Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the audit committee — not management or the full board of directors — is directly responsible for appointing, compensating and overseeing external auditors. Periodically, it’s a good idea to assess the effectiveness of your audit committee by performing a self-evaluation. Here are reasons to conduct a self-evaluation, along with some common […]
Evaluating Your Audit Committee Read More »
The commerciality doctrine was created along with the operational test to address concerns over not-for-profits competing at an unfair tax advantage with for-profit businesses. But even business activities related to your exempt purpose could fall prey to the commerciality doctrine, resulting in the potential loss of your organization’s exempt status. Several factors considered The operational
Don’t Let The “Commerciality Doctrine” Trip Up Your Nonprofit Read More »
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently gave private companies long-awaited relief from one of the most complicated aspects of financial reporting — consolidation of variable interest entities (VIEs). Here are the details. Old rules Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 810, Consolidation, was designed to prevent companies from hiding liabilities in off-balance sheet vehicles. It
Time To celebrate! FASB Expands VIE Exception For Private Companies Read More »
A bad hire can lead to more than just disappointment. Disgruntled employees may draw bad publicity; file complicated, expensive lawsuits; and even disclose or destroy sensitive data. Many employers are adding background checks to their hiring processes for these reasons. If you’re thinking about joining them, here are some dos and don’ts to follow. What
Comply Carefully With The Laws Regarding Background Checks Read More »
The phrase “payroll record-keeping” may conjure images of pay-stubs and W-4s. But there are other aspects that often fly under the radar and lead to administrative slip-ups. Here are three examples. 1. Fringe benefit records The tax code provides an explicit record-keeping requirement for employers with enumerated fringe benefit plans, such as: Health insurance, Cafeteria
3 Under-the-Radar Aspects Of Payroll Record-Keeping Read More »
The dawning of 2019 means the 2018 income tax filing season will soon be upon us. After year end, it’s generally too late to take action to reduce 2018 taxes. Business owners may, therefore, want to shift their focus to assessing whether they’ll likely owe taxes or get a refund when they file their returns
A Refresher On Major Tax Law Changes For Small-Business Owners Read More »
A tried-and-true year end tax strategy is to make charitable donations. As long as you itemize and your gift qualifies, you can claim a charitable deduction. But did you know that you can enjoy an additional tax benefit if you donate long-term appreciated stock instead of cash? 2 benefits from 1 gift Appreciated publicly traded
Donate Appreciated Stock For Twice The Tax Benefits Read More »
Year-end planning for 2018 takes place against the backdrop of a new tax law-the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act-that makes major changes in the tax rules for individuals and businesses. We have compiled a checklist of actions that may help you save tax dollars if you act before year end. Not all actions will apply
2018 Year End Planning Read More »
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides a valuable new tax break to noncorporate owners of pass-through entities: a deduction for a portion of qualified business income (QBI). The deduction generally applies to income from sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations and, typically, limited liability companies (LLCs). It can equal as much as 20% of
Close-up On The New QBI Deduction’s Wage Limit Read More »
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) liberalized the eligibility rules for using the cash method of accounting, making this method — which is simpler than the accrual method — available to more businesses. Now the IRS has provided procedures a small business taxpayer can use to obtain automatic consent to change its method of
Choosing The Right Accounting Method For Tax Purposes Read More »