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 […]
Goodwill impairment is often a negative indicator. It potentially signals that a business combination failed to meet management’s expectations due to internal or external factors. In recent years, uncertain markets, lingering inflation and high interest rates have caused goodwill impairments to spike. Evaluating impairment trends In 2022, 400 U.S. public companies reported $136.2 billion of […]
New beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements that many small businesses were required to comply with by January 1, 2025, have been suspended nationwide under a new court ruling. However, businesses can still voluntarily submit BOI reports, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). How we got here Under the Corporate Transparency […]
Annually, the IRS makes inflation-based cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to dollar limits applicable to many employer-sponsored fringe benefits for the upcoming year. Sure enough, in November, the tax agency published its COLAs in IRS Notice 2024-80. Here are some key figures to be aware of heading into 2025: Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs). The […]
Many U.S. small business owners must report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) by January 1, 2025. With this deadline fast approaching, here’s a brief reminder of who must report and how to do so. What is BOI reporting? Instituted by the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the BOI reporting requirements […]
LOS ANGELES, December 3, 2024 – Miller Kaplan, a top-100 certified public accounting firm, is pleased to welcome a new audit partner and accomplished financial specialist Lucas LaChance, CPA, CIA. LaChance joins the partnership from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, bringing two decades of leadership experience in assurance, consulting, risk management and mitigation, and taxation services. […]