By the numbers: VSCPA in review

We may be 114 years old, but the VSCPA continues to celebrate new accomplishments and exciting developments. Here’s a taste of our 2022–2023 fiscal year, which ended May 30. Check out all of our activities at vscpa.com/vscpa-in-review.

613: The record number of VoterVoice messages you sent to legislators on rolling income tax conformity, helping us make this multi-year advocacy campaign a reality.

147%: The increase in applicants for our Educational Foundation minority scholarships.

13,000: The approximate number of VSCPA members.

28: The number of scholarships given to deserving accounting students (of whom 61% are minorities).

9: The number of different ethics courses offered, from diversity to ripped-from-the-headlines.

34: The number of pages of our members-only VSCPA Recruitment Guide, designed to offer you capacity solutions.

Blasting boundaries at work

The professional landscape is changing — and there are new fundamentals in the working world, according to Deloitte.
With Generation Z demanding remote work and quitters quietly walking around offices, Deloitte’s 2023 Global Human Capital Trends report recommends accepting the change and acknowledging we’re living in a boundaryless world. According to Deloitte, key shifts need to happen for organizations to consider themselves boundaryless. Jobs need to be viewed as skills, employees as workforce ecosystems, and productivity as human performance.

Three fundamental changes organizations must make to exist in a boundaryless world include:

Thinking like a researcher: Organizations and workers must look at each decision as an experiment that will expedite and generate new insights.
Cocreating relationships: Companies and their employees should collaborate on creating new rules, boundaries, and a new relationship.
Prioritizing human outcomes: Organizations should create impact for broader society in addition to their business, workers, and/or shareholders.

This sounds well and good, but where should businesses start? Begin with the resources from Deloitte in their capital trends report at deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends.html.

CYBERWARNING>>

Companies need shields up!

A full 94% of organizations experienced a cyberattack of some form in the past year, according to “The State of Cybersecurity 2023” from Sophos. Results from 3,000 respondents from 14 countries discovered:

57% oIT professionals lose sleep worrying about the organization being hit by a cyberattack.
93% find executing essential security operations challenges.
Security tool misconfiguration is the top perceived security risk in 2023.
The top perceived threat, with 41%, is data exfiltration — theft by an external hacker.

So, what should you do to prevent these threats? The report recommends a “shields up” analogy for how you operate. Use “shields” or content-adversaried technologies to protect your company from any imminent threat. Remember to optimize prevention, reduce risk exposure and disrupt adversaries. Find the full report at tinyurl.com/SophosCybersecurity2023.

What’s that mean? >>

GREAT RESHUFFLE

Is the “Great Resignation” over? Call it a reshuffling instead, says a new study from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and PwC. Almost 25% of respondents to “Finance and the Great Reshuffle” survey said that they were planning to change their jobs within the next year.
Although their desire to change is related to a yearning to grow as well as financial disappointments, those aren’t the only reasons for jumping ship. A lack of meaning, empowerment, or upskilling opportunities are also factors. In fact, 39% of respondents said they experienced feelings of burnout, and 20% said their work didn’t feel meaningful.
Check out the full report at aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/greatreshuffle-cee.

Virginia is for accountants

We know Virginia is a great state for accounting, and now we have proof! Virginia is the seventh best state to pursue a career in accounting and finance, according to Tipalti’s finance career index. States are scored by the average ranking of its schools with finance and accounting programs, locations with the most job opportunities, and salaries.
New York comes in at No. 1, and the rest of the top 10 are: Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia and Connecticut.

A Millennial tidal wave is coming

In 2008, we had the Great Recession. In 2025, we’re going to have the Great Tsunami. Is your company prepared?
In 2025, roughly 75% of the workforce will be made up of the Millennial generation as Baby Boomers continue to retire and Gen Xers also begin retirement. The remaining 25%, a mix of Boomers and Gens X and Z, means that organizations must figure out ways to appeal to a variety of different employees’ needs and wants.

Ticker

62
Percent of companies planning to disclose pay rate information.
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760
Number of enforcement actions filed by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2022.
$6.4 BILLION
The record amount of SEC-assessed penalties in 2022.
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1
Virginia’s rank among best states for retirement.
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43
Percent of audit executives concerned about their company’s ability to recruit qualified talent with technical skills to power AI and machine learning.
37
Percent of audit executives concerned about their ability to upskill and train internal audit staff.
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$8.1 MILLION
Amount allocated to 17 GO Virginia grant recipient projects around the state intended to spur economic growth and workforce development.
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62
Percentage of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck.

70
Percentage of U.S. adults who are stressed about their finances.