Take a bold leap instead of a tentative step
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Release Date: 08/29/2025
Liability lessons on documentation, high-profile clients, CAS engagement letters
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Sarah Ference, CPA, a risk control director at CNA, joins the Journal of Accountancy podcast to discuss recent topics of the JofA’s Professional Liability Spotlight column. The conversation covers lessons learned from claims involving bankrupt clients, the importance of strong and consistent documentation, and the particular risks associated with serving high-net-worth or high-profile clients. The episode also highlights the April column on writing effective engagement letters for client advisory services. The articles discussed in the episode: January: “.” February:...
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The surprising way one CFO grows her network and her knowledge
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Wassia Kamon, CPA, returned as a guest on the Journal of Accountancy podcast to preview her sessions at the and . Kamon also discussed the growing expectations placed on today’s CFOs and how those expectations helped shape one of her conference sessions. Kamon also reflected on how launching her podcast, , has expanded her network and grown her knowledge. What you’ll learn from this episode: Kamon’s summary of her session with Paul Young at the CFO Conference in April. Why she says her podcast “is almost like a business card.” The importance of a true reset and how a reset is...
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Ancient Greece to AI: The past and future of bank fraud
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
David Stone, CPA, CFE, MBA, is the author of the most recent FVS . In this episode, Stone, senior manager–Financial Services Practice Group at BerryDunn, shares insights from the report, which focuses on internal and external fraud risks facing financial institutions. Stone explains how long‑standing schemes — from misuse of dormant accounts to persistent check‑fraud activity — continue to evolve even as institutions strengthen their controls. Stone, a graduate of the AICPA Leadership Academy, also describes emerging, technology‑driven threats such as deepfakes, more sophisticated...
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Tax advocacy: AICPA experts on new bills shaping tax preparer rules
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Two AICPA tax experts from the Washington, D.C., office joined the JofA podcast to discuss a recent on paid tax return preparers and why its findings matter during a busy filing season. Melanie Lauridsen, vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, and Todd Sloves, director–Congressional & Political Affairs, break down bipartisan legislation in Congress — including the TAS Act — and explain how . The conversation also highlights the SAFE Act and its aim to simplify the task of filing extensions for taxpayers and practitioners. The Q&A also outlines where broad consensus...
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Summing up economic sentiment and concerns about inflation, recession
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Optimism among U.S. CPA decision-makers in February improved when compared with the outlook in November, but . That’s one conversation topic in the latest Journal of Accountancy podcast episode. In the episode, Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, associate director–Management Accounting Research & Development for the AICPA and CIMA, break down the sentiment about the domestic economy, the global economy, and respondents’ companies. The discussion also touches on top challenges, hiring plans, and recession expectations. What you’ll learn from this episode: The increase in own‑company...
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Talent shuffle: Why people want to change jobs and how leaders can adapt
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
At several points over the past six years, employee retention has ebbed and flowed. In part, workforce trends have been tied to the COVID-19 pandemic hastening the predominance of remote and hybrid work. And, more recently, economic uncertainty has contributed to employee sentiment. On this episode of the Journal of Accountancy podcast, two Robert Half executives discuss general hiring trends and the outlook for accounting and finance roles. Additionally, they examine the dynamics of promoting from within versus hiring externally. And, in case you missed it, news dropped on publication day...
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Inside the AICPA’s effort to enhance the skills of early-career CPAs
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
, the AICPA launched its . In this episode of the JofA podcast, Carl Mayes, CPA, the AICPA’s vice president–CPA Candidate Quality and Competency, explained more about the initiative and why a rapidly changing workplace demands new skills from emerging and early-career CPAs. He discussed how automation, AI, and offshoring are reshaping entry-level work — and how research is informing the initiative. Listeners will learn how to get involved, what’s planned for ENGAGE, and how the effort benefits both early-career professionals and experienced CPAs. What you’ll learn from...
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Lessons in internal control lapses from major fraud cases
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
Tammy Thomas, CPA/CFF, CGMA, is a co-author of the most recent FVS Eye on Fraud report, focused on the importance of . In this episode, Thomas breaks down how failures in segregation of duties allowed two major embezzlement schemes to persist for years. She explains how small control gaps and role consolidation can quietly erode an organization’s defenses. Thomas also outlines how deadline pressure and resource constraints can unintentionally weaken internal control environments. Also, hear the previous , about the role of company culture, from July 2025. What you’ll learn from this...
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Differentiating agentic and generative AI — and more with a Tech Q&A author
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
In this episode, Wesley Hartman, co‑author of the Journal of Accountancy’s Technology Q&A column, discusses how AI is reshaping work for accounting firms. He explains the difference between generative and agentic AI and why both matter for firm workflows. Hartman also outlines the most pressing AI risks for CPAs, including hallucinations and emerging deepfake‑driven scams, which . He closes the conversation with practical guidance for adopting AI tools methodically while avoiding common pitfalls. Also, here are a few Technology Q&A columns related to the discussion: “,”...
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Why stablecoin controls create a solid foundation in an evolving environment
Journal of Accountancy Podcast
A new episode of the JofA podcast breaks down the AICPA’s updated criteria for stablecoin controls, explaining what issuers and practitioners need to know as regulatory expectations evolve. This episode explores how revised AICPA stablecoin criteria support more consistent reporting, disclosure, and control assessments across a rapidly developing digital asset landscape. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why the AICPA developed updated criteria for stablecoin controls and how they complement existing presentation and disclosure criteria. How the criteria help issuers and auditors...
info_outline“Maybe I never will change the whole world. But every day, I can change my world.”
Those are the words of profession leader Lindsay Stevenson, CPA, CGMA. She’s back on the JofA podcast, this time in person from her house in South Dakota. Stevenson discussed technology adoption, how her firm approaches remote work, and why keeping a journal at least for part of the year is important to her.
Stevenson, chief transformation officer at the firm BPM, also addressed how she views fear as it relates to career moves — and how she thought about that differently in a 2019 conversation.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
- The reason her firm has geographical regions and a virtual region.
- Why unplugging is difficult but necessary for Stevenson.
- Why she likes an at-home vacation more than a big trip.
- Her approach to overcoming fear and how that approach has changed in the past six years.
- AI: its danger, its potential, and how she is using it.
- The gratitude-based journaling practice she recommends.