The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is thanking the eight U.S. House of Representative members the Congressional Caucus on CPAs and Accountants who, in a bipartisan letter, urged Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Carranza to immediately create consistency in the documentation required by lenders participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The letter states, “…we are concerned that the required documentation may vary from lender to lender, which would cause confusion among potential small business borrowers.”
The AICPA and its small business funding coalition have been advocating for additional clarity on certain provisions of the PPP. Recently, AICPA made recommendations for lender documents, as well as provided direction on a few key calculations, all of which closely align with the Caucus’ proposal:
- 2019 IRS Quarterly 940, 941 or 944 payroll tax reports.
- A master payroll report.
- 1099s for independent contractors and self-employed for 2019.
- Documentation showing total of all health insurance premiums.
- Documentation of the sum of all retirement plans.
“We thank these members of Congress for their leadership and commitment to small businesses across America,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com, the AICPA’s business and technology arm. “We are hearing from our members that their clients continue to receive confusing and sometimes conflicting information when applying for PPP relief. The recommendations in this letter, as well as those we have made, will help minimize confusion for CPA firms, the small business applicants and lenders.”
The members of the Congressional Caucus on CPAs and Accountants who signed the letter are:
- Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), caucus co-chair
- Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX), caucus co-char
- Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS)
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
- Rep. Thomas Souzzi (D-NY)
- Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)
- Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX)
- Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC)
In addition to its recommendations, the AICPA has a resource page to assist CPA firms on PPP issues and a Coronavirus Resource Center.
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Tags: Accounting, Technology
