In response to complaints that the federal government was dragging its feet on PPP loan forgiveness, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the department plans to start approving requests by late this week or early next, said the Wall Street Journal.

Businesses, especially small ones, have been in a holding pattern over when their loan will be turned into a grant, plagued not only by bureaucratic delays but a confusing application process with rules that seem to shift daily, according to Bloomberg. While technically the government has been accepting applications since August, it has neither approved nor denied any of them, leading to complaints by business owners.

The Treasury Department plans to move quickly on this, according to the Journal, saying that the applications are generally expected to be approved quickly, with the exception of loans above $2 million that will get added scrutiny. While the secretary said he would support a simplified forgiveness process, he noted it would take legislation to implement one. However, he would still urge people to move quickly versus waiting for a bill.

CPAs can learn more about PPP loan forgiveness at the Oct. 7 seminar Navigating COVID Stimulus with Certainty: Using Benefits without Risking Compliance Pitfalls Tech Session Teleconference.