CPA Practice Advisor - 24

AICPA NEWS
Financial Reporting
Executive Committee
Seeks Feedback on
Insurance Entities
Working Drafts

AICPA SEEKS CLARITY ON
SEC. 465 RELIEF

The AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) has
issued several working drafts of accounting issues for Insurance Entities, related to the implementation of FASB Accounting Standards
Update (ASU) No. 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting
for Long-Duration Contracts, and is requesting feedback.
The new FASB accounting standard on Long-Duration Contracts makes targeted improvements to the existing recognition,
measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements for
long-duration contracts issued by an insurance company. FinREC
and the AICPA Insurance Expert Panel will continue to develop
working drafts on accounting implementation issues that have
been identified for the new standard. ■

The AICPA is requesting the
Department of the Treasury and
the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) issue a notice clarifying that
reporting relief on certain reporting
under section 465 will also apply
to S corporations.

level of reporting expected for the
2019 taxable year at a time when
such taxpayers are still expected
to address volumes of additional
guidance from Treasury and IRS
specific to the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act (TCJA).

On December 9, 2019, Treasury and
the IRS issued Notice 2019-66 to
provide - among other relief - a
delay in certain reporting under
section 465 at-risk activities until
the taxpayer's 2020 taxable year.
Recently released draft forms and
instructions for partnerships and
S corporations have increased the

Notice 2019-66 provides temporary
reporting relief for certain items
that were considered the most
burdensome to partnerships. The
AICPA believes that the additional
time for partnerships to comply
with such provisions will result in
better overall compliance. ■

AICPA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
FOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
CONSUMER FINANCIAL
SATISFACTION MOVES
HIGHER

Thanks to a late 2019 stock market surge, Americans'
financial satisfaction has roared into the 2020's. The average
Americans should be feeling their strongest sense of financial
well-being ever, according to the AICPA's Q4 2019 Personal
Financial Satisfaction index (PFSi) which has reached a new
high for the seventh time in the last ten quarters.
The current state of Americans' financial satisfaction
is quite different from this time last decade. Entering the
2010's, many Americans were still reeling from the Great
Recession. In Q4 2009, financial pain significantly outweighed
financial pleasure and as a result the PFSi measured -29.6.
This negative reading indicates that the average Americans
were feeling very dissatisfied with their financial health. ■

FEBRUARY 2020 ■

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is
now accepting applications for the Private
Companies Practice Section (PCPS) George
Willie Ethnically Diverse Student Scholarship and Internship program.
The George Willie program provides a
scholarship and internship to five minority
accounting students who intend to pursue
their CPA licensure. The AICPA provides
a scholarship of up to $20,000 to each
student to assist with their final academic
year tuition, while five PCPS member firms
each sponsor a student for an internship
during the 2021 tax season (January to
April).
The participating member firms are:
■■Aronson LLC, Rockville, MD
■■Boyum Barenscheer, Bloomington, MN
■■OnTarget CPA, Indianapolis, IN
■■Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck PLC,
Memphis, TN
■■Sensiba San Filippo, Pleasanton, CA

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

This program was created in honor of
George Willie, CPA, CGMA, a former chair
of AICPA's PCPS Executive Committee and
the AICPA Minority Initiatives Committee.
During his more than 35-year career, Willie
has promoted the benefits of a career in
accounting to students and young professionals in pursuit of the CPA license.
"Interning for a firm is one of the best
ways to experience what it means to be
a CPA," said Carl Peterson, CPA, CGMA,
Association International of Certified
Professional Accountants' vice president
of small firm interests. "This program gives
students financial backing to help them
complete their accounting education and
real-world experience that will better
prepare them for a career as a CPA."
Visit https://bit.ly/39vJKz4 for more
information. Applications are currently
open, with a deadline of April 15, 2020. ■

https://www.bit.ly/39vJKz4 http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

CPA Practice Advisor

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