In 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), as part of its move toward international financial reporting convergence, began to transition from the principle of historic cost to fair value reporting. Fair value estimates are now used to report such assets as derivatives, non-public entity...
Employers may think it is ironic that would-be workers often focus on how much time they will not be working when they consider job offers. However, it is clear that offering time off may help to attract and retain valued employees. For business owners, the...
Employers who offer retirement savings plans are already helping their workforces, but not all employees take advantage of these plans. And many who do still do not contribute enough to retire comfortably. As a business owner, you can help your employees even more and drive...
Section 529 plans provide a tax-advantaged way to help pay for college expenses. Here are just a few of the benefits: Although contributions are not deductible for federal purposes, plan assets can grow tax-deferred Some states offer tax incentives for contributing in the form of deductions or...
How much does a data breach cost? The average total cost of a data breach has risen to roughly $4 million, according to a 2016 survey of information technology (IT) security professionals by the Ponemon Institute (a research center dedicated to privacy, data protection, and...
Many companies reach a point in their development where they have to make an important decision: innovate themselves or acquire a competitor? Of course, it is not always an either/or decision. Nonetheless, business owners should consider the pluses and minuses of both approaches. Innovating to grow Innovation...
Retirees often need money from their investment portfolio if they have little or no earned income. For many seniors, tax-efficient withdrawals require two levels of decisions. First, should the dollars come from regular taxable accounts or from tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs? Second, regardless of...
If you have incomplete or missing records and get audited by the IRS, your business will likely lose out on valuable deductions. Here are two recent U.S. Tax Court cases that help illustrate the rules for documenting deductions. Case 1: Insufficient records In the first case, the...
By the end of 2015, U.S. automated financial services, known as robo-advisers, managed $50 billion in assets, up from $16 billion in 2014. The market has been estimated to grow to $2.2 trillion by 2020. Robo-advisers do what flesh-and-blood financial advisers do but at a...
How confident (or assured) are you that your financial reports are reliable, timely, and relevant? In order of increasing level of rigor, accountants generally offer three types of assurance services: compilations, reviews, and audits. What is appropriate for your company depends on the needs of...