september2021 - 20

AICPA NEWS
AICPA News is a round-up of recent
announcements from the institute.
AICPA Announces
New CPA Evolution
Resource Competition
The AICPA has announced a new CPA Evolution Resource
Competition (CERC). This competition seeks to promote the
development of teaching resources for the new topics and learning
objectives outlined in the CPA Evolution Model Curriculum.
The Curriculum was designed to help accounting programs
transition to prepare CPA candidates for the Core + Disciplines
CPA Exam structure, which begins in 2024.
The CPA Evolution initiative, a joint effort of AICPA and the
National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is
transforming the CPA licensure model to recognize the rapidly
changing skills and competencies the accounting profession
requires. The CERC is one of the many ways AICPA and NASBA
are supporting educators as the profession works towards the
adoption of the new CPA Exam model.
" This competition is one way
AICPA can provide accounting
educators with
resources to
cover, if they choose to do so, the
new topics and learning objectives
outlined in the CPA Evolution Model Curriculum, " said Jan
Taylor-Morris, CPA, CGMA, Ph.D., AICPA & CIMA Academic in
Residence.
The AICPA invites accounting faculty to submit their original
long or short teaching cases, exercises, or other instructional
materials to be considered for a CERC award of $300 - $1,500
and inspire future CPAs. The deadline to apply as an individual
or as a team is Oct. 31, 2021. Submissions can range from case
studies to course exercises to general instructional materials
that serve as teaching resources for new topics and learning
objectives outlined in the model curriculum.
Earlier this year, the AICPA and NASBA issued the Accounting
Program Curriculum Gap Analysis Report, which found mixed
results for coverage of emerging and technology topics. While
more than 60 percent of collegiate accounting programs are
teaching topics like data analytics and IT audit, fewer programs
cover cybersecurity, predictive analytics or System and Organization
Controls (SOC). Each of these topics could be covered more
in-depth on the CPA Exam in 2024, pending the results of the
current CPA Exam Practice Analysis. ■
COMMENTS ON FAIR MARKET
VALUE OF PARTIAL OWNERSHIP
INTERESTS
The AICPA has submitted comments to
Congressional leadership from the Senate
Finance Committee and the House Ways
& Means Committee on a proposal in the
Treasury Greenbook, General Explanations
of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2022
Revenue Proposals, issued May 2021 as
part of the American Families Plan (AFP).
While the AICPA believes that there
are many provisions of the proposal that
need clarification, are overly broad or
need further thought or discussion, the
letter focuses on the proposal requiring a
partial interest owner to provide a value
that represents a proportional share of
the fair market value (FMV) of the entire
entity, which assumes that every shareholder,
even those lacking control over the
property, has equal access to adequate
information to determine the FMV of the
entire property.
" This assumption is contrary to reality
for many minority interest holders, who
often are not privy to the same scope of
data available to controlling shareholders, "
says the letter. " Although the issues
around access to information by holders
of partial interests, especially minority
interests, has been, and continues to be, a
valuation issue, we are concerned that the
proposal requires that the valuation must
be based on the full value of the whole
asset. This would be a new requirement,
and in light of difficulties getting information
to value the whole asset, we think it
is not reasonable, " it continues. ■
AICPA TIPS TO KEEP CRITICAL
CLIENT INFORMATION SAFE
Consumers have little faith in
businesses to protect their personal
and financial information.
The recent news of the T-Mobile
data breach - which included the
names, social security numbers
and driver's license information
of millions of Americans - is likely
to further erode that trust. And
that's a problem CPAs are well
suited to help their clients and
companies address.
Nearly nine out of 10 Americans
(89%) are concerned about the
ability of businesses to safeguard
financial and personal information,
such as credit card or social
security numbers, according to
a survey conducted earlier this
20 SEPTEMBER 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
year by The Harris Poll on behalf
of the Association of International
Certified Professional Accountants
(Association), representing
AICPA & CIMA. Further, half (49
percent) saying they were very or
extremely concerned.
Data breaches are incredibly
costly to companies and individuals.
A study by IBM found that
data breaches cost companies an
average of $3.8 million, with about
40 percent of that cost coming
from lost business. And breaches
increase the risk of identity theft
for consumers; 19 percent of
Americans report being the victim
of ID theft, according to the
Association's recent poll. ■
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
september2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of september2021
