Latest posts
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Look Closely at Your Company’s Concentration Risks
The word “concentration” is usually associated with a strong ability to pay attention. Business owners are urged to concentrate when attempting to resolve the many challenges facing them. But the word has an alternate meaning in a business context as well — and a distinctly negative one at that. Common problem A common problem among…
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What are the Responsibilities of an Audit Committee?
Before you jump headfirst into the year-end financial reporting process, review the role independent audit committees play in providing investors and markets with high-quality, reliable financial information. Recent SEC statement Under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, all public companies must have an independent audit committee or have the full board of directors act as…
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Accounting for Indirect Job Costs the Right Way
Construction contractors, professional service firms, specialty manufacturers and other companies that work on large projects often struggle with job costing. Full cost allocations are essential to gauging whether you’re making money on each job. But some companies simply lump indirect job costs into overhead or fail to use meaningful cost drivers, thereby skewing their profit…
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New Law Helps Businesses Make Their Employees’ Retirement Secure
A significant law was recently passed that adds tax breaks and makes changes to employer-provided retirement plans. If your small business has a current plan for employees or if you’re thinking about adding one, you should familiarize yourself with the new rules. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) was signed…
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New Rules Will Soon Require Employers to Annually Disclose Retirement Income to Employees
As you’ve probably heard, a new law was recently passed with a wide range of retirement plan changes for employers and individuals. One of the provisions of the SECURE Act involves a new requirement for employers that sponsor tax-favored defined contribution retirement plans that are subject to ERISA. Specifically, the law will require that the…
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Cents-Per-Mile Rate for Business Miles Decreases Slightly for 2020
This year, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business decreased by one-half cent, to 57.5 cents per mile. As a result, you might claim a lower deduction for vehicle-related expense for 2020 than you can for 2019. Calculating your deduction Businesses can generally deduct the…
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Congress Rolls Back Burdensome UBIT on Transportation Benefits
A much-hated tax on not-for-profit organizations is on the way out. At the end of 2019, Congress repealed a provision of 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that triggered the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) of 21% on nonprofit employers that provide employees with transportation fringe benefits. Unequipped to handle the additional administrative burdens…
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Executing Your Nonprofit’s Capital Campaign
Nonprofit capital campaigns aim to raise a specific — usually, a significant — amount of money over a limited time period. Your not-for-profit may undertake a capital campaign to acquire land, buy a new facility, expand an existing facility, purchase major equipment or seed an endowment. Whatever your goal, a capital campaign can be grueling,…
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Conflict-of-Interest Policies are too Important for Nonprofits to Neglect
Does your not-for-profit organization have a conflict-of-interest policy in place? Do your board members, trustees and key employees understand how the policy affects them? If you answer “no” to either (or both) of these questions, you have some work to do. A duty Nonprofit board officers, directors, trustees and key employees all must avoid conflicts…
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Four New Law Changes That May Affect Your Retirement Plan
If you save for retirement with an IRA or other plan, you’ll be interested to know that Congress recently passed a law that makes significant modifications to these accounts. The SECURE Act, which was signed into law on December 20, 2019, made these four changes. Change #1: The maximum age for making traditional IRA contributions…
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Help Protect Your Personal Information by Filing Your 2019 Tax Return Early
The IRS announced it is opening the 2019 individual income tax return filing season on January 27. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April 15 deadline (or you file for an extension), consider filing as soon as you can this year. The reason: You can potentially protect yourself from tax…
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Can you Deduct Charitable Gifts on Your Tax Return?
Many taxpayers make charitable gifts — because they’re generous and they want to save money on their federal tax bills. But with the tax law changes that went into effect a couple years ago and the many rules that apply to charitable deductions, you may no longer get a tax break for your generosity. Are…