Blake and David start with a discussion on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony regarding the failure of small and mid-sized banks due to exposure to the commercial real estate sector. They also get into Minnesota's CPA licensure bill for 150-hour requirement alternatives and KPMG's audit findings on the Department of Education and the cost of the federal student loan program. Rounding out the episode, they answer listener questions and comments on topics including the psychological challenges of CPA firm employment, NASBA's lack of customer service, and the high fees for taking the CPA exam internationally.SponsorsLiveFlow - http://accountingpodcast.promo/liveflowKeeper - http://accountingpodcast.promo/keeperClient Hub - http://accountingpodcast.promo/clienthubChapters(00:28) - Welcome to the show, how much trouble are small banks in? (06:49) - Minnesota CPA Society's Pathways CPA Licensure Bill advances in Senate (10:08) - Our listener plugs a security hole in tax client portal software (14:03) - The cultural issues that plague the accounting profession (20:57) - Fortune magazine article that CPAs need to tell their stories (24:48) - Should we have a federal CPA license? (27:54) - The government doesn't know the costs of student loans (35:03) - Christy shares a positive message (36:21) - Does starting your career at Big 4 lead to better industry jobs? (40:42) - Alex writes in about problems they had scheduling their CPA exam (45:55) - IRS inviting biggest ERC filers to learn the correct way to file them (50:34) - Tax preparer using basic Word doc to collect information (52:04) - Listener replies to Blake's Accounting Today article (54:27) - The international costs to take the CPA exam (57:45) - The firm and work culture issue (58:52) - Why students don't want to major in accounting (59:39) - Thanks for listening! The new Earmark app is coming soon!  Show NotesCould CPAs telling their stories be the key to attracting Gen Zers to accounting? A PwC vice chair thinks so   https://fortune.com/2023/11/15/cpa-attracting-gen-z-accounting-pwc/ Senate File 1660, the MNCPA-backed bill to broaden the pathways to CPA licensure, advanced in the Minnesota Senate on Thursday.     https://www.mncpa.org/about/press/releases/pathways-cpa-senate-bill-hearing/ Powell: ‘There will be bank failures’ caused by commercial real estate losseshttps://thehill.com/business/4516758-powell-there-will-be-bank-failures-caused-by-commercial-real-estate-losses/Need CPE?Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet in TouchThanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do