Pub. 1 2019 Issue 3

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 9 6 nebraska cpas “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” We’ve all heard the quote—it’s cemented in our history. No matter who said it first—Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Defoe, Christopher Bullock, Edward Ward, or someone else—the famous old phrase holds true. What’s still uncertain (at least at the time of this writing) is the state’s property tax plan. Change Is the Only Constant As most of you undoubtedly know, the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee has been trying to find a way to generate enough revenue to pay for K-12 education while still providing significant property tax relief. Amendments to LB289 do not extend the state’s sales tax to accounting services and, at present, the plan has been placed in limbo, with talk of an alternative proper t y tax relief plan by some lawmakers and greater consideration of Gov. Pete Ricketts’ solution, which would increase the state’s property tax credit program by $51 million. Stay tuned. The Legislature will be in session until May 31. Read more in the Unicameral Update at http://update.legislature.ne.gov . New Business Conference a Success In other news, the Societ y held a successf ul Business & Industry Conference on April 25 at The Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln, with nearly 50 CPAs and finance professionals from many of Nebraska’s top companies in attendance. Dr. Ernie Goss of Creighton University kicked off the conference discussing the probability of recession, which he says has doubled but remains relatively low; the globalization of agriculture, which has increased both risk and opportunity for the Nebraska economy; the need for free and fair trade, which Nebraska’s agricultural and manufacturing industries depend on; and the need for more people in the state to fill thousands of unfilled jobs. Goss also talked about the negative impact of flooding throughout much of the state and the increase in farm loan defaults, which he says will be our biggest challenge in 2019. From immigration and income inequality to student debt and Nebraska’s spending/ tax issues, Goss captured the attention of attendees by sharing his views on a wide gamut of economic and societal issues. Sign up for his free newsletter at www.gossandassociates.com . In addition to Goss, the conference featured a variety of local and national experts who focused on emerging technologies, employment law, cybercrime, business succession strategies, corporate tax law, and leadership development. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BY JONI SUNDQUIST, President & Executive Director, Nebraska Society of CPAs SERVING YOU THROUGH ADVOCACY & EDUCATION UpNext: JuneNot-ForProfit&Governmental Conferences The next big Society educational events occur in June, with the 23rd Annual Not-For-Profit Conference scheduled for Wednesday, June 19, and the 38th Annual Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference set for Thursday and Friday, June 20-21— all at The Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln. Dick Larkin of McLean, Va., will be headlining the Not-For- Profit Conference with a “Not-For-Profit Accounting Update.” Larkin is the technical director of not-for-profit accounting and auditing for the Institute for Nonprofit Excellence in the Washington, D.C., area office of BDO USA, LLP. Previously, he was technical director in the Not-for-Profit Industry Services Group in the national office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, with responsibility for assisting firm partners and staff worldwide with accounting and auditing issues involving not-for-profit organizations. A CPA with more than 45 years of experience, Larkin teaches, speaks, and writes extensively on not-for-profit industry matters and actively serves in and provides leadership to numerous professional, industry, and not-for-profit organizations. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the AICPA and the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. In addition, Larkin is an adjunct professor of not-for- profit management at Georgetown University. As a member of the Peace Corps, he also taught business administration at Haile Selassie University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Rounding out the eight hours of CPE at the Not-For- Prof it Con fe rence wi l l be an update on IRS exempt organizations, significant changes to UBIT, the new not-for- profit reporting model, security controls for CPAs, succession planning from a generational viewpoint, an update from the Nebraska Attorney General’s office, and one hour of ethics. Kicking off the two-day Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference with a focus on the Yellow Book will be Mary Ann Hardy of the U.S. Governmental Accounting Office (GAO). Hardy is a senior auditor on the GAO’s Financial Management and Assurance Team. She is also a member of GAO’s Standards Team, which is responsible for developing, drafting, and maintaining Government Auditing Standards (the Yellow Book) and Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (the Green Book). Hardy holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Central Washington University, a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Smith College, and