Blog Archives
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Advice on Post-Election Tax Planning Ideas
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Wednesday November 7, 2012
Toni Nitti, a CPA and tax partner at accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown , is a contributor to Forbes , and has offered several tips for tax planning now that we know the results of the Presidential election. "After nearly two years of examining the tax policies of every serious potential Presidential candidate — and enduring countless malicious attacks because I continuously failed to include Ron Paul among that group — my analysis can at long last have a singular focus, as we finally have our new President, who just so happens to be our old President." You can read the full article here , but here are the top-level summaries: Accelerate year-end bonuses into 2012. Exercise non-qualified stock options during 2012. Purge... -
Are You Listening to Your Customers? Ask them these 6 questions.
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Monday October 15, 2012You may be missing out on the best way to get real feedback from your clients. Likewise, your clients might be missing out on the same information from their customers. The secret to finding out what they think about you? Ask them. "The thing is, lots of businesses ask about personal infromation, while deglecting more important questions, " according to Daniela Baker, who writes for WorkAwesome. The key topics she suggests asking customers: How did you find out about us? What would you do if we disappeared? What helped you decide to buy from us? Do you think you'll shop more or less with us in the future? Who do you see as our major competitors? How have our products or services made your life better, easier or more fun... -
Michigan CPA Firm Celebrates 65th Year
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Tuesday September 25, 2012In 1947: Harry Truman was President of the United States; Jackie Robinson entered Major League Baseball; The mdoern nation of Israel was formed; The top marginal U.S. income tax rate was 86% ; Also in 1947, the accounting firm Weidmayer, Schneider & Raham , CPAs, P.C. was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Initially named Gregg and Felker, CPAs, after its founding partners, the firm has transitioned over the past six decades. As they celebrate their 65th year in practice, Steven Schneider, CPA, the firm's current managing principal (and only its fourth in 65 years,) has been reflecting on the changes the practice has seen during that time. "We first formed in response to a need for accounting services in the region, so... -
Which PC Web Browser is the Best?
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Thursday September 20, 2012Most professionals use their web browser nearly all day long. From research, to checking news stories, file sharing, collaboration and accessing web-based programs. And watching videos on YouTube, of course. Which browser do you prefer? On my PCs, I have all three of the major browsers designed for Windows (Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome). I've also had the PC version of Safari in the past. Personally- I use Firefox as the default, but mostly just because I've gotten accustomed to it. That isn't to say I believe it is necessarily better than the other two. PC World recently did a comparison of these three browsers (not sure why they left out Safari), and found similarities between them, but when it came to a few hey factors... -
Reviews, Star Ratings & Comments from Vendors & Professionals... Thank You for the Criticism.
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Tuesday July 31, 2012
From our blogs , a note from CPA Practice Advisor 's Editor, Isaac M. O'Bannon: Although I'll admit to being a cynic, I'm generally an optimistic one. :) But I don't usually think of myself as a professional critic, although I guess I am, since a major part of my career has involved reviewing and assigning subjective ratings to various technologies. Over the past 10 years at CPA Practice Advisor, where I am the chief editor of a publication reaching more than 45,000 accounting firms, and more than 100,000 unique online users per month, I've had more than occasional complaints from technology companies who felt they deserved a better rating. Sometimes they were right, and were able to convince me. Usually, they are wrong. The most... -
How Deductible is Las Vegas? (Business vs. Pleasure)
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Thursday June 14, 2012
Kelly Phillips Erb (a widely-published tax attorney known on Twitter as @taxgirl ), shares some of her experience from this week's AICPA Tech+ conference in Las Vegas (mostly CPAs ), which also included the Association for Accounting Marketing 's conference. --- www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/06/13/what-happens-in-vegas-traveling-for-business --- I had the chance to meet Kelly on the first pre-night of the conference (Sunday, June 10), and shared some conversation and camaraderie over some kind of blue beverage provided by host Jody Padar ( @jodypadarcpa ) and sponsor Freshbooks ( @freshbooks ) and their Bean Counter Ambassador, Kasey Bayne . Kelly's post today on Forbes.com explains it all quite well: This was... -
Opportunities Bright for Accounting Execs
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Friday March 9, 2012Businesses of all sizes will always need accounting experts to help them see the present and plan for the future, and even in the still struggling economy, career opportunities for accounting executives has been growing. According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that cited the latest Cerius Executive Demand Index report, "Hiring has been brisk for executives with accounting skills ... and during the fourth quarter of 2011, 28 percent of the more than 1,100 top executive job openings nationwide were finance-related." Similar results in the AICPA's CPA Horizons 2025 report, show that the profession's prospects remain positive, "as long as firms can change to respond to today's technology-driven, increasingly... -
ZZZZ ... The Most Sleep-Deprived Jobs
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Thursday February 23, 2012Which jobs keep people away from the ZZZs the most? According to a new survey, tax and accounting pros aren't even in the top 10. I'm pretty sure they must not have conducted the survey during tax season. In a National Health Interview Survey commissioned by mattress retailer Sleepy's, the following occupations reported receiving the least average sleep per night: Home Health Aids (6 hrs, 57 min) Lawyers (7h) Police Officers (7h, 1m) Physicians/Paramedics (7h, 2m) Economists (7h, 3m) Social Workers (7h, 3m) Computer Programmers (7h, 3m) Financial Analysts (7h, 5m) Plant Operators (7h, 7m) Secretaries (7h, 8m) Would you edge out one of these averages? Here are the 10 professions that averaged the most sleep... -
Are You Ready for the iPad3?
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Friday February 10, 2012
Yesterday, Apple announced they will hold an event in early March 2012 to launch and debut the iPad 3. As with the initial version and the iPad 2, the products likely won't be available until April or shortly thereafter. I am not an Apple person, but I had an original version of the iPad, and I was one of the first to get it, since I opted for the Wi-Fi based model instead of the 3G version that was a little later in production. After receiving it at the beginning of May 2010, I quickly became a fan: It was fun; it was cool; it had a lot of apps; it was actually a good "lite" replacement for a laptop, and much "lighter" and easier to carry around. In my profession, my biggest needs are connectivity, creativity, access to research... -
Ten Tax Benefits for Parents to Remember
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Tuesday January 24, 2012How much is that little bundle of joy worth? Junior or your Princess may be priceless to you, but when it comes to taxes, there can be several very tangible monetary benefits. Here are 10 things the IRS wants parents to consider when filing their taxes this year. 1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. 2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax...
