Here are the quick updates on the accounting industry for the month of August 2021
1. IRS offers flexibility on Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Internal Revenue Service is giving employers more leeway in claiming the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to hire people in underprivileged areas who face significant obstacles to employment for jobs in summer youth and community programs. Read More
2. AICPA guidance addresses SVOG, RRF accounting questions
Technical Question and Answer (TQA) guidance issued Tuesday by the AICPA addresses how a recipient should account for a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) or a Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grant issued under COVID-19 relief programs administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Read More
3. IRS Gives New Guidance on Employee Retention Credit
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued new guidance on the employee retention credit, including guidance for employers who pay qualified wages after June 30, 2021, and before January 1, 2022. Read More
4. New York blitzes $100K earners with remote-worker tax audits
New York tax authorities are targeting individuals earning as little as $100,000 a year who claim to have left the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, part of an unprecedented effort to recoup lost income-tax revenue. Read More
5. Infrastructure bill would end ERC, increase crypto-asset reporting
The infrastructure bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday (H.R. 3684) would terminate the employee retention credit early and would require broker reporting of crypto-asset transfers. Read More
6. Xero Unveils "Next Generation" of Bank Reconciliation
The global small business platform Xero has unveiled its most comprehensive improvements to bank reconciliation on the platform in a decade, to help give small business owners more time back in their day. Read More
7. FASB to allow private cos. a practical way to account for share-based awards
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has endorsed a recommendation from its Private Company Council to allow a practical expedient for a private company to determine the current price input of equity-classified share-based awards issued to both employees and nonemployees. Read More
8. IRS updates car and truck depreciation limits
The IRS issued its annual inflation-adjusted update of depreciation limitations for passenger automobiles (including passenger vans and trucks) placed in service in 2021. Read More
9. Auditors coming under increased scrutiny from London courts
A string of high-profile financial scandals has pushed the work of the world’s biggest auditors back into the spotlight as U.K. lawsuits stack up despite government attempts to clean up the industry. Read More
10. M&A activity in accounting on the rebound in 2021
Merger-and-acquisition (M&A) activity for accounting firms is surging in 2021, Joel Sinkin, the New York-based president of Transition Advisors LLC, said in a session at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2021. Read More
11. SBA streamlines the forgiveness process for most PPP loans
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published new guidance Wednesday designed to simplify and speed up the forgiveness process for businesses and not-for-profits with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or less. Read More
12. Advance CTC payments may be making a dent in hunger
Even as the Internal Revenue Service began sending out the second batch of advance Child Tax Credit payments, evidence has emerged that the first round may have had a measurable impact on hunger and poverty in the U.S. Read More
13. IRS launches 'Tax Pro Account' feature
The IRS unveiled a new online feature on Monday known as the “Tax Pro Account,” the purpose of which, for now, is to automate the submission of powers of attorney (POAs) to authorize tax practitioners to represent individual taxpayers and tax information authorizations (TIAs) to view those taxpayers’ accounts. But the IRS ultimately has bigger plans for the Tax Pro Account portal. Read More
14. NCCPAP blasts IRS guidance on ERC
The National Conference of CPA Practitioners has issued a call to action criticizing the Internal Revenue Service’s recent guidance around the Employee Retention Credit. Read More
15. Trump, House Dems both appealing order on financial records
Donald Trump and House Democrats are both appealing a court order requiring the former president’s accountants to turn over some of his financial records while protecting others from disclosure. Read More
16. COSO provides guidance on the application of ERM to cloud computing
Enterprise risk management for cloud computing, which has emerged as an important issue for companies in an environment with numerous technological opportunities and cybersecurity threats, is addressed in new guidance issued Wednesday by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Read More
17. SEC charges EY and partners with audit independence misconduct
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ernst & Young, one of its current partners, and two of the firm’s former partners Monday with violating auditor independence rules and improper professional conduct. Read More
18. New safe harbor for ERC gross receipts calculation
The IRS on Tuesday issued a safe harbor that allows an employer to exclude certain amounts received from other coronavirus economic relief programs in determining whether it qualifies for the employee retention credit (ERC) based on a decline in gross receipts (Rev. Proc. 2021-33). Read More
19. SPAC restatements proliferate in wake of SEC warning
A warning from the Securities and Exchange Commission about accounting for the warrants used by special purpose acquisition companies has prompted hundreds of them to issue financial restatements. Read More
20. Intuit Exits IRS Free File Alliance
Intuit, the producer of the popular TurboTax filing program, has announced that it will no longer participate in the IRS’ Free File Alliance that provides free filing services to qualified taxpayers. Read More
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About The Author
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Christopher Rivera
Christopher Rivera, Chris serves as a Director of Client Relations and Business Development at Entigrity. He is an expert at leading and managing teams actively from the front. His expertise in sales, training, coaching, mentoring and influencing combined with his competitive nature makes him a strong leader. Chris has traveled through the length and width of the country and has spoken with more than five thousand CPAs, understanding their challenges and limitations. On the grounds of that, he can now easily provide opinions and solutions that can be immensely helpful to the professionals. He has also represented Entigrity at a number of major accounting conferences and networking events.
