper access. Experience what it is like to sit for any CPA Exam section as you immerse yourself in questions pulled from the actual CPA Exam Blueprints. You’ll leave the session with your own personalized ReadySCORE™ (an accurate measurement of your actual exam score) and a detailed report showing your areas of strength and weakness for that section.  Please contact me at 972-220-0611 or [email protected] with any questions. I hope you’re able to participate!  Emily Stupnik Student and School Engagement  Texas Society of CPAs 972-220-0611 ext. 1051 [email protected]

Legislatures Eye the CPA

Tuesday March  7 2023

 

Accounting, a profession focused on numbers, is vexed by this one: the 150 college credit hours required to become a certified public accountant.

The shortage of accountants in the U.S. has firms boosting salaries and sending work abroad. The cost of accounting work has been rising and some firms are turning away audit work because they can’t find enough CPAs. Efforts to recruit more students into the field have become a near-constant conversation now nationwide among CPAs and industry groups.

One sticking point, some in the profession say, is the fact that would-be CPAs need to attend college for five years to amass the 150 hours of college credit required to get their license. That high standard gained traction in the 1990s as states boosted education requirements from a traditional 120-hour, four-year bachelor’s degree. Some in the industry say the extra time in school and the expense are keeping students from entering the field. Accounting or financial courses aren’t required during the fifth year, and many students take unrelated classes, from liberal-arts electives to earning a minor, accountants say.

For that reason, legislators in Minnesota are considering bills that would reduce credit hours needed for getting a CPA license. The move has sparked debate among national CPA groups that say states need to meet the national standard for accountants to be able to service clients around the U.S., and others who say the profession needs to be more flexible. In addition to schooling, CPA licenses require work experience and passing a test.

“We don’t have enough students coming in. We have to be able to solve that problem,” said Robert Cedergren, incoming board chair at the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. His group helped draft the legislation, introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers last month.

The bills, which are in committee in the state Senate and House of Representatives, seek to allow graduates to skip the fifth year. Instead, four-year degree holders could take one of two paths: get two years of professional experience and take the CPA exam or get one year of work experience, take 120 hours of professional-education courses, and take the CPA test. (They could also complete the current path of 150 hours of college credit.)

The bills face staunch opposition from national industry groups, including the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, a trade organization. The group says that adjusting the requirements would mean CPAs licensed in Minnesota couldn’t practice outside the state. Big accounting firms, some industry groups say, need accountants who can practice nationally because they have clients from coast to coast.

Support for the 150-hour rule grew in the 1980s and means CPAs are better prepared to enter the field when they graduate, said Susan Coffey, chief executive of public accounting for AICPA.

 

“It’s clearly a hurdle of entry into our profession, but it’s a purposeful hurdle,” Ms. Coffey said.

Many practicing accountants who graduated decades ago have four-year degrees, not five-year degrees, and do quality work, said David Knoble, the incoming chair of the South Carolina Association of CPAs.

In addition to Minnesota, three other states have alternatives to the 150-hour requirement or are looking to change their rules.

Ohio law has for decades allowed CPAs to get licensed without 150 hours, said Scott Wiley, president and chief executive of the Ohio Society of CPAs. In Ohio, people can obtain a license with 120 hours of college credits, four years of work experience, a score of 670 or higher on the Graduate Management Admission Test and passing the CPA exam, he said, and Ohio accountants have had no barriers to practicing nationally.

A South Carolina task force is evaluating whether the state could approve CPAs from other places to practice locally, even if those accountants have fewer than 150 college credit hours. In New Jersey, a pilot program is under way that substitutes a year’s work for the traditional fifth year of course work; students would earn college credit hours on the job.

Saint Peter’s University, based in Jersey City, N.J., and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are testing that program. The company is covering students’ tuition for 30 credit hours at Saint Peter’s while they work for the accounting firm.

The extra year of university is pushing Triston McKay, 21 years old, away from accounting and toward computer science classes at Salem University in West Virginia. He is wary of the costs of a fifth year of school and says that in recent years jobs in the tech sector have paid more than accounting.

 

 

 

 

TXCPA lobbies for BA only to tsit for exam

Legislative Alert: SB 159 Set for March 7 Hearing Senate Bill 159, legislation allowing CPA candidates and students to begin taking the CPA Exam after completion of 120 semester hours, has been set for a hearing in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on March 7. This legislation is an important piece of TXCPA’s advocacy efforts and legislative agenda.  Learn more about SB 159 and reach out to your Senator on the committee to let them know how important this bill is to the CPA profession and to TXCPA.   WATCH THE HEARING

TXCPA CPA Pipeline Efforts Shared in Accounting Today TXCPA Chair-Elect for 2023-2024 Mohan Kuruvilla, Ph.D., CPA, and TXCPA President and CEO Jodi Ann Ray, CAE, spoke with Accounting Today about the importance of supporting and growing the CPA pipeline and how our members are engaged in this important area of focus. Check out the articles below! The Pipeline Problem Eight Ways to Fill the Pipeline

Volunteer to Share Your Career Story During CPA Week From March 27-31, TXCPA will work with Texas CPAs and educators to help raise awareness of accounting career opportunities among students. Last fall, we reached nearly 2,000 Texas students during CPA Week. Help us continue to make an impact by getting engaged and involved in this spring’s CPA Week opportunity! Volunteer to visit a Texas classroom or share your career story on social media (#CPAWeek) to showcase the variety of opportunities in the CPA profession. Feel free to share this opportunity with educators in your network. They can visit this link to request a classroom or virtual visit during CPA Week. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

District Court Holds IRS Owes Tax Preparers Partial Refund of PTIN Fees Last week, a district court held that the PTIN fees charged by the IRS from 2011 to 2017 were excessive and ordered the IRS to determine an appropriate partial refund of the fees. MORE INFORMATION

Supreme Court Holds FBAR Penalty is Imposed Per Return, Not Per Account The U.S. Supreme Court held Tuesday in a 5-4 decision that the $10,000 penalty for a nonwillful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) for foreign accounts accrues per return, not per account. READ MORE

TXCPA Committee Responds to PCAOB Exposure Draft TXCPA’s Professional Standards Committee issued a letter in response to a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) exposure draft entitled Proposed Auditing Standard – The Auditor’s Use of Confirmation, and Other Proposed Amendments to PCAOB Standards (proposal | comment). The proposed standard is designed to strengthen and modernize the requirements for the auditor's use of confirmation and would replace AS 2310, The Confirmation Process.

This Week on TXCPA Exchange This week’s most popular posts on TXCPA Exchange led to insightful discussions on a variety of topics, including accounting for inventories, 1033 exchange tax issues, purchase of a CPA practice, residential rental properties, and more! View all the discussion threads here and don’t forget to add a profile photo, update your bio and start participating in Exchange discussions today! JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Virtual Mock CPA Exam on March 24 Students and candidates are invited to participate in a virtual, four-hour mock CPA Exam workshop hosted by TXCPA and Surgent Accounting & Financial Education on March 24 to experience what it's like to sit for any CPA Exam section. Benchmark your readiness to ace the Exam with questions pulled straight from the actual CPA Exam Blueprints. Employers – don’t forget to pass this information along to any future CPAs at your firm or organization!  Registration is required by Tuesday, March 21. For questions, please email Emily Stupnik or call 972-220-0611 ext. 1051.  REGISTER NOW

Thursday Feb 16, 2023

Are you truly ready to pass the CPA Exam? Have you studied enough? Are you focusing on the right material? There’s really only one way to find out – give it a try! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to participate in a 4-hour mock CPA Exam hosted by the Texas Society of CPAs and Surgent CPA Review on March 24. Advanced registration is required by Tuesday, March 21, and the email provided will be used to set up your simulation on Surgent’s software. This will expedite the start of the simulation and provide you proper access. Experience what it is like to sit for any CPA Exam section as you immerse yourself in questions pulled from the actual CPA Exam Blueprints. You’ll leave the session with your own personalized ReadySCORE™ (an accurate measurement of your actual exam score) and a detailed report showing your areas of strength and weakness for that section.  Date: Friday, March 24 (registration deadline March 21!) Time: 1 to 5 p.m. (CT) Where: Virtual  Cost: FREE! Use the button below to register for the mock exam today. For any questions, please contact Emily Stupnik at 972-220-0611 or [email protected].  I hope you’re able to participate!  Emily Stupnik Student and School Engagement  Texas Society of CPAs 972-220-0611 ext. 1051

REGISTER NOW