Category: Accounting
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CPA communication with a prior tax preparer
Is it ever appropriate for a CPA tax preparer to communicate with the prior CPA tax preparer in order to gain an understanding of a proposed tax engagement? Consider this situation: Prospective tax client presents his prior tax returns with a request to prepare the current tax return and all appears to be in order except…
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Even small nonprofits can benefit from online accounting
Since the early days of online accounting, I’ve preached that some of the obvious beneficiaries of this technology are nonprofit groups. One primary advantage is decentralization of information. In the past only the Treasurer might have had access. Board members might be updated at periodic meetings. Now all board members with access to the online books…
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Misunderstandings of tax treatment of health insurance
An article in Forbes earlier this month was apparently misunderstood by some readers. PPACA is certainly difficult and some issues are not yet resolved. But we should not let that confusion undermine our understanding of basis tax principles governing the treatment of health insurance premiums paid by an employer. I suggest that it would be good…
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When QuickBooks is a no-brainer
I ran into an old friend by chance on a Philadelphia sidewalk today. We used to see each other often but now he lives more than an hour away with his three dogs at a rural country place in beautiful upper Bucks Country. He knows that I am an accountant but we’ve never “talked business”…
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Obamacare adviser blues
Some of the telephone and email requests I receive for professional help with Obamacare include phrases like: My theory is … I heard that… My brother-in-law says that … I have a hard time expressing in a socially acceptable manner that as a professional. I cannot and do not have any significant regard for what…
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Should a CPA help a delinquent taxpayer? a criminal? a drug dealer?
A CPA posed a question online about whether he should help a person who had not filed income tax returns for years but now wants to come clean and catch up. It was surprising to me that almost all the CPAs who responded said they would not help. Many had strong logical arguments for their…
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How to market a new tax practice
This is not one of those “how to” posts that provides advice by a person presuming to have some expertise. This post is about me asking questions about how to market my new tax practice. I face the challenge of relaunching my solo tax preparer practice over the next few weeks. I was drawn back to this…
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CPA Tax Rates for 2015
Until now, I have used negotiated flat fees for all accounting services – including tax services – under an approach commonly called “value pricing”. These fees should have some reasonable basis and market rate or competitive pricing may be one input into this basis of pricing. We presume that there is social value in having consumers…
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How to choose a financial adviser
This blog post is revised from an article that I originally published in 2006 and is reproduced at www.tonynovak.com. At that time I operated as an independent Registered Investment Adviser. Since then, I’ve simplified and automated investment client advisory functions to the point where I presume that separate RIA registration is not required. Now, as…