Trusted Professional

Regulatory Roundup - April 13-19

AICPA

Press Release

AICPA Names Four new Accounting Doctoral Scholars

Four practicing CPAs have been selected as recipients of the AICPA's Accounting Doctoral Scholars program scholarships.

April 13, 2021

CBO

Cost Estimate

H.R. 51, Washington, D.C. Admission Act

April 16, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on April 14, 2021

Report

Budgeting for Federal Investment

April 15, 2021

This report examines approaches to budgeting that would distinguish expenditures for investment in physical capital, education, and research and development from other expenditures.

Working Paper

Discrete Choice Models for Estimating Labor Supply: Working Paper 2021-04

April 15, 2021

This paper evaluates discrete choice models as tools for analyzing the effects of tax and transfer policies on labor supply.

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1392, Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2021

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 25, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1573, Access to Counsel Act of 2021

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on
April 14, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2016, Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 24, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 610, San Francisco Bay Restoration Act

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 24, 2021

Cost Estimate

S. 335, Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021

April 15, 2021

As reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 24, 2021

Cost Estimate

S. 421, Western Tribal Water Infrastructure Act of 2021

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on
March 24, 2021

Cost Estimate

S. 517 REPORT Act

April 15, 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on March 17, 2021

Blog Post

A Statement to the Congress on the Long-Term Solvency of the Highway Trust Fund

April 14, 2021

The opening statement of Joseph Kile, CBO’s Director of Microeconomic Analysis, on the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Report

Testimony on Addressing the Long-Term Solvency of the Highway Trust Fund

April 14, 2021

Joseph Kile, CBO’s Director of Microeconomic Analysis, testifies before the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate.

Cost Estimate

CBO’s Estimate of Effects on Revenues and Direct Spending of S. 914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021

April 13, 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on March 24, 2021

Cost Estimate
CBO’s Estimate of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects of H.R. 1868, an Act to Prevent Across-the-Board Direct Spending Cuts, and for Other Purposes


As Amended and Passed by the Senate on March 25, 2021

GAO

Offshore Oil and Gas
Updated Regulations Needed to Improve Pipeline Oversight and Decommissioning

GAO-21-293 
Published: Mar 19, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 19, 2021.
What GAO Found The Department of the Interior's (Interior) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) does not have a robust oversight process for ensuring the integrity of approximately 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines located on the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico.

National Security
DOD and State Have Processes for Formal and Informal Challenges to the Classification of Information

GAO-21-294
Published: Apr 16, 2021. 
Publicly Released: Apr 16, 2021.
What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of State (State) have similar processes for formal challenges to the classification of information


Financial Audit
Bureau of the Fiscal Service's FY 2020 Schedules of the General Fund

GAO-21-362
Published: Apr 15, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 15, 2021.
What GAO Found Deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting and other limitations on the scope of GAO's work resulted in conditions that prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the Schedules of the General Fund as of and for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020.

Released on Apr. 14, 2021

Government Auditing Standards
2018 Revision Technical Update April 2021 (Supersedes GAO-18-568G)

GAO-21-368G
Published: Apr 14, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2021.
The Yellow Book provides standards and guidance for auditors and audit organizations, outlining the requirements for audit reports, professional qualifications for auditors, and audit organization quality control.

 

 

المساعدات المُقَدّمة للضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة

في حالة إستئناف التمويل، فإن زيادة الرقابة على إمتثال الجهة الفرعية الحاصلة على المنح لسياسات وإجراءات مكافح...

Published: Apr 14, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2021.
This is the Arabic language highlights associated with GAO-21-332, which issued on Monday, March 29. لماذا أجرى مكتب مساءلة الحكومة ھذه الدراسة قدمت الحكومة الأمريكية منذ عام 1993 أكثر من 6.

Sécurité Sanitaire Mondiale
Financements, activités et évaluations de l'USAID et des CDC relatifs aux capacités des pays à faire face aux menaces des maladies infectieuses avant l'apparition du COVID-19

GAO-21-484
Published: Apr 14, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2021.
This is the French language highlights associated with GAO-21-359.

COVID-19
Efforts to Increase Vaccine Availability and Perspectives on Initial Implementation

GAO-21-443
Published: Apr 14, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2021.
What GAO Found The federal government has taken several actions to increase the availability of COVID-19 vaccine doses and indicated it expects to have enough doses available for all adults in the United States by the end of May. As of April 1, 2021, the government had purchased 1.

Global Health Security
USAID and CDC Funding, Activities, and Assessments of Countries' Capacities to Address Infectious Disease Threats before COVID-19 Onset

GAO-21-359
Published: Apr 14, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2021.
Pour la version française de cette page, voir GAO-21-484. What GAO Found As of March 31, 2020, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had obligated a combined total of more than $1.

Graduate Medical Education
Programs and Residents Increased during Transition to Single Accreditor; Distribution Largely Unchanged

GAO-21-329
Published: Apr 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2021.
What GAO Found The number of programs that provide graduate medical education (GME) for physicians—commonly known as residency programs—and the number of residents in those programs increased during the transition to a single accreditor for GME programs.

Defense Logistics
Army Should Ensure New System Operates in All Situations and Soldiers Complete Training

GAO-21-313
Published: Apr 12, 2021.Publicly Released: Apr 12, 2021.
What GAO Found The Global Combat Support System–Army (GCSS–Army)—a web-based information and logistics system—has improved the Army's ability to meet logistics needs during military operations through improved visibility, accountability, and reporting of its assets, such as replacement parts... 

Border Security
Assessment of the Department of Homeland Security's Border Security Improvement Plan

GAO-21-303R
Published: Apr 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 12, 2021.
What GAO Found The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Border Security Improvement Plan did not include all required elements, thus providing incomplete information to Congress, and was not delivered within the statutory time frame.

Synthetic Opioids
Considerations for the Class-Wide Scheduling of Fentanyl-Related Substance
s
GAO-21-499
Published: Apr 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: Apr 12, 2021.
What GAO Found In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) temporarily classified fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, based on their chemical structure, designating them illicit drugs with high abuse potential and no medical use.

 

GASB

GASB Proposes to Rename the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report  [04/13/21]
Media Advisory
Exposure Draft
Video

 

IASB

16 April 2021
April 2021 International Accounting Standards Board meeting papers available

March 2021 IFRS for SMEs Update

https://www.ifrs.org/supporting-implementation/supporting-materials-for-the-ifrs-for-smes/ifrs-for-smes/2021/march-2021-ifrs-for-smes-update/

16 April 2021

IASB to publish Exposure Draft Lack of Exchangeability

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/forthcoming-publication-iasb-to-publish-ed-lack-of-exchangeability/

 

15 April 2021

Recording of virtual workshop on Post-implementation Review of group accounting standards

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/recording-of-virtual-workshop-on-pir-10-11-12/

15 April 2021

Join the IFRS Advisory Council—Advisory Council Chair

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/join-the-ifrs-advisory-council-ac-chair

15 April 2021

Join the IFRS Advisory Council—Advisory Council members

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/join-the-ifrs-advisory-council-members/

15 April 2021

Join the International Accounting Standards Board

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/join-the-international-accounting-standards-board/

14 April 2021

Bertrand Perrin to join International Accounting Standards Board
https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/04/bertrand-perrin-to-join-international-accounting-standards-board/

 

IRS

 

Those experiencing homelessness can get Economic Impact Payments and other tax benefits; permanent address not required 

IR-2021-87, April 15, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service today continued an ongoing effort to help those experiencing homelessness during the pandemic by reminding people who don’t have a permanent address or a bank account that they may still qualify for Economic Impact Payments and other tax benefits.

IRS, Treasury disburse 2 million more Economic Impact Payments under the American Rescue Plan; VA beneficiaries bring total to approximately 159 million as payments continue

IR-2021-86, April 14, 2021 — Today, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they are disbursing nearly 2 million payments in the fifth batch of Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan.

IRS Free File can help people who have no filing requirement find overlooked tax credits and get a refund

IR-2021-85, April 13, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service today urged low- and moderate-income individuals and families, especially those who don’t normally file a tax return, to use IRS Free File to prepare their own federal tax return, e-file it and get a refund – all for free.

 

NYS

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Reminds Farmers of Tax Credit For Charitable Food Donations Ahead of Tax Filing Deadline of May 17, 2021
April 16, 2021

Join Over 150,000 New Yorkers Who Have Already Filed Their Tax Returns for Free
April 14, 2021​

SEC

SEC Charges Binary Options Trading Platform and Two Top Executives with Fraud
2021-66, April 19, 2021 — On Friday, April 16, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Israeli-based Spot Tech House Ltd., formerly known as Spot Option Ltd., and two of its former top executives, Malhaz Pinhas Patarkazishvili (also known as Pini Peter) and Ran Amiran, with deceiving U.S. investors out of more than $100 million through fraudulent and unregistered online sales of risky securities known as binary options.

Gary Gensler Sworn in as Member of the SEC

2021-65, April 17, 2021 — Gary Gensler was sworn into office today as a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. He was nominated to Chair the SEC by President Joseph R. Biden on February 3, 2021 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 14, 2021.

SEC Reopens Comment Period for Universal Proxy

2021-64, April 16, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to reopen the comment period on the proposed rules for the use of universal proxy cards in all non-exempt solicitations for contested director elections

SEC Awards Over $50 Million to Joint Whistleblowers

2021-62 April 15, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of over $50 million to joint whistleblowers whose information alerted SEC staff to violations that involved highly complex transactions and would have been difficult to detect without their information.

SEC Charges Felon and Six Others in Oil-and-Gas Offering Fraud

2021-61, April 14, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged seven individuals, including criminal recidivist Richard Dale Sterritt, Jr., with defrauding investors through a multimillion dollar oil-and-gas offering fraud and related market manipulation scheme.

TIGTA

April 15, 2021
Actions Were Taken to Improve the Identification of Prisoner Tax Returns