While
reading through the Sunday New York Times,
I stumbled across an opinion piece on corporate tax
avoidance
that I think is particularly relevant for business and industry CPAs. In
today’s struggling economy, the corporate tax system is a hot button issue both
in Washington and around the world. As companies become more global, we as CPAs
in industry can continue to add value in this area.
The
article, “Who Will Crack the Code?” by David Leonhardt, starts out by talking
about the shift in the soda industry from domestic to foreign concentrate
production—just one example of a thread that runs through many different
industries. Leonhardt notes, “as a result [of moving manufacturing operations
overseas], the industry paid a combined corporate income tax rate of only 19.2
percent over the past six years…the average rate for companies in the S&P
500 was 29.1 percent.”
Continue reading "Global Governments Waging War on Corporate Tax Avoidance" »
Over the past 20 years, change seems to come at the
speed of light and has had a significant impact on the way businesses operate. Markets
have become global, just about every process can now be outsourced and
technology has become integrated into the DNA of every business. If anything, changes
in rules, regulations and standards have accelerated. Businesses must now
satisfy the high expectations of regulators and other stakeholders regarding
governance oversight, risk management and the detection and prevention of fraud.
All of this change means that stronger internal control practices must be
developed to help to grow, as well as protect, the organization.
Continue reading "3 Ways the New COSO Framework May Affect Your Business" »
June 30 will be here very soon – making sure your clients
are compliant with the requirement to file a Report of Foreign Bank and
Financial Accounts by that date is critical as civil penalties for failure to
file are huge – they range from $10,000 up to $100,000 or 50% of the total
foreign account balance. Criminal penalties include $250,000 or five years of
imprisonment or both.
If your client is a U.S. resident and has a total of
$10,000 or more in all foreign bank accounts combined or has signature
authority over a foreign account, he or she must file FBAR Form TD F 90-22.1
annually. The FBAR is a report and is
not to be filed with the income tax return.
What makes the FBAR different from many other forms is that it must be received, not postmarked, by June 30 and it is filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury, not the IRS. Also, there are no extensions.
Continue reading "Time is Running Out: Verify Your Clients’ FBAR Obligations Now" »
In our last live blog session from the 2013 Practitioners Symposium and Tech+ Conference in Partnership with the Association for Accounting Marketing Summit, Jerry Love, CPA, CGMA, ABV, PFS, CFF, CITP of Abilene, Texas, offers insight as to how CPAs can specialize
and improve their bottom line. Specializing will:
- Deepen existing client relationships – with each additional
value-added service that you offer a client, they rely on
you more heavily as their trusted advisor.
- Increase the firm’s bottom line with additional
revenue streams.
- Retain staff – specialized services provide staff exposure
to a wider array of assignments and fulfilling career paths.
(Email subscribers: See the live blog coverage on AICPA Insights).
Continue reading "How Specialization Can Improve Your Service Offerings" »
Join the new generation of CPA who is finding success by
reimagining and recreating the traditional CPA firm for the
21st century at the 2013 Practitioners Symposium and Tech+ Conference in Partnership with the Association for Accounting Marketing Summit.
- Leverage new technologies.
- Implement new
workflows.
- Invent new client acquisition and relationship
management systems.
- Improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- Grow revenues.
- Optimize profitability.
- Embrace value pricing.
- Kill the billable hour.
- Attract, nurture and motivate the best
talent.
Get ready to renew your commitment – and be
inspired anew – to transform your life, and the lives
of colleagues and clients for the better.
Join Rick Telberg as he moderates this panel of young CPA professionals including:
- Jason Deshayes, CPA, Vice President, Butler CPAs,
Albuquerque, NM
- Michael Elliott, CPA, Manager, Dittrick & Associates, Inc.,
Burton, OH
- Joy Lizotte, CPA, Owner, Joy L. Lizotte, CPA, LLC,
Lake City, FL
(Email subscribers: See the live blog coverage on AICPA Insights).
Continue reading "What is the Next Generation of CPA Firms?" »