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Wellness matters: Mental health help

You asked for it! In member surveys and conversations with CPAs around the state, you told us you want more programming and resources on mental health topics. The American Mental Health Counselors Association predicted that by the end of 2020, more than 103 million U.S. adults would suffer from mental health disorders. The pandemic increased its own havoc on our mental well-being, with 54% of people saying they were more emotionally exhausted and 53% reporting increased sadness in day-to-day life.

To help you address mental health and wellness in your own lives and that of your staff, we launched the following:

• Mental Health Toolkit: Resources like tips for leaders, a PowerPoint presentation on eliminating the stigma behind mental health, and more are included in our free toolkit for members.

• Learning opportunities: Various roundtables, webinars, conference sessions, and other training addressed a variety of topics like mental health first aid, stress hardiness, benefits, and others. Several are recorded for you to watch anytime.

• Mental Health & Wellness Resource Center: We’ve spun off a section of the

Coronavirus Resource Center to create a brand-new space online for you to download the toolkit, read articles, watch videos and more. Find it at vscpa.com/wellness.

• Podcast episodes: VSCPA COO Maureen Dingus, CAE, interviewed experts in these areas on the VSCPA Leading Forward podcast. You can find all episodes at vscpa.com/podcast, where you can listen or read the transcripts.

• Mental Health Empowerment Kick-Off: In January we had a free virtual event of sessions that tackled how to create a mentally healthy work culture, CPA perspectives on wellness, and mindful leadership. If you liked that program or missed it, we’re bringing in back! Mark your calendar for Jan. 21, 2022. We’ll also have a Mental Health First Aid program on March 4.

Find all resources at vscpa.com/wellness.

BURNING QUESTION What does the VBOA say about serving cannabis clients?

As state regulators begin the process of developing the Cannabis Control Authority to oversee marijuana legalization in the Commonwealth, you may wonder if you or your firm is in jeopardy of investigation by the Virginia Board of Accountancy (VBOA) if you serve clients in these industries. The VBOA gave the following guidance on May 21, 2019:

“In the absence of such a determination by the courts (that a Virginia CPA or CPA firm has violated drug laws) the Virginia Board of Accountancy will not pursue independent disciplinary action against Virginia CPAs or CPA firms solely on the basis of providing services to a business involved in the sale or distribution of marijuana, provided that the business is operating legally under applicable state law.”

If the VBOA revisits this issue at a future meeting now that legalization has passed, we will update you with any further guidance.

ACCOUNTING AS STEM? CPAs SAY YES!

Should accounting be included as part of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career pathway? CPAs across the country believe so, and the VSCPA joined with the American Institute of CPAs and other stakeholders to encourage state representatives to cosponsor bipartisan H.R.3855, the “Accounting STEM Pursuit Act.”

Including accounting in STEM legislation makes sense as the connection between accounting and technology becomes clearer. In addition, this supports long-standing efforts to create more diversity in the accounting workforce. “The Accounting STEM Pursuit Act signals the importance of expanding the pipeline of a diverse accounting profession that supports industries across the United States. It also reinforces our digital-first efforts to educate, upskill and reskill the profession, ” said Susan Coffey, CPA, CGMA, CEO of Public Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

TICKER

39

The number of Virginia-based companies who made Fortune magazine’s 2021 Fortune 1000 list, with 22 making the Fortune 500.

57

The percentage of Americans who have felt at least some stress over their financial situations since the beginning of 2020.

75

The percentage of 18–34-year-olds who experienced financial worry during that timeframe.

50

The percentage of design capacity lost in Norfolk’s stormwater infrastructure due to rising sea levels.

$26 MILLION

The amount per year that Virginia Beach spends due to recurrent flooding.

$400 BILLION

The approximate amount in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans forgiven by the federal government.

$12.8 BILLION

The amount of PPP loans forgiven for companies with one employee, at an average cost of $11,497 per job.

102

The percentage increase in ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021 over the previous year at the same time.

New VSCPA scholarship will support underrepresented students

Did you know that 2021 is the Black CPA Centennial? It’s been 100 years since John W. Cromwell Jr. became the first Black CPA in the United States. In honor of this milestone, the VSCPA Educational Foundation is establishing the Curtis C. Duke and Dr. Ruth Coles Harris Scholarship. Curtis C. Duke and Dr. Ruth Coles Harris were the first Black male and female CPAs in Virginia.

According to the last available statistics (from 2019), only 2% of CPAs and only 9% of bachelor’s and master’s accounting enrollees are Black. The new scholarship seeks to encourage and support underrepresented students in the pursuit of the CPA profession.

We need to reach our $100,000 goal to fully fund this new scholarship! Help us build a more diverse CPA pipeline by joining us. More information on how to donate is available at vscpa.com/ef-donation, and check out page 31. And to learn more about the Black CPA Centennial, visit icpas.org/BlackCPAcentennial.

ERC giving you a headache?

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) initiated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was made available for all four quarters of 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Despite being included in legislation passed months ago, taxpayers and tax practitioners still had questions and concerns related to the ERC. Here are some updates as of press time, as well as where to go for help:

• In August, the IRS issued Notice 2021-49 to amplify prior ETC guidance in Notices 202-20 and 2021-23. 2021-49 provides guidance on the definition of full-time employees, treatment of tips as qualified wages and more. Visit irs.gov to review.

Additionally, Revenue Procedure 2021-33 from the U.S. Treasury and IRS provides a safe harbor permitting employers to exclude certain amounts from gross receipts solely for determining eligibility for the ERC.

• There are several areas ripe for misunderstanding, such as if clients can claim

ERC if they received a forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, among many others. Read about 10 mistakes you could be making at vscpa.com/ article/10ERCmyths.

• More information and guidance is available in the ERC resource center from the

AICPA at future.aicpa.org.