President’s Letter

By Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO & Executive Director On Jan 6, 2021

With the COVID-19 pandemic on our minds and included in our planning for the new year, businesses in New Jersey are facing some tough choices. Some have furloughed employees, cancelled expansion plans or opted for a new way to distribute their products. Whatever the decisions, we at the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) understand the importance of those choices. Our members – 14,000 CPAs and accounting professionals – bring expertise to small and mid-sized businesses in the areas of tax, audit, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, CARES Act guidance, retirement and family-run businesses, to name a few.

We are pleased to bring you this special section on accounting and finance implications amid COVID-19. As businesses take advantage of every opportunity afforded to them on a federal, state and local level, they should also follow practical suggestions from CPAs on how to speed recovery for their businesses. Now more than ever, CPAs and accounting professionals are relied upon for guidance on loan applications, structuring and restructuring a business, understanding myriad changes to federal and state tax laws, and everything in between to help businesses keep their lights on.

In this section, we provide insight into the following:

• Accounting for PPP loans and what efficiencies can be had
• Financial reporting issues for small and mid-sized businesses in light of the pandemic
• What business owners need to know about New Jersey’s new pass-through business alternative income tax
• Critical internal controls during a pandemic

As we start 2021, we encourage business owners and managers to enlist the assistance of CPAs in all aspects of their business. The NJCPA has made great strides in assisting businesses in New Jersey by working together to make your voices and those of our members heard in Trenton, Washington, D.C. and around the Garden State. It is through these discussions that new legislation, such as the Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act, was signed into law.

The NJCPA is proud to be a member of organizations like the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, which encourages and nurtures the growth of businesses in the state.

Warmest regards,

Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO & Executive Director

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