Accounting Today - November 15, 2010

approved “that the CPA profession stands
ready to help implement a differential GAAP
model for private companies, as determined
by a separate private company accounting
standards board.”
Outgoing AICPA chair Robert Harris mod-
erated the panel, which included AICPA pres-
ident and chief executive Barry Melancon;
Billy Atkinson, the chairman of the National
Association of State Boards of Accountancy;
and Judy O’Dell, chair of the FASB Private
Company Financial Reporting Committee.

In October, a majority of the panel voted in favor of establishing a separate standard-setting board for private company accounting. This new board would not set up a whole new set of accounting standards, but instead come at the project with an “on-off switch” mentality — keeping the Financial Accounting Standards Board standards, but tweaking them as necessary for private companies.

At a meeting scheduled for December 10, the panel is slated to discuss the draft report containing its recommendations. It is then expected to issue the report to the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation in January 2011, and then to the public.

“GAAP is broken as it relates to private
companies and private entities,” Atkinson
told the roughly 400 attendees. “That was
clearly the viewpoint that came across in the
first four meetings. The problem, for a major-
ity of us, is more with FASB. They have seem-
ingly forgotten that their goal is to provide
useful accounting standards. Can we change
the complexity of the existing FASB or do we
create a new one, and what are the risks?”
“We are closer than ever before to having
differential standards for private companies
and a different board to set those standards,
but it will take state societies to educate CPAs

AICPA
FROM PAGE 1

Petz, chief financial officer of Petz Enterpris-
es, makers of CrossLink 1040 and CrossLink
Multi-Site Online. “The financial products
will change based on regulations. But every
time over the last 20 years when regulations
try to protect the consumer, all they did was
make it more expensive.”
For next year, Petz offers an application
that gives the multi-office owner the ability
to manage remote offices from their iPhone.
In addition, both CrossLink products will
support 2D barcode scanning. “CrossLink
customers can start a return and capture all
of the data on the Form W- 2 or Schedule K- 1
by scanning the 2D barcode on those forms

Issues
FROM PAGE 52

to go back into those communities and talk to their clients,” Melancon said. “It’s going to really have to start out with the people in this room to get firms involved, get clients involved, get bankers involved. Between now and the time we are together again, there are going to be a lot of things that are going to be evolved in this area.”

STATE OF THE PROFESSION

Looking into the future and renewing the AICPA’s vision shared center stage at the Fall Council, and that goal resonated throughout Melancon’s traditional “State of the Profession” presentation.

Melancon touched upon a variety of pro-fession-centric issues, including economic uncertainties such as the Dodd-Frank Act, health care, a threat of deflation, interest rate policy, high foreclosure rates in real estate, and the expiring Bush tax cuts.

He pointed out that the economic downturn has brought some positive outcomes — an increase in sole proprietorship, growing volunteerism, a do-it-yourself mentality and an emergence of creative solutions to everyday problems. Financial literacy has improved, as well as the public knowledge of the trusted advisor role for CPAs.

As tax preparer registration looms closer, Melancon recommended that the IRS’s planned preparer testing should be delayed. “There are certainly parts inside the IRS that clearly see this as creating a new profession,” he said. “This needs to be on your agendas, part of your education. It’s not so easy for us to be successful on this issue because there is a lot of momentum.”

HONING THE VISION

Next year will be a critical year for International Financial Reporting Standards and there has been improvement — albeit small — among AICPA members in learning more with a hand-held scanner,” he said.

WEEDING THEM OUT

Tax preparer registration, as well as the e-fil-
ing mandates, are causing some older peo-
ple or smaller operations to back out of the
market, according to Kyle Janssens and Ryan
Bohs, managers at Greatland. “The registra-
tion process is confusing to some preparers,
about what’s to come with regard to conver-
gence. In October 2008, 26 percent of the in-
stitute’s membership reported having some
knowledge in the subject. In September 2010,
that number jumped to 33 percent.