FRF for SMEs™ Toolkit for CPA Firms
Firms like yours are working together with America’s Main Street businesses and their stakeholders, ensuring financial statements contain the right information for making informed business or credit decisions. The Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (FRF for SMEs™) provides a great opportunity for you to offer a financial reporting option designed specifically for your small business clients or potential clients looking for comprehensive non-GAAP financial statements.
So that your firm can leverage the FRF for SMEs™ framework and educate yourself, your staff and clients, the AICPA has created the FRF for SMEs™ Toolkit. In this toolkit, you’ll find Client-Facing Tools, Financial Statement User Tools and Internal/Staff Tools.
In addition to these tools, you may want to direct banking contacts and clients/prospects to the AICPA’s Toolkit for Financial Statement Users and the Toolkit for Small Business to help them understand the benefits of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework.
Resources
Once you decide to provide the FRF for SMEs™ framework at your practice, you can use the client-facing materials highlighted previously, plus the following materials to educate yourself and your staff:
- A Learning and Implementation Plan helps you track your usage of all of the tools in the FRF for SMEs™ Toolkit.
- An Introduction to the Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities is a primer on FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework. The introduction includes benefits of the framework, background information on its development, basic concepts and sample CPA reports and has been updated for SSARS No. 21.
- A flyer explains key features of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework and can be distributed to staff or other CPAs.
- A case study explains how one CPA firm added the FRF for SMEs™ to its service offerings and educated clients and financial statement users about the framework.
- A case study explores how one firm convinced a small business client to use the new framework and influenced local financial statement users to accept statements based on the FRF for SMEs™.
- A case study describes how one CPA firm strengthened its connections with both clients and bankers by offering the FRF for SMEs™.
- This article from the American Bankers Association Banking Journal highlights the benefits of the framework and provides a banker's perspective on the impact of the FRF for SMEs™.
- A client interest survey helps you gauge client interest and collect potential client contact information for follow up.
- A PowerPoint presentation helps you train staff on the framework.
- The Illustrations of the Application of Certain Principles and Criteria of the FRF for SMEs™ Accounting Framework provides helpful guidance for those implementing the framework.
- Tips for presenting helps firms guide conversations with clients to determine whether the framework is appropriate for them.
The AICPA has created the following tools you can share with clients and potential clients to help them understand the FRF for SMEs™ framework:
- An Introduction to the Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium-Sized Entities is a primer on the FRF for SMEs™ framework.
- A short, animated video highlights the evolution of the framework and some of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework’s key benefits. (View or download in BrightCove format or download wmv format for use in PowerPoint slides—hint: save video file in same folder as the slide deck.)
- Illustrative financial statements demonstrate to clients how the framework can simplify the communication of financial information.
- An article outlines the framework and may be included in your client communications, newsletters or on your firm’s website.
- Comparisons of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework to U.S. GAAP, tax basis Special Purpose Framework (SPF) and IFRS for SMEs will help staff understand how the FRF for SMEs™ reporting option differs from other reporting frameworks.
- This customizable sample financial statement/comparison spreadsheet can be used to demonstrate to clients the differences between the FRF for SMEs™, income tax and U.S. GAAP.
- A decision tool to help make an informed decision about choosing an accounting framework, including the FRF for SMEs™ framework, as an appropriate basis for the preparation of the entity’s financial statements.
- A backgrounder outlines why the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework was needed and how it fills a void in the non-GAAP financial reporting arena.
- A flyer explains key features of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework.
- Co-brandable versions of both the backgrounder and flyer can be customized with your contact information and/or firm's logo to promote your practice. Download the instructions for co-branding to learn how.
- Frequently Asked Questions help clients and potential clients understand the framework.
- A PowerPoint presentation helps you introduce the framework to clients in meetings and at events.
- A checklist to help financial statement preparers and practitioners comply with the FRF for SMEs™ framework disclosure and presentation requirements.
- Social media blurbs and tweets help you promote your FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework services to clients and potential clients.
- A toolkit for financial statement users may be shared with your clients so they can educate their lenders, insurers and other stakeholders.
- A FRF for SMEs™ logo may be added to your firm’s website or other promotional material to indicate you offer the framework as a small business client service.
- A cover letter can be mailed or e-mailed to clients, informing them of the availability of your FRF for SMEs™ reporting services.
As you and your staff interact with bankers, lenders and other users of financial statements, you may want to share the these educational resources so that they can better understand FRF for SMEs™ framework. Resources include:
- An Introduction to the Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium-Sized Entities is a primer on the FRF for SMEs™ reporting option.
- An animated video highlights the evolution of the framework and some of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework’s key benefits. (View or download in BrightCove format or download wmv format for use in PowerPoint slides—hint: save video file in same folder as the slide deck.)
- Illustrative financial statements demonstrate the framework in action and include sample auditor reports.
- Comparisons of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework to U.S. GAAP, tax basis Special Purpose Framework (SPF), and IFRS for SMEs will make clear the differences among these frameworks.
- This sample financial statement/comparison spreadsheet demonstrates the differences between the FRF for SMEs™, income tax and U.S. GAAP.
- This article from the American Bankers Association Banking Journal highlights the benefits of the framework.
- A case study explains how one banker learned about the FRF for SMEs™ and determined that the framework could be a good option for her bank and its small business customers. This document outlines the steps she will take to help gain acceptance of the framework at her institution.
- A backgrounder outlines why the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework was needed and how it fills a void in the non-GAAP financial reporting environment.
- A flyer spotlights key features of the FRF for SMEs™ accounting framework and may be distributed to bankers/lenders and other users of financial statements.
- Co-brandable versions of both the backgrounder and flyer can be customized with your contact information and/or firm's logo to promote your practice to bankers/lenders and other users of financial statements. Download the instructions for co-branding to learn how.
- Frequently Asked Questions address the most likely areas of interest to financial statement users.
- A PowerPoint presentation explains the framework to your financial statement users.
