Complexity and rapid rates of change — CPAs know both
Advocacy
Geno Fragnito, MNCPA director of government relations | October 2021 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated September 30, 2021
Complexity, rapid change, uncertainty about regulations — all things CPAs deal with every day as you provide guidance to the businesses you work for and the clients you represent. Likely, you’ve also been asked for guidance from family and friends who consider you the go-to expert on all things accounting.
Complexity, rapid change and uncertainty about regulations can also describe conversations and debate at the Minnesota Capitol. Legislators are often asked to comment or offer thoughts on a long list of topics they may have limited — or no — knowledge of or experience dealing with. Some of those topics include health and human services, education, environment, public safety and transportation. The list also includes a topic near and dear to every CPA: tax policy.
Minnesota’s budget for the next two years is more than $50 billion. If you look at the state as a business, $50 billion is a very large operation. For an operation with so many subdivisions, it’s impossible for one person to fully understand every agency, committee and board. Legislators can’t be subject-matter experts on all issues, and they often rely on state staff policy experts to help them make informed decisions. They also rely on industry subject-matter experts to help better understand how decisions could affect people and understand if there may be unintended consequences from a new law.
Little time, much to read
Legislators saw 5,225 bills introduced during the 2021 regular legislative session and almost 30% were related to subjects directly affecting the work of CPAs: 1,206 contained the word “tax,” 279 contained the word “audit” and 63 contained either “CPA” or “certified public accountant.”
The 31 bills signed into law addressed multiple topics, including the state’s budget for the next two years and some of them were more than 500 pages. Less than one-tenth of 1% (.005) were signed into law, but the merits of all 5,225 still needed to be reviewed.
The 2021 legislative session was just longer than 90 business days, so the average number of bills read each day was 58. Some bills can be read in minutes, while others may take hours. Add committee meetings, constituent meetings and other demands, and you can see how quickly a day can fill up and the need for subject-matter experts.
How many hours do you spend preparing the tax return for your business, advising a client on how a tax law applies to them or auditing a company? CPAs spent many years developing an expertise and have spent hundreds of hours taking continuing education classes to keep up with rapidly changing and complex regulations.
You have a wealth of knowledge and many years of experience serving as subject-matter experts for thousands of Minnesota taxpayers. Who better than a CPA to serve as a subject-matter expert and influence decision-makers while also building your sphere of influence, growing your professional network and serving as a trusted adviser to legislators?
Connect with Geno
Do you have a question about getting involved or connecting with your legislator? Reach Geno at
govrelations@mncpa.org.
Minnesota legislative session bills
5,225 — Total number of bills filed in 2021
1,206 — Number of bills containing the word “tax”
279 — Number of bills containing the word “audit”
63 — Number of bills containing “CPA” or “certified public accountant”
