CPA Voice gives OSCPA members relevant information on trends in the profession, along with content targeted to their area of work. The publication covers the latest news, best practices, trends in the profession and information on what OSCPA is doing to serve you as a member. 

CPA Voice is complimentary to all OSCPA members and features a self-assessment exam offering convenient, free CPE to members.

You can find the latest issues of the CPA Voice here.

Review the objective of this GASB statement which is to enhance comparability in accounting and financial reporting and to improve the consistency of authoritative literature by addressing practice issues that have been identified during implementation and application of certain GASB statements.

"In December 2019, the AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 138, Amendments to the Description of the Concept of Materiality, and Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 20 of the same title to respectively amend various AU-C and AT-C sections in AICPA Professional Standards. 

Understand the amendments to the description of the concept of materiality which aligns the materiality concepts discussed in AICPA Professional Standards with the description of materiality used by the U.S. judicial system and other U.S. standard setters and regulators. "

"In December 2019, Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 19, Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements was issued. SSAE 19 supersedes SSAE 18 AT-C section 215 of the same name and also amends certain provisions of SSAE 18 section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements. 

Examine the flexibility that SSAE 19 provides to a practitioner performing an agreed-upon procedures engagement in the following areas; assertion requirement, development and sufficiency of procedures,understanding with engaging party and general use. "

This standard update was issued in January 2020 meant to clarify accounting for certain equity method investments. Dive into how the new guidance addresses accounting for the transition into and out of the equity method and measuring certain purchased options and forward contracts to acquire investments.

In this module, we are going to examine the importance and role of planning, budgeting, and forecasting. We are also going to look at process analysis and process performance issues. To help you better understand these concepts, we will look at these concepts through the lens of a business in its first year in operation and again at the end of its second year.

Excel errors continue to plague organizations of all sizes and as spreadsheets become ever-more common, the effects of these errors will continue to impact virtually every Excel user and those who rely on Excel-based data and analyses. Fortunately, that need not be the case because many options exist to prevent, identify, and correct spreadsheet errors before they adversely affect reports and decision-making processes.

In this session you will learn how to apply best practices to reduce the error rate in workbooks that you and others on your team create and edit. Equally important, you will learn how to take advantage of add-ins for Excel that can programmatically scan and audit your spreadsheets to identify potentially disastrous errors while there is still time to correct them. You do not want to miss this opportunity to learn how tools such as PerfectXL, ClusterSeven, and ActiveData can help you and your team to identify and correct potentially disastrous spreadsheet errors.

Why Attend?

• List Common Causes of Spreadsheet Errors and the Potential Impact of these Errors
• Identify Best Practices to Reduce the Number of Errors in Excel Workbooks
• Implement Various Excel Add-ins to Programmaticaly Identify Spreadsheet Errors

Verbal communication is a vital part of everyday life. It is how most of us communicate at home and work. Therefore, it is important that we are effective in this form of communication. As you navigate this course, you will learn what it means to be an effective communicator, why it’s important to hone these skills, and tips and tricks to improve your verbal communication skills. 

Why Attend?

• Define communication style preference
• Compare and contrast communication dos and don’ts by style
• Examine how to synthesize communication across styles for a mixed audience

Who Should Attend?

• Emerging professionals
• Professionals looking to upskill their professionalism

Additional Course Information: This self-paced module is a part of The Ohio Society of CPAs Workforce Development: Upskilling & Reskilling the Accounting Profession General Business Skills bundle. We encourage you to explore each of these courses as a part of your professional development plan. If interested in purchasing the entire bundle, refer to the related products below the product description.

Have you ever written and sent an internal memo only to realize it was full of errors? Or maybe you sent a quick email to your boss only to realize it wasn’t nearly as professional as it should have been?

These situations can cause us a lot of anxiety, and they can give other people a bad impression of us.

We use written communication every day — think about how often you write an email or send a text message — so it is important that we understand what constitutes clear, concise, and professional writing. Written communication is also important because it can make all the difference between obtaining or losing a new client, impressing or confounding your colleagues, or effectively convincing key stakeholders. Put in that light, it’s obvious why good written communication is so important!

Why Attend?

• Learn the six key steps required to create effective communication and how to apply each step to different types of communications
• Identify the steps to take to understand the context in which communications will occur and the impact context has on the key message, medium/forum, and organizational flow
• Assess your written communication capabilities and develop an improvement plan

Who Should Attend?

• Emerging professionals
• Professionals looking to upskill their professionalism

Additional Course Information: This self-paced module is a part of The Ohio Society of CPAs Workforce Development: Upskilling & Reskilling the Accounting Profession General Business Skills bundle. We encourage you to explore each of these courses as a part of your professional development plan. If interested in purchasing the entire bundle, refer to the related products below the product description.

Professionalism is a vitally important skill as you navigate your career on a day to day basis and it is undeniably a key component to a successful career.  What constitutes professionalism may evolve over time, or differ from one workplace culture to another. Professionalism is not static, yet there are key elements that we can say are the pillars of CPA professionalism.

Why Attend?

• Evaluate and establish your personal brand and understand the interrelationship of personal brand and business development
• Understand the importance of building a strong business network
• Discuss professional responsibilities of the accounting profession and CPAs, for example, time commitment and continuing professional education.

Who Should Attend?

• Emerging professionals
• Professionals looking to upskill their professionalism

Additional Course Information: This self-paced module is a part of The Ohio Society of CPAs Workforce Development: Upskilling & Reskilling the Accounting Profession General Business Skills bundle. We encourage you to explore each of these courses as a part of your professional development plan. If interested in purchasing the entire bundle, refer to the related products below the product description.