After months of negotiations, federal lawmakers voted along party lines to enact H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, August 16. The new law includes numerous tax provisions, drug pricing reform, and energy-related policy changes.  The most significant revenue-raising portion of the legislation is a 15% minimum tax on C-corporations that averaged more than $1 billion in book income for three consecutive tax years beginning on or after Dec. 31, 2022.   The law also includes a nondeductible 1% excise tax on corpor ..read more

The General Assembly recessed its 2022 short session on July 1. Although the short session featured no major tax legislation, there were several bills that made modest changes to the tax code. Linked below is a summary of these changes. NCACPA extends its gratitude to William W. Nelson, Esq., co-leader of the tax group at Smith Anderson LLP, for preparing the summary. 2022 Short Session Ta Legislation Summary If you have questions about these issues or other policy matters, please contact NCACPA Director of Advocacy Robert Broome, CAE. The post 2022 Short Session Tax Legislation appeared firs ..read more

State lawmakers are hopeful that they can reach an agreement on budget adjustments by June 17. The House and Senate have reached a deal on a total spending amount of roughly $30 billion. The two chambers are now working on how the budget will be allocated.   With North Carolina expecting more than $6 billion in projected tax revenue surplus, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger has said his priority for the short session is reducing taxes. Both House and Senate leadership have said that they support further reductions in personal income tax rates.  NCACPA is working with Finance Comm ..read more

by Michael R. Gillis, CPA, PFS, CGMS, Managing Partner, DMJ & Co., PLLC As part of providing great service, CPAs help clients plan their exit and succession strategies. But all too often, CPAs don’t look at their own shop to ensure they also properly plan for an inevitable succession event. The NCACPA Succession Planning Task Force is working to provide resources and encouragement to CPAs in planning their own succession. A CPA firm that properly plans for its succession is the best course of action for the firm, for the families involved, for the clients, and for our responsibility to th ..read more

The AICPA has issued a proposal to update key terminology and certain ethics interpretations to better align with changes made by the SEC. The AICPA issued a temporary enforcement policy earlier this year. The goal is for this proposal to make the needed alignments. Comments are due January 5, 2022. Learn more in this video review. Do you agree with the proposed changes to align AICPA ethics standards with the SEC standards? The post GLS Blog: Proposed Ethics Revisions: Loans, acquisitions, and other transactions appeared first on North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants ..read more

The AICPA has issued a proposal to make updates to the Peer Review standards. The changes are primarily formatting to make the standards more user friendly. There are a handful of substantive changes as well. Comments are due by December 15, 2021. Learn more in this video review. Do you agree with the proposed changes to the peer review standards? The post GLS Blog: Proposed Changes to Peer Review appeared first on North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants ..read more

By Ben Hamrick, CPA Many would say that CPA firm succession is one of the most significant issues facing the profession and has been for some time. In a recent article by Marc Rosenberg, “Baby Boomers Retiring in Droves,” the succession issue was number three on the list of 14 challenges facing the CPA profession. This was followed by number seven on the list: “Firms continue to suck at succession planning.”[1] Rosenberg goes on to say that only 20–30% of first-generation firms make it to the second. Clearly the issue is still with us. Let’s take a look at the numbers. There are currently 8,7 ..read more

This week’s GLS blog addresses the final standards that were issued by the AICPA, FASB and GASB in the third quarter of 2021. While it was a light quarter from a standard setting perspective, some of the issued standards address implementation issues which are always helpful. As we expect some big standards to issue in Q4, a light quarter is likely a good thing as all standard setters have big projects on their plate as well! Learn more in this video review. What impact will these standards have on organizations? The post GLS Blog: Q3 2021 In Review appeared first on North Carolina Associati ..read more

The U.S. has seen historic levels of federal funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Various laws, including the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 have provided billions of dollars to American businesses, state and local governments and not-for-profits. While this funding has provided relief, especially for nonprofits, it may cause complications for many recipients. Does your client need a single audit? Much of the new pandemic funding is subject to single audit rules. Not all recipients of this funding will need a single audit. However, when a non-federal entity spends ..read more

The AICPA’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) has issued a proposal to revise the rules around unpaid fees. The current rules use a one year period with no considerations of materiality. The proposal would move to a principles based approach with a threats and safeguards application. Comments are due December 20, 2021. Learn more in this video review. Do you agree with the move towards a principles based approach? The post GLS Blog: Ethics Revised Exposure draft: Unpaid Fees appeared first on North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants ..read more