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In the fourth quarter of 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which signals a long-term federal commitment to secure and modernize existing infrastructures, and support a transition to a clean economy. While that legislation is now law, at press time, the fate of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill is still unknown. We summarize the current state, including proposed tax law changes that could impact 2021 financial statements.  

At the SEC, fourth quarter activity included announcing new PCAOB appointments and adopting rules requiring the use of universal proxy cards in contested board elections. The SEC staff also continues its focus on ESG, providing example comments registrants may receive related to their disclosures—or lack thereof—about climate change. We provide the details and other ESG updates, including key takeaways from our recent ESG investor survey.

To help you prepare your year-end financial statements, we’ve compiled a list of top five year-end reporting reminders. We also provide perspectives on the impacts of the current economic environment on your year-end reporting. 

In standard-setting news, the FASB issued four new accounting standards, including changes to business combination accounting that companies may want to adopt this year. And, the feedback is in on the FASB’s future agenda. We reveal the topics that rose to the top of stakeholder’s lists.  

In this edition of The quarter close, we highlight these and other relevant accounting and reporting topics you should consider as 2021 comes to a close.

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