LINE ITEMS

CPA Exam facelift launches next year

On April 1, 2017, CPA Exam candidates will take a more “current, relevant, reliable and legally defensible” test, according to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). The AICPA Board of Examiners created a new version of the exam using input from accounting profession stakeholders.

The Exam sections are the same: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Regulation (REG). Changes include:

>> More task-based simulations to test higher-order skills.

>> Increased test time from 14 to 16 hours.

>> A shift in the weight of the questions. Previously, multiple-choice questions were approximately 60 percent of the total score; that will decrease to around 50 percent.

>> Blueprints to help students to prepare. The blueprints will replace the current Content

Specification Outline and Skill Specification Outline, and contain around 600 representative tasks aligned with the skills required of newly licensed CPAs.

Visit aicpa.org for more in-depth information on the new Exam. n

TIME TO RENEW!

Lock in your benefits for the 2016–2017 VSCPA membership year and renew today at vscpa.com/ Renew! Featured benefits include 18+ complimentary CPE credits, new & enhanced networking events and programs, partnerships and information along with your favorite benefits. It’s going to be a great year!

EXCELLENT EXCEL: HOW LONG AGO WAS THAT?

Here at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts, we focus on ensuring that individuals get the right training when they need it most. Some training is related to current assignments, while others are based on an individual’s time with the office. For example, everyone who has been with the office between 12 to 24 months should take an advanced Excel class. While we have start dates for everyone that we can quickly pop into Excel, it is hard to get a report out of the system that displays how long someone has been with the office. Thankfully, with a relatively short Excel formula I found online, we are able to show the number of years, months and days that someone has been with the office.

Assuming today’s date is entered in A1 and each employee’s start date is in column B starting on the second row, we would then enter the following formula in C2 and copy it all the way down to the end of our list: =DATEDIF(B2,$A$1,“y”) & “years,” & DATEDIF(B2,$A$1,“ym”) & “months,” & DATEDIF(B2,$A$1,“md”) & “days”

If today’s date in A1 is 6/9/2016 and an individual started with the office on 11/28/2014, which would be in B2, the formula displays 1 years, 6 months, 12 days — letting us know that it’s time for them to get the all-important Advanced Excel training we feel every auditor needs.

You can also use this formula to create a countdown clock to the end of next year’s tax season or fiscal year-end! 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

LINE items

Inside the AICPA’s proposed new association

The VSCPA Board of Directors has adopted a resolution in support of a proposal from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to create a new association with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The AICPA is currently holding a membership ballot on the proposal that will remain open through June 16. Here’s what you need to know:

>> The new association would integrate operations and represent the entire accounting profession while preserving the membership bodies of both organizations.

>> Dues paid to the AICPA would result in automatic dual membership in the AICPA and the new organization.

>> The new association would represent more than 600,000 accountants worldwide, providing a stronger defense against onerous regulations that are increasingly originating overseas.

>> AICPA members would keep all the same benefits they currently receive and gain access to expanded resources, more education opportunities and enhanced advocacy.

>> The AICPA would remain focused on promoting, protecting and growing the CPA credential.

AICPA members can vote in two ways. The third-party sender “AICPA Independent Tabulator” sent out a personal, confidential ballot to each member the week of April 18. If you can’t access that link, visit directvote.net/aicpa to access your unique voting credentials.

Visit aicpa.org/horizons for more information on the proposal. n

STATE REFUNDS MAY TAKE SOME TIME

To cut down on identity theft and tax refund fraud, the Virginia Department of Taxation (TAX) is taking an extra precaution this year. Some taxpayers may receive a “Review of Tax Return” letter (called AUIN073A RAP Additional Review) to verify withholding information, which could affect the speed at which they receive state refunds.

CPAs can communicate to clients that receiving a letter is not negative; TAX simply wants to ensure taxpayers are receiving the refunds to which they are entitled.

“Receiving the letter does not mean they are victims of identity theft or that their returns contain errors or missing data,” TAX says. “It just means that their returns were stopped for review.”

If your clients receive a letter, they should read it carefully to determine which action they might need to take. More information on the letters is available on the TAX website at http://tinyurl.com/VATaxLetter. n

FEDERALLY SPEAKING

NEW LEASE ACCOUNTING STANDARD FINALIZED In February, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published the final new lease accounting standard that mandates lessees recognize assets and liabilities arising from all leases, except for those with terms of 12 months or less. Public entities are required to adopt the standard for reporting periods beginning after Dec. 15, 2018, and nonpublic entities have an extra year to adopt. More info is at fasb.org.

IRS RELEASES REVISED FORM 3115 In March, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a revised Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method. Dated December 2015, this is the first revision of the form since 2009.

FINAL REGULATIONS ADDRESS FOREIGN INVESTMENTS The IRS issued final regulations (T.D. 9751) addressing the amount of withholding required when foreign taxpayers dispose of investments in foreign real property. The regulations are in response to December 2015 amendments to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. n