Associations

Whether accountants are ready for it or not, technological change the likes of which have not been seen in two decades is coming.

The three-decade-long debate of having differential standards for private companies, the tougher regulatory climate on Capitol Hill, the meteoric rise in cloud and mobile computing and the changing demographics were cited among the top issues impacting the profession.

Payroll and human resources giant Paychex Inc. has extended its Trusted Business Advisor Program relationship with the American Institute of CPAs’ CPA2Biz arm for the next five years, which will include an integrated payroll services component with CPA2Biz’s Cloud Client Accounting Services Platform.

The National Society of Accountants has updated the NSA Enrolled Agent Exam Review Course to conform to revisions in the Enrolled Agent Exam and changes in tax laws.

Likening life and career to a self-directed and authored script, motivational consultant, author and entertainer, Curtis Zimmerman kicked off the 2011 AICPA Practitioners Symposium and Tech + Conference telling the more than 1,100 attendees that part of their life and career script should be “failing successfully” as they are the star in their own life show.

The American Institute of CPAs is urging Congress to repeal a 3 percent tax withholding rule facing government contractors and individuals such as farmers and medical professionals.

The American Institute of CPAs held its annual ritual this week of visiting lawmakers’ offices on Capitol Hill to press the case for tax simplification, a ban on tax patent strategies, changes in tax-filing due dates, and other legislative priorities.

The American Institute of CPAs gave John W. Dean, a partner at the accounting firm Heard, McElroy & Vestal, LLP, in Shreveport, La., its Public Service Award at its Spring Meeting of Council.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon derided the recent efforts of the Financial Accounting Standards Board to preserve its authority over private company accounting standards, saying, “Sometimes dynasties need to be broken.”

The American Institute of CPAs has given its Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award to Dale Flesher, a professor at the University of Mississippi.

The AICPA Council voted Monday to approve a joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to create a new credential for management accountants internationally.

You can follow Accounting Today’s and Accounting Tomorrow’s coverage of the American Institute of CPAs Spring Meeting of Council conference in Washington, D.C. on our Twitter pages: @Accounting Today, @ATomorrow and @WebCPAtweets, with tweeting by editors Danielle Lee and Michael Cohn.

The American Institute of CPAs kicked off its 2011 Spring Meeting of Council on Sunday with a discussion of the Institute’s legislative priorities.

The American Institute of CPAs plans to support a new tax simplification bill introduced earlier this month by a pair of congressmen that would make it easier to satisfy the tax-reporting requirements of workers who are employed in multiple jurisdictions.

The New York State Society of CPAs installed Richard E. Piluso as president at the society’s 114th Annual Election and Meeting and Dinner on Thursday.

Not all of the state legislation drawing attention from accountants this year involves taxes (see States Enact Flurry of Tax Changes). Indeed, some of the most closely watched bills hit even closer to home for the profession.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is firing back as government regulators worldwide are proposing changes in the way the audit profession works.

The American Institute of CPAs has promoted assistant general counsel Michael J. Buddendeck to the job of general counsel and secretary.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the Internal Revenue Service asking the IRS to let small businesses electronically file the form used to elect S Corporation status.

The Pan African Federation of Accountants held its first meeting in Dakar, Senegal, this week.