Sat.Sep 16, 2023 - Fri.Sep 22, 2023

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6 Ways Email is Secretly Destroying Your Accounting Firm

Going Concern

Email: The word itself sounds innocent, doesn’t it? Kind of like “snail mail,” but faster, sleeker, and without the slimy trail. But don’t be fooled—email is secretly a sinister beast, hiding in the shadows as it plots to destroy businesses—including your accounting firm. If your accounting firm still relies heavily on email for client communication and document management, you’re not in the fast lane—you’re on the road to ruin.

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Consider These Two Common Strategies to Optimize Your Taxes

CPA Practice

By Laura Schultz, J.D., IAR, Kiplinger Consumer News Service (TNS) After months of sluggish activity, the market recently turned the tide. Whether the market is up or down, it’s always a good time to keep your taxes in mind and, more specifically, how you can put yourself in an advantageous position by keeping more of your own money in your pockets.

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Four Tips to Connect Your Remote Team

Summit CPA

Just ten years ago, remote work was practically science fiction. (Actually, when I first brought up the idea to my team, they thought it was the “joke of the week.”) Today, it’s a part of the business landscape. There are lots of reasons why companies, employees and clients love remote work: flexibility, an expanded workforce, and a larger client-base, to name a few.

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If You’re Looking For Career Options, Give Government Auditing a Look

Going Concern

Ed. note: This post brought to you by the Big Government Auditing lobby. Just kidding, it’s a guest post from Parker Skaats, CPA, an experienced government worker who’s here to pitch the joys of government work to the unwashed overworked masses. Okay, let’s be real for a second. When you hear “government auditing,” do you picture dull offices with fluorescent lighting, stacks of paper taller than you, and people who still think fax machines are the pinnacle of technology

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Which Month-End Close Automation Software is Right for You?

Companies are increasingly choosing to automate their month-end close process, hoping to get rid of manual activities, save time, and get control of the close. By allowing technology to take the wheel, finance leaders can streamline and optimize the close, leading to greater accuracy, reduced risk, and improved efficiency. This being said, it can still be difficult to find the best month-end close solution for your team.

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Future Forward 2023: Transforming Advisory with Real-time AI Insights

Insightful Accountant

RLJ Financial Services' Caleb Jenkins explains the power of real-time AI insights to preempt issues, spot trends and provide invaluable, forward-looking counsel. Make sure you sign up today.

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A Cautionary Tax Planning Tale: Timing and Formalities Are Critical

CPA Practice

By John M. Goralka, Kiplinger Consumer News Service (TNS) This cautionary tale is based upon the recent tax case of Estate of Hoensheid v Commissioner , TC Memo 2023-34. When owners of a company plan to sell their business, there is very often a desire to minimize the resultant income tax. This tax is effectively taxing the increase in the value of the business often earned over many years and decades into a single year.

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Understanding the Impact of Financial Regulation on Accounting

Canopy Accounting

In the ever-changing financial landscape, regulations established by governing bodies are crucial for maintaining stability and integrity. They serve as the foundation of the financial system, ensuring fair practices, transparency, and accountability. These regulations set standards and guidelines for financial institutions and market participants, protecting consumers, preventing fraud, and promoting a level playing field.

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PCAOB proposes to toughen rule for auditor liability for negligence

Accounting Today

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued a proposal to amend its rule for an individual auditor's or audit firm's contributory liability for knowingly or recklessly contributing to violations.

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'Legendary' Sid Kess remembered as a tax expert and so much more

Accounting Today

Sid Kess is remembered by colleagues as both a highly proficient technical expert and a kind, caring human being who took an active interest in others' wellbeing.

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Receive More than $10,000 in Cash at your Business? Here’s What You Must Do

RogerRossmeisl

Does your business receive large amounts of cash or cash equivalents? If so, you’re generally required to report these transactions to the IRS — and not just on your tax return. The requirements Each person who, in the course of operating a trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction (or two or more related transactions), must file Form 8300.

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How CPA Firms Can Profit From Payroll Services Without the Extra Work

"Offer payroll and do it yourself,” they said. “It’ll be fun!” Spoiler alert: It was not fun. Most CPA firms know that they need to offer payroll services to their clients or risk losing them to another firm that will. However, many don’t really want to. It is often time-consuming and complex due to changing tax laws and regulations, and with the growing staffing shortages, most just don’t have the resources.

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Metrics Matter: Five KPIs for Fintech Startups

BurklandAssociates

Fintech is a diverse sector with KPIs that vary between companies, but these five metrics should matter to wide swaths of the industry. The post Metrics Matter: Five KPIs for Fintech Startups appeared first on Burkland.

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Telecom tax and filing complexities

TaxConnex

Telecommunications companies face tougher problems than most other businesses when trying to comply with federal, state and local tax and regulatory obligations. Most of the taxes that telecom companies contend with are administered by the individual states’ Departments of Revenue (DOR) and local jurisdictions. These taxes go by various names: sales tax, communications services tax, utility users’ tax, local license tax and so on.

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IRS Temporarily Suspends ERC Claims: What You Need to Know

Cherry Bekaert

On September 14, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced an immediate moratorium on the processing of new Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims until at least 2024. This pause in processing claims should not deter any employer from determining if it qualifies as an employer eligible to claim the ERC, documenting its eligibility, calculating the credit or filing an amended Form 940X to claim the appropriate credit.

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Planning Ahead for 2024: Should Your 401(k) Help Employees with Emergencies?

RogerRossmeisl

The SECURE 2.0 law, which was enacted last year, contains wide-ranging changes to retirement plans. One provision in the law is that eligible employers will soon be able to provide more help to staff members facing emergencies. This will be done through what the law calls “pension-linked emergency savings accounts.” Effective for plan years beginning January 1, 2024, SECURE 2.0 permits a plan sponsor to amend its 401(k), 403(b) or government 457(b) plan to offer emergency savings accounts that a

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2024 Payroll Calendar Templates

These calendars provide pay period dates and paydays for biweekly, semi-monthly, and monthly payroll in 2024. Use them as a reminder or share with employees so they can celebrate payday.

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IRS Establishing New Unit to Crack Down on Tax Dodging by Pass-Throughs

CPA Practice

A new work group within the Large Business and International (LB&I) division will be tasked with holding large partnerships and other pass-through businesses accountable to pay the full amount of taxes they owe, the IRS said on Wednesday. The new pass-through unit will include many of the 3,700 agents the IRS is planning to hire in an effort to ramp up tax compliance efforts against high-income earners, complex partnerships, large corporations, and promoters.

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Mitigating Financial Risks: The Role of Virtual CFO Services in Safeguarding Your Business

IgniteSpot

In a world brimming with uncertainty, businesses are more vulnerable than ever to unforeseen financial risks. These risks can spell disaster if not effectively managed, leading to revenue losses, reputational damage, or even bankruptcy. But with the advent of virtual CFO services, businesses now have a formidable ally in their corner. These services act as a safety net, offering expertise and strategies to safeguard businesses from the volatile tides of financial risks.

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The IRS Puts High-Income Non-Filers Notice

Withum

In a recently issued notice, #IR 2023-126, the IRS warns that the government is coming after high-income taxpayers who fail to file a tax return. The IRS discusses how the reduction in agency funding in the past impaired the Service’s ability to track down high-income non-filers and what the recent budget increases have permitted the IRS to accomplish in terms of collecting taxes and even securing criminal convictions.

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Can You Deduct Student Loan Interest on your Tax Return?

RogerRossmeisl

The federal student loan “pause” came to an end on August 31 after more than three years. If you have student loan debt, you may wonder whether you can deduct the interest you pay on your tax return. The answer may be yes, subject to certain limits. The deduction is phased out if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain levels — and they aren’t as high as the income levels for many other deductions.

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Predictions You Can Rely On: How Data Drives Successful Financial Forecasting

Speaker: Robbie Bhathal, Founder & CEO, and Matthew Acalin, Head of Credit Intelligence

In today's volatile financial environment, how confident are you in your company’s financial forecasting? To get the most accurate cash predictions that will lead to long-term financial survival, real-time data is critical. Innovative cash management strategies can lead to better credit opportunities, more sustainable growth, and long-term financial prosperity.

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IRS Promises Fewer Audits of EITC Claims

CPA Practice

By Kelley R. Taylor, Kiplinger Consumer News Service (TNS) IRS audits raise anxiety for many taxpayers. What can be even more frustrating is when those examinations seem unevenly targeted to taxpayers with lower incomes. That’s been the case with the earned income tax credit (EITC), which has been the subject of recent controversy. (A study released earlier this year found that the IRS audits Black taxpayers at about three to five times higher rates than the agency audits other taxpayers.

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IRS to reduce audits of EITC claimants

Accounting Today

The service said Monday it plans to lower its audit rate of low-income taxpayers, even as some criticize its ability to protect taxpayer information.

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Ed Mendlowitz Establishes the Mendlowitz Family Scholarship at Alma Mater Baruch

Withum

Ed Mendlowitz , Emeritus Partner at Withum, is a local and industry legend, having lent his voice and his talents to the accounting world for over 60 years. He is a thought leader, mentor, teacher, professor, writer and philanthropist. Furthering his worldwide impact on the industry, Ed has now established the Mendlowitz Family Scholarship at Baruch College.

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Chapter 11: How Business Valuators Can Help Companies Reorganize

RogerRossmeisl

Most people equate business bankruptcy with liquidating a company’s assets and using the proceeds to repay creditors. That’s a Chapter 7 filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, but closing shop isn’t a foregone conclusion in bankruptcy. Many companies instead file for Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy. This option allows a company to continue to operate, with the hope of turning things around.

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8 Signs Your Accounting Team Is Ready to Automate Month-End Close

Speaker: Nancy Wu, Head of Sales and Customer Success at SkyStem

How do you know if your accounting team is ready to automate the month-end close? Join us in this informative webinar, where we share the top 8 signs that indicate that a team has outgrown all existing tools and may be ready to embark upon month-end close automation. We will examine the process clues that help determine whether your team would be a good candidate for automation.

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PCAOB Looks to Amend Rule on Auditors’ Liability for Audit Firm Violations

CPA Practice

A proposal issued by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on Tuesday would hold auditors and others more accountable when they negligently, directly, and substantially cause their firm to violate auditing standards. The audit regulator is proposing changes to PCAOB Rule 3502, Responsibility Not to Knowingly or Recklessly Contribute to Violations.

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Now the Profession Is Losing Experienced Accountants Too

Going Concern

Here we are again talking about the accountant shortage. Don’t blame me, blame WSJ. Mark Maurer at Wall Street Journal wrote today about a young man named Omer Khokhar who realized after six years in accounting that he was done. The article title: “Job Security Isn’t Enough to Keep Many Accountants From Quitting.” Ruh-oh. The New York resident found accounting work monotonous, with little room for creativity or growth, and maximum salaries weren’t as high as he would have liked

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Internal Controls To Prevent and Detect Fraud at Small To Medium-Sized Not-for-Profits

Withum

The F word: Fraud. It is infamous in the accounting world and important that it is an “intentional” act. But why does it happen? How does it happen? The fraud triangle is a famous model in the fraud investigation world and states that fraud can occur when the following 3 elements are present: Pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners releases a report annually entitled “A Report to the Nations”, which can be accessed on their website: ACFE Report.Th

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Tax Strategy: IRS expands focus on digital asset reporting

Accounting Today

The proposed regulations define a digital asset as any digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secure distributed ledger or any similar technology.

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From Complexity to Clarity: Strategies for Effective Compliance and Security Measures

Speaker: Erika R. Bales, Esq.

When we talk about “compliance and security," most companies want to ensure that steps are being taken to protect what they value most – people, data, real or personal property, intellectual property, digital assets, or any other number of other things - and it’s more important than ever that safeguards are in place. Let’s step back and focus on the idea that no matter how complicated the compliance and security regime, it should be able to be distilled down to a checklist.

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Uncertain Times Call for Creative Estate Planning Strategies

CPA Practice

By Paula Nangle, CFP, Kiplinger Consumer News Service (TNS) Does the thought of estate planning trigger a surge of anxiety? If so, you’re in plentiful company. Estate planning can be one of the most intimidating, complex and emotionally charged financial necessities a family takes on together. There is little room for error, as savers look to safeguard their legacies and protect their families for generations to come.

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Keeping the 150 Hour Rule Is Making the Profession’s Diversity Problem More Pronounced

Going Concern

by Sharon Lassar, PhD, CPA (Florida) John J. Gilbert Professor and Director of the School of Accountancy, University of Denver The AICPA announced the formation of a National Pipeline Advisory Group , published an article about its focus on the accounting talent shortage, and scheduled a webinar titled “Special Pipeline Series: Path to 150.” All of this happened after the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) released its study titled “ Increasing Diversity in the Accounting Profession Pipeline.

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The Evolving Opportunity Zone Fund: Where Are We Now?

Cherry Bekaert

In the six years since its introduction, the Opportunity Zone (OZ) program continues to gain more attention and broader success. Despite recent macroeconomic volatility, this year has seen increased excitement and a wider range of achievements. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) gave way to the OZ program, which instantly became a hot topic across the real estate industry.

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Revenue, partner income and profits keep growing at CPA firms

Accounting Today

Accounting firms are seeing their revenues, partner income and profits increase this past year, even as more firms resort to outsourcing to fill their talent shortages.

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DOL Final Overtime Rules: Quickstart Guide for Employers

On August 30, 2023, the DOL unveiled a proposed overtime rule that would raise the weekly salary threshold under the Federal Labor Standards Act. Paycor is closely monitoring the proposal and will provide updates as new information becomes available.