december2022january2023 - 34

AICPA NEWS
AICPA News is a round-up of recent
announcements from the Institute.
AICPA Honors William
Balhoff with the Gold
Medal of Distinction
The American Institute of CPAs recently announced that William
" Bill " Balhoff CPA/CFF, CGMA, is the recipient of the 2022 AICPA
Gold Medal Award of Distinction.
The Gold Medal is the highest honor granted by the AICPA.
Since 1944, it has been bestowed upon CPAs whose influence
on the accounting profession has been especially notable. Jack
Finning, CPA, CGMA, and chair of the AICPA awards committee,
presented Balhoff with the award during the fall meeting
of AICPA's Governing Council.
Balhoff's volunteer positions with the profession and AICPA
include AICPA board of directors chair and AICPA Council member.
He is a former member of the Private Companies Practice
Section (PCPS) Peer Review Committee and former chairman of
the PCPS Executive Committee. At the state society level for the
Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA), Balhoff
served as chairman and Leadership Team member, and he has
been a member of the board of directors and past president of
LCPA's Baton Rouge Chapter.
■ Currently, Balhoff is a director at Postlethwaite & Netterville,
APAC (P&N) in Baton Rouge and has been instrumental in
helping P&N grow into the largest Louisiana-based accounting
firm. He has been named among the " Top 100 Most Influential
People " in the accounting profession by Accounting Today
Magazine and served as a member of the Financial Accounting
Standards Advisory Council. Balhoff is an international speaker
on numerous topics, including professional standards updates
and managing practices. ■
AICPA CREATES PROCESS FOR
REPORTING ERC MILLS
Following an announcement
from the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) acknowledging
concerns over third-party vendors
promoting improper Employee Retention
Credit (ERC) claims, the AICPA applauded
the announcement and new reporting process
as a positive step by the IRS. The form
- Form 3949-A, Information Referral - will
provide a vehicle for individuals, firms and
CPAs to anonymously report questionable
ERC mills. The form has been previously
available for use to anonymously report
fraud and has now been earmarked to
report ERC fraud as well.
The ERC was established nearly three
years ago as part of a larger COVID-19 relief
package in an effort to help businesses
pull through the pandemic. More recently,
the AICPA has heard from members
concerned with the rise of non-CPA ERC
vendors taking inappropriately aggressive
positions. These vendors submit claims
on behalf of businesses that are either
unknowingly unqualified or qualified for
a much smaller credit, charging upfront
contingency fees of up to 25 percent of
the claimed credit. These claims, if audited
by IRS, could result in drastic reductions
to the improperly obtained credits, costing
the business significantly.
To report tax-related illegal activities
relating to ERC claims, submit Form
3949-A, Information Referral. You should
also report instances of fraud and IRSrelated
phishing attempts to the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration
at 800-366-4484.■
AICPA & CIMA Offer Resources for COVID Relief
Funding Audits
Thousands of state and local governmental
agencies, nonprofits and businesses that
received funding from federal pandemic
relief programs are subject to audits that
focus on their compliance with laws and
regulations governing that money. Leaders
of such organizations should understand
their responsibilities and engage CPAs
who have the specialized knowledge and
experience to.
AICPA and CIMA are offering several
resources to help organizations subject
to " single audits " or similar compliance
engagements, including a list of tips, an
on-demand webinar and a primer on
procuring audit services.
Single audits under Office of Management
and Budget Uniform Guidance
regulations are generally required when
organizations spend $750,000 or more of
federal funds in a given fiscal year. Before
the pandemic, some 34,000 to 38,000
single audit engagements were performed
each year, but the trillions of dollars authorized
for COVID relief funding are expected
34 DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
to significantly increase that number. For
example,
the $350 billion Coronavirus
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program
was provided to thousands of small
units of local government, many of which
may be inexperienced in managing federal
funding and preparing for a single audit.
Among the basic steps organizations
should take if they're required to undergo
a single audit:
■Make sure your auditor is qualified to
perform engagements of this kind.
■ Pull together information your auditor
will need.
■ Perform any necessary steps once the
single audit is complete.
More detailed information for organizations
is available through the AICPA
Governmental Audit Quality Center, and
are free and available to the public. To
access them, users must register for
an online AICPA account, which anyone
can establish. To learn more, please visit
aicpa.org/gaqc.
http://www.aicpa.org/gaqc http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
december2022january2023

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