News Updates

Term-limited Appropriations chairman reviews state’s fluctuating fiscal landscape over his decade in office.

After tough fights to approve adjustments to Nebraska’s two-year budget in the state Legislature, Gov. Jim Pillen signed both budget bills without any vetoes.

Lower barriers to entry, more conversations about burnout and work-life balance, and the growing use of artificial intelligence to handle repetitive tasks are helping reshape the profession’s image. At the same time, Gen Z workers—more pragmatic about job security and pay—are taking a fresh look. The result: a quiet resurgence in accounting, with young professionals flowing into a field offering stability, strong demand, and increasingly, lucrative starting salaries.

State officials, fiscal analysts hold varying views on implementing policy changes in Nebraska budget legislation

There are four legislative days left before the 2026 Legislature is expected to adjourn sine die, on the 59th legislative day.

Today is day 52 of the legislative session!

Nebraska’s newly passed LB718 modernizes CPA licensure by expanding pathways into the profession while preserving rigorous education, examination, and experience standards. The law strengthens Nebraska’s accounting workforce pipeline and aligns the state with updated national mobility rules that allow CPAs to serve clients across state lines.

"We will not be able to tax or cut our way to prosperity," says Sen. Jacobson. "We must grow our tax base. We need more people, more high-paying jobs, and more infrastructure to support growth."

A pair of budget bills in the Nebraska Legislature officially moved toward floor debate, but lawmakers still must close a projected budget deficit that is larger than it appears.

CPA decision-makers are more optimistic about the U.S. economy and their own organizations in the first quarter of this year, according to the AICPA and CIMA Economic Outlook Survey.

While bigger refunds will grab attention this filing season, the temporary provisions driving the surge aren't why the law is expected to boost the economy. The real growth impact comes from permanent reductions in marginal tax rates that increase incentives to work and invest over the long term.

Despite extreme market volatility last year – especially in the spring of 2025 – the average 401(k) balance rose by 11% to $146,100, according to new data from Fidelity Investments, which analyzed nearly 25 million accounts.

A new economic forecast effectively doubled the size of Nebraska’s projected deficit from what state lawmakers had reduced it to so far this legislative session.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released a special Tariff Update to outline what the recent Supreme Court decision on tariffs means for business costs, supply chains, pricing and long-term planning.

For many years, a bachelor’s degree combined with meaningful professional experience was the foundation of CPA licensure. For the past 35 years, however, individuals have been required to have 150 total credit hours or a master's degree to become a CPA. While well-intentioned, that requirement created financial and time barriers for many capable students. LB 718 restores balance.

New legislation can quickly change how CPAs advise families, especially when it introduces an entirely new type of savings and investment vehicle for children. That’s what H.R. 1, P.L. 119-21, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, did with the creation of Sec. 530A “Trump” accounts.

Only 29 days left in the Legislative Session - 26 days remain to get bills advanced through the three stages of debate.

Just over 100 business associations have urged Treasury to destroy beneficial ownership information (BOI) records that domestic companies no longer must file, saying the retention of the records no longer serves a legitimate purpose.

An update on the Society's Alternative Pathways bill.

A tough-on-China law championed by Gov. Jim Pillen and approved last year by the Legislature threatens to blow a hole into state incentive programs that for decades have been a bedrock of state business recruitment efforts.