Spring is a time of change and new beginnings, and
that’s especially true at your Society.

In March, we released a brand-new website to greatly improve upon your member experience. Creation of the new Society site was completed in conjunction with Imarc, a full-service digital agency headquartered in Amesbury, Mass. Imarc has two decades of experience working with State CPA Societies from across the country.

The new and improved Society website at nescpa.org allows you to:

• Track your CPE. Easily keep track of your CPE and retrieve your CPE reports at any time with the new My CPE Tracker.
• Register for CPE. With thousands of CPE programs to choose from, use the Filter tool to find programs that suit your needs. Sort by Fields of Study, Credits, Dates, and more to locate the CPE courses that are perfect for you.
• Find a CPA. Are you looking to grow your business? Promote your firm and the services you offer in the new Find a CPA online directory.
• Post a job. Are you trying to hire staff or perhaps seeking a new career? Check out our new Careers section to post or find a job.
• Stay in the know. Stay up-to-date on information related to the profession with headlines and the latest news affecting today’s CPA. You’ll also find a link to the Nebraska CPA online journal.
• Donate. Help build the CPA pipeline with a donation to the Society’s Foundation or contribute to the Political Education Committee (PEC) to help elect business-friendly state legislators.
• Pay your dues. Join or renew your membership online to receive discounts on education and other products and services, ensure a favorable legislative and regulatory environment, receive news and information, and support Nebraska accounting students. Firm administrators are provided special access to the site to ensure the accuracy of all firm and employee information.

If you have any questions about the Society’s newly designed website, please feel free to contact the Society at (402) 476-8482 or society@nescpa.org. We will continue to roll out additional new features in the weeks and months to come.

CPE Catalog Is Now Live

Our 2021 CPE Catalog is now live on our website! Browse our complete list of CPE and sign up for courses that will help you stay on top of your game at nescpa.org/cpe. All NESCPA members receive exclusive discounts on all our courses and conferences.
As in the past, we will continue to add courses on hot topics throughout the year. Please let us know if you would like to see CPE on a topic not currently listed, or feel free to share your feedback with us.

In addition to courses, registration is also open for our spring conferences. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we made the decision to keep our learning opportunities virtual throughout the summer. This means the Business & Industry Conference on April 22, the Not-for-Profit Conference on June 7, and the Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference on June 9-10 will all be held in a virtual format. We are pleased to be working with Sunflower Development again this year for our video production needs; Sunflower’s conference platform makes interacting with speakers, attendees, and sponsors a breeze.

Our CPE Catalog is developed based on member feedback with significant input from our CPE Committee, so please feel free to reach out to Vice President Kelly Ebert with your suggestions for topics and speakers we should consider for future programming.

Rep. Bacon Signs Letter to IRS

On March 31, a bipartisan group of 60 members of Congress signed on to a letter, led by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), requesting IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig extend the federal tax filing deadline for first quarter estimated tax payments to May 17, 2021. Read the letter at http://bit.ly/2021-03-31LtrIRS. Such a change would streamline tax filings, help ensure tax compliance, and help ease the burden of millions of small businesses and other taxpayers. The Nebraska Society of CPAs thanks Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) for signing the letter and supporting Nebraska’s small business community, individual taxpayers, and the CPA profession.

A growing list of people and organizations have been asking for an extension for all filers and we hope Commissioner Rettig heeds the call to make this common-sense alignment. Read more at http://bit.ly/2021-03Stakeholders.

Small businesses and the CPAs who advise them recently had a huge success when Congress decided to extend the PPP application deadline from March 31 to May 31. The Nebraska Society and AICPA will continue to advocate on issues to support economic recovery. We are making strides towards a bright economic future for all citizens.

Appropriations Committee Releases Budget

The Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Committee officially released its biennial budget. View the budget at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/fiscal/2021proposal.pdf. Speaker Mike Hilgers announced his intention to begin budget debate on April 8 and pass the final package the week of April 12. The last two weeks of April will be devoted to the “taxing and spending” bills.

Update on Property Tax Incentive Act Credit

State Senator Lou Ann Linehan, who is chairman of the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee, in late March requested that Speaker Mike Hilgers designate Legislative Bill 181 as a consent calendar bill—consent calendar bills are an avenue to get bills on the floor of the Legislature that aren’t controversial. On April 12, LB 181 advanced from General File on a 45-0 vote! This bill, as amended, would remedy challenges created with the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act Credit, which was included in LB 1107 (2020). The bill would allow, not require, pass-through entities to distribute the refundable credit in the current manner. Further, it would change the filing method for the next year so that the credit is claimed at the entity level and then distributed according to the shareholder or partnership agreements. Finally, if a pass-through entity is unable to claim the credit this year, the entity will have one year to catch up and claim the credit next year.

A hearing was held before the Revenue Committee at the Nebraska Legislature on March 16. Society Chairman-Elect Erica Parks and Society Legislation Committee Chairman Shawn Melotz submitted position letters in advance of the hearing, while Society Chairman Ryan Burger and I testified in person in support of the bill, as amended. Read more at https://conta.cc/3uEUzsU. The Society is extremely grateful for Sen. Linehan’s assistance and time; we are very optimistic that this bill will pass the Legislature prior to the end of the session in June. Watch your email for updated information on this issue.

Onward & Upward

April 1 marks the beginning of our new fiscal year. While the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we operated this past year, your Society staff has not wavered in our service to Nebraska CPAs. Our commitment to the profession remains steady and strong. We look forward to offering in-person courses later this year and visiting with members face to face very soon. In the months to come, we plan to spring even higher—into a new year filled with hope and opportunity, and a future fueled by imagination and innovation.

May the challenges of this past year serve as a springboard in your life as well, allowing you to reach new heights and achieve greater success both personally and professionally