AICPA commends removal of farm bill provision that would have harmed small firms.

• Position: Legislation

The AICPA commended the U.S. House of Representatives' removal of a provision in the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007 that would have resulted in unfair competition to small CPA firms. The provision was part of a larger effort to expand the charter of the Farm Credit System so that the FCS would be able to offer not only loans, but also other financial services, such as accounting and tax services, to a large new class of non-farm borrowers. The bill passed without the measure in early Aug.

Because FCS institutions have lower costs as a result of their advantaged government-sponsored-entity status and because the provision would have allowed the FCS institutions to bundle services such as tax, lending, and book and record...