AT Think

On Monday morning, Barry Melancon, president and CEO of the AICPA, gave his semi-annual Council report at the 2016 AICPA Spring Council in New Orleans. Melancon, himself a resident of Southern La., welcomed members and focused primarily on the concept of necessary change in the profession during today's "very, very, fast-paced time of change and evolution."

The Institute of Management Accountants has published a book featuring case studies on management accounting collected by editors of one of the IMA’s academic journals.

Registration for the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation (ACAT) exam - given to those wishing to obtain ACAT Accredited Business Accountant/Advisor (ABA), Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP), and Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA) credentials - is now open for registration, the Council announced on Friday. The Spring/Summer exam testing window for 2016 will be June 10-July 30, with a registration deadline of June 1, 2016.

The Department of Finance, Insurance, and Law at Illinois State University’s College of Business announced last week the launch of their Institute for Financial Planning and Analysis, with professor of finance Edgar Norton named the Institute's director.

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA), with contributions from Bowman & Company, announced this week that the recipient of the Lisa A. Donahue Scholarship was Sarah Donahue, daughter of the award's namesake.

The AICPA announced a series of webinars on cybersecurity this week, in partnership with Ridge Global, the risk management firm founded by Tom Ridge, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The three-part series, which starts on May 12th and extends through the summer, is designed to help CFOs, controllers, CPAs and management accountants gain more understanding and insight into emerging cybersecurity threats.

Avalara kicked off its Crush New Orleans conference in the Big Easy, discussing the latest trends in sales and use taxes, excise taxes, global tax compliance and technology.

Becker Professional Education announced on Monday the launch of a new document review simulation (DRS) as part of its CPA Exam Review. The task-based simulation, created by the AICPA, will notably begin appearing on select CPA Exams this year.

Now that public companies are required to use Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, in their financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC is trying to make sure the data is appropriate and not hiding accounting gimmicks.

BlumShapiro Consulting - a division of New England advisory firm BlumShapiro - announced on Monday their participation in Microsoft CityNext, a "partner-led initiative that empowers cities to be more sustainable, prosperous, and economically competitive with a simplified approach," per Microsoft's website.