Auburn-Opelika (334) 887-7022 | Montgomery (334) 244-8900

Returning Value Blog

How to Use QuickBooks as a Fraud Detection Tool

Posted by Chris Earnest on May 08, 2023

Many businesses and nonprofits use QuickBooks® as a cost-effective solution to manage their accounting processes. However, the software’s capabilities extend beyond organizing and streamlining your company’s accounting. QuickBooks can also help you detect fraud. Here’s an overview of the software’s fraud detection and prevention features:

Full Story

Posted in Business Advisory

4 Ways Corporate Business Owners Can Help Ensure Their Compensation Is "Reasonable"

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on May 02, 2023

If you’re the owner of an incorporated business, you know there’s a tax advantage to taking money out of a C corporation as compensation rather than as dividends. The reason: A corporation can deduct the salaries and bonuses that it pays executives, but not dividend payments. Therefore, if funds are paid as dividends, they’re taxed twice, once to the corporation and once to the recipient. Money paid out as compensation is only taxed once — to the employee who receives it.

Full Story

Posted in Business Tax

We May Never See a Better Environment for Transferring Wealth ... Here's Why

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on Apr 25, 2023

It may seem that there will always be time to address estate planning. However, a unique opportunity to maximize the amount of wealth that can be tax-efficiently passed to heirs will expire at the end of 2025. Furthermore, legislation could curb lifetime exemption limits even sooner. The opportunity is even more pressing because the current market downturn represents an especially advantageous time to optimize your taxable estate before markets eventually recover.

Full Story

Beware of the Gray Areas in Accounting

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Apr 24, 2023

Accounting and auditing standards have come under scrutiny in the wake of recent high-profile bank failures. Investigations are currently underway about what went wrong with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. But it’s likely that some “gray areas” in the accounting rules were exploited to make these organizations appear more economically secure in their year-end financial statements than they truly were.

Full Story

Posted in Audit & Assurance

Spring Cleaning in QuickBooks

Posted by Chris Earnest on Apr 20, 2023

Have your company’s accounting records become cluttered with duplicate items and unused accounts? When you need to revise your QuickBooks® lists — such as the chart of accounts, customers, and vendors — the software provides methods for deleting, inactivating, and merging list entries. Here’s what you can do to help spruce things up.

Full Story

Posted in Business Advisory

Take Advantage of the Rehabilitation Tax Credit When Altering or Adding to Business Space

Posted by Jessica L. Pagan, CPA on Apr 19, 2023

If your business occupies substantial space and needs to increase or move from that space in the future, you should keep the rehabilitation tax credit in mind. This is especially true if you favor historic buildings.

Full Story

Posted in Business Tax

Retirement Saving Options for Your Small Business: Keep It Simple

Posted by Marty Williams, CPA on Apr 14, 2023

If you’re thinking about setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees, but you’re worried about the financial commitment and administrative burdens involved, there are a couple of options to consider. Let’s take a look at a “simplified employee pension” (SEP) or a “savings incentive match plan for employees” (SIMPLE).

Full Story

Posted in Business Advisory

Tax-Free Qualified Disaster Relief Payments to Employees in Connection With Covid-19 Will End May 11, 2023

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on Apr 12, 2023

The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, announced on January 30, 2023, that the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency that were declared in 2020 will both end on May 11, 2023. As a result, COVID-19 cannot be the reason used to make tax-free “qualified disaster relief payments” to employees (or others) under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 139 for expenses incurred on and after that date.

Full Story

Posted in Business Tax

The Tax Advantages of Hiring Your Child This Summer

Posted by Jessica L. Pagan, CPA on Apr 11, 2023

Summer is around the corner, so you may be thinking about hiring young people at your small business. At the same time, you may have children looking to earn extra spending money. You can save family income and payroll taxes by putting your child on the payroll. It’s a win-win!

Full Story

Posted in Individual Tax

Choosing an Entity for Your Business? How About an S Corporation?

Posted by Nick Wheeler, CPA on Apr 07, 2023

If you’re starting a business with some partners and wondering what type of entity to form, an S corporation may be the most suitable form of business for your new venture. Here are some of the reasons why.

Full Story

Posted in Business Advisory

Recent Posts

Returning_Value