Content Provider
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Sponsored by
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Avalara howstart ss

HOW TO START THE SALES AND USE TAX CONVERSATION WITH A CLIENT

Cost Free
CPE Credits 1.0 hour
Subject Area 1.0 - Taxes (Sales Tax)
CE Credits 0.0 hours
Course Level Basic
Instructional Method Self Study
Prerequisites None
Advanced Preparation None
Course Description

Middle market CPA firms typically specialize in tax and audit. But sales tax often falls by the wayside. Sales tax consulting (or even compliance) isn’t a specialty that most medium sized firms offer. And yet, by default, your client may expect you to advise them in this area. When a client receives notification of an audit, CPAs often are on the receiving end of “why didn’t you tell me?” and are left reacting defensively.

Part one of a three part sales tax series sponsored by Avalara, this course won’t make you a sales tax expert in 60 minutes. But, we’ll share state tax basics, hot topics in the sales tax world today, and provide 8 key questions to ask your clients as you are meeting with them for year-end planning, or during your tax return pre-conference. We’ll discuss how to determine the potential scope of a multistate sales tax problem, when to partner with a state tax specialist, including how both the CPA and the consultant can work to maximize benefit to the client while also expanding the scope of projects to offer your client.

Self-Study Course Instructions:

FOR DOCUMENT-BASED COURSES

Download the course document(s) (below) and follow prompts contained in the document.



FOR RECORDED COURSES WITH VIDEO

Download any course document(s) (below) which may include handouts, glossary, transcripts, etc. Follow any prompts contained in the documents to help you complete the course. Most documents are searchable.

Play the recording, noting the sectional guides indicating where topics on the agenda are covered and the prompts to pause video playback to respond to a review question (located below the video playback area). The timestamps for review questions are also noted below.

Upon completing the video and successfully answering all review questions, you will then take the final exam.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify major issues in sales tax law and compliance (e.g., liabilities that arise from e-commerce, independent contractors, third-party fulfillment companies, mergers, etc.).

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Monika founded Miles Consulting Group in 2002. The firm focuses on multi-state tax consulting—helping clients navigate state tax issues such as sales tax and income tax in interstate commerce, including e-commerce. For instance, Monika works with technology clients answering questions such as “What are the sales tax ramifications of selling our new widget into the following 15 states?” Prior to forming the firm, Monika worked for over 11 years in Big 4 Public Accounting and 1 year in industry. Monika has provided such services as federal and state income/franchise tax compliance and consulting, sales/use tax consulting, audit support, and credits and incentives reviews. She has served clients in a variety of industries. Monika graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a BBA in Accounting/Finance and has a Masters in Taxation from San Jose State University. Her professional affiliations include the AICPA, CalCPA, Texas Society of CPAs, NAWBO-Silicon Valley, and the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance, where she has served in many capacities, including National President (2011/2012). Monika has served as a speaker for various organizations such as the AFWA, Financial Women’s Association - San Francisco, San Jose State University, The University of Texas at El Paso, and Beta Alpha Psi (regional and national conferences), as well as providing customized training for CPA firms and technical webinars. Monika is honored to be recognized nationally as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor from 2012 through 2015 and as a 2014 Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Monika’s passion is participating annually in fundraising for the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.” She has volunteered for the event for 17 years (since its inception in the Bay Area), raising almost $200,000 during that time. Finally, in addition to multistate work, Monika recently launched her "Jumpstart Your Rainmaking" programs. Jumpstart helps professionals who sell their services put an actionable plan around building relationships which lead to business. Her mix of webinars, group training and coaching help create a plan for professionals at all levels.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • To receive CPE credit, you must register for the webinar before it starts.
  • CPE is available to all eligible participants within 24 hours of each webinar.
  • To receive CPE for multiple attendees, at least one person must sign up for the webinar. The post-webinar email contains a link to instructions for the proctor letter. Alternatively, you may log in to your account following the webinar and click on the MY ACCOUNT button to find a link to instructions. For paid courses, payment needs to be made for each attendee before credit will be issued.
Handout Materials
Presentation Slides
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NASBA Approved

CPAacademy.org (Sponsor Id#: 111889) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

CPAacademy.org 1685 S. Colorado Blvd, Suite #205, Denver, CO 80222

About Our Sponsor

Avalaralogo
Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right. We provide prebuilt integrations with the big-name financial and business management systems you trust, as well as a robust API for do-it-yourself business builders. Avalara delivers cloud-based compliance solutions for transaction tax types, like sales and use, VAT, GST, excise, communications, lodging, and more. If you are an accounting practitioner, Avalara has a suite of Avalara for Accountants solutions, purpose-built to help you directly support your clients. We’re headquartered in Seattle, with offices across the U.S. and in Canada, the U.K., Belgium, Brazil, and India.