AICPA - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

02/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/17/2024 12:34

AICPA to Congress: “The [BOI] rule should be suspended”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AICPA to Congress: "The [BOI] rule should be suspended" Until Information is Widely Available and Questions Have Been Answered

Washington, D.C. (February 15, 2024) - In a letter sent to leadership of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) expressed serious concerns with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement which went into effect on January 1, 2024.

Despite the AICPA's extensive efforts, in coordination with many other stakeholders, to inform small businesses of their new obligations concerning BOI reporting, many remain broadly unaware of their reporting requirement.

"We believe the rule should be suspended until the small business community is considered well-informed of their requirement to report BOI information to FinCEN and the outstanding questions by the financial professionals who serve this community have been answered," says the letter.

The AICPA previously recommended that, at a minimum, the deadline for entities making updates or corrections to their filings should be one year in order to give small businesses a reasonable chance at compliance.

The letter notes that while CPAs will work to assist their small business clients with BOI reporting requirements, in order to comply and provide the necessary information, "small businesses need additional time to work through these and other questions that have not been answered in the six weeks this rule has been in effect," and urges Congress to suspend the rule to give these entities time to work through this requirement.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs® (AICPA®) is the world's largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 415,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives continuing education to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

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Contact: Veronica L. Vera
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