Blogs

5 types of insurance every CPA in Indiana can't go without

By Gerald Cordell posted 06-08-2021
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Insurance, no matter the type, is very much like a life vest. It can be an annoyance when you don’t need it but can be a real life-saver when you reach a point when you actually need it. For example, you may not like the idea of paying a monthly  payment for a car insurance plan . Yet, should you be involved in a car accident, the insurance plan will cover all the costs involved in fixing your car.  Without it, you could pay lots of money for a car wreck, illness, or an injured employee, feeling like you’re drowning…in debt. So, insurance is something so essential to your financial wellbeing, both to you as a person and a professional CPA.  According ...
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Important Steps to Protect Your Intellectual Property

By Edgar Cree posted 12-12-2020
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Protecting Intellectual Property (IP) is considered crucial for any would-be or current IP owner. It is to ensure that your invention and work are legally protected and to prevent copying or stealing.  The process to attain protection for your intellectual property can be confusing with all the legal language being used and the steps that need to be taken. Here are some of the important steps you need to take to protect your intellectual property. File for protection The first step you need to do for IP protection is to file for protection. A place to look to for help on   protecting IP   is NetLawman.co.uk as the site has easy to understand explainers ...
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8 Tips for Starting a Successful Business in 2020

By Edgar Cree posted 12-04-2020
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Are you a new business owner? Are you nervous about starting a new venture? Don’t despair? We interviewed some of the most successful entrepreneurs in different industries to bring you the following tried and tested tips on how to improve your chances of success when starting a business.  Don’t Quit Your Job Just Yet Typically, it can take years before a business is actually profitable so you don’t want to pressure yourself into a corner by quitting your job right away.  Rather, stay at your job and treat your business venture as a side hustle for a while until you start seeing some profit from it.  Even then, you should re-invest ...
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Digital Upskilling Your Professionals

By Gregory Chester posted 10-18-2018
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As technology is reshaping our lives, our work and our economy, I am sure we are all asking how we are going to keep pace with the changing landscape, personally.  For those of us in leadership roles in our companies or firms, we also are asking how we are going to develop our people and upskill the talents of our people in a digital economy.  Not to suggest there are anything but an infinite number of ways to respond to this challenge, I thought I would share an article that summarizes in part how PwC is facing down this challenge.   https://hbr.org/2018/10/how-we-teach-digital-skills-at-pwc?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
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Our role in the Indiana Board of Accountancy

By Michael Barton posted 06-06-2018
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I’m sure you’ve heard of the Indiana Board of Accountancy (Board) but maybe aren’t sure what it is. To put that potential mystery to rest: the Board is the entity that handles issues regarding our CPA registration, licensing, renewals, CPE credit, examination and certifications, firms, corporations and partnerships. The Indiana Board of Accountancy has a total of six members. Five of which are Certified Public Accountants while one member is not in the profession and serves to represent the interest of the public for the board. Though it is not a requirement to be a board member, all five of the current CPAs sitting on the board are also INCPAS members. ...
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INCPAS has a fresh, new look

By Katie Kirkton posted 05-22-2018
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As we celebrate the launch of the new INCPAS logo, brand refresh and redesigned website, I can’t help but reminisce on the origins of these exciting changes. I was new to the INCPAS staff last summer when Jennifer Briggs and Stephanie Parton first approached me about exploring new logo designs. We were already beginning to discuss a website redesign that would better meet the needs of members, so it made sense to assess our brand and figure out how we could ensure the Society’s relevance to the profession. It was clear — our brand needed a makeover. In order to look as progressive as our many forward-thinking initiatives, we retired the red and blue pencils ...
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A Tribute to Outstanding CPAs

By John Minnich posted 05-15-2018
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My wife, Carrie, and I enjoyed CPA Celebration 2018 along with over 450 in attendance. Held at Indiana Roof Ballroom, this annual ceremony represents our Society’s biggest event of the year. Sharing the stage with co-host Rachael Smith, I appreciated the honor of announcing long-time Society members, outgoing leadership, the future of our profession including scholars and successful member exam candidates, and INCPAS awards winners. See all honorees in the 2018 CPA Celebration program. The evening involves a cocktail reception for networking, dinner and awards program, and an enjoyable evening of casino and entertainment. Even more, it provides members ...
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Transforming business for CPAs – six exciting changes coming to INCPAS

By Jennifer Briggs posted 05-08-2018
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Right now, at the Indiana CPA Society we are embarking on quite a few exciting changes. Most of the change is our choosing, some of it is simply timing and all of it is aimed to provide the best possible experiences for our members. I have been with the Society for 16 years so when I became President & CEO this January I was well-aware of what we had in the works, but then there are always a few surprises when you take on a new role and I couldn’t be happier with where we are headed. Our first major update? In a few short days, a brand new incpas.org  will launch and offer better site navigation based on research and feedback from members. As we started ...
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What Impact Will Block Chain Have on the Future of Accounting and Accounting Curriculum?

By Daniel Zhang posted 05-04-2018
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Blockchain has the potential to improve the accounting industry and the accounting curriculum. In this article , AICPA list four new opportunities blockchain could create for auditors: 1) auditor of smart contracts 2) Services auditor of consortium blockchains, 3) Blockchain administrator, and 4) Arbitrator. Please comment below what you think about the following questions: How will blockchain change the future of accounting? How will blockchain change the future of accounting courses? What will you tell your students about blockchain? What will you tell your school administrators about blockchain? How do you think block chain will affect you l ...
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Participate in the Process: Weigh in on big-ticket legislative issues

By Caleb Bullock posted 05-01-2018
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We have a long-standing rule in my family that you cannot complain about the state of politics unless you have taken substantive steps to ensure that your voice is heard. Since my family (like many of yours, I’m sure) loves nothing more than to complain about the state of politics, it was always important to vote whenever the opportunity was given. As responsible adults, we all likely understand the importance of voting, but there are other ways to ensure your voice is heard. One of the most impactful ways is to contribute to your PAC. I’m sure at least half of you that are reading this are thinking, “here comes the sales pitch.” Stick with me. This is important. ...
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Meditation and the CPA

By Rima Hoak posted 04-24-2018
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Fifteen new tax returns just came in. One of the returns has oil partnerships in 40 states. A review for the client from hell is on your desk. You know the one: where they don’t understand why inventories shouldn’t be adjusted against cost of goods sold just so they can get their bank loan. Your significant other wants to go out for dinner, and you already know if you make it home by midnight it will be a glorious four hours of sleep. You just want to run around and get it all done but have no idea what you should grab next. What if there was a potential solution, a way to slow down your thoughts, so your reactions could be well thought out?  Most people would ...
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Why advocate?

By Bettie Caldwell posted 04-10-2018
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If you have been a member of INCPAS over the past few years, you have probably heard someone reference our INCPAS 2025 document. Hopefully, it’s been hard to miss. It has been a topic of Professional Issues Updates, Leadership Cabinet and Emerging Leaders meetings, and published in the CPA IN Perspective magazine. Since 2015, we have been working to make the four bold challenges and vision a reality in the everyday operations of our society.  One of the four bold challenges outlined in the document addresses advocacy: INCPAS and our members become the most trusted business resource and advocates in Indiana. Additionally, we defined success in part as ...
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What would it take for you to walk away from your dream job?

By Erland Porter posted 04-04-2018
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Imagine working for a large multi-national corporation with highly recognizable products and services used around the world. Now place yourself in your ideal role, working with a high performing and enjoyable team making more money than you’ve made at any time in your career. Add to this mix a supportive boss, high degree of flexibility in your work product and opportunities to make significant impacts in the operations of the organization. After building this ideal scenario, what would it take for you to walk away from this environment? Would you counsel someone to leave such a fortunate situation to pursue their passion? Outside of a life-changing event, ...
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Relax (just do it!)

By Chaleise Fleming posted 03-20-2018
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First off, congratulations to all of us for getting through the 3/15 deadline! The first big milestone of tax season has passed and for those of us who are tax focused, we have about a month of “really” busy season left. We can do it! Tying into surviving this first deadline: I thought this would be the perfect time to write about ways to handle stress and maintain a work-life balance, especially during this time of year. I am sure your emails are already full of similar articles, so while I will pull from some general guidelines, I am going to focus mainly on my own tried-and-true methods. Every tax season I find a main thing as my “relief,” and this varies ...
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3 Useful News and Information Apps for CPAs

By Shawn McSweeney posted 03-13-2018
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As a CPA, one of my hobbies is following the news, as I’m sure is the same with many of you. Two of my favorite tools to digest news are my iPhone and iPad, and I use a variety of apps to check in on what’s going on daily. Here are three of my favorite apps. Twitter At this point, must of us are probably familiar with Twitter, a one-stop shop for news across business, politics, sports, pop culture, and everything else in between. The biggest advantage for me is easy access to the information that is trending and the ability to absorb it in bite size chunks, which is great if I’m on the go or in between meetings. Personally, I am a big fan of the ...
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Leadership goes beyond the job title

By John Minnich posted 03-06-2018
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Countless resources exist on leadership. Our conversation, yes, I look forward to your insight, embodies some of what I perceive and value as great leadership as portrayed by business and community leaders. For many, our discussion serves as a refresher and opportunity for you to reflect on your opinion of a great leader. As I attempt to articulate some of what I value, I welcome your expertise so that we can all continue to grow and learn. For those early in your respective profession, I hope this fosters some ideas applicable to your journey. If you aspire upward movement at your organization, keep in mind the importance of developing and applying soft skills. ...
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The College Triangle: Advice for students

By Yaugen Karakin posted 02-28-2018
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Yaugen Karakin, INCPAS Scholar alum and former INCPAS intern shares tips with future accounting majors on how to acclimate to college life. Academics, social life and sleep are the three essentials for every college student. These activities seemed to flow so seamlessly in high school, yet unfortunately college students can only ever seem to successfully manage two of the three. This is referred to as “The College Triangle,” and after my first three semesters of college I can attest to the fact this triangle is real. Coming into college it’s easy to be flooded with emotions - uncertainty, nervousness, anxiousness, fear, joy and most of all excitement ...
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Introduce Yourself to Blockchain

By Justin Hayes posted 02-20-2018
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Lately, I feel like every other article I read is about either artificial intelligence or blockchain. I felt I have a pretty good understanding of AI but knew very little about the blockchain. Over the past few months, I made it my goal to learn more about it. How does it work? And how will it impact my profession? So what is the blockchain? It is basically a digital record of economic transitions that can be programmed to record just about anything that is deemed to have value in knowing. It creates a recorded history of whatever that blockchain is designed to track. We currently have a lot of systems that are used to record history, such as an accounting ...
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Our most wonderful time of the year

By Caleb Bullock posted 01-30-2018
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While most of the world considers "the most wonderful time of year" to be in December, we as CPAs know the truth. The "most wonderful time of year" is in the coming months.  It’s the time of year that most of us have the opportunity to see many of our clients and to help them navigate the challenges that face them at the start of a new year. With this opportunity looming, it’s important that we refocus and remember that we have an ethical responsibility to the public, to our clients and to our colleagues. This ethical responsibility calls for an unadulterated commitment to honorable behavior, even if that behavior is at the cost of our own benefit. With ...
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The Smoke Detector: A Letter for Gary

By Corey Stark posted 01-18-2018
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This is not going to be your typical send-off letter, waxing poetic about a great leader. Instead, I want to attempt to write something for Gary Bolinger who supported so many (including me) and influenced even more. The desired result is not necessarily to thank him for his work - sorry, man - we’ve done that already! - but rather to drive you to take the ultimate proverbial page from his playbook: create change that you will not even see. It is a new year, a fresh start and a period of change everywhere, especially at the Indiana CPA Society where we welcome Jennifer Briggs to the helm of top leadership. Yet, while looking for the subject matter for this ...
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