ASCPA

Originally published in the ASCPA's magazine, listen to a podcast version of the article written by ASCPA member Amy O'Loughlin, CPA, as she breaks down tax credits affecting clean energy and climate change programs for the next 10 years

Discover the power of authenticity and speaking up in the workplace. Explore the challenges that hinder self-expression, and learn how authenticity impacts professional success from the perspective of an active CPA and CFO.

Bob Kilpatrick and Nancy Wilburn are Certified Public Accountants turned educators who have touched the lives of thousands of accounting students. Today, their students are leaders, firm partners, recruiters, advisory council members and more. In the ASCPA's 90-year history, Kilpatrick and Wilburn are recognized in 2024 as the 10th and 11th Honorary Members, selected for their impact on Arizona's accounting profession. Wilburn is well-regarded for her early use of collaboration as a teaching method in the classroom to help students connect with the material and their peers. She is the 1994 recipient of the Arizona CPA Foundation for Education & Innovation's Excellence in Teaching Award and two-time winner of the Foundation's Education Innovation Award. Kilpatrick also helped shape the accounting education that helped students continue to be successful with the CPA examination by modernizing curriculum and incorporating feedback from professionals active in the business. He is the 2009 recipient of the Arizona CPA Foundation for Education & Innovation's Excellence in Teaching Award and served on the Foundation's board and scholarship selection committee for nine years. To attend our Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon, reserve your ticket: ascpa.com/annual To support students through scholarships or accounting professors through our Excellence in Teaching Award, visit ascpa.com/foundation.

If you often feel pulled in many different directions as a working professional, you are not alone. Many of us strive for what's been referred to as “work/life balance” or what is becoming “work/life integration” in a post-COVID world. In this session, we will discuss tips and strategies to successfully balance your work and home life. Thank you to Kate Franklin, an Arizona CPA, for leading this session. This webcast is the first in our Leadership & Growth Alliance series. Register for the full series, which is free for ASCPA members: www.ascpa.com/lga

John Baumer, the ASCPA's director of government relations, sits down with Ryan DeMenna and Maegan Johnson from DeMenna Public Affairs to break down the complicated changes and big advocacy wins that occurred during the legislative session.

Representative Seth Blattman joins the ASCPA to discuss the recent bipartisan budget that was passed in record time, its impact, and the process behind allocation and negotiations. Representative Blattman expresses his support for the budget and highlights the efficiency of the process, while acknowledging the need for better inclusion of Democratic leadership in future budgets. The representative shared his insights on the challenges and learning curve for a first-year legislator, the importance of building relationships across party lines, and the potential for compromise in future sessions with a divided government.

The ASPCA Podcast is produced by the Arizona Society of CPAs. Today's episode originally aired as part of the Legislative Scoop webinar series with Arizona State Representative Marcelino Quiñonez. Listen to more of the ASCPA Podcast: www.ascpa.com/podcast Learn more about the ASCPA's advocacy efforts: www.ascpa.com/advocacy

The impacts of COVID-19 are still felt on the Arizona Legislature, with newly elected lawmakers coming into the processes in an anomalous year. The interpersonal relationships that are normally built while walking the halls of the House and Senate are made difficult in a hybrid setting. The one-vote margin majorities in both chambers lend to a more polarizing partisan divide and make reaching consensus and passing legislation more difficult.  As legislators work to come to an agreement on the state budget, Sen. Shope and Rep. Hernandez discuss their goals for this year and the process of negotiating their priorities into the final version of budget legislation. A major part of the proposed budget is a tax omnibus, including a shift to a flat income tax for Arizonans. The full impacts of the shifts are hotly debated, whether it is a reduction in revenues to cities and towns and if it will achieve its intended goal of stimulating the economy.   In terms of the legislative process, the two agree that as Arizona continues to grow the number of legislative districts needs to be reviewed for lawmakers to better represent their constituencies.

Every year the Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives must consider whether or not and how to conform to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for the tax year that just ended. To Arizona taxpayers this is vitally important since they must use federal adjusted gross income to determine the starting point for filing state tax returns. With the legislative session convening in January and tax returns due April 15, the pressure is on to pass the conforming legislation early. Without early passage, taxpayers and tax preparers are left making assumptions and often file for extensions or have to amend returns. When conformity occurs late in the session it means higher costs to the taxpayer and more complexity and time spent on state income taxes.So why does the Arizona Legislature have to consider this bill each year? Rather than create a separate tax code with separate definitions, Arizona uses the IRC as the base for the state, making taxes less complicated for taxpayers. Since state returns use the federal definitions as the starting point, any changes at the federal level mean Arizona needs to update, or taxpayers face increased complexity and higher likelihood of amended returns or errors.It turns out the Arizona Constitution prohibits the delegation of legislative authority, meaning state legislators can’t designate the IRC as the definition for Arizona taxes on a rolling basis, automatically adopting any changes made at the federal level. Instead, the state uses fixed date conformity, which aligns Arizona taxes to the IRC as of a specific date in time and allows lawmakers the ability to assess federal changes each year. That hasn’t always been the case. Prior to 1980 Arizona did not conform to the IRC at all, and instead made its own definitions of what was taxable at the state level. That meant individuals and businesses had to keep federal and state definitions in mind when filing both returns, making the filing process a laborious one. To simplify the process and ease the burden on taxpayers, Arizona began conforming on a fixed date basis to the IRC. In most years income tax conformity is noncontroversial and viewed as a technical exercise, updating the date in Arizona Revised Statute that refers to the IRC. When Congress enacts major changes or overhauls, like with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, there are potential revenue impacts in Arizona. In those instances, the process of conforming can become more complex and delve more into policy considerations, often delaying legislative resolution and thereby causing uncertainty for Arizona taxpayers. ASCPA members and tax experts David Walser, Anne Cornelius, Ed Zollars and Jared Van Arsdale provide insights on income tax conformity and why it matters to Arizonans. Longtime ASCPA lobbyist Kevin DeMenna shares historical context and the politics behind this annual exercise. Arizona Department of Revenue Deputy Director Dr. Grant Nülle gives an overview of the process from the department’s perspective. 

Learn more about Oliver's experience and why he is excited to lead the Arizona Society of CPAs.

Learn more about the ASCPA Not-for-Profit Conference at www.ascpa.com/npc20.Join the ASCPA's Connect CommunityThis podcast will cover the following topics:Form 990Strategic PlanningCOVID-19 UpdatesOutsourcingRating OrganizationsConference PreviewBenefit of Attending the ASCPA Not-for-Profit ConferenceOther Resources for NonprofitsConnect With Your ColleaguesPlease note: After the recording, the conference was moved to a three-day all virtual conference and some of the sessions mentioned may have changed.Learn More About Our Guest:Lisa B. Lumbard, CPA, CGFM, has been serving not-for-profit organizations for over 35 years with 25 of those years as the head of Lumbard & Associates, PLLC auditing firm and currently as a not-for-profit consultant and leadership trainer.  She received the Executive Leadership Certification from the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation and serves on multiple boards and committees including the Arizona State Board of Accountancy, Arizona Society of CPAs, Valleywise Health and the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits.  Lisa is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and passionate about the importance and success of not-for-profit organizations.

The Leadership & Growth Alliance is a growing community of Arizona professionals, within the first 10 years of their CPA careers, who are looking to develop leadership skills and get involved in the profession and the local community. Learn more and register at www.ascpa.com/alliance.By participating in this program, attendees will:Learn from successful CPAs and local business leaders at exclusive eventsDevelop leadership skills and knowledge in areas such as communication, self-awareness, professional development and wellness strategiesDevelop networking skills and build valuable relationshipsEarn up to 10 hours of CPE (based on individual attendance)The program kicks off August 18 with Matt Altman, co-founder of local business Sportiqe Apparel Co. This session focuses on being the CEO of your own life and learning to balance your professional and personal life in a meaningful way. Future topics will include developing your professional image and values, finding and maintaining mentors, assessing personalities, values and emotional intelligence, vulnerability and communication, and developing multigenerational working environments. Attendees will walk away with resources, tools and action plans for personal and professional development.Cost for the series is $295, which is an excellent investment for 10 hours of CPE, and space is limited. Most of the sessions will be virtual events hosted via Zoom, making them an easy fit for any schedule. Identify your emerging leaders and encourage their participation in the 2020-21 Leadership & Growth Alliance Series. More details on the program are available at www.ascpa.com/alliance or call us at (602) 252-4144. Event Details: Session | Date | Location | Time | CPE | AgendaZoom Kick-Off| 8/11/2020 | Zoom | 5 - 6 p.m. | Happy Hour and Virtual Games *Not RequiredSession 1 | 8/18/2020 | Zoom | 8 - 10 a.m. | 2hrs CPE | Work/Life BalanceZoom Networking 1 | 10/1/2020 | Zoom | 12 - 1 p.m. | Networking (Non-CPE Event) *Not RequiredSession 2 | 10/27/2020 | Zoom  | 8 - 10 a.m. | 2hrs CPE | Vulnerability and CommunicationSession 3 | 12/8/2020 | Off-site | 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. | 2hrs CPE | Generations in the WorkforceSession 4 | 1/7/2021 | Zoom | 8 - 9 a.m. | 1hr CPE | Professional Image & Values DevelopmentSession 5 | 2/9/2021 | Zoom | 8 - 9 a.m. | 1hr CPE | Finding and Maintaining MentorshipZoom Networking 2 | 3/18/2021 | Zoom | 12 - 1 p.m. | Networking (Non-CPE Event) *Not RequiredSession 6 | 4/29/2021 | Off-site | 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. | 2hrs CPE | Personalities, Values and EIGuest Bio:Jessica Iennarella is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and is Certified in Financial Forensics. She began her career in forensic accounting in May 2012, calculating economic damages pertaining to both insurance claims and litigation. In December 2019, she left forensic accounting to serve as the controller for the State Bar of Arizona. This new role allows her to combine her financial analysis skills with her accounting background, while serving a professional association.As a graduate of the AICPA’s 2016 Leadership Academy, she is passionate about giving back to the profession. She is a member of the ASCPA’s Board of Directors, a Member At-Large of the AICPA’s Council, as well as a member of multiple conference planning and young member leadership committees at the state and national level. She has also been a panelist and instructor for the ASCPA and the AICPA.Outside of the profession, Jessica is passionate about animal welfare and participates in the event planning committee for the Arizona Humane Society’s Compassion with Fashion event.

House Ways & Means Chairman Ben Toma discusses the unique 2020 legislative session, the impacts of COVID-19 and potential issues for the Arizona Legislature to address in special sessions.

Brittney Williams, CPA, CGFM is a partner for the public accounting firm Heinfeld, Meech & Co. She currently manages audit services for municipalities, school districts, transportation authorities and nonprofits out of their Phoenix office. Brittney is currently serving on the AICPA Government Audit Quality Center Executive Committee and the AGA Financial Management Standards Board. Brittney has always had an interest in management and leadership and has been presenting on Emotional Intelligence and leadership skills for several years on a regional and national scale, including the National AICPA Edge Conference for young professionals. Brittney will be also be presenting this topic at the upcoming ASCPA Governmental Accounting Conference on Feb. 5. You can learn more about the conference at www.ascpa.com/gac20.1:28 What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?3:04 How EI Affects You Outside of Work4:32 Why EI is Especially Important in the Accounting Profession6:56 Elements of EI11:12 Assessing Your EI13:19 EI in Action15:17 How You Can Take Small Steps to Improve EI17:21 Resources to Learn More Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads on Emotional IntelligenceBooks by Daniel GolemanDaniel Goleman on LinkedIn

You can reach our guest, Tim Trull at ttrull@LAVIDGE.com. You can learn more about the agency at www.LAVIDGE.com.Tim Trull oversees strategy and branding at LAVIDGE, providing guidance regarding day-to-day and long-term strategic direction. Along with directing the team, he works with all internal and external constituents to guide overall strategies and direction for clients. Trull has been with LAVIDGE for 15 years and served as managing director for the past 8 years.His expertise includes creative strategy, branding and agency management. During his career, Trull has owned and operated a strategic consultancy practice, managed small agencies, led creative teams and headed up branding and strategic planning. Notable client engagements include Arizona State University, United Rentals, Dole, Intel, Axon/TASER, Arizona Public Service, The National Basketball Association, Waymo and others.Trull holds a BA and MBA from Arizona State University, with an emphasis in International Communication from American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).In This Episode:1:30 - Importance of branding3:07 - How to evaluate your brand and conduct research6:50 - Logo development process10:50 - Aligning your actions with your brand messaging and logo13:12 - Why branding is worth the investment14:33 - Brands that have been successful and those who are struggling18:12 - Trends in brandingCheck out the ASCPA's brand launch video, where we talk more about our brand promise. 

Arizona Department of Revenue Deputy Director Grant Nülle, Ph.D., talks with our lobbyist, Ryan DeMenna, DeMenna Public Affairs, about the Wayfair decision and how remote sellers will be taxed in Arizona. Please see the resources available on the AZDOR website at https://azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/retail-sales-subject-tpt/out-state-sellers You can also reach the dedicated AZDOR E-Commerce Compliance and Outreach Team, who are subject matter experts: 833-AZeSALE (833-293-7253) or azesale@azdor.gov Remote Sales Into Arizona On May 31, 2019, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed House Bill (H.B.) 2757 into law. This legislation requires remote sellers and marketplace facilitators—to begin filing and paying transaction privilege tax (TPT) in Arizona starting October 1, 2019. The legislation is the result of a 2018 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the South Dakota v. Wayfair case. The decision allows states to require out-of-state businesses without a physical presence to collect and remit tax on sales from transactions in their state. Because of Arizona’s new laws, retailers selling items of tangible personal property into Arizona should carefully review the information provided on the AZDOR website to determine whether they must pay Arizona TPT. Outline of Podcast: 5:20 Discussion on Arizona HB 2757 7:50 How litigation or congressional action could impact the legislation 8:15 Execution of the law we have in Arizona – What the AZDOR is working on to define who is a remote seller Defining who they believe qualifies under the Wayfair structure Outreach to those who qualify Providing resources on the AZDOR website 12:25 Dr. Nülle talks about the implementation methods 16:35 Most difficult element to implement to date – communicating the change 19:23 Liability relief that might be available to businesses who may make mistakes as they work to implement Wayfair 22:20 Major implementation dates and dedicated AZDOR team contact information

You can also see more details, including a table with tax brackets and deductions at www.ascpa.com/conformity. On the morning of May 31, 2019, Governor Doug Ducey signed Arizona's 2020 state budget into law. The state's budget is crafted every session and is comprised of a package of roughly nine or ten bills. This year's budget package included the highly anticipated income tax conformity legislation, HB 2757 (tax provisions; omnibus). As Society members are well aware, Arizona requires taxpayers to use their Federally Adjusted Gross Income as the starting point for state income tax assessment. The state has conformed to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) each year since 1978 to include federal provisions that became effective in the previous year. But the political challenges associated with conforming to the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 stalled legislative efforts to address conformity in a timely manner, leaving taxpayers and tax practitioners with more questions than answers as tax returns are prepared. This year the Society worked tirelessly to educate legislators, many of whom were newly elected, of the importance of full conformity. Legislative budget analysts produced highly speculative estimates ranging from $50 million to $250 million, and the issue quickly became highly politicized. Some Republican legislators viewed conforming to the IRC as a tax increase, and an unintended consequence of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was intended to put money back into the pockets of taxpayers, not state government. Meanwhile most Democrats, and a fair number of Republicans, wanted to use the potential revenue from full conformity as a way to fund budget priorities. Early in the session Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R – Chandler) introduced SB 1143 (conformity; internal revenue code; rates), which conformed to the IRC as of January 1, 2018, and reduced the state income tax rates by 0.11%, which would have applied retroactively to tax years beginning with 2018. The legislation passed the Senate and House along a party-line vote. Governor Ducey, however, vetoed the measure on February 1, 2019. In his veto message the Governor stated that he vetoed SB 1143 because it was "the wrong policy, and any bill with a fiscal impact should be considered as part of budget discussions agreed to by the Legislature and Executive, just as every budget bill is considered, every session." The fiscal impact associated with conformity, coupled with the governor's veto message, meant that the conformity negotiations were effectively tied to the state budget negotiations from that point forward. After months of discussions, Governor Ducey and legislative leadership reached a tentative budget deal over the weekend of May 18. The House began debating the budget package in earnest on Thursday, May 23. After a marathon session of debating, amending, and voting on the proposal, the House adjourned at roughly 4:30 AM on Friday, May 24. The Senate, however, didn't' have the votes necessary to pass the deal, as a handful of Senators were refusing to vote on the budget until their individual priorities were addressed. The Senate met on Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, a move that was highly unusual as the legislative workweek is typically Monday through Thursday. Senate President Fann, however, was firm in her resolve to negotiate a budget deal that her members could support and send to the governor. President Fann was eventually successful in negotiating a budget that her caucus could support, but Sen. Mesnard remained opposed to the conformity-related provisions, and voted against a majority of the budget bills. HB 2757 (tax provisions; omnibus) ultimately passed the House by a party-line vote of 31-29 and the Senate by a vote of 16-13, with Sen. Mesnard joining the Democrats in opposition. Governor Ducey signed the legislation on May 31, 2019.

Hear the latest trends on identity theft and what you can do to protect yourself and your company from Dr. Robert Minniti. Dr. Minniti will be teaching Identity Theft: Preventing, Detecting and Investigating on June 3 at the ASCPA Learning Center and via webcast. Learn more at www.ascpa.com/jun3. 1:12 - Identity theft statistics and trends 2:19 - How CPAs can assist their clients or companies with identity theft issues 3:25 - Discussion about the CCH malware attack 4:25 - Types of identity theft that people may not have heard about 5:35 - Top 3 tips for preventing identity theft 8:30 - What you can learn in Dr. Minniti’s upcoming course on June 3 Dr. Minniti will also be teaching Forensic Investigations: Key Tools to Success on June 4 both in Phoenix and via webcast. Learn more at www.ascpa.com/jun4 Dr. Minniti is the President and Owner of Minniti CPA, LLC. Dr. Minniti is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Forensic Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Valuation Analyst, Certified in Financial Forensics, Master Analyst in Financial Forensics, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and is a licensed private investigator in the state of Arizona. Dr. Minniti received his doctoral degree in business administration from Walden University, received his MBA degree and Graduate Certificate in Accounting from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management, and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Minniti teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in forensic accounting at Northwestern University, and the University of Phoenix. He designed graduate and undergraduate courses for Grand Canyon University, Northwestern University, and Anthem College. He is a writer and public speaker. He has experience in forensic accounting, fraud examinations, financial audits, internal audits, compliance audits, real estate valuations, business valuations, internal control development, business continuation planning, risk management, financial forecasting, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance work. Dr. Minniti is an instructor teaching continuing professional education classes for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Compliance Online, CPE Link/CCH . AccountingEd, Global Compliance Panel, Clear Law Institute, CPE Solutions, Canopy CPE, The Institute of Management Accountants, the National Association of Valuators and Analysts, and various state CPA Societies. For Additional Information LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/robertminniti Company Website: www.minniticpallc.com

Alex Cudzewicz is president of Oak Brook Asset Management, Corporation, which provides investment advisory services for individual clients. He founded the firm in 1993. Cudzewicz is a Registered Investment Advisor and has been awarded the Personal Financial Specialist designation by the AICPA. He is also a licensed CPA in Illinois. Cudzewicz has been a member of the ASCPA’s Financial Planning Committee for 18 years and is joining us today to talk more about the session he will present at the ASCPA Financial Planning Conference titled Managing Client Expectations. The conference will be held June 6 at the Desert Willow Conference Center, and you can register for the conference at www.ascpa.com/fpc19.

Hear the latest on conformity and other legislative items from ASCPA lobbyist Ryan DeMenna of DeMenna Public Affairs. DeMenna discusses what will be new at the legislature this year, ASCPA legislative items of interest including conformity and audit firm rotation, ASCPA outreach to legislators and the Department of Revenue, and the national trends around licensing of professions.