Author: Tony Novak
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Evaluating the risks and rewards of small business crowdfunding
I’m now loosely tracking 17 activity different US-based small business crowdfunding portals. This excludes all the portals intended for personal or charitable crowdfunding that would bring the total to 31. The number of investment options continues to grow and the field continues to grow more complicated. The risk to investors remains high and grows in…
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Big news in consumer life insurance
It’s funny how life works sometimes. Earlier today I put put out a blog post on the topic of business networking vs. paid referral services that said “…my primary source of revenue over the entire span of my working career as an independent accountant has been paid reviews or endorsements of some type…I do not do…
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The problem with BNI
Five reasons why lead exchange groups won’t work for me Last month I was invited as an observer to a local meeting of Business Networks International (BNI). The accountant who invited me is a great person and an impressive professional. The meeting and individual members made a strong positive impression on me. The individuals I met were…
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So you’ve been asked to be a board member
So you’ve been asked to serve on the board of a nonprofit organization. What do you need to know? You want to learn enough about the organization to do a good job as a director. You should also understand that there is potential legal liability for serving as a board member. Since nonprofit organizations do not…
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Simple advice to avoid IRS scams
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t read about people falling victim of a new tax scam. Scammers are growing more numerous, more aggressive and more sophisticated. Most of these scams involve telephone calls or emails pretending to be from the IRS. Ordinary business and individual taxpayers should be aware of the following: IRS…
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New rules for nonprofit financial statements
On Thursday August 18, 2016 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new guidance on financial reporting for nonprofit organizations. The FASB is the governing body responsible for developing the financial statement standards used by the accounting profession. The new rules affect charities, foundations, colleges and universities, health care providers, religious organizations, trade associations, and cultural…
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My third favorite accountant
How I found a flaw in my marketing plan I’ve spent time recently and even posted a few prior blog posts on my struggle to realign the marketing of my 18-month-old accounting practice. I planned to have referrals as the primary source of new business so I’ve engaged myself in community groups, various board positions, networking groups,…
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‘Fiducuary rule’ claims first victims
Today a major national investment firm announced that it will no longer offer the choice of commission-based mutual funds in its retirement plan accounts. The change comes in response to the ‘fiduciary rule’ recently enacted by the Obama administration. This firm, Edward Jones, id the first to take such action. The firm hopes to convert the…
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Pricing of nonprofit accounting service worksheet
I created a new worksheet for calculating accounting service costs for small nonprofit organizations at http://www.wealthmanagement.us.com/pricing/ The intent is to show that the package of services can be provided at a lower price than the som of its individual parts. For more information on improving performance of nonprofit organizations, request a copy of my booklet “What…
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IRS does not pay ‘bounties’ to retirement plan auditors
I found this interesting exchange in the reader comments on Employee Benefits Adviser. I changed the names and of course can’t vouch for the authenticity of the writers. The article topic was the increased rate of audits of retirement plans since the IRS is aware that a high percentage of retirement plans have major deficiencies.…