close
(503) 217-4114
Blog

Compliance Simplified: FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information

06/24/2025

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has introduced new Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements, requiring many businesses to disclose ownership details to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). These rules, effective January 1, 2024, are designed to prevent financial crimes and increase corporate transparency.

For small business owners, understanding what needs to be reported, who must file, and how to stay compliant is key to avoiding penalties.

Who Must File a BOI Report?

Most LLCs, corporations, and similar privately owned businesses must file unless they qualify for an exemption. Businesses that are already subject to strict federal regulation, such as banks, credit unions, and publicly traded companies, are typically exempt.

If your company is registered with a state and privately held, it likely falls under BOI reporting requirements.

What Information Needs to Be Reported?

Businesses must provide details about their beneficial owners—individuals who:

  • Own 25% or more of the company, OR
  • Exercise significant control over business decisions.

The BOI report must include:

  • Full legal name
  • Date of birth
  • Residential address
  • Government-issued ID number (such as a passport or driver’s license)

New businesses must also report details about their company applicants—the individuals responsible for filing incorporation paperwork.

BOI Filing Deadlines and Updates

The deadline for filing depends on when the business was formed:

  • Businesses registered before January 1, 2024: Must file by January 1, 2025.
  • Businesses registered after January 1, 2024: Must file within 90 days of formation.
  • Changes in ownership or reporting details: Must be updated within 30 days.

What Are the Consequences of Non-Compliance?

Failing to submit a BOI report or providing incorrect information can lead to:

  • Fines of up to $500 per day for ongoing violations
  • Criminal penalties, including legal action for intentional violations

Unlike other compliance filings, BOI reporting is not an annual requirement—businesses only need to file once unless changes occur.

How to Simplify BOI Compliance

  1. Determine If Your Business Must File
    Review your company’s structure to confirm whether it falls under BOI reporting rules.
  2. Collect Required Information
    Identify all beneficial owners and gather the necessary details before filing.
  3. Submit the Report Through FinCEN’s Online System
    BOI reports must be filed electronically through FinCEN’s secure portal.
  4. Monitor and Update as Needed
    Any changes in ownership, management, or company information must be reported within 30 days.
  5. Work with a Compliance Advisory Firm
    For business owners who want to ensure accuracy and avoid penalties, advisory services like Perpetual CPA LLP can help manage filings and ongoing compliance.

Make Compliance Simple and Stress-Free

The Corporate Transparency Act brings new responsibilities, but staying compliant doesn’t have to be complicated. Understanding who must file, what information is required, and how to meet deadlines will help businesses avoid fines and legal risks.

For BOI filing assistance and compliance advisory, visit www.perpetualcpa.com.

Ask a Question

Find comfort in knowing an Expert in accounting is only an email or phone-call away.

We Are Here to Help

We will happily offer you a free consultation to determine how we can best serve you.

Blog

Attestation Services: Compilations, Reviews, and Audits CPAs offer attestation services as unbiased options

frequently asked questions

  • What Is A Virtual CFO & How Can It Transform My Business?
    • a. A Virtual CFO can be a much-needed sounding board, coach, and guide. Outsourced Virtual CFO is generally not just one person, but an experienced team of professionals providing a full-stack Accounting and Finance Department at a fraction of the cost that it would otherwise cost a business to hire even just one full-time CFO internally. The right virtual CFO service team, such as the one at Perpetual CPA, can deliver timely, detailed, comprehensive financial reporting, interpret the financial data, prioritize recommendations, give expert guidance on how to execute those recommendations, and ultimately give a better path to business success.
  • How can a Virtual Accounting Department help small businesses scale and grow?
    • a. A growing number of small businesses are opting to outsource services such as IT, human resources, or accounting. The benefit of a Virtual Accounting Department is that the company can reduce or increase services to accommodate current business needs. Because the service provider has multiple clients they can absorb fluctuations in workflow more easily than the average small/medium business can on its own.

      b. A Virtual Accounting Department can integrate with a company’s own accounting department to create a blended solution or provide a full-stack accounting department, including Accounting Staff, Manager, Controller, and Virtual CFO. By using a Virtual Accounting Department Small business owners don’t have to worry about hiring, training, figuring out compensation, and payroll compliance for the internal accounting team. Also as the business grows and new and more complex accounting and tax issues come up, the outsourced Virtual Accounting Department can provide all the needed expertise to facilitate continued business success.
  • What are the benefits of hiring a CPA firm?
    • a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do a lot more than just crunch numbers and prepare taxes. They provide valuable expertise and strategies to help businesses and individuals achieve their business and financial goals. A CPA firm can help small businesses with management financial reporting, tax compliance, strategic business advice, and much more. Firms like Perpetual CPA, that specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve growth, can also provide Virtual CFO services, that help the business owners have the foresight into the short-term future cashflows and be able to more successfully navigate their business performance.
  • What are the best strategies for small business growth?
    • a. A business growth strategy is, simply, a plan of how a business gets from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future.

      b. Some of the questions to consider when coming up with a growth strategy are:
      i. Where will the business get new customers from?
      ii. How will the business expand into new markets?
      iii. What new products could the business offer?

      c. In reality, what happens with many small businesses, is that they generally achieve a specific level of business activity or sales and then the business growth trend flattens. In those cases, working with a firm like Perpetual CPA, which provides Virtual CFO services, can help small businesses avoid stagnation. Virtual CFO services, aside from providing timely accounting and tax reporting, can also provide valuable insight into the current performance of the business, as well as, foresight into the future cash flows for the business. Perpetual CPA Virtual CFO team helps small businesses interpret their financial information and come up with business strategies to help improve business performance and achieve growth.
  • What are the best strategies for small business risk management?
    • a. A risk management plan helps a business develop a detailed strategy to deal with certain risks that are particularly important for the businesses’ success.

      b. For many small and medium-sized businesses, the easiest way to develop and implement a business risk management plan is to work with a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA. Large corporations invest a lot of resources and time into managing risk, which is a material factor that allows those large corporations to continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year. Small businesses, however, almost never manage any business risks, which is the major reason that over half of all the small businesses do not survive for more than 5 years. Generally, small business owners are not experienced corporate business professionals and lack the needed business knowledge, yet they often have to wear many hats while trying to get their businesses off the ground. In those situations, a CPA firm such as Perpetual CPA, can help small businesses better manage tax compliance risks, cash flow, internal controls, business administration, financial reporting, and much more.
  • What is Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO? / How do Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO services work?
    • a. When small businesses start spinning wheels, it is a good time to consider hiring a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA, which can provide both Strategic Advice and Virtual CFO services.

      b. As a strategic advisor, the CPA firm will work with business management to improve the effectiveness and profitability of the business. They will look holistically at the business and find ways to operate the business more efficiently, increase customers through additional or improved marketing or improve customer touchpoints and service.

      c. As a Virtual CFO, the CPA firm is like a part-time version of a traditional CFO or Chief Financial Officer plus a full Accounting support team. They perform the tasks that in a larger organization would be performed by the CFO, Controller, and Accounting Staff such as preparing and overseeing the budget process, identifying and analyzing current and future trends, and developing strategies for the business growth.
  • How can timely financial visibility and management reporting help with better business decisions and growth?
    • a. A simple way to a successful business is to prioritize the timely financial visibility and management reporting as it means:
      i. Timely financial information and analysis are essential for making informed decisions, evaluating your company’s results, improving financial performance, and ensuring you are on the path to meet your strategic goals.
      ii. Management reporting is a source of business intelligence that helps business leaders make more accurate, data-driven decisions. But, these reports are most useful if they are available timely and the management receives proper interpretation of the business financial information.

free initial 30-minute consultation

    © Perpetual CPA 2025   •   Privacy Policy   •   Disclaimer   •   Accessibility Statement   •   Powered By   Designed by Dot Com Media Moguls