News

A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements, reversing an order the same court issued earlier this week. In its latest order, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said it was reinstating a lower court's injunction "in order to preserve the constitutional status quo while the merits panel considers the parties' weighty substantive arguments," referring to the panel of judges who will decide the appeal.

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.

With the start of the new year comes Connecticut’s General Assembly session. This year, CTCPA has a range of topics that we will be pushing, as well as some other initiatives we plan to be involved in. Here's a snapshot of some of our initiatives:

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 Innovative CPA Group (ICG) proudly continues its tradition of giving back through a series of impactful volunteer initiatives throughout the holiday season. With a strong commitment to fostering community connections and supporting those in need, ICG remains dedicated to making a positive difference during this time of year.

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.”

The Connecticut Society of CPAs (CTCPA) will honor 12 outstanding women at the CTCPA Women’s Awards event on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the TPC River Highlands. Awardees will be honored in three categories: Distinguished Service, Women to Watch, and Aspiring CPAs.

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.

Nicola, Yester & Company, P.C. named Katie Anderson a partner and Kristin Lombardo as staff.

Whittlesey, one of New England's largest assurance, advisory, tax, and technology firms, is proud to welcome two new managers, Dale C. Boutot, CPA, and Sarah O’Neill, CPA. These additions to the Firm’s growing leadership team underscore its commitment to excellence, growth, and leadership across its offices.

As the reporting deadline for the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) approaches quickly, CTCPA has heard concerns from many members regarding the lack of clarity and guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the January 31, 2025 deadline.

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).

Thank you to all of you who helped us support Connecticut Foodshare for our annual CTCPA Day of Giving. We raised more than $3,000 for the organization - plus hundreds of pounds of food to be disseminated to local food pantries.

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 Republican majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives will grant President-elect Trump an easier time in refreshing many of the expiring provisions in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including priorities such as the Qualified Business Income Deduction and 100% bonus depreciation.

State Board of Accountancy (SBOA) staff has recently confirmed that firms that are not performing audits, compilations, or reviews must specifically submit a waiver from peer review requirements annually as part of the firm permit renewal process. If your firm no longer does or has never performed audits, compilations, or reviews, you must submit the Quality Review Waiver Form annually to be in compliance.

On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act into law aiming to improve pay transparency and curb wage disparities. Massachusetts is the 5th state to pass pay transparency legislation in 2024 joining Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Vermont. This trend began in 2019 with Colorado. Since then, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington have all passed similar measures.