A look back at the MNCPA’s MBAC22
| August/September 2022 Footnote
The MNCPA’s premier event for CFOs, financial leaders, internal auditors and business advisers was back this year in a new format and new venue.
More than 600 professionals from Minnesota and beyond attended the MNCPA’s Management & Business Advisers Conference (MBAC) June 13–15. The hybrid event kicked off in person at Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake with a livestreaming option — a notable change after more than 20 years at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The following two days were virtual.
The conference offered more than 50 sessions covering accounting and management updates, technology, personal development and much more. Attendees were also able to meet with exhibitors, connect with their peers, win giveaways and attend an evening happy hour on the first day.
The following are highlights from just a few of the sessions.
Embrace the shake: Transforming limitations into opportunities
In the spirit of this year’s conference theme —No Limits — artist and opening keynote speaker Phil Hansen shared how his artistic journey nearly came to an end when a tremor developed in his drawing hand. In exploring new ways to create art, Hansen discovered that by embracing his shake, limitations could become the passageway to creativity.
“For me, looking at limitations as a place for creativity completely changed the course of my life. Now when I run into a barrier … I just keep looking for all possibilities, looking for what’s out there because you never know — especially in my art — what odd material I might find to create with,” he said.
Now Hansen creates art out of an array of materials that must be seen to be believed, from a portrait of Edgar Allan Poe made from earthworms to a collage of popular 1980s toys made from a cassette tape.
During the interactive event, attendees got their creativity flowing, drawing pictures that Hansen turned into a larger one-of-a-kind art piece. He encouraged them to explore a new mental framework, recognize their limitations, and focus on ways to overcome setbacks through actions — rather than looking for external solutions.
Nexus and tax implications of employees in multiple states
For years, remote workers have been complicating state tax compliance for companies.
Some speculated that the 2018 Wayfair decision — requiring companies to file under economic nexus standards rather than physical presence nexus — would result in less complexity surrounding remote workers, but the pandemic has had a profound impact on the ways in which we work. As a result, remote workforce issues are as present as ever.
Masha Yevzelman, JD with Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. in Minneapolis presented on the nexus and tax implications of employees in multiple states and highlighted the state tax challenges that arise when workers are remote.
The hodgepodge of factors and state laws have made it nearly impossible for employers to fully comply with tax obligations, Yevzelman said. It has also greatly increased administrative burden and the risk of double taxation.
“One of the big takeaways is that we desperately need uniformity in this country, because that patchwork that we started with is impossible,” she said.
However, there are some ways organizations can approach resolving remote worker challenges, including:
- Evaluate your current nexus and tax filing footprint: Where does the employer have employees now, and consider voluntary disclosures for past noncompliance.
- Develop a remote work policy.
- Consider the tax implications of allowing remote workers: withholding, sales and use tax, corporate income or franchise tax and apportionment, gross receipts tax, unemployment insurance and local wage taxes.
- Educate managers and employees regarding tax obligations.
- Track employees’ work locations through self-reporting, automated through GPS software or ISP tracking.
- Request employees update W-4, state reciprocity forms, etc.
- Consider nontax implications of allowing remote workers: costs of compliance, business continuity and other employment law requirements such as minimum wage.
Changing demographics of Minnesota and the impact on the workforce and economy
The next several years will bring big changes to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Susan Brower, Minnesota’s state demographer, detailed the state’s changing demographic patterns and discussed the trends in aging, racial and ethnic diversity, and population shifts within the state.
The 2020 census showed that Minnesota’s population grew to 5.7 million residents, a 7.6% increase from the 2010 census. Most of that growth occurred in the seven-county metro area due in large part to births out numbering deaths; the state has had a persistent domestic migration loss, and net international migration has not compensated for it.
The state is becoming more racially diverse. Currently, 76.3% of Minnesotans identify as white, whereas people who identify as a race other than white grew by 454,000, now making up 23.7% of the state’s population.
“We know that we will continue to get more diverse into the future with respect to our workplaces and with respect to our communities, just because of who is here now and who is having children,” Brower said.
She also examined how new demographic realities may impact Minnesota’s economy and future workforce needs. We’re in the middle of a 20-year period of baby boomer retirements, and we’re already feeling the impact of an aging population in our communities and workplaces.
“We don’t expect a whole lot more growth in our working age population into the foreseeable future,” she said. “And that’s in part due to the retirement of the baby boomers … But it also has to do with low birthrates that have been in place now for 15 or so years. They really are not keeping pace with what we’ve had in the past.”
Fortunately, Minnesota’s labor force participation continues to be very high, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. According to Brower, the reasons for unemployment are multifaceted, indicating that for some it’s associated with nearing retirement, enrolling fulltime in postsecondary school, having a disability or being a parent to a young child.
