Author: Tony Novak
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Updated professional payroll services agreement (New Jersey)
I am adding two new small New Jersey organization payroll services this week so it was appropriate to review and update my generic payroll service agreement. This confirms that I offered to establish and administer payroll services for xxxxxxxxxxx. Payroll service includes the following: Timing: The service will start within 1 to 2 business…
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A sucker born every minute for real estate deals?
Who consistently profits from real estate syndicates, REITS and OZ funds? The promotors and managers for sure; it’s a great business sector. Not so much the average retail investors. The investors’ return is largely driven by economic factors outside of the real estate holdings. For example: interest rates. If interest rates drop, that is normally…
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2021 New Jersey election: what it means for our small rural depressed communities
30 days from today is the New Jersey election. The anti-incumbent feeling is strong, as usual, but not strong enough to really make a difference. I’ve come to conclude over the years, sadly, that almost nothing at state level elections has much impact on our lives locally in rural South Jersey. Many of our local…
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Preparing for disaster
I’m not quite among those who are building bunkers1 for the coming apocalypse. But I am among those who plan for everything short of that: severe weather events, extended power outages, data loss, communication system outages, looting/rioting/lawlessness, trauma-induced cognitive or memory loss, and now: a breakdown of the food and energy supply. Yes, I think…
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Disagree with IRS? Seven bullet points to know first
If you received a written notice from IRS this year, you are among the largest number of taxpayers ever to be among this group. This post lists seven basic bullet points to consider first: IRS communicates through letters delivered via U.S. mail service. Communications via text message, phone, overnight delivery, email or fax are highly…
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NJ election campaign committee no fee banking services
Purpose This page is meant for candidates for political office who elect to use my no fee services as a volunteer campaign committee treasurer. This is not meant for candidates who pay for services. (If you are paying for campaign banking services then you can design banking services however you want). The service is designed to…
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Updated checklist of nonprofit business support services
Thanks to peers this past week, this is an updated list of nonprofit business support services in PDF format. This version is dated 10/28/2021 and includes expanded discussion of an approach to budgeting methodology for external accounting services. Additional periodic revisions are likely as regulations, technology and industry practices evolve.
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Revised ‘Best Practices’ in accounting services engagement agreement
I revised the Best Practices section (the wordy section) of my engagement agreements effective September 1, 2021 with a number of small changes but the major change is meant to accommodate the growing portion of clients who prefer an ongoing service agreement rather than repeatedly starting and ending shorter duration services. As before, a sample…
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Small business workload shock hits home
Managing my workload now as a small business service provider is unlike any challenge I’ve faced before in my work career. I hear the same from my accountant peers. Some days it seems like I just go from one life emergency to another life emergency, never even reaching normal work tasks. I find it almost…
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Is dumbing down curriculum our only hope?
The field of accounting is losing CPAs at an alarming pace. The statistics are disturbing. Older practitioners are still working well beyond their planned retirement age and younger candidates are choosing to bypass the rigorous professional training. I’ve been involved with NJCPA’s student outreach efforts and I can confirm that in my experience, students are…