Category: Accounting
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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…
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Taxation of accounting services
Some states are likely to propose taxing professional services including accounting services. Proposed legislation to tax professional services will likely be introduced later this year in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington. The probability that these proposals will become law is unclear. Other states including Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas,…
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Four keys to successfully suing your accountant
We sometimes hear about cases where a lack of application of professional standards by an accountant causes problems. Sometimes things do not go as was hoped, just like any other business. If you believe that your accountant is legally responsible, consider these practical points. First, there must be substantial actual damage. In many cases, damage…
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States That Don’t Allow Credit Card Surcharges
At this time there is only one US territory and four states that don’t allow credit card surcharges. In the following jurisdictions imposing a credit card surcharge is still illegal:Puerto RicoColoradoConnecticutKansasMassachusetts In the following states, anti-surcharging laws remain on the books but are unenforceable due to court decisions: CaliforniaFloridaMaineNew YorkOklahomaTexasUtah Anti-surcharging provisions may still exist…
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Updated engagement agreement for 3rd quarter 2021
My engagement agreement is updated for the third quarter 2021. The work process section is reworded to emphasize the different types of work that may be included in the engagement. The communications section is expanded to emphasize the importance of broadcast communications in the overall success of the engagement in response to the accelerating pace…
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How to invite me as an accountant to be able to look at your QuickBooks Online records
As the owner of a QuickBooks company subscription, you have complete control to invite users, define their roles and information viewable, and track the activities of each user. Often one of the first tasks is to invite an accountant to help complete setup, add advanced functions and enable an informed discussion on the business finances.…
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Why I’m proud of our election security
I am pleased to serve as a certified New Jersey election campaign treasurer and feel confident in our systems after having taken the time to understand the many election security measures used in our local communities to make our elections secure. The possibility of mass election fraud practically impossible. In our country, any attempt at…
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How to get the most from the five levels of business accounting services
A business accountant typically provides up to five distinct levels of service. While each accountant and client business may customize the service arrangement to meet their own specific situation, it helps to begin with a recognition that an accountant’s services fall into these general categories: Bookkeeping and compliance – meeting the requirements of running a…
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Small business accounting updates
Advancing technology continues to change our small business accounting systems at an ever increasing rate of change. Here are two major recent items: PAYMENT SYSTEMS: Last year I set a goal of moving all payment systems to EFT ((Electronic Funds Transfer) and away from paper checks by postal mail. There are many advantages: improved speed,…