Accounting
Liability insurance for accountants: New times, new risks
CPA firms continue to face unique challenges as they navigate some of the current liability issues and trends facing the profession, including beneficial ownership information filing under the Corporate Transparency Act, artificial intelligence, and cyberthreats.
“We strongly encourage firms to proactively prepare for risk by following some basic best practices,” advised Suzanne Holl, a CPA and executive vice president at insurance company Camico.
These best practices include:
- Set the right “tone from the top.” Encourage and reward a culture of transparency within the firm hierarchy to identify and communicate risk issues to help minimize potential exposures and enable the firm to early report liability concerns to their professional liability carrier and benefit from any proactive risk management guidance and support that may be available.
- Prioritize performing the right services for the right clients, as not every client is a good fit for every firm. Evaluating the firm’s client base has become even more important as firms face staffing constraints.
- Close the expectation gap. Proactively manage and document client expectations to minimize the risks associated with potential gaps between what they expect and what you’re offering.
Corporate Transparency Act risks
The new beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the CTA took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and months later, the small-business community remains woefully unprepared for compliance with this complex reporting regime. As many small businesses look to their CPA for guidance and assistance, this poses potential added risks to firms.
One of the overarching concerns is whether CTA-BOI advisory services would be deemed the unauthorized practice of law for CPAs and nonattorney tax professionals. Given that each state has its own definitions of what services are considered UPL, this is a complex and nuanced risk requiring firms to stay current on the UPL issue in the states where they are licensed, as well as the states in which clients reside.
John Raspante, director of risk management at McGowanPro, sees the CTA as a source of controversy.
Pixelbliss – stock.adobe.com
“It hasn’t caused a claim yet, but we’ve received more than 1,000 calls regarding beneficial ownership reporting requirements,” he said. “The forms have to be filed by the end of the year for existing entities, with FinCEN. The questions revolve around whether CPAs are allowed to do this work, and if they do it, will they be covered under their policy. It’s more than likely that claims will be forthcoming on this issue. Once the form is filed, there has to be continual monitoring since modifications to the form have to be filed as well. If the accounting firm is sold, if the filer or a beneficial owner changes their residence, or the business adds an additional owner, it all has to be reported.”
Camico continues to advise CPAs to be vigilant and prepared to minimize the potential of additional liability exposures by following risk management best practices, which at a minimum should include:
Informing and advising clients in writing regarding the new beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the CTA, and recommending that they seek legal guidance.
Modifying traditional tax and financial statement engagement letters to include language that specifically disclaims the firm’s involvement in assisting clients with CTA compliance under the terms of that agreement.
Using standalone engagement letters if the firm is rendering CTA-related services to clients that specify the limited nature of the services the firm is providing, such as the filing of the initial BOI report or the filing of a corrected or updated BOI report, and that contain appropriate disclaimer language for such limited services.
Preparing your own firm for compliance if you are deemed to be a “reporting company” under current CTA guidance.
Generative AI
“Generative AI is no longer just a buzzword,” said Holl. “The technological advancements that generative AI promises have the potential to reshape how firms provide professional services, communicate with clients, and even how leaders manage their firm.”
Although generative AI solutions can provide benefits for CPA firms, she said, “From a liability perspective, there are critical risks associated with generative AI that should be vetted by firms and mitigation strategies implemented to minimize potential exposures.”
Among those risks are concerns with accuracy and quality control, confidentiality, privacy, security, and ethical issues. Successful integration of generative AI requires a well-crafted implementation plan that should include, among other things, appropriate education and training to ensure responsible use.
“We believe a clear and concise generative AI policy to document a firm’s authorized usage is paramount in minimizing risk and achieving firm goals using AI,” Holl said.
Cyber exposures
Cyber exposures have become increasingly problematic as cyber criminals are targeting CPA firms and tax professionals due to the type of information they gather and store. If the criminals are successful in gaining access to the firm’s information, costly measures may need to be taken including, but not limited to, hiring IT forensic experts to determine the extent of a potential breach, consulting with attorneys specializing in data breach laws and notification obligations, and providing credit monitoring to those impacted by a breach.
A far-too-common scenario is when a fraudster controls the client’s and the firm’s email, commonly referred to as a “man in the middle” attack. In these situations, the fraudulent request may mimic previous legitimate requests, which can make it very difficult for a firm to identify the request as illegitimate. As fraudulent wire transfers frequently cause large dollar losses, firms need to be hypervigilant in their efforts to protect the firm and clients against wire transfer fraud.
Insurance experts strongly recommend that firms have written protocols in place with clients who need such services that outline the protocols to be followed when executing wire transfer requests.
Preparing defenses
It’s important to have a “meeting of the minds” at the outset of a client relationship, according to Sarah Ference, risk control director for the Accountants Professional Liability Program at CNA, the underwriter for the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program. An engagement letter is the tool that not only helps achieve this, but is also a first line of defense if a relationship sours.
“An engagement letter helps set the stage for success throughout the engagement. That kind of understanding really aids in mitigating risk and resolving issues that might arise, or may even prevent them from arising. Yet CPAs tend to shy away from using engagement letters,” she said.
“We continue to see areas of practice like tax which lack engagement letters,” Ference noted. “Of the claims asserted in 2023 against CPA firms in the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program, about 75% stemmed from tax services. Of those, over 50% didn’t have an engagement letter, which puts the CPA in a difficult position to defend the claim. We have seen similar percentages in prior years. Intuitively, if there was an engagement letter that spelled out what you’ve agreed to do, what a client’s responsibility was, and limitations of your responsibility, a claim may never arise. In that case, a client disagreement wouldn’t appear on our radar because the disagreement would have already been resolved before it turned into a claim.”
Anytime a CPA is delivering a service, they should consider an engagement letter, according to Ference: “Engagement letters are critical when doing any kind of consulting. The more specific, the better. Make sure that the letter is structured in such a way that there is no ambiguity. Ambiguity opens the door to broad interpretations and makes it difficult to align expectations between the CPA and the client.”
“It’s all about relationships,” according to Alvin Fennell, vice president and senior risk advisor at Aon, manager of the AICPA Professional Liability program. “CPAs are extremely customer-sensitive. Where they have a longtime client, they hate to request an engagement letter. I tell them: ‘Blame it on your insurance carrier. They require me to get an engagement letter!'”
“The most prevalent current risk is changes in regulations and accounting standards,” he said.
The lack of talent coming into the profession is a problem. “A lot of individuals are coming out of college and going into industry rather than accounting firms, causing more competition for talent in firms now. Big firms are acquiring smaller firms just to get at the talent they need,” Fennell said.
Finally, Raspante noted that, while accountants may not have handled a lot of Employee Retention Credits, many were confronted with the need to amend the business tax return to include the proceeds of an ERC.
“If the underpinnings of the ERC were incorrect, it can cause issues with us,” he said. “The voluntary disclosure program will create more claims. If an accountant didn’t tell us about the voluntary disclosure, it can cause a lot of damage.”
Over the last few years, AI has gone from being a novelty to a mission-critical business strategy for many accountants. Innovative, forward-thinking firms are using these tools to streamline manual tasks, ensure compliance and provide the best possible service to their clients. According to the 2025 Intuit QuickBooks
Processing Content
However, AI adoption is at varying levels across the industry. While nearly every firm has begun experimenting with basic AI tools, many remain in a sandbox phase, hesitant to move toward full-scale integration due to perceived complexity or costs.No matter where you may fall on the integration spectrum, the fact remains: AI is rapidly reshaping the accounting industry. If you’ve delayed AI adoption in your business, you’ll want to create a focused plan to catch up.
Time is of the essence, but don’t sacrifice strategy for speed
Firms that are ready to take the leap from casual use to deep integration may find themselves in need of accelerated adoption, but speed should not come at the cost of strategy. Identify tangible, practical ways that easy-to-use tools can impact your business through automation. Having a strong strategic focus allows firms to implement workflow changes to streamline manual tasks, ensure compliance and provide excellent service to your clients.
To begin your AI journey, here is a four-step plan that firms can use to transition from experimentation to execution, in a safe, practical manner:
Step 1: Kick off your first AI project
As is the case with many things, getting started is often the most challenging step. While enthusiasm is high, uncertainty with implementation risks can cause hesitation. The key is to lower risk by embracing AI and implementing an intentional, phased approach. Begin by weaving AI tools into high-impact, low-risk tasks, such as summarizing meeting notes, drafting client or firm-wide memos, or translating complex concepts into easy-to-understand ideas. Monitor results carefully and, if these initial attempts need adjustment, be prepared to pivot to the next use case until you can clearly demonstrate that AI systems are delivering a measurable impact on your operations. From there, you can learn from early experiences, adapt strategy, and scale appropriately to complete more complex projects.
Step 2: Dig into your AI toolkit
The marketplace is crowded with AI-powered tools that promise to do everything from enhancing your workflows to improving the customer experience. It can be hard to know which ones are worth investing your time and money. Find a trusted source like a respected peer, or leverage your professional network to help discuss the tools that may be the best fit for achieving your business goals. You can also look within the tools you’re already using to see if they offer AI-powered features, which can help ease into the transition. Additionally, look for free high-quality education to upskill your team. For example, Anthropic offers a Claude AI University that provides excellent foundational resources for moving beyond basic prompts.
Step 3: Review an AI security checklist
An important element in AI implementation is security. With AI tools needing access to firm and client data to function, it leads to questions of how the data will be protected. This makes the right AI and cybersecurity strategy critical. Firms must proactively ensure that client data remains protected from today’s increasingly sophisticated threats by embracing an established cybersecurity framework such as
Step 4: Openly discuss AI usage with your clients
Once you’ve established the best way to use AI tools that meet your firm’s needs, you’ll want to communicate all of the advantages afforded by these tools to your clients. Make sure you highlight the benefits and simultaneously ensure you are addressing any potential concerns. It’s also important to get explicit consent from all clients if you’re sharing their information with the third-party tools you may use. While this might seem like an extra step, it will go a long way toward fostering a greater level of transparency and deepen trust between you and your clients.
Don’t get left behind
Adopting AI does not have to be intimidating, expensive or overly complex. Think of it as a strategic business move that will not only keep you competitive, but will potentially free you up to focus on keeping clients happy and growing your practice. By strategically focusing on these best practices, identifying AI use cases in a phased approach, evaluating the right tools for your business, ensuring client information is secure and clearly communicating your AI strategy, you’ll be AI-ready in no time.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board met this week to discuss its projects on accounting for transfers of cryptocurrency assets and enhancing the disclosures around certain digital assets, such as stablecoins.
Processing Content
During Wednesday’s meeting, FASB’s board made certain tentative decisions, according to a
At a future meeting, the board plans to consider clarifying the derecognition guidance for crypto transfer arrangements to assess whether the control of a crypto asset has been transferred.
FASB also began deliberations on the
The board decided to provide illustrative examples in Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows, to clarify whether certain digital assets such as stablecoins can meet the definition of cash equivalents. It also decided to include the following concepts in the illustrative examples:
- Interpretive explanations that link to the current cash equivalents definition;
- The amount and composition of reserve assets; and,
- The nature of qualifying on-demand, contractual cash redemption rights directly with the issuer.
FASB plans to clarify that an entity should consider compliance with relevant laws and regulations when it’s creating a policy concerning which assets that satisfy the Master Glossary definition of the term “cash equivalents“ will be treated as cash equivalents.
“I agree with the staff suggestion to look at examples,” said FASB vice chair Hillary Salo. “From my perspective, I think that is going to help level the playing field. People have been making reasonable judgments. I agree with that. And I think that this is really going to help show those goalposts or guardrails of what types of stablecoins would be in the scope of cash equivalents, and which ones would not be in the scope of cash equivalents. I certainly appreciate that approach, and I think it has the least potential impact of unintended consequences, because I do agree with my fellow board members that we shouldn’t be changing the definition of cash equivalents, and it’s a high bar to get into the cash equivalent definition.”
“I’m definitely supportive of not changing the definition of cash equivalents,” said FASB chair Richard Jones. “I believe that’s settled GAAP in a way, and we’re not really seeing a call to change it for broader issues. I am supportive of the example-based approach. The challenge with examples, though, is everybody’s going to want their exact pattern, but that’s not what we’re doing.”
The examples will explain the rationale for how digital assets such as stablecoins do or do not qualify as cash equivalents and give a roadmap for other types of digital assets with varying fact patterns to be able to apply.
“We really don’t want to be as a board facing a situation where something was a cash equivalent and then no longer is at a later date,” said Jones. “That’s not good for anyone, so keeping it as a high bar with certain rigid criteria, I think, is fine.”
Stablecoins are supposed to be pegged to fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars and thus provide more stability to investors. “In my view, while a stablecoin may meet the accounting definition established for cash equivalents, not every one of those stablecoins in the cash equivalent classification represents the same level of risk,” said FASB member Joyce Joseph.
She noted that the capital markets recognize the distinctions and have established a Stablecoin Stability Assessment Framework to evaluate a stablecoin’s ability to maintain its peg to a fiat currency. Such assessments look at the legal and regulatory framework associated with the stablecoin, and provide investors with information that could enable them to do forward-looking assessments about the stability of the stablecoin.
“However, for an investor to consider and utilize such information for a company analysis the financial statement disclosures would need to include information about the stablecoin itself,” Joseph added. “In outreach, the staff learned that investors supported classifying certain stablecoins as cash equivalents when transparent information is available about the entities at which the reserve assets are held. Therefore, in my view, taking all of this into consideration a relevant and informative company disclosure would include providing investors with the name of the stablecoin and the amount of the stablecoin that is classified as a cash equivalent, so investors can independently assess the liquidity risks more meaningfully and more comprehensively by utilizing broader information that is available in the capital markets and its emerging information.”
Such information could include the issuer, reserves, governance and management, she noted, so investors would get a more holistic look at the risks that holding the stablecoin would entail for a given company.
The board decided to require all entities to disclose the significant classes and related amounts of cash equivalents on an annual basis for each period that a statement of financial position is presented.
Entities should apply the amendments related to the classification of certain digital assets as cash equivalents on a modified prospective basis as of the beginning of the annual reporting period in the year of adoption.
FASB decided that entities should apply the amendments related to the disclosure of the significant classes and amounts of cash equivalents on a prospective basis as of the date of the most recent statement of financial position presented in the period of adoption.
The board will allow early adoption in both interim and annual reporting periods in which financial statements have not been issued or made available for issuance.
FASB also decided to permit entities to adopt the amendments to be illustrated in the examples related to the classification of certain digital assets as cash equivalents without the need to perform a preferability assessment as described in Topic 250, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.
The board directed the staff to draft a proposed accounting standards update to be voted on by written ballot. The proposed update will have a 90-day comment period.
Senators introduced several pieces of tax-related legislation this week, including measures aimed at improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service, cracking down on tax evasion and curbing the carried interest tax break, in addition to efforts in the House to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act.
Processing Content
Senators Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, and Mark Warner, D-Virginia, teamed up on introducing a bipartisan bill, the
The bill would establish a dashboard to inform taxpayers of backlogs and wait times; expand electronic access to information and refunds; expand callback technology and online accounts; and inform individuals facing economic hardship about collection alternatives.
“Taxpayers deserve a simple, stress-free experience when dealing with the IRS,” Cassidy said in a statement Wednesday. “This bill makes the process quicker and easier for taxpayers to get the information they need.”
He also mentioned the bill during a
“I’m happy to meet with the team … and do all I can to make it as good as you want it to be,” said Bisignano.
“My bill would equip the IRS with the legislative mandate to create an online dashboard so that taxpayers can monitor average call wait time and budget time accordingly,” said Cassidy. He noted that the bill would allow a callback for taxpayers that might need to wait longer than five minutes to speak to a representative, and establish a program to identify and support taxpayers struggling to make ends meet by providing information about alternative payment methods, such as installments, partial payments and offers in compromise.
“I know people are kind of desperate and don’t know where to turn for cash, so I think this could really ease anxiety,” he added. “This legislation is bipartisan and is likely to pass this Congress.”
Cassidy and Warner
“Taxpayers shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to get basic answers from the IRS — and in the last year, those challenges have only gotten worse,” Warner said in a statement. “I am glad to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation on Tax Day to ease some of this frustration by increasing clear communication and making IRS resources more readily available.”
Stop CHEATERS Act
Also on Tax Day, a group of Senate Democrats and an independent who usually caucuses with Democrats teamed up to introduce the Stop Corporations and High Earners from Avoiding Taxes and Enforce the Rules Strictly (Stop CHEATERS) Act.
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, joined with Senators Angus King, I-Maine, Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island. The bill would provide additional funding for the IRS to strengthen and expand tax collection services and systems and crack down on tax cheating by the wealthy.
“Wealthy tax cheats and scofflaw corporations are stealing billions and billions from the American people by refusing to pay what they legally owe, and far too many of them are getting a free pass because Republicans gutted the enforcement capacity of the IRS,” Wyden said in a statement. “A rich tax cheat who shelters mountains of cash among a web of shell companies and passthroughs is likelier to be struck by lightning than face an IRS audit, and Republicans want to keep it that way. This bill is about making sure the IRS has the resources it needs to go after wealthy tax cheats while improving customer service for the vast majority of American taxpayers who follow the law every year.”
Earlier this week. Wyden also
The Stop CHEATERS Act would provide the IRS with additional funding for tax enforcement focused upon high-income tax evasion, technology operations support, systems modernization, and taxpayer services like free tax-payer assistance.
“As Congress seeks ways to fund much-needed policy priorities and address our growing national debt, there is one common sense solution that should have unanimous bipartisan support: let’s enforce the tax laws already on the books,” said King in a statement. “Our legislation will make sure the IRS has the resources it needs to confront the gap between taxes owed and taxes paid – while ensuring that our tax enforcement professionals are focused on the high-income earners who account for the most tax evasion. This is a serious problem with an easy solution; let’s pass this legislation and make sure every American pays what they owe in taxes.”
Carried interest
Wyden, King and Whitehouse also teamed up on another bill Thursday to close the carried interest tax break for hedge fund managers that
Carried interest is a form of compensation received by a fund manager in exchange for investment management services, according to a
Under the bill, the
“Our tax code is rigged to favor ultra-wealthy investors who know how to game the system to dodge paying a fair share, and there is no better example of how it works in practice than the carried interest loophole,” Wyden said in a statement. “For several decades now we’ve had a tax system that rewards the accumulation of wealth by the rich while punishing middle-class wage earners, and the effect of that system has been the strangulation of prosperity and opportunity for everybody but the ultra-wealthy. There are a lot of problems to fix to restore fairness and common sense to our tax code, and closing the carried interest loophole is a great place to start.”
Repealing Corporate Transparency Act
The House Financial Services Committee is also planning to markup a bill next Tuesday that would fully repeal the Corporate Transparency Act, which has already been significantly
If enacted, the repeal would eliminate beneficial ownership reporting requirements, removing a transparency measure designed to help law enforcement and national security officials identify who is behind U.S. companies.
“This repeal would turn the United States back into one of the easiest places in the world to set up anonymous shell companies, something Congress worked for years to fix,” said Erica Hanichak, deputy director of the FACT Coalition, in a statement. “These entities are routinely used to facilitate corruption, financial crime, and abuse. Rolling back the CTA doesn’t just weaken transparency, it signals to bad actors around the world that the U.S. is once again open for illicit business.”
Gen X can’t retire on time as inflation outpaces wages, survey finds
Are you ready for it? 4 steps to successfully integrate AI into your operations
What that means for consumer loans
Armanino adds Strategic Accounting Outsourced Solutions
New 2023 K-1 instructions stir the CAMT pot for partnerships and corporations
