Corporate Transparency Act

Q. Do CPAs offer filing services under the Corporate Transparency Act?

Many CPA firms now offer filing services under the Corporate Transparency Act. There was initial hesitancy in early 2024 due to concerns about legal practice and insurance uncertainty. However, recent opinions from attorneys general and recommendations from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have clarified that CPAs can assist with filing claims. Additionally, state CPA firms offer FinCEN CPE courses, and many insurers now offer these services. We have seen a shift in our new enrollments: approximately 70% of the hundreds of companies currently using FincenFetch are accounting firms, moving away from primarily law firms at the beginning of the year.

Q: How much do CPAs pay to file a FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report?

CPAs typically bill between $350 and $450 for a preliminary BOI FinCEN report this year. Starting in 2025, many companies plan to introduce an annual service fee for data storage, customer dashboards, record keeping and report update reminders to help customers avoid FinCEN’s $591 daily fines. Annual fee structures

Q: What are the steps and time requirements for each BOI report?

Filing a BOI report is a nine-step process for CPAs: informing clients of the requirements, gathering information, explaining new definitions, obtaining copies of ID documents, reviewing reports, submitting the report, providing transcripts, maintaining records, and reminding clients of updates. Typically, this process takes approximately two hours per report. However, BOI reporting software automates these steps, reducing time per report to under five minutes and enabling automatic reminders and customer education.

Q. How can CPAs reduce their BOI reporting liability?

CPAs should ensure that the client signs reports before submitting them, minimize data transfer errors, and establish terms of cooperation. The software automates these tasks with features that record approvals, autofill data to reduce typing errors, and allow documents to be transmitted electronically. Additionally, reminder systems are important because they allow you to keep customers updated on current reporting requirements and identify triggers for a 30-day timer for updated reports.

Q How big is this compliance market for 2024 and beyond?

BOI reporting revenues are expected to reach approximately $6.4 billion in 2024 by the January 1, 2025 reporting deadline. These estimates are based on the assumption that 40% of the 40 million reporting firms report to applications and pays about $400 per report. From 2025, the market will transition to a recurring revenue model, generating an estimated $1.5 billion annually based on updated reporting. Annually, 35% to 45% of CPA firms are likely to file updated reports due to the greater number of owners and update triggers. This significant market size is prompting many companies to adopt strategies and reporting software well ahead of schedule to support their customers and increase revenues in this new market.