AICPA News is a collection of recent announcements and news briefs from the American Institute of CPAs.
AICPA Submits Recommendations for Updated Instructions to Form 8971, Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property from a Decedent
In a letter recently submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) provided comments regarding the updating of instructions for Form 8971, Information Regarding Beneficiaries Acquiring Property from a Decedent. The Treasury and IRS are currently considering updating the form instructions for the final regulations issued on September 16, 2024 (T.D. 9991) on consistent basis reporting between an estate and persons acquiring property from decedent.
In the letter, the AICPA identified two areas it believes additional guidance is necessary:
Provide further guidance on the duty to supplement – Treasury and IRS should provide further guidance on the duty to supplement. Specifically, it would be helpful to have clear instructions on when it is necessary to file a supplemental Form 8971 and Schedules A.
Provide clarification on whether a Schedule A needs to be provided to a previously revocable trust included in a decedent’s estate within 30 days of filing Form 706.
“As updates to the Form 8971 instructions are considered, we suggest that Treasury and IRS include our recommendations to enhance taxpayer and tax practitioner clarity and compliance,” says Eileen Sherr, AICPA Director of Tax Policy and Advocacy.
Nearly Three-Quarters of Accounting Master’s Programs Report an Increase in Applications
New data from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an association of leading graduate business schools, shows strong growth in applications to Master of Accounting programs.
GMAC’s 2024 Application Trends Survey showed that 72% of Master of Accounting programs in the U.S. reported increased levels of applications in 2024, up from 43% of programs seeing application growth in 2023. The share of growth in applications hit a five-year high.
Two percent of U.S. Master of Accounting programs reported that application levels were flat, and 26% reported application declines.
The 2024 Application Trends Survey report noted that GMAC’s studies of Gen Z prospective Graduate Management Education (GME) students (published in 2023) showed Gen Z held more affinity than millennials for careers perceived as stable and showed less interest in careers perceived as volatile.
While 72% of Master of Accounting programs for the 2024-2025 academic year reported an increase in applications, only 55% of U.S. Master of Finance programs reported increases.
Undergraduate accounting enrollment increased 12% in fall 2024 compared to fall 2023. The increase amounted to an additional 28,672 students, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data shows. The data showed a slight decline in accounting graduate student enrollment in fall 2024 of 2.81% (roughly 740 students).
The GMAC 2024 Application Trends Survey collected data on applications received by Graduate Management Education programs for the 2024-2025 academic year. Some 297 business schools worldwide provided responses representing 1,090 programs. Programs were located in 40 countries, including 37 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
AICPA Announces Retirement of Carl Peterson, Longtime Advocate for Small CPA Firms
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently announced that Carl Peterson, vice president of small firm interests, will retire June 30. Peterson’s retirement caps a successful tenure at AICPA and a broader career defined by advocacy and an unwavering commitment to elevating the voices of small firms across the accounting profession.
Since joining the AICPA in 2014, Peterson has been instrumental in reshaping and enriching the organization’s relationship with many groups focused on issues impacting small firms, often being asked to participate in board meetings and strategic retreats.
Peterson also served as a key liaison with state CPA societies and facilitated small firm roundtables nationwide. His leadership included hosting two major webcast series — “Small Firm Updates” and “Small Firm Issues” — which attracted thousands of practitioners and state society staff looking to stay ahead of emerging trends, technical updates, and regulatory changes. These engagements were bolstered by Peterson’s quarterly conversations with more than 60 firms, giving him direct insight into evolving challenges and concerns.
Peterson also worked as a technical advisor to the International Federation of Accountants Small and Medium Practices Advisory Group, contributing to global discussions on practice issues and World Bank initiatives. Domestically, his legislative advocacy at the state level included testifying on key bills impacting small firm CPAs.
His thought leadership spanned podcasts, keynote presentations and regular contributions to AICPA’s Small Firm Solutions column. He was recognized by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting each year since his appointment in 2014.
Prior to joining the Association in 2014, Peterson served as managing partner of a small firm in Minnesota, and this experience enabled him to put himself in small firm practitioners’ shoes. He also previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Society of CPAs, as well as Chairman of the Political Action and Legislative Affairs committees. In 2013, he was honored by the Society with their Distinguished Service Award.
AICPA and CIMA Collaborate with the Graduate School of Management
The world’s largest accounting and finance membership body, AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, has collaborated with the Graduate School of Management to provide its accounting and finance students access to the CGMA Finance Leadership Program, a remote, digital, self-paced learning program.
The CGMA Finance Leadership Program is a guided learning and assessment route to completing CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification and earning the CGMA designation. With the help of real-life case simulations, it teaches a mix of finance, accounting, business, people, leadership, and digital skills that will be required to build successful careers.
With traditional in-person tuition and examination methods being challenged by digital acceleration, the CGMA Finance Leadership Program provides instant online access for aspiring business and finance leaders to learn the knowledge and competencies needed to succeed in the contemporary business world.
Students can start their CGMA journey at an appropriate entry level alongside their university studies, building on existing educational achievements, credentials, and professional experience. Upon completing the program and fulfilling the practical experience requirements, students will earn the prestigious CGMA designation and become CIMA members.
More Global Companies Seek Assurance on Sustainability Reporting, Study by IFAC, AICPA & CIMA Shows
Almost 3-in-4 of the largest global companies sought assurance on some aspect of their sustainability disclosures, according to an updated report from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and AICPA & CIMA. The study marks the fifth annual benchmark that now includes 2023 data.
Seventy-three percent of large companies from G20 countries obtained assurance on their sustainability disclosures in 2023, up from 69 percent the previous year, according to the report.Five years ago, that number stood at 51 percent. Most of the assurance then and now, is of limited scope.
Audit firms—as opposed to consultants or other service providers—continue to lead (55 percent) in providing assurance on sustainability disclosures by large global companies, with broad variations country to country. Audit firms’ overall share of the market declined from 58 percent in 2022, although there are mitigating factors for the drop, including:
- Consolidation of reports – In the European Union, where audit firms historically provide the majority of sustainability assurance, firms began issuing a single assurance report instead of a series of separate ones, lowering the raw number of reports issued, albeit for an increased number of assurance clients.
- Consultants and non-audit firm service providers are more likely to issue multiple greenhouse gas-related assurance reports (for example, an average 2.5 assurance reports were generated per company in South Korea during 2023).
- When companies obtain assurance for the first time, they typically focus on greenhouse gas-related information and start by engaging other service providers who specialize in that area.
Among other highlights of the updated study:
- Almost all companies (98 percent) report some information on sustainability. This is unchanged from last year.
- Use of sustainability information in annual reports continues to rise. Some 44 percent of companies included it in their annual report, up from 18 percent five years ago.
- Five jurisdictions had double-digit increases in sustainability assurance in 2023: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
AICPA Responds to House Ways and Means Committee Release of Tax Reform Legislation
The House Ways & Means Committee recently met to pass its portion of the budget reconciliation bill. While we applaud the work of the committee in including several tax provisions that have been long-supported by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the bill also includes provisions that the AICPA has previously shared significant concerns with due to the potential detrimental impact they would have on pass-throughs, which make up the vast majority of businesses.
The AICPA is signaling its strong endorsement of the following provisions in the reconciliation bill:
- An increase in the standard deduction for years 2025-2028.
- Making the tax bracket rates under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent.
- Inclusion of legislation to expand the use of section 529 accounts for costs associated with obtaining a post-secondary credential, which grants financial flexibility to those pursuing or advancing in the accounting profession. This is a longstanding priority for the AICPA and the accounting profession.
- Repeal of the American Rescue Plan Act’s lowered threshold for Form 1099-K to $600 for an unlimited number of transactions; the reconciliation legislation will return the requirement to a $20,000 threshold and over 200 transactions.
- Provision regarding section 174 research and experimental expenditures, which may now be expensed for domestic research or experimental expenditures under new section 174A.
- Provision regarding the Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act, which would provide certainty to businesses by making a temporary paid family leave tax credit permanent.
- Retention of the TCJA higher exemption amounts for the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT), which simplifies filing for many taxpayers.
- Provision regarding section 163(j), which reinstates the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – or EBITDA – limitation.
- Retention of the Section 199A qualified business income (QBI) deduction, increased QBI deduction and modification of the specified service trade or business (SSTB) limitation.
- Preservation of the current availability of the cash method of accounting for tax purposes.
The AICPA has significant concerns with certain provisions in the reconciliation legislation, including:
The proposed bill would unfairly exclude SSTBs from deducting state and local income taxes at the partnership level, as is currently permitted. The targeting of SSTBs would indirectly increase taxes on millions of service-based businesses and expand the disparity in how the tax code treats C corporations versus pass-through entities. The AICPA believes that Congress should retain the current ability for pass-through entities – which make up the vast majority of businesses – to deduct the entity’s state and local taxes at the federal level.
The permanent suspension of personal casualty loss deductions not attributable to federally declared disasters. The AICPA has supported reinstating the casualty loss deduction to pre-TCJA rules.
“While the AICPA remains grateful for the diligent work of the Ways & Means Committee to provide taxpayers and practitioners with common-sense tax policies that will have a continued benefit to the country and on the tax administration process, we remain deeply troubled by the proposed changes to the PTET deduction,” said AICPA President & CEO Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA.
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Tags: Accounting, AICPA, Firm Management
