Feb 19, 2020
Auditors use various procedures to verify the amounts reported on your financial statements. In addition to reviewing original source documents and comparing trends from prior years, they may reach out to third parties — such as customers and lenders — to confirm that outstanding balances and estimates agree with their records. Here are answers to questions you may have about audit confirmations.
When are they used?
External confirmations received directly by the auditor from third parties are generally considered to be more reliable than audit evidence generated internally by your company. Auditors may, for example, send paper or electronic confirmations to customers to verify accounts receivable and to financial institutions to confirm notes payable. They also may choose to substantiate cash, inventory, consigned merchandise, long-term contracts, accounts payable, contingent liabilities, and related-party and unusual transactions.
Before wrapping up audit procedures, a letter also will be sent to your attorney, asking whether the information provided about any pending litigation is accurate and complete. Your attorney’s response can help determine whether a legal situation has a material impact on the company’s financial statements.
What are the options?
The types of confirmations used vary depending on the situation and the nature of your company’s operations. Three forms of confirmations include:
1. Positive. This type asks recipients to reply directly to the auditor and make a positive statement about whether they agree or disagree with the information included.
2. Negative. This type asks recipients to reply directly to the auditor only if they disagree with the information presented on the confirmation.
3. Blank. This type doesn’t state the amount (or other information) on the request. Instead, recipients are asked to complete the confirmation form and return it to the auditor.
Some banks no longer respond to confirmation letters mailed through the U.S. Postal Service. Instead, they respond only to electronic requests. These may be in the form of an email submitted directly to the respondent by the auditor or a request submitted through a designated third-party provider.
How can you help?
You can facilitate the confirmation process by approving your auditor’s requests in a timely manner. However, there may be situations when you object to the use of confirmation procedures. When this happens, discuss the matter with your auditor and provide corroborating evidence to support your reasoning. If the reason for the refusal is considered valid, your auditor will apply alternative procedures and possibly ask for a special representation in the management representation letter regarding the reasons for not confirming.
Auditors also might ask your staff about confirmation recipients who aren’t responding to requests or exceptions found during the confirmation process. This may include discrepancies over the information provided in the request, as well as responses received indirectly, oral responses and restrictive language contained in a response. Your staff can help the audit team determine whether a misstatement has occurred — and adjust the financial statements accordingly.
Simple but effective
Audit confirmations can be a powerful tool, enhancing audit quality and efficiency. Let’s work together to ensure the confirmation process goes smoothly.
© 2020
Feb 17, 2020
Many people who launch small businesses start out as sole proprietors. Here are nine tax rules and considerations involved in operating as that entity.
1. You may qualify for the pass-through deduction. To the extent your business generates qualified business income, you are eligible to claim the 20% pass-through deduction, subject to limitations. The deduction is taken “below the line,” meaning it reduces taxable income, rather than being taken “above the line” against your gross income. However, you can take the deduction even if you don’t itemize deductions and instead claim the standard deduction.
2. Report income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. The net income will be taxable to you regardless of whether you withdraw cash from the business. Your business expenses are deductible against gross income and not as itemized deductions. If you have losses, they will generally be deductible against your other income, subject to special rules related to hobby losses, passive activity losses and losses in activities in which you weren’t “at risk.”
3. Pay self-employment taxes. For 2020, you pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) at a 15.3% rate on your net earnings from self-employment of up to $137,700, and Medicare tax only at a 2.9% rate on the excess. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax (for a total of 3.8%) is imposed on self-employment income in excess of $250,000 for joint returns; $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separate returns; and $200,000 in all other cases. Self-employment tax is imposed in addition to income tax, but you can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income.
4. Make quarterly estimated tax payments. For 2019, these are due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15, 2021.
5. You may be able to deduct home office expenses. If you work from a home office, perform management or administrative tasks there, or store product samples or inventory at home, you may be entitled to deduct an allocable portion of some costs of maintaining your home. And if you have a home office, you may be able to deduct expenses of traveling from there to another work location.
6. You can deduct 100% of your health insurance costs as a business expense. This means your deduction for medical care insurance won’t be subject to the rule that limits medical expense deductions.
7. Keep complete records of your income and expenses. Specifically, you should carefully record your expenses in order to claim all the tax breaks to which you’re entitled. Certain expenses, such as automobile, travel, meals, and office-at-home expenses, require special attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping rules or deductibility limits.
8. If you hire employees, you need to get a taxpayer identification number and withhold and pay employment taxes.
9. Consider establishing a qualified retirement plan. The advantage is that amounts contributed to the plan are deductible at the time of the contribution and aren’t taken into income until they’re are withdrawn. Because many qualified plans can be complex, you might consider a SEP plan, which requires less paperwork. A SIMPLE plan is also available to sole proprietors that offers tax advantages with fewer restrictions and administrative requirements. If you don’t establish a retirement plan, you may still be able to contribute to an IRA.
Seek assistance
If you want additional information regarding the tax aspects of your new business, or if you have questions about reporting or recordkeeping requirements, please contact us.
© 2020
Feb 14, 2020
Many of today’s businesses employ workers from across the generational spectrum. Employees may range from Baby Boomers to members of Generation X to Millennials to the newest group, Generation Z.
Managing a workforce with a wide age range requires flexibility and skill. If you’re successful, you’ll likely see higher employee morale, stronger productivity and a more positive work environment for everyone.
Generational definitions
Definitions of the generations vary slightly, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation defines them as follows:
Members of the Baby Boomer generation were born from 1946 to 1964,
Members of Generation X were born from 1965 to 1979,
Members of the Millennial generation were born from 1980 to 1999, and
Members of Generation Z were born after 1999.
Certain stereotypes have long been associated with each generation. Baby Boomers are assumed to be grumbling curmudgeons. Gen Xers were originally consigned to being “slackers.” Millennials are often thought of as needy approval-seekers. And many presume that a Gen Zer is helpless without his or her mobile device.
But successfully managing employees across generations requires setting aside stereotypes. Don’t assume that employees fit a certain personality profile based simply on age. Instead, you or a direct supervisor should get to know each one individually to better determine what makes him or her tick.
Best practices
Here are just a couple best practices for managing diverse generations:
Recognize and respect value differences. Misunderstandings and conflicts often arise because of value differences between managers and employees of different generations. For example, many older supervisors expect employees to do “whatever it takes” to get the job done, including working long hours. However, some younger employees place a high value on maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Be sure everyone is on the same page about these expectations. This doesn’t mean younger employees shouldn’t have to work hard. The key is to find the right balance so that work is accomplished satisfactorily and on time, and employees feel like their values are being respected.
Maximize each generation’s strengths. Different generations tend to bring their own strengths to the workplace. For instance, older employees likely have valuable industry experience and important historical business insights to share. Meanwhile, younger employees — especially Generation Z — have grown up with high-powered mobile technology and social media.
Consider initiatives such as company retreats and mentoring programs in which employees from diverse generations can work together and share their knowledge, experiences and strengths. Encourage them to communicate openly and honestly and to be willing to learn from, rather than compete with, one another.
A competitive advantage
Having a multigenerational workforce can be a competitive advantage. Your competitors may not have the hard-fought experience of your older workers nor the fresh energy and ideas of your younger ones. Our firm can help you develop cost-effective strategies for hiring, retaining and maximizing the productivity of employees.
© 2020
Feb 13, 2020
Finding the right person to head up your company’s finance and accounting department can be challenging in today’s tight labor market. While it may be tempting to simply promote an existing employee, external candidates may offer fresh ideas and skills that take your financial reporting to the next level. Here are four traits to put on your wish list.
1. Leadership and strategy experience
The finance and accounting department provides critical feedback on how your company is performing and is expected to perform in the future. That information helps the rest of the management team make critical business decisions.
The CFO must provide timely, relevant financial data to other departments — including information technology, operations, sales and supply chain logistics — to help improve how the business operates. He or she also must be able to drum up cross-departmental support for major initiatives. If you operate overseas or plan to expand there soon, experience operating and reporting in a global context would be a bonus.
2. Command of the basics
Your CFO must have a working knowledge of finance and accounting fundamentals, such as:
U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and, if applicable, international accounting standards,
Federal and state tax law,
Budgeting and forecasting, and
Financial planning and benchmarking.
Accounting rules and tax law have undergone major changes in recent years. Candidates should understand the business provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as the impact of updated accounting standards on reporting revenue, leases and credit losses. It’s also helpful to have experience with managerial accounting and cost-cutting initiatives.
3. Previous employment in public accounting
Many CFOs start off their careers in public accounting for good reason: They learn about a broad range of accounting, tax and consulting projects in many different industries.
This experience positions candidates for leadership roles in the private sector. Former CPAs know how the auditing process works and can implement procedures to support that process within your organization. They’ve also seen the best (and worst) business practices in the real world. This insight can help your company seize opportunities — and avoid potential pitfalls.
4. Forensic and technology skills
CFOs sometimes need to examine the business from a forensic perspective. That could include overseeing a fraud investigation, evaluating compliance with new or updated government regulations, or remediating a data breach.
In turn, the prevalence of cyberattacks has made technology skills increasingly important for CFOs. Candidates should know how to protect against loss of sensitive data, including customer credit card numbers and company financial data and intangible assets. Candidates also must have a working knowledge of accounting systems and how they operate in the cloud.
Help wanted
As your business evolves, so too must the role of the CFO. We can help you evaluate candidates to find the right mix of skills and experience for your finance and accounting department.
© 2020
Feb 10, 2020
An array of tax-related limits that affect businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and many have increased for 2020. Here are some that may be important to you and your business.
Social Security tax
The amount of employees’ earnings that are subject to Social Security tax is capped for 2020 at $137,700 (up from $132,900 for 2019).
Deductions
Section 179 expensing:
Limit: $1.04 million (up from $1.02 million for 2019)
Phaseout: $2.59 million (up from $2.55 million)
Income-based phase-out for certain limits on the Sec. 199A qualified business income deduction begins at:
Married filing jointly: $326,600 (up from $321,400)
Married filing separately: $163,300 (up from $160,725)
Other filers: $163,300 (up from $160,700)
Retirement plans
Employee contributions to 401(k) plans: $19,500 (up from $19,000)
Catch-up contributions to 401(k) plans: $6,500 (up from $6,000)
Employee contributions to SIMPLEs: $13,500 (up from $13,000)
Catch-up contributions to SIMPLEs: $3,000 (no change)
Combined employer/employee contributions to defined contribution plans (not including catch-ups): $57,000 (up from $56,000)
Maximum compensation used to determine contributions: $285,000 (up from $280,000)
Annual benefit for defined benefit plans: $230,000 (up from $225,000)
Compensation defining a highly compensated employee: $130,000 (up from $125,000)
Compensation defining a “key” employee: $185,000 (up from $180,000)
Other employee benefits
Qualified transportation fringe-benefits employee income exclusion: $270 per month (up from $265)
Health Savings Account contributions:
Individual coverage: $3,550 (up from $3,500)
Family coverage: $7,100 (up from $7,000)
Catch-up contribution: $1,000 (no change)
Flexible Spending Account contributions:
Health care: $2,750 (up from $2,700)
Dependent care: $5,000 (no change)
These are only some of the tax limits that may affect your business and additional rules may apply. If you have questions, please contact us.
© 2019
Recent Comments