News

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) president and CEO, Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, released the following statement highlighting the need for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to have the ability to meet the needs of taxpayers and tax preparers during this filing season: “For many years, one of the top priorities at the AICPA has been to promote efforts that ensure the IRS has the appropriate resources to meet the needs of taxpayers and preparers. Our goal is to support taxpayers and our members during times of uncertainty and to provide guidance to help navigate any changes that may affect critical, time-sensitive interactions with the IRS. “Many are concerned with potential challenges that could arise from recent changes throughout government. While there is a lot of speculation and many unknowns, the AICPA is actively monitoring the situation and engaging with IRS leadership and other key stakeholders to understand and mitigate the impact of these changes on IRS services. “IRS service levels and modernization efforts have seen progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and we are committed to seeing those efforts continue. Americans deserve a fully functioning agency that can be respected by taxpayers and their preparers, thereby allowing them to comply with their tax obligations.”

The AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are proposing changes to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) that would help pave the way for states to uniformly adopt an additional pathway for CPA licensure in conjunction with a shift to a different form of practice mobility. The changes to model legislative language that NASBA and the AICPA have asked their joint UAA committee to draft aim to maintain the integrity of the CPA license while allowing individuals to earn their license by obtaining a bachelor's degree (with requisite accounting and business courses); completing two years of professional experience; and passing the CPA Exam.

The United States Senate Committee on Finance has released a bipartisan discussion draft that will help to improve Internal Revenue Service administration - the AICPA has endorsed numerous provisions in this draft. Many of the provisions that the AICPA and state societies have long advocated for have been included in this discussion draft.

Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, has been named as the incoming CEO of AICPA & CIMA, which operate together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. The appointment comes after a comprehensive global search for a successor to Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the longest-serving CEO in AICPA history, who announced in May that he would retire at the end of the year.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have proposed amendments to the Uniform Accountancy Act to include the CPA Competency-Based Experience Pathway. The changes are designed to define a new licensure pathway while ensuring mobility for certified public accountants (CPAs) licensed under the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) framework.

A federal district court in Alabama held that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), P.L. 116-283, which requires the reporting of beneficial ownership information (BOI) by businesses, is unconstitutional. The district court granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment Friday in the case of National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-1448-LCB (N.D. Ala. 3/1/24). One plaintiff, the National Small Business Association, has over 65,000 members. While the legislation may have "sensible and praiseworthy ends," the court stated in its opinion, the government's arguments that Congress has "the power to regulate millions of entities and their stakeholders the moment they obtain a formal corporate status" from a state "are not supported by precedent." The act "exceeds the Constitution's limits on the legislative branch and lacks a sufficient nexus to any numerated power to be a necessary or proper means of achieving Congress' policy goals," the opinion said.

Calls will go unanswered and mail will get no response under the IRS contingency plan for the first five days of a federal government shutdown. The plan, released Thursday, calls for furloughs of two-thirds of IRS staff if the government shuts down, resulting in "significant harmful impacts" on millions of taxpayers, Treasury said. The fiscal 2024 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan will go into effect when the IRS is notified that government appropriations have lapsed and that a shutdown is to be initiated. All furloughed IRS employees will be able to return to work, and the Service will resume normal operations, when funds are appropriated. To avoid a shutdown, Congress must approve a budget for fiscal 2024 or a continuing resolution that keeps the government operating temporarily by Saturday, Sept. 30. If a government shutdown lasts for more than five business days, the IRS human capital officer will coordinate a Service-wide reassessment of the excepted activities. With the Oct. 16 deadline looming for some 10.5 million individual tax returns on extension, here is a look at IRS operations that would stop and those that would continue under the plan.

The proposed 2024 CPA Exam, redesigned in response to the changing landscape of accountancy and focused on competencies crucial to the success of newly licensed CPAs, is available for review and comment.

Reconciliation Bill Deadline Looms in Congress – Potential Impact on Corporations As negotiations continue on the fast-approaching reconciliation bill, the AICPA remains active in its advocacy efforts, which includes pushing back on the implementation of a minimum book income tax on corporations. During negotiations, major components of the reconciliation package could change or be dropped altogether from a final package while new provisions could be added. The deadline to pass a reconciliation bill is September 30; with a long August recess scheduled, there is little time to pass a bill and sign into law.