Category: Accounting
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Where have the good investments gone?
“Where have the deals gone?” This was the title of a podcast yesterday looking at layoffs at America’s most powerful investment firms. They don’t expect the economy to generate enough good deals to keep investment bankers busy. The point is that investment management is a lot tougher right now than any time in the past…
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“You said that…”
I notice that my practice is increasingly affected by client beliefs based on outdated information.1 This is especially true of clients who do not have ongoing advisory relationships. The reality is that what I said last year or even three months ago is likely not the best actionable advice now. This is growing into a…
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Misunderstood Pennsylvania Charity Laws
In my observation, this remains one of the most misinterpreted parts of Pennsylvania charity law: PA Act 71, passed in 2017, effective for financial reporting of 2018 filings, increased the annual contribution levels at which a nonprofit must undergo an audit, review or compilation. As with many such laws, the key to understanding is knowing…
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Head’s up to New Jersey small contracting businesses
NJ Department of Revenue ramped up audits of small contracting businesses. This week I’ve seen or heard of more than a dozen audits case notices. The actions started last month. The initial audit notice is for sales tax. But my concern is that sales tax is not the real risk for these businesses. Many of…
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New nonprofit formations under scrutiny
The nonprofit formation process is under scrutiny. This week’s Kiplinger Tax Letter devoted attention to the topic. It referred to an unnamed 2019 IRS study that concluded that 46% of 1023 EZ filings were erroneously approved. Some lawmakers are calling for an end to the 1023EZ filing. Recent conversations with IRS employees the exempt organization…
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Meet the client where they are: Cloud avoidance syndrome
“I will NOT put my clients information in the cloud!” wrote a bookkeeper, on the cloud, in a forum where we all have our information stored. I still occasionally hear comments like that. But it was surprising coming from a bookkeeper. The bookkeeper went on to say that she had to run her accounting business…
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Five steps of pricing
1) First, look at the customer- the ability and willingness to pay. 2) Next, look at the offer – what is available and what you are willing to provide. 3) Then consider value – assign a number to economic value to the offer. 4) Do a marketplace check – look at price alignment with others…
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Criminal tax representation
I’ve come to accept that representation of tax criminals – despite knowing the obvious stereotyping that even the use of this term evokes – is a challenging industry specialization that takes evolved personal skills and thick skin. It should, IMO, be the combination of tax/financial planning, legal/law enforcement and psychological/behavioral training. The focus of work…
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Start your own nonprofit business
I start more than a dozen new nonprofits of various types at the request of clients each year. It has become a specialization niche. Last week I received a referral from as far as rural Kentucky. A few of these startups have wound up as multimillion transformative organizations. One was cited by the president on…
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Six transformative changes I’ve made to control costs in my accounting practice this year
Saving time and money are no longer goals, but necessities for small business survival. Accounting industry experts note that small independent CPA firms are a dying breed. This is a long term trend that accelerated over the past two years. Recent rapid increases in costs raised the threat to crisis level. These business pressures that…