News and Posts

Interim financial reporting is essential to running a successful business. When reviewing midyear financial reports, however, you should recognize their potential shortcomings. These reports might not be as reliable as year-end financials, unless a CPA prepares them or performs agreed-upon procedures on specific accounts. Realize the diagnostic benefits Monthly, quarterly and midyear financial reports can provide insight into trends and possible weaknesses. Reviewing interim results [...]

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new final rule regarding the salary threshold for determining whether employees are exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. The threshold is slated to jump 65% from its current level by 2025 and is expected to make four million additional workers eligible for overtime pay. On the same day the overtime rule was announced, the Federal Trade Commission [...]

Many businesses focus on selling more products and services to boost profitability. But sales volume alone doesn’t necessarily raise profits. In fact, pushing more sales through a bloated expense structure can result in lower net profits. That’s why it’s important to look at the other side of the ledger — expenses — as you aim to increase profits. A thoughtful way to cut expenses is [...]

Receiving a letter from the IRS may make you go weak in the knees. Don’t panic, but do read the letter, the tax agency says. The IRS may simply have a question about your return or inform you of a change to your account or the letter may request payment. Don’t ignore it. Instead, read it carefully, right away. Most IRS communication deals with a [...]

It’s not unusual for a partner to incur expenses related to the partnership’s business. This is especially likely to occur in service partnerships such as an architecture or law firm. For example, partners in service partnerships may incur entertainment expenses in developing new client relationships. They may also incur expenses for: transportation to get to and from client meetings, professional publications, continuing education and home [...]

Could your business become a victim of a data security breach? Most businesses store sensitive data about employees and customers, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers (SSNs). If lost or stolen, this data could put individuals at risk for identity theft and other types of damage. Depending on the situation, the IRS advises: 1) If a breach could pose harm to a person or [...]

The United States is entering the most natural-disaster-prone time of the year. Tornadoes are most likely to occur in May, and the Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1. Not-for-profits that provide aid to disaster victims — whether it’s medical care, food, clothing, shelter, cash or rebuilding assistance — are gearing up for potential emergencies. But if your organization operates in this space, know that when [...]

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE’s) Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, not-for-profits suffer roughly half the median loss per fraud scheme of for-profit businesses and government entities — $76,000 vs. $150,000. That may sound like good news, except for the fact that most nonprofits are on tight budgets and can’t afford to lose anything. To help keep your nonprofit’s [...]

If your business doesn’t already have a retirement plan, it might be a good time to take the plunge. Current retirement plan rules allow for significant tax-deductible contributions. For example, if you’re self-employed and set up a SEP-IRA, you can contribute up to 20% of your self-employment earnings, with a maximum contribution of $69,000 for 2024 (up from $66,000 for 2023). If you’re employed by [...]

For many not-for-profit organizations, maintaining a full and active board of directors is challenging. If your board holds frequent meetings, has high attendance expectations and requires members to do considerable “homework,” you may have trouble recruiting and retaining people. Qualified individuals generally are busy with work, family and other activities and may not have spare time to dedicate to all the duties expected of board [...]

Businesses usually want to delay recognition of taxable income into future years and accelerate deductions into the current year. But when is it wise to do the opposite? And why would you want to? One reason might be tax law changes that raise tax rates. The Biden administration has proposed raising the corporate federal income tax rate from its current flat 21% to 28%. Another [...]

When a Category 5 hurricane struck a coastal community, its most prominent health and human services charity was prepared to act with rescue plans, supplies, emergency shelters and well-trained staffers. What the not-for-profit wasn’t prepared for was a sudden influx of support, including donations. Too much support may not sound like a problem, but for nonprofits that aren’t prepared for a flood of attention and new [...]

Taxpayers received more refund dollars in fiscal year (FY) 2023 than they did the previous year, according to the latest IRS Data Book. The IRS issued approximately $659 million in refunds, a 2.7% increase over FY 2022. Overall, individuals and estates and trusts paid close to $2.6 trillion, which is down from $2.9 trillion in FY 2022. Total business taxes declined from $476 billion in [...]

The IRS has issued its annual Data Book detailing its activities during fiscal year 2023. As the publication’s name implies, it’s packed with statistics. For example, during FY 2023, the IRS collected approximately $4.7 trillion in gross taxes. This amount accounts for about 96% of the funding that supports the federal government’s operations. In addition, in FY 2023, the IRS processed more than 271.4 million [...]