line iteMS

WeLCOMe tO VirGinia >>

stepping up the tourism game

There are so many great tourist

attractions in Virginia: the beach, the mountains, historic sites, outdoor recreation and much, much more. The numbers prove how attractive Virginia is to tourists. In 2015, tourism was a $23 billion industry for lodging, transportation, food and recreation, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Forty-one million domestic visitors supported 222,600 jobs.

Despite its ranking of No. 9 among the states and Washington, D.C., in tourist spending, the Commonwealth only spends $18.6 million on tourism (ranking it No. 21). Around the state, plans are underway to boost Virginia’s tourism draw. Check out “More Than ‘Fun and Games,’” an in-depth article on the Commonwealth’s efforts in Virginia Business magazine, at tinyurl.com/VATourism. n

NEw ‘My AccouNT’ hub oN VScPA.coM

Good news for the VSCPA’s online users! Last month, vscpa.com launched My Account, a new hub for your online profiles, payment and CPE settings where you can manage your information from one convenient online location. Through the new My Account, you can change your online account password, manage your membership, view upcoming CPE courses and CPE course history, edit email and mail preferences, update personal and firm info and manage online payment settings. Access the My Account page at vscpa.com/Myaccount. n

federally Speaking

Top news from the Capitol and other national happenings…

DOL issUes OVertiMe ChanGes On May 18, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule for overtime pay — dramatically increasing salary thresholds for exemption. Companies have until Dec. 1, 2016, to reclassify employees as nonexempt and implement the changes. The American Institute of CPAs, VSCPA and other state societies have opposed the changes because of increased administrative burdens and increased payroll costs.

pCaOB reLeases aUDitOrs’ repOrt ChanGes In May, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) released revised changes to the auditors’ report, which include several enhancements, such as communicating critical audit matters. The proposal retains the pass/fail model in the current auditors’ report. Comments are due to the PCAOB by Aug. 15.

seC apprOVes pCaOB partner DisCLOsUre rULe The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved PCAOB rules adopted in December 2015 that require audit firms to disclose the name of the engagement partner for all public company audits on or after Jan. 31, 2017.

irs reLeases UpDateD List OF aUtOMatiC ChanGes in aCCOUntinG prOCeDUre A new Revenue Procedure from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (Rev. Proc. 2016-29) modifies and updates the list of automatic changes in accounting procedure addressed in previous releases. Check out the document on irs.gov for the full list.

irs sOUnDs aLarM aBOUt ‘FeDeraL stUDent taX’ In May, the IRS warned taxpayers about bogus phone calls from IRS impersonators demanding payment for a nonexistent tax called the “Federal Student Tax,” and reminded taxpayers that the IRS will never call and demand payment over the phone for any reason. n

LINE items

IT'S MAP TIME AgAIN

How does your firm stack up against others in the profession? Curious about the latest technology trends in firms around the country? How are you and others leveraging staff in the current economy? Find out by taking part in the CPA profession’s premier benchmarking study — the AICPA PCPS CPA. com National MAP Survey.

The survey covers key practice management issues that will allow your firm to compare its financial performance and operations to other firms, as well as gain strategic insights into building a more profitable and rewarding practice. Each participant will receive a free, personalized report containing an overview of key performance metrics from the survey.

the survey will remain open through July and can be accessed at aicpa.org/mapsurvey. n

what’s that?...

The “Internet of Things” — or IoT — is cropping up in a lot of technology-related articles and around the Web. But what is it? Essentially, the term refers to objects that have some type of sensitivity or connectivity to link them online. So, a fitness wearable is part of IoT, as is a thermostat that intuitively adjusts the temperature of your house and sends you updates on your smartphone. According to Wikipedia, “the IoT allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit.” n

we need your feedback!

The VSCPA wants to hear from you on leadership, staff development and organizational culture. We’re collecting responses through our Leadership Culture survey, open through mid-July. Visit vscpa.com/CpaCulture to take this short survey. Share the link with your peers! n }

ExcEllEnT ExcEl: prEsEnTIng and collaboraTIng wITh ExcEl

In this age of collaboration, I often find myself in meetings where someone will project a spreadsheet up on the wall to engage the group. While this is a great way to leverage the collective knowledge of the group, here are a few Excel tips the presenter should consider using.

MOre spaCe: You want as much space devoted to the spreadsheet as possible. To free up the space used by the toolbar, you can hide it by clicking on the up-caret “^” in the lower right corner of your tool bar. Clicking on a menu header will provide you temporary access to complete an action, which will then hide again. To bring back the toolbar permanently, access one of the menu headers and click on the push pin icon (where you found the up-caret). Also, there is either a down- or up-caret in the formula bar on the right side that you can use to expand or contract, respectively, as needed. size Matters: You will want to quickly zoom in and out, depending upon what participants want to see. While you can use the little plus and minus in the lower-right corner of the workbook to zoom, I have found that holding down the Ctrl key and moving the wheel on the mouse at the same time is quicker and easier. This trick works on most applications for Windows.

Hopefully, with these tips, your collaborative meetings will be more professional and give you the competitive edge over others who do not read Disclosures. n

GeOrGe D. strUDGeOn, Cpa,

CGFM, is an audit director at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts in Richmond. Email him if you have Excel topics you want him to cover. george.strudgeon@gmail.com connect.vscpa.com/GeorgeStrudgeon