Following NCACPA’s Annual Business Meeting and Focus on the Profession session, we were delighted by the influx of positive input received via the post-event survey. Along with this feedback, were several requests for NCACPA to elaborate on our advocacy initiatives, professional development plans, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the accounting profession. It’s likely that attendees of this event aren’t the only ones curious about this information. For that, we wanted to provide an update to our entire membership.
Read on for more detailed information regarding these efforts.
Advocacy
In addition to requests for more specified updates surrounding NCACPA’s advocacy work—which can be acquired through our Advocacy page, Connect Open Forum, and CPA Impact newsletter—the question was posed of how NCACPA determines which issues to advocate for. This process is multifaceted. To determine issues likely to have the greatest impact on the profession, we consider a wide variety of sources, including individual member phone calls/emails, Connect discussions, feedback from our Taxation Committee, our Board of Directors, and from our Advocacy Advisory Council—whose members meet with lobbyists to discern the feasibility of our intended efforts.
Professional Development Overview
Due to uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, we adjusted cancellation and transfer policies to be more accommodating during the 2020 CPE season. For in-person, webcast, and webinar programs, cancellation fees have been altered to incur when made less than one (instead of five) business days prior to the event. Additionally, transfers made in advance of a program will not result in additional fees. Registration fees for all online programs (on demand, webcast, and webinar) taking place between June 22, 2020–December 31, 2020, have been adjusted to match early bird fees for live programs (certain programs may be excluded).
In addition to safeguarding the health and safety of our event attendees, employees, and speakers, we remain committed to providing clear and timely communications leading up to and at our events. Should any changes occur that would prompt us to adjust an event you are registered for, we will immediately notify all impacted parties via email and post regular updates on our website.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Profession
NCACPA is partnering with 17 other state societies and Avenue M Group, an independent market research firm, to develop a series of surveys to understand the impact COVID-19 has on our industry. We received results from the first survey and are waiting to procure aggregated data to compare the responses from all 18 states. We will share this information with you once it becomes available.
Additionally, NCACPA created a COVID-19 Resource Center to serve as a knowledge and resource base for legislative updates; workplace guidance/professional resources; NCACPA advocacy, CPE, and event updates; learning opportunities; and more.
We greatly appreciate your attendance at the Annual Business Meeting/Focus on the Profession and your ongoing support of NCACPA. If you enjoyed this program, or if you were unable to attend, we recommend registering for future Focus on the Profession sessions.