Program Developed by Global Accounting Group and CPA.com Fosters Emerging Technologies that Aid the Profession

NEW YORK (Feb. 23, 2021) – Five early-stage companies pursuing a variety of solutions in finance, automated financial information, data preparation, artificial intelligence and assurance will form the 2021 cohort for an accounting-focused startup accelerator sponsored by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) and CPA.com.

The startup accelerator, begun in 2017, is designed to promote innovation in the accounting profession and give the Association and CPA.com more visibility into disruptive trends from emerging technologies. Finalists get a nominal funding investment and, over the course of the year, guidance on marketplace needs from a panel of experts in finance, accounting and innovation.

“The way the world collects, analyzes and verifies financial and business information has changed radically,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “We’re seeing incredible innovation in advisory services and the business support of clients, and the companies in our startup accelerator are a great reflection of that momentum.”

The members of this year’s group are:

• ByteChek – The Miami-based company’s platform and unique integrations create an automated experience for service organizations working toward a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report. Organizations license the product and CPAs review the results.
• ElectroNeek – Robotic Process Automation (RPA) removes the headache of repetitive, rule-based tasks that consume too much time for accounting firms and finance teams in companies of all sizes. ElectroNeek empowers its partners to deliver automation to accounting clients free of any software charges, making RPA more accessible.
• Guardd, Inc. – The Denver-based company provides critical support for secondary market trading of private company securities. GUARDD is a financial disclosure tool that collects, verifies, and disseminates private company information, including financial data, facilitating transparency for investors and allowing private companies to compliantly trade on Alternative Trading Systems.
• Saasable – Recurring revenue is a key metric for businesses but is difficult to capture and benchmark. Saasable, based in Burlington, Vt., allows clients to automate daily recurring revenue data, customize it and share it with users. Results can be measured against SaasIQ, the company’s artificial intelligence-driven benchmarking tool for small and medium-sized businesses.
• Valid8 Financial – The company, based in Boulder, Colo., is reimagining financial audits and investigations. Valid8 extracts evidence from multiple types of systems and documents to create a fully integrated transaction database to dramatically reduce sample risk and help accounting service professionals deliver "forensic-grade" financial audits with 80 percent less time spent on data preparation.

Besides access to experts and professional insights from the Association and CPA.com, each accelerator company will be able to present information about their business in June at ENGAGE 2021, a leading event for the accounting profession sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

“The value proposition of many of our startup accelerator graduates has been validated by the acceleration of remote work and the proven advantages of automated solutions,” said Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the Association’s CEO. “We’re proud of our work on this program and the success these companies have achieved.”

For more information about the startup accelerator, please visit cpa.com/accelerator.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) is the most influential body of professional accountants, combining the strengths of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to power opportunity, trust and prosperity for people, businesses and economies worldwide. It represents 657,000 members and students across 179 countries and territories in public and management accounting and advocates for the public interest and business sustainability on current and emerging issues. With broad reach, rigor and resources, the Association advances the reputation, employability and quality of CPAs, CGMAs and accounting and finance professionals globally.

New Restricted Domain for the Accounting Profession Promotes Greater Trust and Brand Recognition

NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2021) – Starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, licensed CPAs can apply on an individual basis for their preferred branding under the new restricted Internet domain for the accounting profession, .cpa. Until now, only licensed CPA firms and approved organizations, such as state CPA societies, were eligible.

Top-level domains are the handful of letters at the end of an email or website address, such as .com or .org. Use of a .cpa domain allows practitioners to strengthen their brand identity in online communications and provides better security and resistance to Internet fraud, such as phishing and spoofing. And because the domain is only available to licensed CPAs and licensed CPA firms, it promotes greater trust with clients and the general public.

Response to the .cpa domain has been strong since its launch on Sept. 1, 2020, with thousands of firms registering their preferred choices. Firms have been strategic and creative with the domains they are pursuing. The Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA) recently announced its move to the .cpa domain with its new web address, tx.cpa. The new domain is an extension of TXCPA’s 2019 rebrand and provides the organization with stronger brand recognition while enabling it to build a high-trust online environment for its members.

The AICPA was awarded ownership and management of .cpa in 2019 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). CPA.com is administering .cpa on behalf of the AICPA.

To learn more about .cpa or to apply for the new service, please visit domains.cpa.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

Cloud Audit Solution Boosts Firms' Productivity and Ability to Optimize Engagements

NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2021) – CPA.com and CaseWare today announced a beta release of OnPoint Audit, an intelligent, cloud-based solution built to help accounting firms evolve the way they approach auditing. OnPoint Audit provides an efficient, guided workflow, reduces redundancies and supports real-time collaboration among team members and clients.

The beta release of OnPoint Audit is open only to select CaseWare Cloud and OnPoint A&A Suite customers, allowing these firms an early opportunity to move to complete cloud-only management of their audits. Firms that participate in this beta release will also have opportunities to work directly with the product development team and offer input as OnPoint Audit is refined.

“Today we have hundreds of firms leveraging cloud solutions we have developed with CaseWare, including OnPoint PCR and EBP,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “These current OnPoint solutions, while based on existing methodology, deliver a number of important enhancements and capabilities to firms. The release of OnPoint Audit is a positive step with our overall audit evolution goals and will complement the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS) launching later in 2021.”

Like other OnPoint applications, OnPoint Audit is hosted on CaseWare Cloud and drives efficiency, quality, and value in business services and the audit process. OnPoint Audit relies on existing audit methodology. The DAS initiative, on which the AICPA, CPA.com and CaseWare are also collaborating, will deliver a significant, transformational methodology. The development of DAS, a critical milestone for the profession, remains on track with an initial commercial launch expected later this year.

“OnPoint Audit is a path forward for firms that may not need the transformational approach that DAS promises,” said Matt Dodds, CEO of CaseWare. “Yet it still delivers a more advanced audit solution that leverages the benefits of the cloud and a streamlined workflow.”

Among the benefits firms will realize upon OnPoint Audit’s release are:

• Smart content - Increase productivity, eliminate redundancy and reduce the risk of over/under auditing via tailored content
• Collaboration - Communicate anytime, anywhere with both your team and client
• Workflow – Streamline audits and gain efficiency through intelligent, guided workflows
• Update process - Quickly and effortlessly update engagement files
• Review tools - Visualize content changes to ensure changes are compliant
• Engagement management - Create dashboard visualizations of key data contained in the engagement files and track engagement status
• Integrated analytics – Generate sample sizes, select samples, test transactions and gather results, all without leaving the engagement file
• Automated financial statements – Produce compliant financial statements in just minutes

Existing CaseWare Desktop and OnPoint A&A Suite customers can request access to the beta release by going to cpa.com/onpoint-audit and completing a short form. Upon its full commercial release, planned for spring 2021, OnPoint Audit will become the latest product in the OnPoint A&A Suite, providing a comprehensive set of solutions to help accounting firms succeed in a digital world. To learn more about the OnPoint A&A Suite, please visit cpa.com/onpoint.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About CaseWare

CaseWare International Inc. is the leading global provider of cloud enabled audit, financial reporting and data analytics solutions. With efficiency, quality and value in mind, CaseWare provides cutting-edge technology to accounting firms, businesses and government entities. Over 400,000 users, in 130 countries and in 16 languages, use CaseWare solutions.

SBA Expected to Reopen for All Lenders by Friday, Jan. 15

NEW YORK (Jan. 13, 2021) –The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) expects the federal government to open up the application process for all lenders participating in the latest round of the Paycheck Protection Program by Friday, and encourages CPA firms to advance the application process for small business clients seeking relief.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting new applications on a limited basis this week through community financial institutions. But confusion about the timing for other lenders has led to anxiety among small businesses and their advisors.

“We believe the full program needs to go live as soon as possible and we fully support the Treasury Department and SBA reopening the program for all lenders by Friday,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “What we’ve been telling CPA firms is be prepared and get to work. All indications, based on input from the Treasury and SBA, is there will be enough funding to meet all of the ‘first draw’ and ‘second draw’ PPP applications, so firms can help alleviate concerns their clients may have.”

The AICPA has been advising firms to collect key information from their clients such as average monthly payroll amounts, quarterly revenue comparisons for second draw borrowers and other required documentation to speed the process. Compared to the initial launch of the program in April 2020, firms now have substantial experience in business relief, more guidance and better tools.

The AICPA, CPA.com and fintech leader Biz2Credit in September launched a financing platform for CPA firms, the CPA Business Funding Portal, to help practitioners as they assist small businesses through PPP loan forgiveness. The portal, which has been used by thousands of firms, has been updated to accept so-called PPP2 applications and over three thousand applications have already been prepopulated.

“Small businesses should expect more scrutiny in this round of PPP applications,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “The SBA is doing more vetting for potential fraud and in some instances is asking for more validation. It’s important that businesses and their advisors get it right, so that applications don’t get held up and pushed back in the queue. That’s why we think it’s vital that firms use the more robust set of tools that are available now.”

The CPA Business Funding Portal offers a free basic service, plus tiered subscription plans for firms that want a direct path to fund loans through an SBA-approved lender to ensure they receive agent fees.

“It is critical that business owners work closely with their trusted business advisors, especially their CPA, to ensure they qualify for the maximum loan amount and provide the right supporting documentation,” said Rohit Arora, CEO and Co-Founder of Biz2Credit. “Being prepared now is the best way for businesses to ensure they get the money they need.”

AICPA executives will discuss the latest PPP developments and their implications for CPAs and their small business clients at this week’s AICPA Town Hall at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. For more information about the AICPA’s resources for firms on PPP, please visit aicpa.org/sba. More details about the CPA Business Funding Portal can be found at cpa.com/business-funding.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

About Biz2Credit

Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $3 billion in small business financing. Biz2Credit is focused on funding what’s next for small business. The company leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform to fit their financial needs. With over 350 employees globally, the Biz2Credit team – made up of top-notch engineers, marketers, and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions. Biz2Credit has been named to the Inc. 5000 and Inc. Magazine’s Private Titans list for 2020, is a three-time winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and was named a Great Place to Work in 2020 and 2019. Headquartered in New York City, the company recently raised a $52M Series B round of investment in 2019. Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Firms to Play Critical Role in Navigating More Complex Eligibility Criteria for ‘PPP2’ Loans

NEW YORK (Dec. 28, 2020)–The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is a strong advocate of additional relief for small businesses and worked in recent months to prepare CPA firms for the next round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding through the development of essential tools and training. Firms are now ready to hit the ground running to aid their small business clients come January.

With last night’s enactment of the emergency Coronavirus Relief Package that includes renewed PPP funds and related assistance, new regulations will be in place early in the new year, according to the AICPA and its business and technology arm, CPA.com.

“CPA firms played a critical part in supporting small businesses over the past nine months, and will continue to fill a crucial role in helping small businesses understand new PPP eligibility criteria such as the 25% decline in gross receipts so they can apply for this much-needed relief,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “With the relief legislation now signed into law, lenders and the Small Business Administration will begin processing a new round of loan applications quickly. We’re in a much better place than we were when the original PPP was implemented. Firms have better experience, capabilities and new tools to deploy.”

The AICPA and CPA.com have been advising firms to reach out proactively to hard-pressed businesses and begin collecting key documents such as 2020 revenue, monthly payroll amounts, and the like. There are several new provisions in the $310 billion small business relief package that CPAs should take into account, such as:

• Expenses associated with forgiven PPP loans are now tax deductible, and the definition of eligible expenses is broadened to include facility modifications and personal protection equipment, among other things
• PPP loan recipients are eligible for a second draw of funding if they have 300 employees or less and can show a 25 percent decline in revenue in any 2020 quarter, compared to the corresponding 2019 quarter
• There will be a simplified loan forgiveness process (although not automatic forgiveness) for businesses that received loans of $150,000 or less
• There are some categories of newly eligible borrowers such as 501(c)(6)s and news organizations, under certain conditions
• Advances from an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) will not impact PPP loan forgiveness
• Additional money has been authorized for PPP oversight, so even small loans could be subject to random review
• Provisions of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) have been modified to make this much-needed business relief option more widely available and more effective for small businesses

The AICPA, CPA.com and fintech leader Biz2Credit in September launched a financing platform for CPA firms, the CPA Business Funding Portal to help practitioners as they assist small businesses through PPP loan forgiveness, as well as any other small business financing options. The portal has been updated to pre-process the so-called PPP2 applications and will also incorporate the latest guidance.

“We’ll be ready to go almost immediately after the SBA issues its new forms and guidance,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, one of the nation’s leading experts on small business finance. “We already have a way for CPA firms to start preparing PPP applications for their clients, and we will be ready to receive submissions as soon as the final rules are issued. The CPA portal offers an efficient, centralized platform for CPAs to manage relief funding for their small business clients, and we’ll continue to update and evolve it.”

Among other features, the CPA Business Lending Portal offers:

• A free basic service for small businesses or CPAs to use for PPP forgiveness and PPP2 applications
• A more robust set of tools in a single platform to help CPA firms manage multiple clients in a standardized way
• Payment of applicable agent fees for firms registered for one of the commercial plans available through the platform – this helps resolve a top issue for many CPAs in the first phase of PPP
• Direct integration into the SBA E-Tran system to accelerate loan decisioning times and increase decision transparency for CPA firms’ small business clients
• Access to the power of AICPA technical input and calculators

“We’re encouraging firms to leverage platforms for PPP2 versus working on the many intricacies of the legislation for their own internal calculators,” Asgeirsson said. “Building these internal tools is not the best use of their time when there is so much for them to focus on in advising their clients.”

CPA.com, the AICPA’s practice management section and Biz2Credit will hold a free webinar at 3 p.m. ET this Wednesday on the opportunity around business relief advisory services, and how utilizing a tool can help CPA firms and their clients. CPAs can also join the AICPA and CPA.com leadership for the latest on the PPP and related developments in the AICPA Town Hall series. A special recorded version of the series will be available Wednesday.

For more information, please visit cpa.com/business-funding.

About CPA.com

CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.

Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.

A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.

About the American Institute of CPAs

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.

About Biz2Credit

Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $3 billion in small business financing. Biz2Credit is focused on funding what’s next for small business. The company leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform to fit their financial needs. With over 350 employees globally, the Biz2Credit team – made up of top-notch engineers, marketers, and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions.

Biz2Credit has been named to the Inc. 5000 and Inc. Magazine’s Private Titans list for 2020, is a three-time winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and was named a Great Place to Work in 2020 and 2019. Headquartered in New York City, the company recently raised a $52M Series B round of investment in 2019.Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.