An inheritor’s trust is a specialized estate planning tool designed to protect and manage assets you pass to a beneficiary. One of its primary advantages is asset protection. It allows your beneficiary to receive his or her inheritance in trust rather than as an outright gift or bequest. Thus, the assets are kept out of […]
On January 23, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 122, reversing its controversial 2022 guidance to safeguard crypto-asset holdings. This reversal comes amidst growing pressure from the American Bankers Association (ABA) and a joint congressional resolution to remove barriers that a previous rule imposed on banks and other […]
Imagine you just discovered your organization lost a substantial amount of money to fraud. You’d probably feel various emotions, including dismay and anger. However, as bad as such a predicament would be, there’s something even worse: Suffering financial losses to fraud and not even knowing it. Earlier this year, payment security solutions vendor Trustmi surveyed […]
Saving for retirement is a crucial financial goal and a 401(k) plan is one of the most effective tools for achieving it. If your employer offers a 401(k) or Roth 401(k), contributing as much as possible to the plan in 2025 is a smart way to build a considerable nest egg. If you’re not already […]
In case you missed it, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) turned 50 earlier this year. If your organization has been administering employee benefit plans for any length of time, you’re likely well-acquainted with the law’s broad impact. However, many employers still occasionally get caught off guard by the sheer scope of ERISA. Take […]
Over your lifetime, you’ve likely accumulated various tangible assets. These may include automobiles, personal property or art. It’s relatively easy to account for such assets in your estate plan, but what about intangible assets, such as intellectual property (IP)? These assets behave differently from other types of property, so careful planning is required to preserve […]
It’s critical for business owners and managers to understand how to present contingent liabilities accurately in the financial statements. Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), some contingent losses may be reported on the balance sheet and income statement, while others are only disclosed in the footnotes. Here’s an overview of the rules for properly […]
A federal district court judge has struck down the Biden administration’s new rule regarding the salary threshold for determining whether certain employees are exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. The first phase of the rule took effect for most employers in July 2024 and affects executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees. With a Republican administration […]
In a surprising turn of events, a federal appeals court has issued another ruling that suspends a requirement for businesses to file reports about their beneficial ownership information (BOI). This came just days after the same court issued a ruling that resulted in the federal government announcing that millions of small businesses did have to […]
Does your organization sponsor a qualified retirement plan for employees? If so, the new calendar year will likely bring inflation-based adjustments to more than one limit or threshold associated with your plan. Here are some important 2025 amounts to be aware of: Contribution limits to 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans. The annual limit on contributions […]
Devising and executing the right succession plan is challenging for most business owners. In worst-case scenarios, succession planning is left to chance until the last minute. Chaos, or at least much confusion and uncertainty, often follows. The most foolproof way to make succession planning easier is to give yourself plenty of time to develop a […]
Owners’ equity is the difference between the assets and liabilities reported on your company’s balance sheet. It’s generally composed of two pieces: capital contributions and retained earnings. The former represents the amounts owners have paid into the business and stock repurchases, but the latter may be less familiar. Here’s an overview of what’s recorded in […]