WASHINGTON– A representative of the American Institute of CPAs testified before Congress about challenges small businesses and non-profits continue to face with the Paycheck Protection Program application process.
Lisa Simpson, vice president of firm services for the AICPA, told the House Committee on Small Business that the accounting profession supports the PPP, but there continue to be numerous problems.
Simpson, who noted many small businesses have turned to their accountants for help in remaining afloat, including applying for PPP loans, called upon Congress to extend the PPP application deadline by at least 60 days after March 31, 2021, citing “urgent challenges” facing small business and their CPA advisors.
The Challenges
Simpson said those challenges include:
- PPP application validation errors and hold codes that are difficult to decipher and resolve because they occur in the digital interface between lenders’ and the SBA’s platforms.
- At least 65 error codes and validation checks, many of which may ultimately be incorrect, that can take two to six weeks to resolve.
- Delayed SBA guidance and new forms enacting changes in the maximum loan amount for small business owners who report their income on IRS Form 1040 Schedule C, coupled with lenders’ need to update their systems, provides little time for small borrowers to submit an accurate loan application, resolve any issues encountered in the SBA processing system and obtain a PPP loan – all while operating their businesses.
- Recent changes to the maximum PPP loan amount for small business owners is resulting in inequitable treatment of many borrowers who had previously applied for and received a PPP loan but cannot retroactively increase the loan amount to benefit from the recent changes.
- The fast-approaching April 15 tax filing and payment deadline, which layers onto the need for CPAs to advise small businesses on business relief options.