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Welcome | new members
Get to know the newest members of the WICPA.
February 1, 2022 – March 31, 2022
Henry Acker KPMG LLP Valerie Armstrong KPMG LLP James R. Arnold Jr. Cohen & Co. Jenifer L. Babbitt Schauer Bruce B. Bautch Lake Country Business Services LLC Lisa Belli-Fuchs Northwestern Mutual Molly A. Berenson Kollath & Associates CPA LLC Brad L. Bertler BDO USA LLP Carissa R. Birschbach Grande Cheese Co. Allison Brey Ahna Capp Claire Carviou CLA Shannon R. Czaplinski KerberRose S.C. Matthew De Starkey CLA Devin J. Dean KerberRose S.C. Tanner R. Dechant CLA Rachel A. Desautels KerberRose S.C. James P. DiCristo Thompson Investment Management Inc. Erin Dietzler KPMG LLP Erin Duescher CLA Zachary E. Eggers KPMG LLP Sarah Ek Zero Zone, Inc. John D. Elgersma Parent, Dott & Co. Ltd. Dave I. Evans Tweet Garot Mechanical Inc. Maureen Gaare Emma C. Gagliardi CLA Jon C. Gitter KLH Industries Inc. Mickey Gosh CLA Erica L. Graan CLA Jeffrey D. Grant Jr. KPMG LLP James Gwarnicki Pui Sze Hau Strohm Ballweg LLP Megan E. Hlava KPMG LLP Dalton Hribar Concordia University Joseph L. Janette Coleman & Williams Ltd. Marie A. Jeruc Cohen & Co. Kristin L. Jordan Parent, Dott & Co. Ltd. Kyle S. Kagerbauer Strohm Ballweg LLP Adria Klaty Daniel A. Kleinhans Vogel Consulting Group S.C. Rebecca Klessig CLA Mitchell D. Klieforth CLA Sarah A. Knoerr Grant Thornton LLP Megan Krupa CLA Trevor Kunz CLA Alexus J. Lamonte Grant Thornton LLP Rachel Lawent Marcum LLP Amanda K. Linehan Guinn Vinopal & Zahradka LLP Nicholas A. Ludwig Bauman Associates Ltd. Cynthia L. Lynn Adam J. Malicki Cohen & Co. Erin E. Marheine CLA Jack McNally KPMG LLP Michael McNally Riley D. Menting Menasha Corp. Renee C. Mitchell Chad Mueller The Gillette Group Inc. Sarumathy Natarajan KPMG LLP Stephanie Noll Honkamp Krueger & Co. P.C. Jordan T. Olson Dwayne Johnson & Associates Anteneh Omate The Suby Group Heidi Pautz Port Washington State Bank Tiantian Quan Vogel Consulting Group S.C. Jessica L. Raymond Hawkins Ash CPAs LLP Diane Rieder Premier Financial Credit Union Jacob T. Salzmann Strohm Ballweg LLP Erica Schaefer CLA Nikola B. Schaumberg Fox Communities Credit Union Ashley A. Schuettpelz Schreiber Foods Inc. Nicole Schuurmans CLA Jacob M. Seeber CLA Laurie A. Short Graydon T. Skeoch Cohen & Co. Robert C. Strackbein Quad/Graphics Inc. Sara J. Stremer Zachary Szprejda Sentry Insurance Melanie N. Tarman Dwayne Johnson & Associates Brian Truesdale Grant Thornton LLP Jacob R. Uttech Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Hailey Van Ells KPMG LLP Melissa A. Variny Haley Wald CLA Amanda Wegner CLA Tyler J. Wegter Grant Thornton LLP MacKenzie H. Wetzel Concordia University Candace L. Willoughby Joe Yaeger IV Wis-Pak Inc. Edward W. Zeitler Madison Gas & Electric Co.
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If you have not yet renewed your 2022–2023 membership, visit wicpa.org/renew for quick and easy online payment to keep your valuable member benefits coming, including On Balance magazine.
Pay your dues in the “My WICPA” section on the WICPA website. For information regarding your membership, contact Devin Yates at 800-772-6939 ext. 4511 or devin@wicpa.org.
Getting to Know the NFT Marketplace
By Mark Eckerle, CPA
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) really came to the forefront in 2021 as another way to utilize blockchain technology as well as digital currencies. The marketplace for NFTs continues to grow as more and more individuals create digital content to be sold. Additionally, the emergence of celebrities and influencers in the NFT community has helped garner more attention from the everyday individual who otherwise may not be interested in these items.
What are NFTs?
To get an understanding of what non-fungible means, it helps to know what fungible means. An example of a fungible token is bitcoin. Trading one bitcoin for another means you have exactly the same thing. There is no difference between one bitcoin and another. Non-fungible means that each item is unique and can’t be replaced — in other words, it’s one of a kind.
What can be an NFT?
In short, NFTs can be anything digital. These digital collectibles can be anything from physical artwork to trading cards to music to digital pictures. Anything that can be digitized and collected can be turned into an NFT. In early 2021, one of the events that really helped kick-start the NFT movement was NBA Top Shots, which were NFTs of NBA trading cards or moments that had happened.
Why purchase an NFT?
Buying an NFT is the same as buying a physical good, except it is in digital format. This is similar to how many people today do not use physical cash and have transitioned to buying items with credit cards or using their phones and using online banking. This is digital ownership instead of having a closet full of goods that have been purchased. Once you purchase an NFT, these items can be tracked on the blockchain, creating an immutable and permanent transaction with full transparency. The concept of having digital ownership rather than owning the physical item may seem foreign to many, but as a society, we are transitioning to more of a digital economy, and this is the next step in that process. Many skeptics think that rather than buying an NFT, they can just go online and see the image or watch a video of the moment. However, the main distinction is that an NFT shows the ownership of that one-of-a-kind item. While copies can be made, that’s exactly what they are: copies, and not the original.
What has been sold so far?
There have been a few items that have sold for large dollar amounts as well as significant use by celebrities. Some items that have sold include the following: • Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, auctioned off an NFT of his first tweet for $2.9 million. • Auction house Christie’s sold an NFT created by digital artist Beeple for more than $69 million. • Sports figures — including Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods — have created digital trading cards and sold them to the public. • Musical group Kings of Leon tokenized their latest album, which garnered more than $2 million in sales and also included special ticket access to one show of every Kings of Leon tour for life. • Grimes, who is a musician and partner to Elon Musk, has sold more than $6 million of NFTs representing her digital artworks of more than 10 pieces. These are just a few examples of things that can be made into a digital collectible. As the NFT marketplace continues to grow, there will be more and more platforms available to consumers to buy and sell these goods. Initially, the method to purchase NFTs was limited to a handful of marketplaces like OpenSea, Nifty and Rarible, but now there are many more options. The popular sports betting application DraftKings has rolled out an NFT marketplace directly in their app. Tom Brady has created an NFT platform called Autograph, which will bring together athletes and brands in the sports and entertainment industries. NFTs are an emerging trend and will continue to be popular as the transition from physical to digital goods continues. While the prices of some of these items may seem overvalued, prices will likely become much more reasonable as more options become available and the ecosystem becomes more mature.
Mark Eckerle, CPA, is a senior manager at Withum. He is the leader of the NJCPA Emerging Technologies Interest Group and can be reached at meckerle@withum.com.
Reprinted with permission from the New Jersey Society of CPAs (http://www.njcpa.org/).
The practice of accounting is a numbers game. Understanding the theory of accounting, the application of the rules and the methods of reporting, is critical to success in the industry. What is just as critical is the ability
By Neil to effectively communicate this Fauerbach, MBA information to others in a way that is efficient and clearly understood.
Soft skills and leadership
Communication is one of a group of skills known as “soft skills.” These are skills beyond the hard technical proficiencies needed to practice our craft. It is a two-way exchange requiring you to listen so you understand and communicate so you are understood. Your ability to communicate effectively will contribute to your ability to be a leader and to train future leaders.
Active listening
The Center for Creative Leadership defines a thoughtful process for active listening — or listening to understand and not just to answer. Tactics include the following: • Grant attention — Show you are genuinely interested in the discussion; focus on the moment. (Put down your phone, and silence your alerts.) • Withhold judgment — Be open-minded to new or different ideas. • Reflect with the person — Paraphrase what you heard to confirm your understanding. • Dig into the topic — Seek clarification, use openended questions to gather more information, and summarize key ideas and themes. • Share — Once you understand the issues, introduce your ideas and suggestions, and then discuss potential solutions. This is a good process to consider when working with colleagues as well as clients. When people listen passively, we often feel they are simply waiting for their turn to speak. Listen to understand, not simply to respond. Putting that skill to work is Steven Pullara, CPA, a tax partner with the Madison office of BDO USA LLP. Pullara has been a practicing accountant for 37 years and is the
2022–2023 chair of the WICPA board of directors. When working with clients, Pullara stated, “it is critical to first listen and understand the client’s needs and goals before we develop our advice. Then the most important communication skill we use when delivering that advice is to simplify, in nontechnical terms, the options they have available.” So, clear communication is critical to the client relationship and to advising the business or individual to make data-driven decisions.
Face-to-face communication
Zoom and Microsoft Teams have worked well to help staff and clients stay connected during COVID lockdowns. But there is nothing that equals face-to-face interaction. The pandemic has changed the way we do business (and stay safe), but staying in a Zoom world will put you at a disadvantage. When practical, we need to get back to communicating face to face as soon as possible. Art Kuesel, a veteran accounting marketing consultant based in Milwaukee, states, “Zoom has been a lifeline for firms over the last two years and has enabled seemingly seamless transition to virtual dealings. But if your firm needs to build for the future or tackle tough challenges, reengaging in select face-to-face meetings — with high-level discussions — may be in your best interest.”
Know your audience
Who will be on the receiving end of your communication, and what is their level of understanding of the points you wish to present? Avoid using industry lingo or acronyms that the listener may not be familiar with. Your job is to understand their level of understanding and communicate appropriately.
Communicating with those outside the accounting profession is not limited to CPA–client conversations. Bret Kastein, CPA, is president of Point Precision Inc., a familyowned contract manufacturer in Plover. The company is transitioning ownership and control to the second generation. Kastein noted, “With the ownership transition, we have had many meetings with our accountants, attorneys and respective spouses. Within these discussions, we’ve had various levels of understanding, from little or none to fairly comprehensive.” Kastein said that even when you think you have explained something very simply, quite often it is still not understood. “It is difficult to not include professional jargon in the conversations,” he said. “But the key is to make sure you can bring the jargon to a personal level. I always try to bring in an example they are familiar with … and to clarify points that may be confusing.”
Write for clarity
Good, clear, accurate writing is critical in communicating facts and ideas. Accounting professionals compose many types of communications, including proposals, financial reports, memos and strategic plans. Below are several keys to great writing that accomplish the goal of the written piece. • Know and understand your audience and their level of understanding of your jargon. • Clarify your goal or intent: Is it to inform, persuade, argue or recommend? • Be accurate. Fact-check the details. Make sure the math is correct. Punctuation and spelling are also important — and easy opportunities to lose credibility if improper. The CPA Exam has one section devoted to testing a candidate’s ability to clearly convey a story in a memo or letter. When asked if the test fairly evaluates writing skills, Jake Pickel, CPA, MBA, a staff accountant with Wipfli LLP, stated, “I believe the test stresses the importance of effectively (and efficiently) communicating your thoughts and ideas. While not every email or call I have has to be as proper as a memo, I need to be able to respond in a manner that is clear and concise.” Hunter Weckerly, also a staff accountant with Wipfli and who recently passed the CPA Exam, stated, “Being able to compose a well-written email, memo or letter is very important when communicating with clients and colleagues. If I do not phrase a question appropriately, I may not get the answer I need to complete my job. This ends up causing more communication and delaying work.”
Skills training
Understanding the necessity of training staff, many firms provide access to soft skills training. Some are referred to outside resources. Others prefer to train in-house. Glen Weyenberg, CPA, president of SVA CPAs, describes his firm’s approach: “Though communication has become less personal in many ways, listening and understanding are more essential than ever. We have implemented several training programs to ensure all team members, no matter their role, can communicate with our clients. This includes utilizing job shadowing and inclusion in client meetings at an even earlier career stage than ever before.” The bottom line in communication is simply this: Listen so you understand; communicate so you are understood. Perfect these skills, and you will have a competitive advantage over those who don’t.
Neil Fauerbach, MBA, has 37 years’ experience in CPA firm marketing and business development, including a longtime post with Smith & Gesteland/BDO. He has been honored with CPA Marketing Report’s Accounting Marketer of the Year Award, inducted into the Association of Accounting Marketing (AAM) Hall of Fame and included in Accounting Today’s 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.
