AT Think

UHY Advisors NY announced on Tuesday that it will commemorate its 50th anniversary by donating $50,000 to the New York chapters of national nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting disease and improving the lives of children.

On Thursday, KPMG LLP announced that it will donate 100,000 new books and – in conjunction with Campbell Soup Company – more than 150,000 cans of soup this holiday season to organizations affiliated with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), in addition to various food banks and organizations that serve the homeless.

Dixon Hughes Goodman, with firm headquarters located in Charlotte, N.C., recently donated $50,000 in support of the American Red Cross "Ready 365" campaign in Western North Carolina, according to GoUpstate.com.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFB Board) announced on Wednesday the formation of the Women's Initiative (WIN) Council - a group of experts supporting and advising CFP Board in its efforts to increase the overall number of women entering the financial planning profession, including women CFP® professionals.

Last month, from Nov. 17-19, the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) held the 2014 VSCPA Leadership Academy for young professionals at the CPA Center in Glen Allen, Va. The annual program is designed for young professionals to find out what leadership looks like in today’s accounting world.

With the holidays upon us, many firms and businesses are feeling charitable and giving what they can in the spirit of the season. One such organization, Legacy Professionals LLP, has implemented "Wear-It-Wednesdays" this year, in which staff can pay $5 each to wear jeans to the office, with collected donations put into the “Employees of Legacy Making a Difference Fund.” The money is then put towards local organizations nominated by Legacy's staff.

Global Upside released their holiday card this past week, featuring worldwide staff of the global services company taking part in the holiday favorite, "Let It Snow."

On Monday, the American Women's Society of Certified Public Accountants (AWSCPA) of Georgia announced their Legacies, Leaders & Luminaries Celebration Dinner to be held on January 8, 2015 at the National Center for Civil & Human Rights. The AWSCPA will honor Johnnie L. Clark, CPA, MBA, Ph.D. and other rising stars in the profession.

The AICPA issued a concept paper on Monday concerning the future of peer review, seeking input on the CPA profession’s practice monitoring of the future. The paper, “Evolving the CPA Profession’s Peer Review Program for the Future,” explains how the current peer review program for firms’ accounting and auditing engagements could be changed into a technology-driven, quasi-real time practice monitoring process.

Earlier this month, CPA.com released their CPA of the Future Study at the Digital CPA Conference. The Study is designed to measure CPA firms’ ‘future readiness,’ a concept developed by futurist and business advisor Dr. James Canton, CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, which conducted the research for CPA.com. "Future readiness" was defined as, “the capacity to be aware, predictive, and adaptive of emerging challenges, tech innovations, and trends and changes in business, population and social environment,” according to Dr. Canton.