Category: Accounting
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Should a CPA prepare your tax return?
Summary The AICPA says “Simply put, a CPA will save you money in the long run and look out for your best interests. Anyone can drop numbers into software to prepare a tax return. However, a CPA will analyze your specific situation for tax savings opportunities and help you plan for next year.” This blog post expands…
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Lessons learned in small business accounting this year
Over the past few years, since just before Covid, I returned to a traditional practice of serving small businesses on a one-on-one personal basis. This was a change from the background of handling a national firm with thousands of clients operating through automated internet technology. I made some mistakes and learned some things the hard…
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Small business FinCEN compliance for 2024
This post details the compliance procedure that we will use for our own businesses, affiliates and clients under our control. Others may use a different procedure. If you own, operate or control a small business corporation or a limited liability company, you may need to file a new report with the federal government this coming…
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Why we use CPAs to testify about accounting statement fraud
Disclosure: While I have served as professional accounting witness in other unrelated court cases, I did not testify in past Trump fraud cases. In past Trump fraud cases in the 1990s, I offered accounting statements taken by an attorney for the plaintiff victims that included a statement of my direct communication with Trump and his…
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Managing the accelerating pace of economic change
The most difficult thing I deal with day to day is coping with the accelerating pace of economic change. The constant ‘whatever I said last is out-of-date now’ cycle of business life is stressful. We tend to focus our attention on financial change but of course there are always other significant forces driving the financial…
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Meeting Donald Trump
Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met? Donald Trump. Twice, a long time ago, in Atlantic City. It was every bit as disturbing as you imagine. Trump had a small airline that flew from Bader Field outside Atlantic City to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. I had a multi-unit rental house…
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Concerned about the direction of professional services
We’ve decided to dumb down* the CPA exam format and simultaneously reduce formal educational requirements. I’m called stodgy for saying that the amount of new information and professional knowledge requirements for a competent CPA indicates that we should be moving in the other direction. Oregon is eliminating the requirement for new lawyers to take the…
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A reflection on the lack of diversity among my business clients
Today I notice that my alma mater Villanova University, located in my former neighborhood, just named nine new members to its law school professional staff and included a headshot photo of each. Only one of the nine is an Anglo-Saxon man. That new hire ratio is quite a difference from my own new client ratio.…
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Marketing options for sole practitioner accounting practice
The background is posted here. A recent analysis of my business new client acquisition showed four things: 1) Virtually all new clients self-selected me after reading published online reviews. 2) By the time I became aware of them, usually by their telephone voice message and my returned phone call, there was no further sales process.…
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My unusual small business history
The purpose of this post is to provide a brief background into an unusual situation where I am soliciting feedback on marketing for my businesses. I launched a solo financial advisory practice focused on serving small businesses more than 30 years ago. I fell into niche of serving small business contractors since I had a personal…