CPA Practice Advisor - 30

AICPA NEWS
AICPA Applauds IRS Temporary
Acceptance of E-Signatures
In response to challenging remote working environments caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service notified
its employees in late March that they may temporarily accept
scanned or digital signatures as well as allow the sharing of
certain documents via email. However, this relief from the "wet"
signature requirements was severely limited in scope and did not
include documents associated with return filings or extensions.
■ Following a letter submitted earlier this month by the AICPA
requesting that the IRS expand the scope of the June 12th
memorandum to all electronic file signature authorization
forms and non-income tax returns, including paper-filed
returns, the IRS issued a new memorandum allowing for a
temporary deviation from the handwritten signature requirement for a limited list of tax forms. ■

REMOTE WORK
TO CONTINUE
Companies are planning on retaining remote work options
more than they did pre-pandemic once workplace restrictions
ease, the Q3 AICPA Economic Outlook Survey found. So far,
the shift to remote work hasn't led to widespread plans for a
reduction in office space, confirming that - while businesses
will leverage the flexibility that remote working enables -
physical office and collaboration workspace remains an
essential part of the future-of-work landscape.
The greatest pandemic-related concerns that business executives cited for the next 12 months are safety of employees
and customers (33 percent), uncertainty over stay-at-home
restrictions (29 percent) and customer demand/ability to pay
(22 percent), the survey found. Only two percent listed liability
concerns as their greatest worry. ■

BUSINESS EXECS HAVE LOW
CONFIDENCE IN ECONOMY
U.S. business executives are feeling more
optimistic about expansion plans and the
outlook for their own companies over
the next 12 months, yet still harbor deep
concerns about the strength of the U.S. and
global economies in the midst of a worldwide
pandemic, according to the third-quarter
AICPA Economic Outlook Survey.
Only 24 percent of business executives
said they held an optimistic view of the U.S.
economy over the coming year. That's a slight
increase from 20 percent last quarter, which
represented the dimmest outlook for the
United States since the fourth quarter of 2011.
Some 43 percent of survey respondents
said their companies plan to expand in the
next 12 months, up from 24 percent last
quarter. Business executives' optimism about

2020 George Willie Scholarship and
Internship Recipients Announced

The AICPA has announced the five recipients of the 2020 George Willie Ethnically Diverse
Student Scholarship and Internship Program. The George Willie program provides a
scholarship up to $20,000 and internship to five ethnic minority accounting students
who intend to pursue a CPA. The recipients are:
■ Tairu Jozaitis: OnTarget CPA; Purdue University (Northwest)
■ Maria Moy: Boyum Barenscheer; University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
■ Audie Murphy: Aronson; University of Baltimore
■ Thy Thuy Nguyen: Sensiba San Filippo; California State University, Los Angeles
■ Amber Richmond: Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck; University of Memphis
The program is open to ethnic minority students pursuing an undergraduate or
graduate degree in accounting or an accounting-related major and who plan to sit for
the CPA exam. Full eligibility requirements are available online. ■

NEW PLATFORM FOR SMALL
BUSINESS FUNDING
The AICPA, its business and
technology arm, CPA.com,
and fintech leader Biz2Credit
are teaming up on a new
platform, CPALoanPortal.com,
to streamline the process for
CPA firms advising small
businesses.
The platform produces all
government forms required
under the PPP program, supports calculations on payroll

and other expenses, and
produces a master report
with the applicant's electronic
signature that can be delivered
to the underwriting lender.
The PPP is part of the
CARES Act stimulus package
and was designed to help
businesses impacted by the
coronavirus pandemic to maintain operations and payroll. ■

OCTOBER 2020 ■

their own companies' prospects saw a similar
rise from 30 percent to 41 percent, quarter
over quarter. Other key findings of the survey:
■ Revenue and profit expectations have
stabilized.
■ 55% of business execs say companies have
the right number of employees.
■ "Domestic economic conditions" remain
top challenge for businesses but "domestic
political leadership" jumped four spots.
■ Last quarter, only one employment sector
was expected to show growth over the
next 12 months. This quarter, it's seven
sectors, led by technology.
14% of companies say current cash position is either dire or concerning, while 85%
say position is either strong or acceptable. ■

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AICPA and CPA.com Launch .CPA
Website Domains
The AICPA and its business and technology
arm, CPA.com, have begun an early-phase
rollout of .cpa, a restricted Internet domain
that allows CPAs to connect with clients and
the general public with greater trust, security
and verification.The restricted domain designated for the CPA profession is .cpa.
To apply, firms must be licensed and
agree to use the domain they acquire.
Licensed firms that apply during the early
registration phase will be able to register their

existing .com domain using .cpa. Firms will
be notified of the outcome of their domain
applications no later than early November.
After the initial period closes on October
31, firms are free to apply for any available
.cpa name on a rolling, "first come, first
served" basis. In January 2021, the process
will open up to include individually licensed
CPAs. For additional information on the .cpa
domain or to register for the webcast, please
visit domains.cpa. ■

http://www.CPA.com http://www.CPA.com http://www.CPA.com http://www.CPALoanPortal.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

CPA Practice Advisor

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