News

As part of its ongoing efforts to support smaller audit firms, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today launched a new online resource page: Information for Smaller Firms. The page features PCAOB content tailored for smaller firms, including publications, videos, and more.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) focused on targeted improvements to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification®. Stakeholders are encouraged to review and provide input on the proposed ASU by April 22, 2025.

Late in last year’s legislative session, P.A. 24-132 was passed, increasing the State Single Audit threshold from $300,000 to $500,000 for nonstate entities with a fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024 or after.

The AICPA updated its digital assets practice aid to assist practitioners with newly effective FASB standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published an Accounting Standards Update that clarifies for non-calendar year-end entities the interim effective date of Accounting Standards Update No. 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. Public business entities are required to adopt the guidance in Update 2024-03 in annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027.

The Justice Department (DOJ) filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court asking it to stay the district court injunction that is preventing the government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act and its requirements to report beneficial ownership information (BOI).

Finance transformation has taken accounting departments by storm in the past decade as more and more organizations are asked to do more with less – but it isn’t always easy to know where to start on the finance transformation journey. There are specific actions you can take to move forward in terms of people, process, and technology to create efficiencies, reduce cost, and improve employee morale all while maintaining proper controls.

The AICPA Peer Review Board voted in November to approve Peer Review Standards Update (PRSU) No. 2, which aligns peer review standards with new quality management standards that go into effect late next year. The update also clarifies and improves existing technical guidance.

The Jan. 1, 2025, deadline for reporting companies to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports could be extended by one year, based on a draft continuing resolution proposed in the House of Representatives. The 1,500-page short-term funding bill, which would keep the government funded until March 14, 2025, could be voted on today by the House and shortly thereafter by the Senate.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the availability of the 2025 GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (GRT), the 2025 SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT), and the 2025 GAAP Employee Benefit Plan Taxonomy (EBPT). The FASB also announced the availability of the 2025 DQC Rules Taxonomy (DQCRT) and 2025 GAAP Meta Model Relationships Taxonomy (MMT), which together with the GRT, SRT, and the EBPT are collectively referred to as the “FASB Taxonomies.”

On Monday, the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) released new ethics guidance related to recruiting services for attest clients. The committee also released an exposure draft related to simultaneous employment with an attest client.

Firms with A&A practices should pay particular attention to the new standard on engagement quality reviews (EQRs) as they implement the new suite of quality management (QM) standards that are effective Dec. 15, 2025.

In Texas Top Cop Shop v Garland et al. ( case 4:24-cv-00478 December 3, 2024) , the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), questioning its constitutionality and its impact on small businesses. The CTA, enacted as part of broader anti-money laundering efforts, mandates companies to disclose their beneficial ownership information to a federal database maintained by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has suspended the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements.

The transformative leader, who is retiring on Dec. 31, guided the organization and the profession for nearly three decades.

The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the appointment of Robert W. Scott to a five-year term on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Mr. Scott currently serves as the director of finance and administration for the city of Brookfield, Wisconsin. His term begins July 1, 2025, and extends through June 30, 2030.

Another large accounting firm has struck a deal with private-equity investors.

Paul N. Iannone, CPA, J.D., MST and Danny A. Pannese, CPA/ABV/CFF, CSEP, MST, associate professors, and Benoit N. Boyer, Ph.D., retired professor, all in the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, wrote “Cleaning up intercompany debt” for the November 2024 issue of The Tax Advisor.

The AICPA Assurance Services Executive Committee recently provided an update and held a meeting to discuss the evolution of assurance services and the exciting advancements on the horizon. The critical need for CPAs to adapt to emerging non-financial assurance opportunities, including cybersecurity, blockchain, digital assets, and sustainability, was emphasized. The CPA profession is uniquely positioned to provide assurance inthese new areas, thanks to established frameworks, ethical guidelines, and a legacy of trust.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that improves financial reporting and responds to investor input by requiring public companies to disclose, in interim and annual reporting periods, additional information about certain expenses in the notes to financial statements.