The $908 billion coronavirus relief package that is currently being chiseled together by Congress may include a second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) round. That is certainly welcome news to various small businesses across the United States.
On Monday, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recommended that CPA firms should be gearing up to assist small businesses whose survival depends on a new round of funding under the PPP. They also recommended that small businesses begin reaching out to their trusted advisors as well.
“We are encouraging the 44,000 CPA firms affiliated with the AICPA to start identifying clients who will meet the proposed criteria for the next round of PPP,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “As part of that, they should begin the process of gathering key information, such as 2020 revenue. It’s also important for firms to put in place processes and PPP platform capabilities. Firms have a great opportunity to be much more proactive and strategic on how they support clients with this stimulus compared to the original PPP round in April.”
“Small businesses, the engine of our economy, continue to struggle,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “We strongly support Congress’s efforts to deliver more relief funding as soon as possible.”
During the initial rollout of PPP, CPA firms were forced to set up manual processes to serve clients and often operated with limited guidance. To provide better support, the AICPA, CPA.com and Biz2Credit launched a financing platform for CPA firms, the CPA Business Funding Portal (located at CPALoanPortal.com), to help practitioners guide small businesses through PPP loan forgiveness. Since its creation, Versions of the portal’s tools have been used by more than 37,000 business owners and almost 7,000 CPA firms.
Once so-called “PPP2” funding is authorized, the portal will be quickly updated to make loan application processing efficient and aligned with the latest guided assistance, Asgeirsson said.
Once “PPP2” funding is authorized, the portal will be updated to make loan application processing efficient and aligned with the latest guided assistance, according to Asgeirsson.
