Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants - Online Learning

For more than 15 years, James Castille has worked as a certified public accountant at LUMA Capital, LLC, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He also serves as chief financial officer at Empire Group, Inc., a role he has held since 2016. Alongside his day-to-day professional activities, James Castille stays current in his field through membership in the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA).

In addition to its in-person conferences, workshops, and training events, the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants offers a variety of online continuing professional education (CPE) courses. The group's online offerings make it easy and convenient to improve one's professional knowledge and skills anytime and anywhere with Wi-Fi availability.

LCPA's webinars and webcasts are managed with the help of learning partners such as APCEN, Surgent, and CPA Crossings. The courses cover a wide range of topics, including tax updates, financial forecasting, and risk management. There are also webinars focused on ethics and specialized fields such as forensic and governmental accounting.

The online CPE calendar at LCPA features several courses offered nearly every business day. Upcoming webinars will focus on real estate taxation, social security benefits, not-for-profit accounting, and a wide range of other topics. More information about online learning resources at LCPA is available at www.lcpa.org.

LCPA’s Legislative Actions Improving Practice of State CPAs

The owner of LUMA Capital, LLC, in Lafayette, Louisiana, James Castille is an experienced certified public accountant. The go-to financial consultant for many business owners in Louisiana, James Castille is a member of the Society of Louisiana CPAs (LCPA).

LCPA is the premier organization for accounting professionals in the state. It advocates for the profession, educating legislators at all levels of government on the key issues impacting CPAs as well as the businesses and citizens they serve.

LCPA has had significant legislative impact over the years. Within the profession, for example, LCPA supported legislation that was passed establishing Louisiana as a no notification, no fee state. This enabled CPAs to move in and out of the state without notifying the state board. They are only required to notify the board if they audit a company in the state. The organization also supported laws that provided CPAs with the same confidentiality privileges with their clients that attorneys enjoy with theirs. The legislation also changed how CPAs’ records could be obtained through subpoenas.

Outside the profession, LCPA helped to prevent the introduction of legislation that would have imposed a sales tax on professional services, supported legislation lowering the penalty rate for late payments of individual taxes to 0.5 percent per month, and supported legislation authorizing the creation of registered limited liability partnerships (RLLPs), making Louisiana one of only two states in the country to do so. RLLPs provide tort protection similar to that granted to LLCs, but without the tax complexities.

Accomplishments of the LCPA: An Overview

Accountant Photo by Charles 🇵🇭 on Unsplash

An experienced financial and accounting professional based in Louisiana, James Castille is owner and CPA of Luma Capital in Lafayette, Louisiana. He also serves as CFO of Empire Group, Inc. Outside of his professional work, James Castille holds membership with the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Since its founding in 1911, the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants has advocated for the interest of practicing CPAs and those in training. Currently, the organization represents more than 6,000 CPAs at work in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors in addition to over 1,100 future CPAs.

Members of the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants benefit from a wide range of prideful development and education programs. Moreover, the society engaged in ongoing advocacy work through initiatives that include the LCPA Political Action Committee (PAC). The PAC operates as a nonpartisan, member-managed organization.

To date, the organization’s advocacy efforts have resulted in accomplishments ranging from a uniform local tax code and CPA client privilege laws to CPA mobility laws and liability limits. For a full list of legislative accomplishments off the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants, visit www.lcpa.org.