Trusted Professional

Regulatory Roundup - June 8-14

AICPA

Press Release

AICPA Supports Accounting STEM Pursuit Act, Which Creates Important Link Between Accounting and STEM

The Act establishes the accounting profession as a STEM career pathway and supports long-standing efforts to create more diversity in the future accounting workforce.

June 11, 2021

Press Release

AICPA’s New Auditing Standard Provides Additional Guidance on the Use of Specialists and Pricing Information

New Auditing Standard Provides Additional Guidance on the Use of Specialists and Pricing Information

June 8, 2021

CBO

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1188, Greater Accountability in Pay Act of 2021

June 11, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on May 12, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1448, Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act

June 11, 2021

As passed by the House of Representatives on May 12, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2429, VA Police Improvement and Accountability Act

June 11, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021

Cost Estimate

S. 116, COVID–19 Home Safety Act of 2021

June 11, 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on May 12, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1187, ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2021

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on April 21, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2082, VA Supply Chain Resiliency Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2195, Protecting the Employment Rights of Servicemembers Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2935, VA Beneficiary Debt Collection Improvement Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2980, Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on May 18, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 3243, Pipeline Security Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on May 18, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 3283, To Repeal the Joint Resolution Entitled “A Joint Resolution to Promote Peace and Stability in the Middle East”

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on May 19, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 3367, Gold Star Children Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on May 25, 2021

Cost Estimate

S. 381, National Ocean Exploration Act

June 10, 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 28, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 3261, To Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution

June 9, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on May 19, 2021

Report

Understanding Federal Estate and Gift Taxes

June 9, 2021

CBO describes estate and gift taxes, the people who pay them, the types of assets that make up taxable estates, and the model the agency uses to project estate and gift tax revenues in its baseline.

Cost Estimate

H.R. 1934, Promoting United States International Leadership in 5G Act of 2021

June 8, 2021

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

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2471, Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act

June 8, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on
April 21, 2021

Cost Estimate

H.R. 2785, Energy Resource Governance Initiative Act of 2021

June 8, 2021

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on
May 19, 2021

Report

Monthly Budget Review: May 2021

June 8, 2021

The federal budget deficit was $2.1 trillion in the first eight months of fiscal year 2021, CBO estimates—$184 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.

FAF

Financial Accounting Foundation Names Adam Roark to the Private Company Council  [06/10/21]
Media Advisory

 

GAO

Priority Open Recommendations

Internal Revenue Service

GAO-21-547PR

Published: Jun 04, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 14, 2021.

What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified 24 priority recommendations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Released on Jun. 10, 2021

Priority Open Recommendations

Social Security Administration

GAO-21-430PR

Published: Jun 03, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 10, 2021.

What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified seven open priority recommendations for the Social Security Administration (SSA).

VA Health Care

Additional Data Needed to Inform the COVID- 19 Response in Community Living Centers

GAO-21-369R

Published: Jun 10, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 10, 2021.

What GAO Found Since November 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has had facility-specific data on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths among residents in Community Living Centers (CLC), which are VA-owned and -operated nursing homes.

Released on Jun. 9, 2021

Limpieza Efectuada Por El DOD

Se anticipa que los esfuerzos que se llevan a cabo en los antiguos sitios militares en Vieques y Culebra, Puerto Rico, continúen hasta el año 2032

GAO-21-605

Published: Jun 09, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2021.

This is the Spanish language highlights associated with GAO-21-268. Conclusiones de la GAO El DoD sigue avanzando en los esfuerzos de limpieza efectuados en los antiguos sitios militares de Vieques y Culebra, Puerto Rico, pero aún queda mucho que hacer. La Marina de los EE. UU.

Priority Open Recommendations

Small Business Administration

GAO-21-503PR

Published: Jun 02, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2021.

What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified eight priority recommendations for the Small Business Administration (SBA). Since then, SBA has implemented one of these recommendations by developing a process for an organization-wide cybersecurity risk assessment.

Science & Tech Spotlight

Renewable Ocean Energy

GAO-21-533SP

Published: Jun 09, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2021.

Why This Matters Renewable ocean energy has the potential to reduce global carbon emissions from fossil fuels by 500 million tons by 2050, and could also meet the energy needs of isolated communities, which may not have access to reliable electricity sources.

VA Real Property

Preliminary Observations on Challenges Limiting VA's Ability to Effectively Manage Its Assets

GAO-21-105252

Published: Jun 09, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2021.

What GAO Found GAO has identified key characteristics of an asset management framework designed to optimize funding and decision-making related to capital assets. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to have challenges meeting at least three of these key characteristics.

Nuclear Security Enterprise

NNSA Should Use Portfolio Management Leading Practices to Support Modernization Efforts

GAO-21-398

Published: Jun 09, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 09, 2021.

What GAO Found The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has partially implemented selected leading practices to manage the work necessary to maintain and modernize the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Released on Jun. 8, 2021

Weapon Systems Annual Assessment

Updated Program Oversight Approach Needed

GAO-21-222

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

GAO's 19th annual assessment of the Department of Defense's (DOD) weapon programs comes at a time of significant internal changes to the department's acquisition process.

Department of Energy

Environmental Liability Continues to Grow, but Opportunities May Exist to Reduce Costs and Risks

GAO-21-585R

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

What GAO Found The Department of Energy's (DOE) environmental liability is large and growing. In managing cleanup responsibilities related to this liability, DOE faces challenges in contract and project management, and has opportunities to reduce costs and risks.

Military Lodging

DOD Should Provide Congress with More Information on Army's Privatization and Better Guidance to the Military Services

GAO-21-214

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

What GAO Found Since privatizing its domestic on-base hotels, referred to as lodging, the Army has made a variety of improvements, including the replacement of lodging facilities with newly constructed hotels (see fig.).

Federal Protective Service

Better Documented Cost Estimates Could Help Stakeholders Make Security Decisions

GAO-21-464

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

What GAO Found The Federal Protective Service (FPS) provides security and protection at more than 9,000 federal facilities.

National Science Foundation

COVID-19 Affected Ongoing Construction of Major Facilities Projects

GAO-21-417

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

What GAO Found Since GAO's April 2020 report on the status of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) major facilities projects, the Large Hadron Collider High Luminosity Upgrade program began construction, and it along with the four other major facilities projects in construction (see figure), have...

Homeland Security

DHS Needs to Fully Implement Key Practices in Acquiring Biometric Identity Management System

GAO-21-386

Published: Jun 08, 2021.

Publicly Released: Jun 08, 2021.

What GAO Found The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially expected to implement the entire Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) by 2021; however, no segments of the program have been deployed to date. Currently estimated to cost $4.

Fair Lending
CFPB Needs to Assess the Impact of Recent Changes to Its Fair Lending Activities

GAO-21-393
Published: May 06, 2021.
Publicly Released: Jun 07, 2021.
What GAO Found In January 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a reorganization of its fair lending activities that moved its Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (Fair Lending Office) from the Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending Division to the Office of the of the Director and reallocated certain of its responsibilities.

IASB

Help us shape our future content strategy
14 June 2021

Survey

June 2021 International Accounting Standards Board meeting agenda and papers available
11 June 2021

Meeting
Due Process Oversight Committee June 2021 meeting papers available
10 June 2021

Meeting
IASB members to host webinar on Exposure Draft Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards—A Pilot Approach
8 June 2021

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IRS

New FAQs available to aid families and small business under the American Rescue Plan 

IR-2021-128, June 11, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service today posted two new, separate sets of frequently-asked-questions (FAQs) to assist families and small and mid-sized employers in claiming credits under the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

More than 2.3 million additional Economic Impact Payments disbursed under the American Rescue Plan; total payments top 169 million

IR-2021-127, June 9, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced today they have disbursed more than 2.3 million additional Economic Impact Payments under the American Rescue Plan.

IRS Procurement office to hire 80 new employees nationwide, including contract specialists

IR-2021-126, June 8, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service is looking to hire motivated acquisition professionals interested in providing America’s taxpayers top quality service. 

IRS reminder: Approaching June 15 deadline for second quarter estimated tax payments 

IR-2021-125, June 8, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers who pay estimated taxes that they have until June 15 to pay their estimated tax payment for the second quarter of tax year 2021 without penalty.

IRS sending letters to more than 36 million families who may qualify for monthly Child Tax Credits; payments start July 15

IR-2021-124, June 7, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service has started sending letters to more than 36 million American families who, based on tax returns filed with the agency, may be eligible to receive monthly Child Tax Credit payments starting in July.

 

NYS

Superintendent Lacewell Calls for Disclosure of Climate-Related Financial Risks by Publicly Traded Companies
June 14, 2021​

Superintendent Lacewell Announces New DFS Report on New York Domestic Insurers’ Exposure to Financial Risks Arising from the Low-Carbon Transition
June 10, 2021​

SEC

SEC Announces Annual Regulatory Agenda

2021-99, June 11, 2021 —The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs today released the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The report, which includes contributions related to the Securities and Exchange Commission, lists short- and long-term regulatory actions that administrative agencies plan to take.

SEC Charges Dentist-Turned-Investment Adviser for Three Separate Frauds

2021-98., June 11, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Edgar M. Radjabli of Boca Raton, Florida, and two entities he controlled for engaging in three separate securities frauds of escalating size.

Gary Gensler Announces Additions to Executive Staff
2021-96, June 8, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointments of Amanda Fischer, Lisa Helvin, Tejal D. Shah, Angelica Annino, Liz Bloom, Basmah Nada, and Jahvonta Mason as members of SEC Chair Gary Gensler's executive staff.

SEC Investor Advisory Committee to Meet Remotely On June 10

2021-95, June 8, 2021 —The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on June 10 by remote means. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. ET, is open to the public via live webcast, and will be archived on the committee's website for later viewing.

SEC Charges Couple With Insider Trading on Confidential Clinical Trial Data
2021-94, June 7, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based couple with insider trading in the stock of the pharmaceutical company where one of them worked as a clinical trial project manager. The defendants have agreed to pay more than $325,000 to settle the charges.

TIGTA

June 11, 2021
Controls Over the Internal Revenue Service Contractor Tax Check Process Need to Be Improved