Many businesses support their communities by donating to local charities. Although there are plenty of nonprofits that deserve your support, some exist solely to facilitate fraud. How can you avoid the latter? Familiarize yourself with the deceptive tactics scammers use and carefully screen charities for legitimacy — before you write a check. Branding tricks Fraud […]
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) established and expanded numerous incentives to encourage taxpayers to increase their use of renewable energy and adoption of a range of energy efficient improvements. In particular, the law includes funding for nearly $9 billion in home energy rebates. While the rebates aren’t yet available, many states are expected to launch their programs […]
Irrevocable trusts can allow for the smooth, tax-advantaged transfer of wealth to family members. But there’s a drawback: When you set up an irrevocable trust, you must relinquish control of the assets placed in it. What you can control is who will eventually oversee distribution of assets after your death. However, sometimes — particularly when the […]
Business owners are commonly and rightfully urged to regularly generate financial statements in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). One reason why is external users of financial statements, such as lenders and investors, place greater trust in financial reporting done under the rigorous standards of GAAP. But that’s not the only reason. GAAP-compliant financial statements […]
External auditors spend a lot of time during fieldwork evaluating how businesses report work in progress (WIP) inventory. Here’s why this warrants special attention and how auditors evaluate whether WIP estimates seem reasonable. Valuing WIP Companies may report various categories of inventory on their balance sheets, depending on the nature of their operations. For companies […]
When employees leave their jobs, financial advisors typically encourage them to roll over their 401(k) plans into a new employer’s plan or perhaps an IRA. Many people follow this advice, but not everyone. As you may be able to attest, many employers that sponsor 401(k)s or other qualified plans end up with account holders who […]
If you have a tax-favored retirement account, including a traditional IRA, you’ll become exposed to the federal income tax required minimum distribution (RMD) rules after reaching a certain age. If you inherit a tax-favored retirement account, including a traditional or Roth IRA, you’ll also have to deal with these rules. Specifically, you’ll have to: 1) […]
Does your estate plan call for making gifts to your grandchildren or other loved ones more than one generation below you? Or, perhaps to you want to leave assets to nonrelatives who are decades younger than you? If so, your plan must address not only gift and estate taxes, but also the generation-skipping transfer (GST) […]
The April 15 tax filing deadline is right around the corner. However, you might not be ready to file. Sometimes, it’s not possible to gather your tax information by the due date. If you need more time, you should file for an extension on Form 4868. An extension will give you until October 15 to […]
At Financial Executives International’s Corporate Financial Reporting Insights Conference last November, staff from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expressed concerns related to the use of financial metrics that don’t conform to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Companies continue to have trouble complying with the SEC’s guidelines on non-GAAP reporting, said Lindsay McCord, chief […]
Many employers now allow employees to work remotely, either all or part of the time. If your organization does and sponsors a health care plan, here’s a brief refresher on some of the rules regarding protected health information (PHI) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The Privacy Rule One major feature of […]
Does your company operate in the business-to-business (B2B) marketplace? If so, you’re no doubt aware of the double-edged sword that is customer credit. On the one hand, it’s common practice. Most customers likely expect to be offered a credit option when engaging in B2B transactions. On the other, credit arrangements inevitably come with risk of late […]