Official Publication of the Nebraska Society of CPAs

September 2016

FOR CHAIRMAN MICHELLE R. THORNBURG

SOCIETY’S NEW LEADERSHIP; 2016-17 NOMINEES ANNOUNCED The Society’s Nominating Commit-tee, as appointed by the Board of Di-rectors, has announced the Officer and Board nominees for the 2016-2017 Society year. Meeting on July 18, 2016, the Committee voted to nominate for rec-ommendation to the general member-ship at the Society’s Annual Meeting in LaVista on October 24, 2016, the following leadership slate: Michelle R. Thornburg of Omaha, Chairman, (previously elected); Ryan L. Parker of Lincoln, Chairman-Elect; Christi L. Olsen of Omaha, three-year term on the Board of Directors and Kelly J. Martinson of Bennington, three-year term on the Board of Directors. Serving on the Nominating Com-mittee were Immediate Past Chairman Tony Pruss of Norfolk, who served as committee chairman, Board Chairman Pat Kirlin of Omaha, Ryan Parker of Lincoln, Christi Olsen of Omaha and Janet Labenz of Lincoln. The actions were taken by the Committee to meet the requirements in Article III, Section 2, of the Society Bylaws which state:

Nominations for directors and offic-ers shall be made by a committee of not less than three members of the So-ciety, appointed by the Chairman of the Board and approved by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall establish procedures to be fol-lowed by the Nominating Committee. The names of such nominees shall be published to all members, by the Secre-tary, not less than twenty days prior to the date of election. Thereafter, addi-tional nominations may be made by the petition of any ten or more members of the Society, signed by them, and deliv-ered to the Secretary not less than five days preceding such election. Society Secretary Ryan Parker of Fairbury therefore publishes the fol-lowing Society leadership slate for the 2016-2017 Society year:

FOR CHAIRMAN (Previously elected):

Michelle R. Thornburg, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Busi-ness Administration from Midland University in Fremont where she grad-uated Summa Cum Laude with majors in Accounting and Economics. Michelle joined the Koski Professional

Group, P.C. in Omaha in 1993 and became a shareholder in the firm in January 1998. Thornburg has experi-ence working with individuals and closely held businesses on their ac-counting, tax and financial planning needs. In addition to the traditional accounting and tax services, Michelle has experience with mergers and ac-quisitions, audits of employee benefit plans, and incentive tax credits. She has served a four-year term on the Ne-braska Board of Public Accountancy and still serves as a member of the Quality Enhancement Program and the Educational Advisory Committee of the State Board. Michelle is active in several organizations including the Nebraska Society which she joined in 1995. She currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee and the Accounting Ca-reers Committee. She has served on the Society Board since 2011 and as the Society’s Treasurer. A member of the Millard Business Association Michelle has also been involved with Junior Achievement, and has been a

FOR CHAIRMAN-ELECT RYAN L. PARKER

FOR DIRECTOR CHRISTI L. OLSEN

FOR DIRECTOR KELLY MARTINSON

Continued on Page 2

LEADERSHIP SLATE . . . From Page 1 presenter at Math in Business Day, Expanding Your Horizons, and numer-ous high school and college class-rooms. Michelle also serves on the Business Advisory Board of the Col-lege of Saint Mary in Omaha.

FOR CHAIRMAN-ELECT: Ryan L. Parker of Lincoln is the President & CEO of Endicott Clay Products Company near Endicott, NE. He graduated in 1994 from Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. Ryan became a Manag-er working for Deloitte & Touche LLP in Des Moines, IA from 1994 to 1999 before becoming the Vice President of Finance for the Endicott Clay Products Company. Ryan received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2007. In 2010, Ryan was promoted to President & CEO of Endicott Clay Products Company. A Society member since 1999, Ryan currently serves on the Society’s Board of Directors, Exec-

utive Committee, and is Vice Chair-man of the Industry Committee. Ryan has also been Chairman of the Board of the First National Bank of Washing-ton, KS for the last 17 years and serves on the Board of Directors of the Brick Industry Association.

FOR DIRECTOR: Christi L. Olsen of Omaha is the President of Infinity CPA Group, LLC in Omaha.. She has practiced public accounting since 1989 and has been with Infinity CPA Group since its founding in 2008. She has been a member of the Society since 1990 and is a current member of the AICPA. Christi is a past chairman of the Socie-ty’s Public and Member Relations Committee and has served on the Eth-ics Committee. She is a past National President of the Accounting and Finan-cial Women’s Alliance (AFWA) and is the current Chair of the AFWA Foun-dation. Also Christi was the 2003 recipient of the AFWA Lady Vestey-Woman of Achievement Award and she holds a BSBA degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

FOR DIRECTOR: Kelly Martinson of Bennington is a Tax Partner in the Omaha firm of Lutz. She began her public accounting career in 1995 and primarily focuses on providing corporate and individual tax consulting and compliance services to clients in various industries. A member of the Nebraska Society since 1996, she received her BS degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Management, with Highest Distinction, from Dana College in Blair. Kelly is an AICPA member and a past Presi-dent of the Omaha Chapter of the Ac-counting & Financial Women’s Alli-ance (AFWA). She is also Treasurer of the Pension Council of the Midlands and a member of the American Society of Pension Professional and Actuaries. She is active in the Executive Wom-en’s Golf Association and is a member of the Finance Committee of the Lu-theran Church of the Master.

FINISHING TERMS Finishing their terms on the Socie-ty’s Board of Directors will be Tony Pruss of Norfolk and Sheila A. Brug-ger of York.

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ACCOUNTING CAREERS COMMIT-TEE NEEDS VOLUNTEER MENTORS

Nebraska CPA is published ten times annual-ly for members of the Nebraska Society of CPAs. Publication is monthly, with the excep-tion of two combined issues: February/March and December/January. Copy deadline is the tenth of the month prior to publication.

Nebraska Society of CPAs 635 South 14th Street, Suite 330

Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 (402) 476-8482 or (800) 642-6178

Fax (402) 476-8731 Email society@nescpa.org

www.nescpa.org

OFFICERS Patrick G. Kirlin, Chairman

Michelle R. Thornburg, Chairman-Elect Ryan L. Parker, Secretary Shari A. Munro, Treasurer

Anthony J. Pruss, III, Immediate Past Chairman

DIRECTORS

Sheila A. Brugger Douglas J. Lacey

Christopher J. Lindner Patrick A. Meyer

Julie D. Bauman

Elected Member of AICPA Council

Tamara A. Pierce West Nebraska Chapter President

STAFF

Dan Vodvarka, President Kelly Ebert, Vice President

Malia Saale, Staff Accountant Lori Vodicka, Executive Assistant

2016 SCHOOL DISTRICTS AUDITING & REPORTING REFERENCE MANUAL AVAILABLE

The 2016 edition of a longtime Society publication, Nebraska School Districts Auditing and Reporting Reference Manual, is available through the Society for $40.

This year’s guide has been updated by members of the Society’s State and Local Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee coordinated by Marcy Luth of Grand Island, Julie Bauman of Falls City and the Nebras-ka Department of Education.

The Guide was developed to assist accountants in preparing financial statements and reports for all Nebraska School Districts and was prepared with the cooperation of the Department of Education and the Nebraska State Auditor’s Office.

To order the Guide, contact the Nebraska Society by email (malia@nescpa.org) or by phone at (402.476.8482 or 800.642.6178) or by fax (402.476.8731).

At its May meeting, the Accounting Careers Committee of the Ne-braska Society of CPAs voted to continue its formal mentor program. The program is designed to pair college students with Society members. Mentor activities may include sharing relevant professional experiences, providing the student meaningful insight into an accounting career, and making yourself available for questions. The committee is seeking addi-tional volunteers for the program. If you are interested in this unique op-portunity, please email Ryan Burger, Committee Chairman, at ryan@gbecpa.com for more details.

ENGAGEMENT OMITTED FROM PEER REVIEW PROGRAM LIST An article in the Society’s July 2016 newsletter entitled “State Board Explains New Peer Review Requirements” indicated that Nebraska CPA firms that do not perform audit, review or compilation engagements will not be affected by the new state law requiring firms to participate in the AICPA Peer Review Program. According to Dan Sweetwood, Executive Director of the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy (State Board), “Omitted from that list of en-gagements that trigger enrollment in the Program were engagements per-formed under Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs). Probably the most common such engagements would be engage-ments to report on agreed-upon procedures or on prospective financial statements. As a result firms that do not perform audit, review, compilation or attestation engagements will not have to participate in the Peer Review Program.” If you have any questions about the need for enrollment contact the State Board office at (402) 471-3595 or at Dan.Sweetwood@Nebraska.gov.

U N O A C C O U N T I N G S E R I E S S E T F O R S E P T E M B E R 2 3 R D The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Accounting Department has scheduled its fifth annual UNO Accounting Speakers Series for Friday, September 23, 2016. The schedule includes a continental breakfast and sign-in at 7:30 am and has speaker presentations from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. The event has been approved for two ethics and two accounting credit hours. The fee is $100 or $120 for a regis-tration after September 9. Kristen Sullivan will speak on ‘sustainability and transparency” and Rich-ard Bowen on “ethics” For more information call 402-554-3650 or email unocbaac-counting@unomaha.edu. To register go to accounting-speaker.eventbrite.com.

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M E M B E R S H I P A P P L I C A T I O N S

PLANS SET FOR FALL CONFERENCE, ANNUAL MEETING The Society’s 2016 Annual Meet-ing and Fall CPE Conference will be an interesting mixture of new speakers and popular Nebraska speakers who have appeared at the Conference in past years. This will be the 16th year for this annual Society event that draws over 200 registrants. The Society’s 88th Annual Meet-ing and Fall CPE Conference will again be held at the Embassy Suites in LaVista. The Conference will be held on Monday and Tuesday October 24 and 25, 2016, with the Annual Business Meeting luncheon scheduled for Monday at noon. Headlining the Conference will be first time national speaker Ken Bish-op, President of the National Associa-tion of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the new Nebraska Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton of Lin-coln, and national known speaker Pe-ter Margaritis of the Business Learn-ing Institute. Added to these headliners is State Senator Galen Hadley of Kearney

who is Speaker of the Nebraska Legis-lature and a Society member. Sena-tor Hadley will speak at a breakout session Monday on, “A CPA in the Legislature – Why Run?” Another popular speaker in recent years, Rich Stuart of RSM US LLP of Stamford, CT will return to present the “FASB Update” and Alfonzo Alexander of the NASBA Center for the Public Trust will speak on “Professional and Personal Ethics.” That session will give registrants two hours of CPE eth-ics credits. Matthew Otteman and Jonathon Grob of Omaha will kick-off the Con-ference with a “Federal Taxation Up-date” from 8:10 to 10 am on Monday, October 24. Following the Society’s Annual Business Meeting Luncheon at noon on October 24 Tax Commis-sioner Fulton will present his annual report from the Nebraska Department of Revenue from 1:30 –2:40 pm. He will be followed by two sets of in-formative breakout sessions that after-

noon. Tuesday, October 25 opens with NASBA President Bishop speaking on “The State of the CPA Profession and National Issues” from 8:00 to 9:00 am.

Annual Meeting Luncheon The Nebraska Society’s 88th Annu-al Meeting will be held during the Noon Luncheon on October 24. The special annual event features the elec-tion of new Society officers, a sum-mary of the Society activities and ac-complishments during 2016 by retir-ing Chairman of the Board Pat Kirlin of Omaha and an acceptance speech and “call to action” by incoming

Continued on Page 5

Nebraska Society membership applications have been received from the following individuals. Ob-jections should be filed with the Sec-retary of the Nebraska Society of CPAs: Ryan L. Parker, Endicott Clay Products Company, PO Box 17, Fairbury, NE 68352. Jena C. Bice, McDermott &

Miller, PC; Kearney Yves B. Delma, Hayes & As-

sociates, LLC; Omaha Tess M. Goffena, KPMG

LLP; Omaha William E. Johnson, KPMG

LLP; Omaha Joseph A. Krings, KPMG

LLP; Omaha Julie A. Raymond,

MarksNelson LLC; Kansas City, MO

John M. Shurtliff, Seim Johnson, LLP; Omaha

Megan L. Valorz, Pillen Family Farms; Columbus

London E. Van Roekel, KPMG LLP; Omaha

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ANNUAL MEETING . . . From Page 4 Omaha. The Society’s 2016 Foundation scholarship winners will also be rec-ognized, as will the new Nebraska CPA certificate recipients. As al-ways, the highlight of the day’s agen-da will be the recognition of three outstanding Nebraska CPAs who will receive one of the Society’s annual awards honoring their service, dedica-tion and accomplishments. Conference information is availa-ble at the Society’s website at www.nescpa.org. Society President Dan Vodvarka reminds members, “Register now for this premier CPE event that is cost-effective, CPE for $200 a day, and will be highlighted by a wide variety of outstanding speakers and will pro-vide a great opportunity for network-ing with other Society members.

Members in the News

“This scholarship will unques-tionably help in the final step of my academic career and the pursuit of future goals. Once again, thank you so much for your generosity.” -UNO Student

YES! WE SUPPORT

FUTURE NEBRASKA CPAS!

Want To Join Us? Contact Dan at (800) 642-6178 or vod@nescpa.org

DIAMOND INVESTOR

(Minimum $1,000 Contribution)

Donald Kluthe GOLD INVESTOR (Minimum $500 Contribution)

James Anderson Paul & Patricia Mendlik

Jeff Scherer

SILVER INVESTORS (Minimum $250 Contribution)

Julie D. Bauman Marcy J. Luth

Gary Steffensmeier

The Board of Trustees of the Foundation of the Nebraska Society of CPAs extends an enthusiastic THANK YOU to the following Nebraska Society members who have made generous contributions to the Foundation in recent months:

BRONZE INVESTORS (Minimum $100 Contribution)

June Crow-Johnson John Kopecky Janice Muller Own Ismail

Patrick Thomazin Gary Wasserman

Rebecca & Sean Wolfe

HONOR ROLL INVESTORS

Darren Bennett Dean Broich

Jordan Downey of Elkhorn has been promoted to Manager in the Omaha firm of Frankel Zachariah, LLC and Cassie Kelly of Fort Calhoun has been appointed to Supervisor….Bryan Robertson of Lincoln has been named Vice President, Personal Trust with US Bank in Lincoln….Ken Rouch of Lincoln has been elected President of the Lincoln Chapter, Association of Government Accountants (AGA) and has been appointed to the national AGA Finance and Budget Committee….Society Chairman of the Board Pat Kirlin of Omaha has been named Controller with the EHPV Management Group in Omaha.

Brandon Cain Daniel Chudomelka Michael DeFreece

Sharon Heck Aaron Hilkemann

Tim Hurley Elizabeth Joyce

Lorraine Kolasinski Melissa Massey Phillip Meyers

John Miller Stanley Obermueller

Mark Preston Tricia Riggins Julie Rogers

Teanne Spinharney Corey Watton

Charles Whitney Jason Wyman Bonnie York

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FALL CPE CONFERENCE “SPECIAL DETAILS”

ANNUAL MEETING LUNCHEON REGISTRATION PAYMENT & FORM

Annual Business Meeting Luncheon Only $40 - Society Member (For those attending the Conference, the Annual Meeting fee is included in the price of the conference)

Confirmation and/or Credit Card Receipt: Email Mail Address______________________________________________________ Attendee ____________________________________________________ Firm_________________________________________________ Mailing Address Firm Home ___________________________________________________________________________________ Contact Name ________________________________________________ Contact Number _______________________________________ Special Accommodations Needed________________________________________________________________________________________

Payment Information: Amount $ __________________ Check MasterCard Visa Expiration Date ______________ Credit Card Number ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ CVV Code (on back of cc) ____ ____ ____ Print Card Holder's Name ______________________________________ Card Holder's Signature _________________________________ Credit Card Billing Address, City, State & Zip________________________________________________________________________________

The Nebraska Society of CPAs will host its 16th Annual Fall CPE Conference on October 24-25, 2016, at the Embassy Suites Conference & Convention Center, 12520 Westport Parkway, LaVista, Nebraska.

The conference qualifies for 16 hours of continuing professional education credit, of which two hours will count towards the ethics requirement with the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy. The registration form and costs can be found on the next page or online at www.nescpa.org/conferenceregform.php. Parking is available at Embassy Suites or at the Courtyard Marriott.

A block of sleeping rooms has been reserved at The Embassy Suites for conference attendees at the special rate of $124 per night. This block of rooms has been reserved under our name, The Nebraska Society of CPAs. All reservations must be received on or before Friday, September 23, 2016. Any reservations made after that date will be subject to availability and the hotel’s guest room rates. Reservations are made by calling the Embassy Suites at (402) 331-7400.

Please list any special accommodations on your registration form or notify us by email (kelly@nescpa.org) or by phone (800) 642-6178 at least one week prior to the conference. For your comfort during the events, we recommend dressing in layers to accommodate the varying temperatures in hotel meeting rooms. The conference was planned by the members of the Fall CPE Conference Planning Committee and its Chairman, Tracy Black of Lincoln. The Nebraska Society's 88th Annual Meeting will be held during the NOON LUNCHEON ON OCTOBER 24, 2016. This special annual event features the election of new Society officers, a summary of the Society activities and accomplishments of 2016 by retiring Chairman of the Board Patrick Kirlin of Omaha and an acceptance speech and "call to action" by incoming Chairman Michelle Thornburg of Omaha. See below for a registration form for just the Annual Meeting noon luncheon.

AGA HOSTS SEPTEMBER 21 TRAINING The Lincoln Chapter of the Associa-tion of Government Accountants (AGA) has scheduled it’s semi-annual Profes-sional Development Training (PDT). This one-day session will be held Sep-tember 21, 2016, 8:00 to 4:30, at the Country Inn & Suites, 5353 N. 27th St, Lincoln. Eight hours of CPE will be granted for those attending the full ses-sion. Cost is $130 for AGA members and $180 for non-members. Session presenters will be Billy More-head, PhD, and Paul Koehler, CPA. Dr. Morehead’s session will include the lat-

est trends in fraud, effective report writ-ing and control deficiencies and sam-pling approaches. Koehler’s session will cover updates on standards of the Gov-ernment Accounting Standards Board (GASB). According to AGA member Frank Faughn, non-members should consider joining AGA as the difference in regis-tration fees, for both PDTs, will cover the cost of an annual membership. Throughout the year the Chapter will provide additional free CPE for mem-bers including audio conferences, webi-

nars, and live sessions. Plus the national AGA website makes available to mem-bers numerous free toolkits for Fraud, Internal Control Evaluations, and more. Beyond education the Chapter is active with social events, community service, resourcing/developing college students, and more. The value of AGA member-ship is very real, noted Faughn. Register by going on the Chapter’s website at: lincolnneaga.org. Pay when signing in for the session. For more information please contact Frank Faughn at frank.faughn@nebraska.gov.

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Confirmation and/or Credit Card Receipt: Email Mail Address:_________________________________________________ Attendee ______________________________________________ Firm/Business__________________________________________ Mailing Address Firm Home _______________________________________________________________________________ Contact Name __________________________________________ Contact Number_________________________________________ Special Accommodations Needed:____________________________________________________________________________________

Payment Information: Amount $ _________________ Check MasterCard Visa Expiration Date____________ Credit Card Number ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ CVV Code (on back of cc) ___ ___ __ Print Card Holder's Name ______________________________________ Card Holder's Signature_______________________________ Credit Card Billing Address, City, State & Zip ____________________________________________________

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016 7:00 to 8:00 AM Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:10 to 10:00 AM “Federal Tax Update” – Matthew Ottemann & Jonathan Grob, McGrath North Mullin & Kratz, PC, LLO

10:30 AM to Noon “Labor Law Update” – Jerry Pigsley, Woods & Aitken LLP 12:00 to 1:30 PM Luncheon and Annual Business Meeting

1:30 to 2:40 PM “The Tax Commissioners Report” - Tony Fulton, Tax Commissioner, Nebraska Department of Revenue 3:00 to 4:00 PM Breakout Sessions - Please select one breakout session by filling in the circle ().

“Affordable Care Act” – Tony Sorrentino, SilverStone Group “CPA in Nebraska Legislature —Why Run?” – Senator Galen Hadly, Nebraska Legislature, Dist. #37 “FASB Update” – Rich Stuart, RSM US LLP

4:00 to 5:00 PM Breakout Sessions - Please select one breakout session by filling in the circle (). “Affordable Care Act” – Tony Sorrentino, SilverStone Group "The IT Future —Cloud 2.0” – Phil Lieber, P&L Technology “Changes in Peer Review” – Jodi Rinne, HSMC Orizon LLC

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 7:30 to 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast 8:00 to 9:00 AM “State of the Profession and National Issues” – Ken Bishop, NASBA

9:05 to 10:40 AM “Embrace Your Inner Superhero” – Peter Margaritis, Business Learning Institute 10:55 am to 12:05 PM Breakout Sessions - Please select one breakout session by filling in the circle ().

“Explaining Financials to Non-Accountants” – Peter Margaritis, Business Learning Institute “Document Storage and Management” – Phil Lieber, P&L Technology "The Eight Points of Financial Confidence” – Jeff Johnson, Executive Wealth Management

12:05 to 12:50 PM Luncheon 12:50 to 2:00 PM Breakout Sessions - Please select one breakout session by filling in the circle ().

“Future Audits in a Technical World” – Daniel Kinsella, Deloitte & Touche, LLP “Reading the Tells—Body Language” – Jerry Balistreri

"Retire Income Stream: Social Security, RMDs, Cash Flow” – Jeff Johnson, Executive Wealth Manangement

2:15 to 4:15 PM “Professional and Personal Ethics” – Alfonzo Alexander, NASBA’s Center for Public Trust— 2 Hours of Ethics 4:15 PM Conference Adjourns

PLEASE MAKE YOUR SELECTIONS BELOW AND EMAIL (SOCIETY@NESCPA.ORG), FAX (402.476.8731) OR MAIL (NEBRASKA SOCIETY OF CPAS, 635 S. 14TH STREET, SUITE 330, LINCOLN, NE 68508) THIS FORM. YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION WITHIN 3 BUSINESS DAYS. YOU CAN ALSO REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.NESCPA.ORG/CONFERENCEREGFORM.PHP. PLEASE NOTE SPECIAL LODGING RATES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.

Embassy Suites ~ 12520 Westport Parkway, LaVista, Nebraska

Conference Agenda & Registration Form

Conference Fees: The fee covers all conference sessions, materials, lunches, continental breakfasts and refreshment breaks. Early registration is encouraged. $400 - Two Days Society Member $430 - Two Days Non-Society Member $320 - One Day - Society Member

THE NEBRASKA SOCIETY OF CPAS’ 16TH ANNUAL FALL CPE CONFERENCE - OCTOBER 24 - 25, 2016

Continued on Page 10

MANAGING AT MID-LEVEL IN CPA FIRMS By Dustin Hosttetler

LSS Master Black Belt Chief Innovation Officer Boomer Consulting, Inc.

As I’m traveling the country work-ing with the best of the best CPA firms to help them improve their pro-cesses, people development and ulti-mately profitability, a statement I of-ten make with my project teams and firm leaders is the following: “One of the toughest positions in-side CPA firms today is the mid-level.” Every firm is a little different in what they call their mid-level, whether it be in-charge, client relationship di-rector, etc. But just know that this level could be your Seniors, Supervi-sors, or Managers. And the reason that the above statement often comes up during process improvement train-ing and consulting discussion is that this level is feeling the squeeze more and more every day. If you think about it, their days revolve around

juggling four competing priorities of their time: Managing their engagement teams (managing down) Managing their engagement partners (managing up) Managing their clients

(managing out) Managing their own workload

(managing within) To successfully juggle all four is some feat, to say the least. I’m dis-covering two important trends over the past several years in regard to this mid-level practitioner. First, this level is yearning for more guidance and direction on how to be effective engagement and project managers. You’re training on the technical, but you may be missing training on the key elements of en-gagement and project management skill development. Unless the person is an absolute all-star, they may be struggling to keep up without this training, guidance and direction. The second key trend is with firms

we work with to improve processes with Lean Six Sigma. These firms’ new and improved processes have a lot more project management best practices built into the process than ever before. So whether we’re talking Tax, Audit or Client Accounting Ser-vices, the best processes of firms to-day have strong foundations of project and engagement management best practices. Why should you care if you’re a firm leader? I’ll boil it down to three reasons: 1. Client Service 2. Retention of Future Leaders 3. Profitability Client Service - If your mid-levels aren’t properly managing their en-gagements and their interactions with clients, what does that do to your overall client service? Do partners have to get more involved and take time away from higher level activities

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The Nebraska Society of CPAs’ 2016 Summer CPE Calendar www. nescpa.org Date Course Conference / Course Title Type Discussion Leader Facility & Location

SEPTEMBER

8 ICSM Internal Control Best Practices for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities

AA Tyrone Inglis, AICPA The Cornhusker, Lincoln, NE

9 AIT Accounting for Deferred Income Taxes AA Tyrone Inglis, AICPA Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

15 GENA GAAS: A Comprehensive Review for Auditors AA Michael Morgan, AICPA Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

16 FRU Common U.S. GAAP Issues Facing CPAs AA Michael Morgan, AICPA Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

19 ITET Form 1041: Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts

TX Bill Murphy, AICPA Gering Civic Center, Gering, NE

20 CORU Annual Update for Preparation, Compilation, and Review Engagements

AA Bill Murphy, AICPA Gering Civic Center, Gering, NE

21 ITEB Advanced Selected Issues for Trusts, Estates & Their Beneficiaries

TX Scott Emerson, Surgent Professional Education

Fairfield Inn & Stes, Grand Island, NE

22 1041 Fiduciary Income Tax Returns - Form 1041 Workshop with Filled-in Forms

TX Scott Emerson, Surgent Professional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

23 GIFT Federal Estate and Gift Tax Returns - Forms 706 and 709 Workshop with Filled-In Forms

TX Scott Emerson, Surgent Professional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

26 ERP Extreme Retirement Planning - Navigating the Next 30 Years (4-Hour Morning Course)

MA Andrew Waite & Jeff John-son, Exec. Wealth Mgmt.

Holiday Inn & Conf. Ctr., Kearney, NE

26 PRP Peer Review Prep course (4-Hour Afternoon Course)

AA Jodi Rinne, HSMC Orizon LLC

Holiday Inn & Conf. Ctr., Kearney, NE

27 PRP Peer Review Prep course (4-Hour Afternoon Course)

AA Jodi Rinne, HSMC Orizon LLC

Gering Civic Center, Gering, NE

28 FUR4 Annual FASB Update and Review (Morning Course)

AA Lee Klumpp, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Fairfield Inn & Stes, Grand Island, NE

28 FNG4 Recent Frauds Occurring in Not-For-Profit Enti-ties & Governments (Afternoon Course)

AA Lee Klumpp, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Fairfield Inn & Stes, Grand Island, NE

29 GNAA Latest Developments in Government and Non-profit Accounting and Auditing 2016

AA Lee Klumpp, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Fairfield Inn & Stes, Grand Island, NE

30 FSBT FASB's "Big 3" - Revenue Recognition, Leases and Financial Instruments

AA Lee Klumpp, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

OCTOBER

10 - 11 STP2A AHI Semi-Senior 2016 Staff Training AA Roger Nelson, AHI Associ-ates

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

17 AGAP A Practical Alternative to GAAP: Simplify Your Reporting by Converting to FRF for SMEs - NEW!

AA Gregory M. Clark, Surgent Professional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

18 SWLD Sweeping Your Workpapers for Landmines: Avoiding Deficient Audits - NEW!

AA Gregory M. Clark, Surgent Professional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

24-25 FALL 16th Annual FALL CPE Conference Various Embassy Stes Conf. Ctr., LaVista, NE

26 TCFO Current Developments & Best Practices for To-day's CFOs and Controllers

MA Jeff Koblenz, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

27 MBAD MBA in a Day! MA Jeff Koblenz, Surgent Pro-fessional Education

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

31 CRPU Compilation, Review & Preparation Update AA Jim Martin, Real World Seminars of Georgia, LLC

Mahoney State Park, Ashland, NE

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ELEVATE CLIENT SERVICE . . . From Page 8 they should be performing? Do you just drop the ball and hope the client doesn’t care? Retention of Future Leaders – If your mid-levels have the potential to be future partners, but aren’t being given the training and opportunities to better manage engagements and cli-ents, might they be getting frustrated and looking for other opportunities outside of your organization? Are they feeling the squeeze so much that they don’t see light at the end of the tunnel? I see lots and lots of untapped potential in our profession for this mid-level – we must do our best to devel-op them and keep them. Profitability – if your mid-levels aren’t managing those four competing priorities well, you can pretty much guarantee your profitability isn’t as strong as it could be. This is why the right blend of pro-cess improvement and project man-agement training is becoming essen-tial to firms today. Status quo is rap-

idly falling behind. How can you improve?

I strongly encourage firm leaders to invest in project and engagement management training for their mid-level practitioners. And go beyond the basics to zero in on the four com-peting priorities these individuals face on a daily and weekly basis. Managing their engagement teams (managing down) – Discover and teach best practices that enable in-charges to better plan, communicate with, train and motivate the staff and seniors on their various client assign-ments. The 4-step training model and collaborative review are two key lean six sigma techniques that we see CPA firms successfully utilizing to help manage the development and work of the lower levels. Managing their engagement partners (managing up) – It’s im-portant to create a firm culture that is based on trust and also level-loaded / leveraged in a way to give your in-charge level more opportunities for client contact and running engage-ments. To ultimately be successful,

this requires a new method of commu-nication from the in-charge up to the partner to keep them engaged and “in the loop”. Build these strategies into your process. Managing their clients (managing out) – Quit blaming your clients! That’s always the go-to re-sponse and easy way out when you don’t have the information you need when you need it from the client. In-stead, focus on what you could have done differently to better manage the client. Our phrase we use in our lean six sigma projects is “make it easier for the client to do business with you”. Focusing on how you can make it easier for your clients to work with your firm will result in many more wins than losses. Managing their own workload (managing within) – It’s important that all in-charges have some basic training on personal time management principles including email best prac-tices, prioritization strategies, finish-ing what’s started, scheduling focus time, and understanding leverage to get more work done. A terrific book I often recommend for some easy to implement time management princi-ples is “Eat that Frog”. In summary, the next time you find yourself frustrated about the outcome of a client engagement – think engage-ment and project management skillset development. Your mid-level practi-tioners want to do an outstanding job and grow their careers. There’s a ton of untapped potential inside your firm at this level. Give them the training and mindset to unlock that poten-tial! It’ll be a win-win proposition

The Society office will be closed on

September 5, 2016, for Labor Day.

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NEBRASKA RANKS HIGH IN COMPETIVENESS Over the decades, Nebraska's business leaders, chambers of commerce, state lawmakers and governors have worked hard to improve our state's economic competitiveness, according to the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry. While there is still much work to be done to make Nebraska even more competitive and maintain our current strengths, Nebraska has undeniably be-come recognized nationally and globally for its pro-business cli-mate. Below is a summary of comparisons published over the past 18 months in which Nebraska has performed extremely well: No. 1 - Employment Leaders Study (Business Facilities, 2015) 2nd Best - State Fiscal Solvency (George Mason University, 2016) 2nd Best - Top 10 Pro-Business States (Pollina Corporate Real Estate, 2015) 3rd Best - Top States For Millennials (MoneyRates.com, 2016) 3rd Best - Best States For Business (Forbes, 2015) 3rd Best - Legal Climate (U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, 2015) 3rd Best - Best State Job Markets & Hiring Climates (Gallup, 2015) 4th Best - Combined Business Climate Rankings (Ball State University, 2016)

5th Best - Business Incentives & Economic Development (Pollina, 2015) 6th Best - America's Happiest States (WalletHub.com, 2015) 7th Best - Overall Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute, 2015) 7th Best - Well-Being Index (Gallup-Healthways, 2015) 7th Best - Business Friendly Regulations (CNBC, 2016) 9th Best - Best Business Climates (Business Facilities, 2015) 9th Best - Best States In Which To Retire (Forbes, 2015) 9th Best - States for Growth & Innovation (U.S. Chamber, 2015) 9th Best - Education System (CNBC, 2016) 10th Best - America's Health Rankings (United Health Foundation, 2015) 10th Best - Retail Electricity Price For Residential Users (U.S. Dept. of Energy, 2015) 10th Best - Best States In Which To Retire (Bankrates.com, 2016) 11th Best - Top States For Business (CNBC, 2016) 11th Best - Best States For Purchasing Power (24/7 Wall St., 2016)

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OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE PAGE 12

Nebraska Society of CPAs 635 South 14th Street, Suite 330 Lincoln, Nebraska 68508

PRACTICE ACQUISITIONS SOUGHT - McDermott & Miller, P.C., is interested in acquiring or merg-ing in a qualifying CPA firm(s) along the I-80 corridor from Omaha to Kearney, Nebraska. Particularly we are looking at firms within a 50 mile radius of I-80 that would specially include such cities as Omaha, Lincoln, York, Grand Island, Hastings, and Kearney among others. If your firm is interested in discuss-ing this opportunity please contact Norm Saale at 308-382-7850 or nsaale@mmcpas.com. Serious inquiries only.

Are you tired of regular accounting work? Are you looking for a change of pace? We are a 65+ year old CPA Firm looking for an experienced CPA who wants to expand their skills into wealth management. We are currently seeking a sales-minded CPA who would work with local tax clients dur-ing tax season and help expand our nationwide back-office wealth man-agement firm in the off-season. Wealth Management LLC han-dles the time consuming back office wealth management functions for CPA firms across the country, freeing them up to focus on their core compe-tencies as a CPA and Advisor—helping their clients achieve their fi-nancial goals. This position would be responsible for acquiring additional firms to join our lineup. If this sounds like a good fit for you and your career goals, please inquire today! Position is located in Norfolk, NE. Please visit our website(s) for addi-tional information: http://wealthfirm.info/ and http://wealthmgmtllc.com/ Interested individuals can send their questions and resumes to in-fo@wealthfirm.info!

ACCOUNTANT/CPA - Conveniently located Omaha CPA firm seeking CPA or CPA candidate to perform compilation, review, audit, consulting, and in-come tax preparation services for a variety of individual, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. Great work environment with advance-ment potential. No travel. Send resume and salary requirements to: hr@cpaomaha.com.

THINKING OF SELLING YOUR PRACTICE? Accounting Practice Sales is the leading marketer of ac-counting and tax practices in North America. We have a large pool of buyers, both individuals and firms, looking for practices now. We also have the experience to help you find the right fit for your firm and negoti-ate the best price and terms. To learn more about our risk-free and confiden-tial services, call Trent Holmes at 1-800-397-0249 or email Trent@accountingpracticesales.com. Interested in Buying a Practice? See local and nationwide listings at www.AccountingPracticeSales.com and register for free email updates or call us at 1-800-397-0249.

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