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The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), enacted January 2021, mandates certain entities report “beneficial owner” information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Here are some of the key CTA provisions and significant issues, critical unknowns, and potential risks facing accounting firms.

At the Washington Board of Accountancy (WBOA) meeting on October 20, a CPA exam credit reinstatement program was adopted and is effective immediately. As a result of this program, Washington exam candidates who lost CPA exam credits between January 30, 2020, and December 31, 2023, will have until June 30, 2025, to complete the remaining sections of the exam.

The Washington State Board of Accountancy adopted a rule change to allow CPA candidates in our state to have 36 months to complete all four sections of the CPA exam.

The Department of Revenue (DOR) recently issued interim guidance statements regarding the capital gains tax. The statements reflect DOR's current position where final guidance has not yet been published.

There are many barriers that may deter students from entering and remaining in the profession. Chair of the WSCPA Board of Directors, Andrew Brajcich shares the importance of offering potential CPAs alternative pathways into the profession by rethinking the current 150-credit hour rule.

The number of students earning U.S. postsecondary accounting degrees fell sharply in the 2021-22 academic year, according to a biennial American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) report on trends related to accounting graduation rates, the CPA Exam and hiring demand by accounting firms.

Summer’s over, and while you’ve been savoring that iced coffee, the chatter around small talk has been percolating. Want to know how casual conversations can lead you to your dream job? Let's spill the tea!

Last month the FASB issued their investor outreach report which outlines the outreach performed by the FASB to get feedback from investors as part of their due process. This week blogs takes a look at some of the statistics presented in the report.

The contingency plan calls for furloughs of two-thirds of IRS staff, which Treasury said will result in “significant harmful impacts" on taxpayers.

The AICPA submitted a letter to the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congressional leadership requesting the release of the IRS contingency plan that would go into effect in the event of a government shutdown on October 1, 2023. Additionally, the AICPA has urged the IRS to base any decision to furlough employees on a broader interpretation of the Office of Management and Budget guidance to include not only the government’s safety of human life and protection of property, but also for the taxpayer, thereby excepting IRS employees.

In August, the FASB issued Chapter 5 of the Conceptual Framework, Recognition and Derecognition. The chapter addresses the criteria that would be used to determine when an element should be recognized in the financial statements. As concept statements are not authoritative there is no effective date.

The FASB has issued a new Concept Statement around the Reporting Entity. While concept statements are not authoritative GAAP they are the theory that underlies GAAP used by the board to develop ASUs.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has proposed a Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy. The proposal addresses a taxonomy for the disclosure requirements in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 to facilitate digital reporting of sustainability-related financial information. Comments are due September 26, 2023.

Two bills have been introduced in U.S. Congress to delay the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement, an anti-money laundering initiative enacted through the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021. You can help keep these bills moving by reaching out to your Congressional representatives.

The WSCPA has called on federal legislators to support two bills that have been introduced that would delay the start date for the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements until all required rulemaking is final, and all rules would take effect on the same date.

Earlier this year, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy announced that they adopted the Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rule that extended the window to pass all four sections of the CPA. Exam takers would now have 30 months to complete the remaining sections, as opposed to the previous 18-month rule, from the time they receive a passing score on their first section of the exam.

Each year like many nonprofits, the FAF issues their annual report and posts it to their website. The FAF provides an excellent overview of the work of both the FASB and GASB boards. 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the FAF, so this year's report also includes a great history lesson. If you are interested in learning more about the boards and their mission, this is a great place to start!

The WSCPA has joined with more than 500 businesses and employers to advocate to help pass the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act, which would expand qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and credentialing.

The AICPA and all 54 State CPA Societies, including the Washington Society of CPAs, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting DHS recognize accounting under the “T” for Technology in Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) education.

At the end of July, the FASB proposed new disclosure requirements that would require public business entities to provide more disaggregated data around their income statement expenses. Unlike the recent income tax disclosure proposal, this proposal only impacts public business entities. It is in response to a request from investors to provide more granular information to assist users in understanding the company's cash flows.