August 2018

When working papers and confidential information were stored on paper, it was enough to physically secure the paper records you had so others couldn’t view them. Just as our society is adapting its laws, regulations, and definitions of terms like ...

Leaders in CPA firms across the country agree that Client Accounting Services (CAS) is an emerging, growing and profitable opportunity. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing new revenue segments of many Top 100 Firms, but it is relevant and ...

Every firm needs to attract new clients and most firms in the country tend to have one partner who seems to have a natural gift of bringing in new clients. That person is your rainmaker. Everyone else at the firm maintains a client relationship and ...

Unlike certain penalties, such as the Failure to File or Failure to Pay penalties, which can be abated due to reasonable cause, interest cannot be reduced or abated for reasonable cause. The abatement of interest is never permitted merely due to ...

If someone asked, would you be able to describe your accounting firm’s corporate culture? This concept is the topic of many a workplace report, but what does it mean?

Blockchain seems to be everywhere in the press and conferences related to accounting. There is clear merit to this coverage and blockchain is a technology with long-term importance. Applications have only been developed in a few pilot projects ...

Attend any conference or peruse any publication in the accounting profession and you’re sure to hear talk about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and other emerging technologies. These advancements present a tremendous ...

One of the most important steps in conducting effective interviews is the preparation before the interview is even conducted. Interviews can be a time intensive process for businesses. If the wrong person is hired, then additional interviews ...

As we all know, however, the economy is cyclical. And while it’s important to capitalize when times are good, smart business owners also make sure they’re prepared in case things start moving in a different direction.

First and foremost, you’ll need to get a sales tax permit — it’s against the law to collect sales tax without one. Getting a sales tax permit is just one of the many things you have to do when you start a business. To get one, complete your ...

2018 will definitely be an interesting year for tax professionals, with the most significant tax changes in more than 30 years due to take place. These changes are widespread, taking place for both individual tax filers, as well as corporations.

Experts predict that America’s cannabis industry will continue to grow over the next four years. The legal cannabis market was worth an estimated $7.2 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow. Medical marijuana sales are projected to grow ...

Summer is often thought of as the marriage season, so what better time to review some of the recent marriages impacting the technology sector of the accounting profession?

Value pricing is based on the maximum amount a given client is willing to pay for a service, typically set before the work begins. Conversely, value billing is usually marking up – or more frequently marking down – the invoice to the client after the ...

Owning your own business means staying current on new laws, requirements and filings. That’s a lot to tackle, and in many cases your clients rely on you to keep them compliant. Do your clients even know they need to maintain their corporation or LLC ...

Generally, employees can satisfy their annual tax obligations by having enough tax withheld from their paychecks during the course of the year. However, if you fail to pay enough tax, including both withholding and any quarterly installments, the IRS ...

One of the top challenges business executives face today is finding and retaining the best and brightest employees in their industry.

Four Ways to Evolve Your Auditing Firm Today By Matt Towers, Product Manager, Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting By now, most of us have been exposed to some sort of doom and gloom message about automated systems and ‘robots’ taking over the future of the tax and accounting profession. Google “jobs most likely to be […]

Bill Would Allow IRS to License and Regulate Tax Preparers By Isaac M. O’Bannon, Managing Editor Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has introduced a new bill in the Senate that would give the Internal Revenue Service the authority to regulate income tax return preparers. The bill is cosponsored by Senator Ben Cardin (D-Missouri). The IRS attempted […]

In case you haven’t noticed, getting fed by phone is very commonplace these days. Whether you’re calling in for lunch at the office, getting home at the end of the day and feeling too exhausted to cook, requesting food for a party, making sure your ...

Big Changes for the New W-4 Form By James Paille, Thomson Reuters The pre-draft 2019 W-4 has been released, and it’s a major change from previous versions of the W-4. The new W-4 doesn’t have a way to number allowances — instead, four new boxes that instruct the taxpayer to predict income and deductions replace […]

As with any new industry upstart, accountants have an opportunity to increase revenue within this niche by providing tax, accounting, audit, and business services, like bookkeeping, internal controls, workflow, payroll, and cloud-based solutions.

  Entrepreneurs Optimistic About Business Outlook By Isaac M. O’Bannon, Managing Editor Business owners have a generally positive business outlook, feel good about their ability to find new customers, and are relatively optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy. That’s according to data from the first Paychex Business Sentiment Report, which polled 500 randomly […]

It is time for you and your firm to start understanding the millennial mindset, address these issues, and engage top talent of your choice. In order to do so, step one, is to understand the mindset of these millennials, which is different than your own.

These days, clients will turn off the second they feel you’re trying to sell them something and you are not being authentic. The growth of native advertising and influencer marketing attest to the fact that people don’t respond favorably to a more ...

How do you explain your cannabis clients to your non-cannabis clients? Good question, but we should start with two assumptions that need to be made. One, you are working with State licensed companies. Two, your client’s starting point of view on ...

Cannabis is a very close knit community where everyone seems to know everyone. Breaking into the industry is not as easy as you may think. First of all you have to have some sort of angle. For instance, mine is that I have found a way around IRC §280e ...

In 28 States and the District of Columbia, cannabis is legal in one way or another. The problem is when you are dealing with the Federal Government. Cannabis is an illegal Schedule I Narcotic. That being said, when it comes to cannabis, legal ...

Growing up I was taught by my parents to get a job and keep a job. Period. It was ingrained in me that once I graduated college, I needed to land at a good company and stay there. The big reward would be retirement at 40 years with a fancy company pen ...