AICPA Insights

Why Social Media Participation Can Be Good for CPAs

2012-02-22T07:00:00-05:00

CPAs may justifiably be wary of sharing personal and professional information on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. After all, many CPAs spend their days verifying facts in the form of numbers – and adding “notes” in financial statements when there is any question of the veracity of those facts. How then could these same CPAs be comfortable tweeting about the newest changes in the LIFO accounting procedures or writing a blog post on whether book authors should deduct their home office on their income tax returns?

Welcome to the brand new world of online relationship building, where being willing to “put yourself out there” on social media can help you connect with current and prospective clients.

First, a word of caution. You must use good sense on social media sites – the same good sense you would use at a live town meeting or reception. You would not say anything harmful to others or anything that could come back to bite you.

This means that no matter what the social media site’s stated privacy controls are, you will act online as if everything you tweet or post – and we mean everything – is available to be seen by everyone. As we tell our own clients, everything you say could be on the front page of the New York Times tomorrow.

Now that we have provided the warning, let’s look at the benefits as well as what you are losing out on if other CPAs are participating and you are not.

We’ll do this by taking an imaginary scenario:

Charles is looking for a new CPA to do the accounting for his business. His friend Emily provides him with the names of three CPAs.

Charles is active on LinkedIn, so he naturally goes online to check out the three names. He can’t find the first person, the second person has no headshot and just the minimum listing, while the third person has a robust LinkedIn profile.

This robust profile includes recommendations from the CPA’s clients – recommendations that mention specific things that the CPA has done for her clients. Which person is Charles most likely to contact?

While different personalities gravitate to different social media sites, for CPAs LinkedIn is very important because it is designed as a professional social media site. (Note that, while there is a paid version of LinkedIn membership, we are talking only about the free membership.)

Learning to be effective on LinkedIn is not a one-time effort. You start by filling out your LinkedIn profile as completely as possible. We highly recommend you include a good headshot of yourself and choose the option of displaying your whole name rather than only your first name and the first initial of your last name.

The next step is to join LinkedIn groups that connect with your practice and/or your interests. These may be local groups,specialty accounting groups,alumni groups or volunteer project groups. If possible, participate in group discussions, adding insightful comments that demonstrate accounting knowledge where appropriate. You can also start your own group.

Search for people you know who are already on LinkedIn and send invite requests. At the same time, you can request recommendations from people on LinkedIn whom you think will give you a good recommendation. Of course, provide recommendations for those people on LinkedIn you know and can recommend. You want to demonstrate that you are an active LinkedIn community member.

Over time, as you participate, pay attention to what others have on their LinkedIn profiles. Then emulate the best of what you see.

And when you are comfortable in this new world of online relationship building via LinkedIn, you can venture out to the next frontier – Twitter or YouTube or Facebook – as long as you practice the golden rule: Do unto others what you would like done unto you.

AICPA members interested in learning more about getting started on social media can check out the Social Media User Guides located in the CPA Marketing Toolkit.

Mitchell R. Miller, Attorney at Law, and Phyllis Zimbler Miller, co-founder, Miller Mosaic LLC. Mitchell is a member of the AICPA and a tax lawyer in Beverly Hills, CA. His wife, Phyllis, is a marketing consultant and founded the Book Marketing group on LinkedIn.

Proposed SOX 404(b) Changes Could Add to Investors’ Risks

2012-02-21T07:00:00-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

There has been quite a bit of legislative and regulatory activity over the past few months regarding Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404(b), which requires public companies to have an independent auditor attest to management’s assertions on internal controls over financial reporting. I want to bring you up to date on recent developments and the AICPA’s position on the issue.

Currently, an exemption exists for issuers with a public float of less than $75 million, a provision enacted as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. These smaller issuers were never required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to comply with Section 404(b) since enactment of SOX. However, legislative, regulatory, business and economic influences are combining to apply pressure to extend the exemption to larger public companies, believing it would reduce reporting burdens and spur job growth. The AICPA has consistently urged implementation of Section 404(b) for all publicly held companies. It has led to improved financial reporting and greater transparency, and the AICPA believes all investors in public companies should have equal benefit of the same protections.

In September and November of 2011, the Center for Audit Quality, which is affiliated with the AICPA, joined with investor organizations including the Council of Institutional Investors and the CFA Institute, on letters to the House Financial Services Committee expressing concerns over exemptions from 404(b) and opposing the weakening of investor protections. It’s worth noting that in April 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Chief Accountant released a congressionally mandated study of Section 404(b) which found that compliance costs have declined and financial reporting is more reliable when the auditor is involved with internal control over financial reporting assessments.

Still, in January the White House sent to Congress a set of proposals that includes creation of an “IPO on-ramp” for small, young companies. Again, a level of exemption from 404(b) is among the recommendations. So there is White House support for expanding exemptions from 404(b).

On Feb. 16, the House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 3606, the “Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act,” by a vote of 54-1. Like its companion bill in the Senate (S. 1933), H.R. 3606 would:

Establish a new category of public companies, to be called “emerging growth companies,” for those with less than $1 billion in annual revenues at the time they register with the SEC and less than $700 million in market capitalization after their IPOs.
Create a transitional “on-ramp” status for emerging growth companies to encourage them to go public. The transition period would last as many as five years, or until a company reached $1 billion in annual revenue or $700 million in market capitalization.
Exempt emerging growth companies from Section 404(b), among other regulations, during the transition period.

An amendment was offered during the bill’s markup. It would permanently exempt from Section 404(b) all companies with public floats of less than $1 billion. The amendment was withdrawn after the committee chairman promised it will be considered later this year.

I encourage you to keep an eye on these legislative measures. The AICPA will continue to serve as a resource to Congress and advocate for strong investor protections. I’m interested in hearing what you think of this important issue.

Barry C. Melancon, CPA, President and CEO, American Institute of CPAs.

The Watchful CPA: Risks of Theft and Fraud

2012-02-20T07:00:00-05:00

Audit claims alleging failure to detect theft and fraud are not new. However, their frequency and severity are increasing dramatically. Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of audit claims alleging failure to detect fraud and theft more than doubled, from 30 percent to nearly two-thirds of all audit claims. Equally alarming, many claims arising from tax, bookkeeping, compilation and review engagements now include similar allegations. By 2010, among all claims alleging failure to detect theft and fraud, 24 percent emanated from tax services, 17 percent from compilation and review services, 11 percent from accounting and other services, and 4 percent from investment advisory services. The remaining claims involved audits.

Fraud and theft can exist in many forms such as Ponzi schemes intended for personal enrichment or to cover up mismanagement. The integrity, or “tone at the top” demonstrated by senior management within a company can serve as an indicator of the likelihood that management would commit fraudulent financial reporting and also an indicator of heightened risk of theft or fraud by employees. Incentives to engage in theft and fraud are heightened during an economic downturn. Employees may feel pressured to engage in fraud to mask substandard financial results, or engage in theft due to personal financial struggles. Employees who believe their jobs will be eliminated or that the business will fail may also be motivated to engage in theft schemes.

Fraud schemes are more likely to be present in entities lacking a robust internal-control environment, such as a lack of segregation of duties. Poor segregation of duties within processes (i.e., accounts payable, accounts receivables, cash, payroll processing, etc.) provides opportunities for employees to perpetrate fraud. A lack of segregation of duties also may arise when a company has an insufficient number of employees. For example, the opportunity to steal cash and conceal the theft increases if a company does not have separate employees handling cash receipts, preparing deposits and performing bank account reconciliations. Similarly, poor controls over inventory, including company equipment, may be circumvented by employees, leading to possible abuses.

While auditors are well aware of their responsibilities with respect to consideration of fraud and illegal acts in connection with an audit engagement, professional liability claims alleging failure to detect theft or fraud can arise in any type of engagement. It is critical to consider how to best manage the related risks and to exercise professional skepticism in all types of engagements.

This article is a sample risk alert which is an added benefit to policyholders of the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program. The program offers policyholders access to variety of tools that educate CPAs on the risks associated with the practice of public accountancy. If you are not an AICPA professional liability policyholder, apply today and gain exclusive access to valuable risk control resources. If you are already a policyholder, access the full version of the article providing an illustration of common scenarios leading to allegations against CPAs and key risk control techniques to adopt in order to reduce risk of facing similar allegations.

Amy Waldron, CPA, MAIS, Risk Control Consulting Director, CNA. Amy offers risk control training for CPAs in public practice. Prior to joining CNA, she worked at a national CPA firm, gaining extensive knowledge of audit and attestation services. She is a licensed CPA in Illinois and is a member of the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and its MAIS program.

In the News: Tips for Choosing a Tax Preparer from the AICPA

2012-02-17T10:18:59-05:00

Each year the news media seems to begin their coverage of tax season a little earlier than the year before. The Media Relations team at the AICPA works year-round to educate reporters and provide accurate and actionable information for filers. This helps ensure that during tax season the public understands the value of a CPA as a tax preparer who can help them navigate the complicated and constantly changing IRS rules. With two months until the deadline to file most 2011 returns, I present to you, dear readers, some recent articles quoting AICPA staff and volunteer leadership on tax season issues.

Eileen Connelly of the Associated Press spoke to Melissa Labant, CPA of the AICPA’s Tax team for an article on how filers can find a tax preparer who they can trust. Labant suggests that, if you're expecting to claim a lot of business-related expenses, ask colleagues from work or professional organizations if they know a CPA who focuses on your industry. And along the same lines, if you own a small business, it’s crucial to ensure that the CPA has experience with small businesses. If they’ve worked with small businesses in your industry, that’s even better.

Melissa Labant was also quoted in an article in the Virginian Pilot offering more tips on finding a tax preparer, as well as some red flags which may indicate you should avoid a particular preparer. Labant says that all paid tax preparers must have a Preparer Tax Identification Number and that you should ask for their number. “If they give you a look like they don't know what you're talking about, that's a red flag," Labant said. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about what fees you will be charged and the process for receiving refunds. Avoid preparers who charge fees based on a percentage of your refund or who promise bigger refunds than their competitors. According to Labant, if a preparer doesn't ask for a copy of your previous year’s return or completes your return without providing you a copy that should raise a red flag. The article stressed that it’s also important to make sure you can contact your preparer even after April, in case questions come up, or if you’re audited by the IRS.

Annette Nellen, CPA of the AICPA Individual Taxation Technical Resource Panel, spoke to Credicards.com about people who qualify for an exemption to avoid paying taxes on forgiven credit card debt and don't take advantage of it, simply because the IRS tax forms and publications can be difficult to understand. While insolvency is one of the key avenues for avoiding paying taxes on canceled credit card debt, studies show the low-income families most likely to meet the insolvency criteria, don't take the exemption. "There are some people who are so far in debt and they don't have a lot of assets," says Nellen. "They don't have a house. They don't own a car. For them, it's pretty clear that they are insolvent.” While high levels of debt may cause people to be focus on issues other than taxes, making sure you take all the exemptions you qualify for is one way to lower your tax burden.

Do you have any tips for selecting the CPA best suited to filing your personal or business return? Or want to highlight some little known deductions or exemptions that could save tax payers some money? If so, let me know in the comment section.

James Schiavone, AICPA Staff. In his role on the AICPA’ s Media Relations team, James scours the news for articles relevant to the accounting profession and the finance industry. From the front page of the New York Times to obscure blogs in the back corners of the Internet, James finds the news CPAs need to know and shares it through the @AICPANews Twitter account.

February is Black History Month

2012-02-15T09:17:41-05:00

Each year during February, children across the U.S. are taught that there was a time, in our not so distant past, when whole populations of Americans were excluded from enjoying basic human rights because of the color of their skin. Last year, three CPA Legends, Nathan Garrett, Sr., Aurora Rubin and Jim White were asked to speak about their life experiences as CPAs and the challenges, triumphs and changes that have occurred in accounting. What is their common experience? They were among very few CPAs of color at the time they entered the profession.

Nathan Garrett

Aurora Rubin

Jim White

Over the past forty years, the CPA profession has made tremendous progress toward increasing its inclusivity. But there is still more work to do to ensure that accounting reflects the diverse cultures, abilities, orientations and backgrounds of the clients and businesses we serve.

You can learn more about inclusivity and how to make it a part of your organization’s culture through this free AICPA webcast, scheduled for 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 29. Heidi Brundage, CPA, SPHR, will define and provide examples of inclusivity in the work environment, the factors and advantages that support the need for diversity and inclusivity, the issues behind a lack of diversity in accounting and where to locate resources to enhance leadership skills.

With pioneers such as Nathan Garrett, Sr., Aurora Rubin and Jim White having led the charge, we are further opening the profession to include CPAs from all walks of life, making the profession stronger, more attractive to students and young professionals, and ensuring CPAs are at the forefront of supporting businesses all over the globe.

Ostine Swan, CPA, Senior Manager - Diversity Relationships & Initiatives, American Institute of CPAs. Ostine is responsible for driving the AICPA’s Diversity Initiatives by providing guidance and direction for implementing decisions of the Minority Initiatives Committee.

Use Video to Showcase Your Firm’s Personality

2012-02-13T08:08:40-05:00

Lights. Camera. Snooze.

Video is a great medium for firms to educate and inform staff, clients and potential employees. But sometimes the content can be a little mundane. Why not take those formal interviews and how-to series to the next level?

Pull back the curtain and let people know what you are really like.

Put a face to your firm. What are your employees passionate about? Is volunteerism important to you? Showcase your staff or fellow CPAs giving back to the community, like the Virginia Society of CPAs and the Illinois CPA Society did in their CPA Day of Service videos.

Spice up a common topic. You can use humor or alternate visuals to liven up a popular topic. This video from This Way to CPA about interview tips is both fun to watch and informative.

Not afraid to let your hair down? Check out this WithimSmith+Brown video. After their lip-dub hit last year, they followed up with a New York City flash mob that makes you want to jump up and dance along in your cubicle.

Make a complex topic more accessible. This series of tax tip videos from the 360 Degrees of Taxes website turns complex tax information into engaging, easy-to-understand tips.

Do you or your firm have a creative or fun use of video? Share the link below and I may include it in a future blog post!

Stacie Saunders, Strategist, Social Media and Member Engagement, American Institute of CPAs.

Five Ways to Lose Your Best Clients

2012-02-10T07:00:00-05:00

There are 29 million private businesses in this country, and every one of them needs their CPA like never before. Today’s complexities and post-recession external forces have made even the simplest business decisions difficult. As practicing CPAs, we face the very difficult dilemma of getting all the calendar year financial statements and tax returns out in a timely manner or seizing the time to capitalize on the opportunity to get deeper with clients and provide the value they seek from us. We all know what we should be doing, but the pressures of the busy season always seem to override them.

For decades practice management surveys consistently revealed that the main reason clients leave their CPA is a perceived indifference on the part of the CPA/CPA firm. CPAs care passionately about their clients. So what is it that we do to give our clients the feeling that we don’t?

Here is my list of the five ways that CPAs’ actions during busy season unintentionally convey indifference or not caring – even to your best clients.

Losing sight of the 80/20 rule. Generally 80 percent of a firm’s income comes from 20 percent of its clients (and most often the firm’s highest quality clients). Said another way, 80 percent of a CPA’s time generates only 20 percent of the firm’s income – thus making the case for reexamining your client list, firm size and personal time priorities. Quality of clients versus quantity of clients.
Lack of initiating personal contact. This shows up to clients in many ways. Many CPAs get into the trap of merely mailing clients year-end financial statements without an in-person review of the year-end results, looking at what trends the numbers indicate and a solid discussion of what is keeping the client awake at night. How many times have you heard a prospective client say, “I only hear from my CPA once a year.” So many of us let the due date list drive client contact rather than initiating it regularly and just “checking in” throughout the year.
Focusing on the work and not on the client. Busy season is when client intimacy is at its highest. A client’s entire financial picture unfolds before us with their tax return data – from their business through to their personal finances. As CPAs, we have a sixth sense when it comes to spotting a client planning opportunity, a need or an issue. It’s easy to fall into the trap of telling oneself, “I will revisit that after the busy season when the work is done,” only to lose track of what it was and even recalling which client it was.
Inaccessibility. This is not just about screening client calls, being slow to return calls or emails left unanswered. It’s very much about the staff that is getting the work done, has burning questions and needs help with key decisions to finish the work. Clients see this as their financial statements, tax returns and year-end adjustments taking far too long to complete. Clients are truly impressed by rapid turnaround, and it reinforces their importance to the firm.
Slow billing. Who would ever think clients are in a hurry to pay our bills? It’s true that many are not coming out of the recession, but very late billing sends the message that the firm really doesn’t need the money, thus the client’s business. No one wants to be thought of as a small fish in a big pond. Clients may not pay right away. However, they want to know what they owe to prevent ugly surprises far after the work has been done when the bill does arrive.

At the end of day, it’s about culture and leadership. The firm’s staff will emulate the client service habits of its leaders. What behaviors is your staff emulating?

James C. Metzler, CPA, Vice President – Small Firm Interests, American Institute of CPAs.

What’s Hot These Days in AICPA Tax Advocacy?

2012-02-08T07:00:00-05:00

While you are working late preparing tax returns, the AICPA is also keeping busy, evaluating proposed regulations and interpretations of current law that could affect your practice. What are some of the hot topics on our advocacy to-do list?

Let’s start with information reporting. Businesses that accept credit or debit cards are starting to receive the new Form 1099-K from their merchant card processing company that reports the gross amount they received during the prior year. The form was created to ensure that businesses report their credit and debit card income, especially from online sales. (The IRS just posted more information on its website about the requirements.)

In 2012, businesses will need to reconcile the 1099-K amount with their own records in order to properly report merchant card and third-party payments separately from other sales. Some of our members have expressed concerns about the new reconciliation rule as many factors could make this a huge administrative challenge. We are studying this issue and will make sure our members’ concerns are heard once we have completed developing a formal position.

Foreign asset reporting is also a critical issue for many taxpayers. One part of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) now requires some individuals to report foreign accounts and assets totaling over $50,000. FATCA is much broader than the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Reporting) and may apply to individuals who are exempt from FBAR. For example, FATCA requires taxpayers to disclose investments in entities such as foreign hedge funds and private equity funds, but FBAR does not. Through its advocacy, the AICPA succeeded in obtaining extensions and influencing guidance; significant concerns about both requirements remain, however. We are currently drafting comments on the draft instructions for filing under FATCA, FBAR definitions, and related issues.

Transaction reporting is also on the list. (As you probably noticed by now, reporting is a growing area of concern.) For 2012, if your corporation engages in an “organizational action” (e.g., mergers, payments of stock dividend to shareholders, or stock splits) that affects the basis of the stock owned by the shareholders, the business must disclose this information by either: (1) posting this information online or (2) filing a Form 8937. We have received many questions about the scope of reporting, especially the types of corporate transactions that constitute “organizational actions” so we will be asking the IRS to publish lists of specific common organizational actions that require reporting.

Finally, the IRS and Treasury Department announced they are studying the tax consequences of transfers by a trustee from one irrevocable trust to another (known as “decanting”). They are asking the public to suggest a definition for decanting and to comment on the tax consequences of such transfers in the context of domestic trusts, the domestication of foreign trusts, and transfers to foreign trusts. As we anticipate guidance, the AICPA is forming a task force to develop comments.

However, this is by no means a complete list of everything (check out our homepage for other hot advocacy topics). In addition to a whole slew of regulatory and administrative advocacy items, we are monitoring congressional action on any major tax bills. Also, the President’s budget will have many tax provisions that could affect individual taxpayers and businesses of all sizes. The AICPA Tax Division will closely review the budget to determine our next advocacy steps, if any.

Melissa M. Labant, JD, CPA/PFS, CFP, Director - Tax Advocacy and Professional Standards, American Institute of CPAs. Melissa assists in the development and implementation of the AICPA’s tax advocacy strategy which centers on the review, formulation and submission to Congress, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service of technical and policy recommendations. Melissa obtained her law degree and B.S. in Business Administration (with an emphasis in accounting) from St. Louis University.

In the News: Accounting Graduates Earn 20% More than Average

2012-02-03T08:45:36-05:00

The National Association of Colleges and Employers recently released the findings of their latest Job Outlook survey, which contained good news for current accounting students as well as recent accounting graduates. According to the survey, accounting majors who graduated in 2011 earned an average starting salary of $50,500, up 3.7 percent from the previous year and roughly 20 percent more than the average starting salary of all graduates. This increase isn’t an anomaly, according to Andrea Koncz of NACE, who told FINS.com that "entry-level accounting and finance jobs tend to see steady growth from year to year."

Happy belated Groundhog Day. Happy belated Groundhog Day. Happy – sorry about that. Dave Carpenter of the Associated Press spoke with Kelley Long, a member of AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, for an article about financial mistakes retirees make over and over again, deftly tying it to the (classic?) Bill Murray movie. Long advises clients not to be too charitable in retirement – particularly if it means they are putting their own financial future at risk. Some seniors are overly concerned with helping their children or grandchildren cover the costs of college or their first home when they should instead be focused on their own retirement. Long says retirees need to understand how much they can safely spend from their savings each year and not go over that amount.

Deanna White of AccountingWEB reports that, on January 18, the AICPA announced a new initiative called Project Innovation: Start Here, Go Places Competition of Creative Excellence. The competition is a unique opportunity that will allow high school students and their teachers the chance to "crank out their genius" to make the website an even more helpful destination for students who want to explore the possibilities of a career in accounting. "When we wanted to add a new feature to the website, we thought who could do this better than the high school kids themselves," said Heather Bunning, Senior Manager – High School & Community College Initiatives for the AICPA. "We want to make sure students are getting the information that's right for their generation. The website works best if it's a two-way exchange of ideas."

The competition deadline is February 6, 2012 (hurry!).

Teams can find out more information and submit their proposals on the Start Here, Go Places website.

The top ten ideas will be posted to the Start Here, Go Places website for public voting from March 1 through March 12, with winners being announced on April 2.

James Schiavone, AICPA Staff. In his role on the AICPA’ s Media Relations team, James scours the news for articles relevant to the accounting profession and the finance industry. From the front page of the New York Times to obscure blogs in the back corners of the Internet, James finds the news CPAs need to know and shares it through the @AICPANews Twitter account.

Majority Think it Is Harder to Get Ahead Economically

2012-02-01T07:00:00-05:00

Polls in CPA Letter Daily offer an insight to our readers’ opinions about topics taking place in today’s world.

On Jan. 24, CPA Letter Daily published the survey results from The Hill Poll: Most voters say path to economic top is steeper. We decided to ask our readers to weigh in too. More than 2,500 readers responded: What do you think? Is it harder or easier to move from one economic class to another than it used to be?

Much harder – 57.01%
Somewhat harder – 25.89%
Stayed about the same – 8.86%
Somewhat easier – 3.75%
Much easier – 2.38%
Not sure – 2.11%

For comparison, here are the results from The Hill:

Much harder – 33%
Somewhat harder – 33%
Somewhat easier – 14%
Stayed about the same – 7%
Much easier – 7%
Not sure – 6%

66% of The Hill’s respondents thought it was at least somewhat harder now to move from one economic class to another. A resounding 83% of CPA Letter Daily’s readers agreed.

Sorry, Economic Mobility Has Stayed About the Same

While it may seem like it’s harder, according to data from Pew’s Economic Mobility Project (May 2008), we may not be right. Relative economic mobility in the U.S. has remained stagnant for more than 20 years. There hasn’t been a significant increase or decrease in the rate of economic mobility. The project measured a group’s economic class from 1984 to 1994 and again from 1994 to 2004. Of those in the lowest economic bracket, more than half were likely to still be in the same class 10 years later. Of those who were able to move up, 10% moved to the middle, 7% to the upper-middle and only 4% reached the top economic class.

However, a more recent Pew study (Sept. 2011) found that a third of children raised middle class are now in a lower economic class as adults. Pew compared a person’s economic status in 1979 to the mid-2000s to see if they had changed classes. They defined the middle class in the 1979 study as having an income of $33,000 to $64,000, while the middle class delineation in the mid-2000s was $54,000 and $111,000. Almost one-third of those studied had dropped to lower class in the mid-2000s.

Maybe the next iteration of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project (2004-2014) will reflect our expected decrease in economic mobility.

How do we Ensure Upward Economic Mobility?

There are a lot of ideas about how the U.S. can ensure more people have the ability to move up through the economic classes. And much like ideas on how to spur the economy, there is no one single right answer. But here are some general consensus ideas:

Education. Providing access to postsecondary education can be a huge factor in upward mobility. Whether it’s a community college, four-year university or specialized technical training, education is a great pathway to increasing the opportunity for upward economic mobility. Scholarships, like those provided by the AICPA, state CPA societies and other organizations are a great way to ensure everyone has the chance to get a quality education.

Financial Literacy. Educating your children about proper money management probably isn’t going to be the key factor that makes that leap from middle-class to upper middle-class, but it certainly would contribute. Learning how to handle investment decisions, debt and money in general is critical to ensuring that your children will at least be as well off as you, if not better. 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy has some great resources to help people prepare for all stages of financial life.

Entrepreneurship. We’ve heard a lot about the impact that small business owners have on the economy already in this election cycle. What’s more important, though, is creating additional opportunities for entrepreneurs to start businesses. This creates opportunities for others as well, through the creation of new jobs and new clients for other small businesses. Programs like the AICPA’s Veteran Fast Launch Initiative provide the opportunity for many to successfully transition from one role to another and encourage entrepreneurship.

What are some other strategies you think the U.S. should be doing to ensure upward economic mobility?