Returning Value Blog

Forecasting how your company is likely to perform over the next year can be challenging, especially when it’s unclear where the markets are heading. But accurate forecasts are critical when managing a business. For example, they may be used to order inventory, hire additional workers, apply for loans and credit lines, and evaluate investment alternatives.

As we approach year-end, now is the time for individuals, business owners, and family offices to review their 2021 and 2022 tax situations and identify opportunities for reducing, deferring, or accelerating tax obligations. Areas potentially impacted by proposed tax legislation still in play should be reviewed, as well as applicable opportunities and relief granted under legislation enacted during the past year.

When you manage a nonprofit, spending money is always an issue. After all, your company is funded by grants and donations, many of which have strings attached. It's your obligation to keep the organization lean and the overhead low. However, the bigger a company gets, the more money it can save by having a centralized department that manages payroll and staffing. It's also a good way to keep employees happy, thereby reducing turnover. So what should you consider as you decide how to add human resources services to your organization?

Are you thinking about merging with or acquiring a business? CPA-prepared financial statements can provide valuable insight into historical financial results. But an independent quality of earnings (QOE) report can be another valuable tool in the due diligence process. It looks beyond the quantitative information provided by the seller’s financial statements.

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from considering some important steps to reduce your 2021 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies.

Auditing standards require external auditors to consider potential fraud risks by watching out for conditions that provide the opportunity to commit fraud. Unfortunately, conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have increased your company’s fraud risks. For example, more employees may be working remotely than ever before. And some workers may be experiencing personal financial distress — due to reduced hours, decreased buying power, or the loss of a spouse’s income — that could cause them to engage in dishonest behaviors.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the holiday season will soon be here. At this time of year, your business may want to show its gratitude to employees and customers by giving them gifts or hosting holiday parties again after a year of forgoing them due to the pandemic. It’s a good time to brush up on the tax rules associated with these expenses. Are they tax deductible by your business, and is the value taxable to the recipients?

As 2021 draws to a close, employers should review whether they have properly included the value of common fringe benefits in their employees' and (if applicable) 2% S corporation shareholders' taxable wages. This is especially true for 2021 since COVID relief brought about a number of changes to the rules relating to traditional fringe benefits.

The U.S. House of Representatives, in the late hours of Friday, November 5, 2021, passed H.R. 3684, the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” in a 228 to 206 bipartisan vote. The Senate had approved the same version of the bill, which is now ready for the president’s signature, on August 10, 2021.

On October 25, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a simpler accounting option that will enable private companies to more easily measure certain types of shares they provide to both employees and nonemployees as part of compensation awards. Here are the details.