KEY ACCOUNTING INDUSTRY AND INSIGHTS UPDATES — MARCH 2022
Here are the quick updates on the accounting industry for the month of March 2022
1. Senators urge IRS to provide better taxpayer support
A group of Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, is asking the IRS to do all it can to help taxpayers this season. Read More
2. IRS backs away from facial recognition
The IRS reversed course Monday on earlier plans to require taxpayers to authenticate their identities with a nongovernmental facial-recognition service to use certain online services. Read More
3. New Jersey Society of CPAs Opens 2022 Ovation Award Nominations
The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) is accepting nominations for its 2022 Ovation Awards which acknowledge individuals who demonstrate exceptional work in or support of New Jersey’s accounting profession. Read More
4. IRS Suspends Mailing of More Notices
As part of ongoing efforts to provide additional help for people during this period, the IRS announced today the suspension of more than a dozen additional letters, including the mailing of automated collection notices normally issued when a taxpayer owes additional tax, and the IRS has no record of a taxpayer filing a tax return. Read More
5. Lawmaker probes huge coaching salaries at tax-exempt schools
Congress is asking questions about the high salaries paid to college football coaches at some top schools that receive tax exemptions from the Internal Revenue Service. Read More
6. Tax pros share IRS service challenge stories, solutions
Representatives of organizations of tax professionals and firms related their experiences in dealing with the IRS in an online forum Tuesday. Read More
7. New York PTET Return and Extension Applications Now Available
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has announced that the Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) Annual Return and Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) Extension Web applications for taxable year 2021 are now available. Read More
8. Navigating the new Schedules K-2 and K-3
In June 2021, the IRS released final versions of two new international-related schedules that are being added to passthrough entity returns. Read More
9. IRS and Treasury Letter Requesting Immediate Taxpayer Relief
The Alabama Society of CPAs Board of Directors requested each member of Alabama’s Congressional delegation to support immediate relief for taxpayers and tax practitioners by reducing the need to contact the IRS. Read More
10. Federal security agencies warn of potential Russian-sponsored cyberattacks
Uncle Sam wants businesses and other organizations, especially those that protect critical infrastructure networks, to bolster their defenses against possible cyberattacks sponsored by Russia. Read More
11. Employers added 467K jobs in January, but cut 6.6K in accounting
The employment situation in January was better than expected, as employers added a robust 467,000 jobs despite the Omicron variant, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read More
12. SBA details process to appeal partial PPP loan forgiveness decisions
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers that received only partial loan forgiveness from their lenders have a new process for appealing the lender’s decision to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Read More
13. SEC eyes crackdown on hedge funds and private equity with sweeping proposal on fee disclosure
The Securities and Exchange Commission is ramping up pressure on private equity firms and hedge funds to provide greater insight into fees and expenses, placing new transparency requirements on industries known for their secrecy. Read More
14. AICPA calls IRS staff reassignments a ‘positive step,’ reiterates relief goals
A push by the IRS to process backlogged tax returns, including by temporarily reassigning some employees to the effort, “are positive steps in the right direction,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. Read More
15. Senator Manchin Casts More Doubt on Biden’s Agenda With Blast on Inflation
Senator Joe Manchin threw more cold water on President Joe Biden’s spending plans after inflation spiked to a 7.5% rate in January, the highest rate in four decades. Read More
16. IRS updates FAQs for R&D tax credit refund claims
The Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance Wednesday for taxpayers and tax practitioners submitting claims for refunds involving the research credit. Read More
17. Proposal would amend auditing standard for compliance audits
The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is inviting comments on a proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) that would amend AU-C Section 935, Compliance Audits, in AICPA Professional Standards. Read More
18. TQA addresses health care accounting for items free of charge received for distribution
In some circumstances, for-profit health care business entities may consider analogizing to not-for-profit guidance in the U.S. GAAP when accounting for vaccines or other pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, or equipment received free of charge for distribution to specified patients, according to technical question and answer (TQA) guidance developed by the AICPA Health Care Expert Panel and issued Tuesday by the AICPA. Read More
19. Crypto paychecks have more appeal outside the U.S.
Employees all over the world are opting to get paid in cryptocurrencies, though they’re still in a small minority, according to global payrolls and hiring company Deel. Read More
20. Single audit guidance for 7 programs provided in OMB’s Addendum 2
Requirements were issued in January for procedures that single audit practitioners need to follow in their engagements related to seven government programs in a second addendum to the Office of Management and Budget’s 2021 Compliance Supplement. Read More