The Georgia Society of CPAs Asks Counties and Cities to List Accounting as Essential Service

ATLANTA (March 25, 2020) - The Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA) asks all Georgia counties and municipalities to consider accounting an essential service as “shelter in place” orders are issued.

A precedent has already been set by the City of Atlanta, Clarke County and Cobb County, where “shelter in place” orders have been issued to include accounting services as essential. Other states include New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Nevada, Illinois, California and Ohio among others.

“As our local governments continue to evaluate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and seek to mitigate its impact, they face many difficult decisions. While health care, utilities, grocery stores and public safety are clearly essential services, GSCPA requests that accounting services are also considered as an essential service. Accounting services are critical to the financial markets and the operations of our counties and municipalities behind the scenes, especially when considering legally mandated activities,” says GSCPA CEO Boyd Search.

The following issues further illustrate why accounting services should be considered essential:

  1. Accountants provide tax preparation services for individuals, businesses, counties, municipalities and not for profits.
  2. Banks and other lenders require current financial statements and information when reviewing loan requests or a financial restructuring. These requests will increase as a result of the current COVID-19 crisis.
  3. Businesses are facing difficult decisions due to the major disruption caused by COVID-19. More than ever, business owners will rely on their CPAs to provide analysis and advice that allows them to make vital decisions, meet their contractual obligations, pay their employees and-ultimately -stay in business. This is especially important as we look to rebuild the economy here in Georgia.
  4. The services provided by accounting professionals are used across the entire state of Georgia. By naming them as essential, many communities are and will continue to be served.

About GSCPA

 

GSCPA is the premier professional organization for CPAs in the state of Georgia. With almost 13,000 members throughout the state, the purpose of GSCPA is to achieve excellence by providing superior advocacy, leadership, service, lifelong learning and personal and professional development opportunities. For more information, visit www.gscpa.org.

Contact:

The Georgia Society of CPAs: Elizabeth Cook, director, membership and communications, 404-504-2941, ecook@gscpa.org.