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Focus on profession pipeline

Recommendations from the Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education are moving full-steam ahead, according to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the American Accounting Association (AAA). In 2010, the Pathways Commission recommended ways the profession can increase and support the pipeline of talent into the profession. Its report, released in 2012, detailed several projects that are nearing implementation by the AICPA and AAA. The transition will be finished by Aug. 1.

Projects include proposing an Advanced Placement (AP) accounting course; developing and distributing the Pathways Vision Model, which emphasizes professional judgment; integrating professionally oriented faculty into accounting schools; and more.

Check out more information on the Pathways Commission’s projects and progress at http://tinyurl.com/PathwaysCommission. n

MOBILE WORKERS? YES, PLEASE!

The VSCPA continues to support mobile workforce legislation. In advance of the U.S. Senate considering the Thune-Brown Mobile Workforce reserve fund amendment to the Budget Reconciliation bill, the VSCPA wrote a letter to Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (D-Va.) in support of the bill. The VSCPA has supported mobile workforce legislation in the past and wrote Warner and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) in February in support of two such bills. Find more in the “Advocacy” section of vscpa.com. n

>> EXCELLENT EXCEL: NEW WINDOW

As accountants and auditors, we love to prepare and hate to audit, respectively, multi-tab workbooks with amounts that are linked from one schedule to another. They are so cool and scary to both groups of CPAs. As an accountant, it is great that you can enter an amount in one cell and it automatically updates 20 different sheets. On the other hand, to us auditors out there, it makes us nervous to think one mistake in a formula will make the links not work as planned. In our quest to ensure that everything is working correctly, we spend hours visually inspecting the workbook.

If you are wasting time clicking back and forth between worksheets, consider using the New Window button under the View tab in your ribbon. Each time you click the New Window button, Excel will open another instance of the same workbook. As you update your workbook, all instances will update. It gets cooler! If you have more than one monitor, you can place each instance of the same workbook on each of your monitors, with each displaying a different worksheet. With the New Window button and say, 20 monitors, you can visually check ALL those linked worksheets without flipping between tabs. n

GEORGE D. STRUDGEON, CPA, CGFM, is an audit director at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts in Richmond. He is a member of the Disclosures Editorial Task Force. Email him if you have Excel topics you want him to cover. george.strudgeon@gmail.com connect.vscpa.com/GeorgeStrudgeon

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START SEARCHING >>

What are you looking for?

The VSCPA has been working diligently behind the scenes to enhance the search capabilities at vscpa.com, and the fruits of that labor are here! Using the same search box in the top right corner of the website now brings you a wealth of options to find the content you need.

You can customize your search in several new ways. The search results page allows you to narrow your search down by fields of interest, date, relevance and now several specific VSCPA outlets. You can tailor your search to focus on:

>> Website articles >> CPE classes and events >> Disclosures articles >> Connect discussions

Visit vscpa.com today to give the new search capabilities a test. It’s never been easier to find what you need! n

RENEWAL IS ON!

Lock in your benefits for the 2015–2016 VSCPA membership year and renew today at vscpa.com/Renew! You will get access to enhanced and new programs, partnerships and information along with your favorite benefits. It’s going to be a great year! n

THE VIRGINIA ECONOMY >> Facing challenges head on

“Virginia’s talent is right for the times.” That’s how Maurice Jones, the Commonwealth’s secretary of commerce and trade, described Virginia’s workforce during his Economic Development Update on Sept. 29, 2014, at the VSCPA Top Firms Roundtable.

That talent will be important as the Commonwealth faces challenges ahead. For the first time, Virginia’s economic growth projections fall behind the U.S. growth rate for the next five years, and the Commonwealth is growing low-wage jobs at four times the rate of middle- and upper-income jobs. Jones and his boss, Gov. Terry McAuliffe have the following priorities when it comes to facing those downturns:

>> Upgrade Virginia’s infrastructure >> Pick the right sectors to catalyze >> Overall business climate >> Entrepreneurship >> Talent

Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, said one of the Chamber’s top priorities is promoting the Blueprint Virginia business plan, intended to strengthen and expand the Virginia economy and ensure the Commonwealth remains a top state for business and technology.

DuVal pointed out that Forbes ranks Virginia as the top state to do business, and that the Commonwealth ranks no lower than 12th in any business ranking his organization has seen. But, as he says, Virginia is “going in the wrong direction.”

He cited the challenges of shrinking defense spending, the unpredictable federal political landscape, a tough tax and regulatory climate, Affordable Care Act implementation and a potential workforce shortage. He also took time to discuss Virginia’s difficulties in getting a budget passed during the 2014 General Assembly session, emphasizing the importance of protecting the Commonwealth’s AAA bond rating.

He echoed Jones’s call to diversify the economy in order to create a better foundation that can weather changes in federal funding.

Visit vachamber.com/blueprint for more info on the Chamber's Blueprint Virginia business plan. n