Fortner Bayens, P.C. Banking Letter - July 2019 Edition

Now Open - 31st Annual Independent Bank Compensation Survey

Complete the survey now on our website!

Many of you are long-time participants and we welcome your participation again this year. Our survey collects and analyzes compensation information for key bank positions as well as data on bonus and benefit plans. All reports are free of charge and accessible online to survey participants. 

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FASB Requests Input on Accounting for Intangible Assets and Goodwill

Kristen A. Rea, CPA

On July 9, 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an invitation to comment (ITC), requesting input on the accounting for certain identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination and subsequent accounting for goodwill.

There are already accounting alternatives for private and not-for-profit companies, but FASB has received mixed feedback from users, preparers, and practitioners on whether the benefits justify the costs for public entities. Therefore, the FASB staff is seeking further input to inform the Board’s future deliberations about whether a change to financial reporting is warranted and whether cost-effective solutions that maintain or improve decision usefulness are feasible.

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Did Congress Create a Friendlier IRS?

Mark J. Corey, CPA, JD

Dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can be a difficult process in the best of times, but add in a disagreement over tax deductions, or a proposed penalty for some alleged tax mistake, then your experience with the IRS can turn from bad to nightmarish.  To help taxpayers, Congress passed, and the President signed legislation titled “Taxpayer First Act” on July 1, 2019.  This law is the first major reform of the IRS in some time and is intended to make the IRS more “friendly” to the taxpayers of the United States.  Indicative of the common bad experiences people have had with the IRS, the bill was passed with significant bi-partisan congressional support.

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Federal Funds Rate to be Cut? 

Philip J. Schuyler, CPA

During his testimony to Congress on July 10, 2019, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave indications of a potential federal funds rate cut.  Powell stated that while the economy continues to perform "reasonably well," "inflation has been running below the Federal Open Market Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective, and crosscurrents, such as trade tensions and concerns about global growth, have been weighing on economic activity and the outlook."

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Volcker Rule Exemption

Michelle L. Steinbronn, CPA

On July 9, 2019, five federal agencies (the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission) finalized a rule implementing sections 203 and 204 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act  (the Act) which was signed into law on May 24, 2018. The Act modifies specific provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) to ease some of the regulatory burdens on financial institutions.

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