Ask many entrepreneurs and small business owners to show you their financial statements and they will likely open a laptop and show you their bookkeeping software. Although tracking financial transactions is critical, spreadsheets are not financial statements. In short, financial statements are detailed and carefully organized...
The IRS opened the 2018 income tax return filing season on January 28. Even if you typically do not file until much closer to the April 15 deadline, this year, consider filing as soon as you can. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax...
Mergers and acquisitions are filled with risks, some of them unavoidable. But buyers can avoid risks associated with cooked books and other forms of deceptive accounting used by a seller to distort the value of its company. Before closing an acquisition, engage a forensic accounting...
Every employer knows that failing to comply with federal laws is costly, but it is getting even more so. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 directs federal agencies to adjust civil penalties for inflation each year. As a result, the...
Private companies that follow U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) must comply with the landmark new revenue recognition standard in 2019. Many private company chief financial officers and controllers report that they still have significant work to do to meet the demands of the sweeping...
All businesses: Give annual information statements (IRS Forms 1099) to recipients of certain payments you made during 2018. Payments that are covered include (1) amounts paid in real estate transactions; (2) amounts paid in broker and barter exchange transactions; and (3) substitute payments and gross...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 generally disallowed all deductions for business entertainment, amusement, and recreation. However, the TCJA did not specifically turn thumbs up or down on the deductibility of business meal expenses. Example: Jim Morgan, who owns a roof cleaning business,...
With the year underway, your business probably has a strategic plan in place for the months ahead. Or maybe you have created a general outline but have not quite put the finishing touches on it yet. In either case, there is a time-tested approach to...
Raffles are popular fundraisers for non-profits, but they’re subject to strict tax rules. State laws on non-profit-sponsored raffles can vary significantly, but non-profits must comply with federal income tax requirements linked to unrelated business income (UBI), reporting, and withholding. UBI tax Non-profits are required to pay...