Many companies offer health care benefits to help maintain employee wellness and compete for better job candidates, and the Affordable Care Act has been encouraging businesses to offer health coverage. If you sponsor a health care plan, you know this is no small investment. It may...
When a donor promises to make a contribution at a later date, your non-profit likely welcomes it. But such pledges can come with complicated accounting issues. Conditional vs. unconditional For example, a donor makes a pledge in April 2018 to contribute $10,000 in January 2019. You generally...
You may have breathed a sigh of relief after filing your 2017 income tax return (or requesting an extension). However, if your office is strewn with reams of paper consisting of years’ worth of tax returns, receipts, canceled checks, and other financial records (or your...
A key component of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the expansion of the standard deduction. The numbers for 2018 are $24,000 (married couples filing jointly), $18,000 (heads of household), and $12,000 (all others). These amounts are almost double the respective standard deductions in...
Employers that suspect occupational fraud generally have the right to search employee desks and computers, but they should approach such searches with care. Even if you think you know an employee is stealing, you risk invading that person’s privacy, which could lead to a lawsuit. Can...
A new accounting rule for reporting leases goes into effect in 2019 for public companies. Although private companies have been granted a one-year reprieve, no business should wait until the last minute to start the implementation process. Some recently revised guidance is intended to ease...
When an organization changes, whether it is something as drastic as a merger or as seemingly innocuous as a new software system, employees may feel threatened. People tend to desire stability and order as opposed to disruption and uncertainty. Employers can reduce the negative fallout from...
Many miscellaneous itemized deductions, including unreimbursed employee business expenses, no longer can be used to reduce your income, starting with 2018 tax returns. Some observers predicted a similar demise for medical and dental expenses. As it turned out, these deductions not only were retained, the...
Your non-profit likely is governed by a core group of board members, but the addition of an informal advisory board can bring complementary and valuable skills and resources to this group. Review representation Look at your general board members’ demographics and collective profile. Does it lack representation...
With such intense focus on digital marketing these days, business owners can overlook the fact that there are actual, physical places to interact with the buying public. Now that spring is here and summer is on the way, it is a good time to rediscover...