Returning Value Blog

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many employers to implement some form of workforce reduction to continue operating. While furloughs and layoffs have a significant and immediate impact on a company’s operations, plan sponsors also need to understand the longer-term effects workforce reductions have on participants’ benefits and retirement accounts.

The State of Alabama will be participating in the 15th annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday Weekend beginning Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19. This special shopping period will start at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 17, and end at midnight on Sunday, July 19. 

In 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published guidance that requires major changes to how leases are reported on financial statements. One area of the guidance that’s especially complicated relates to “embedded” leases.

There’s a new IRS form for business taxpayers that pay or receive nonemployee compensation.

The costs to set up cloud computing services can be significant, and many companies would prefer not to immediately expense these setup costs. Updated guidance on accounting for cloud computing costs aims to reduce differences in the accounting treatment for these arrangements. In a nutshell, the changes will spread more of the costs of implementing a cloud computing contract over the contract’s life than under existing guidance.

Businesses are emerging from various pauses and lockdowns, some in better shape than others. Many businesses continue to grow and prosper, and many likely are doing so through a merger or acquisition. Others are looking to merge into or be acquired by other businesses.

Until recently, employers in only a handful of industries had to provide significant reporting on COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. But as of May 26, new Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines require a much wider range of employers to determine whether employees caught the coronavirus at work or while performing work-related activities. If so, managers must record the illness on OSHA Form 300.

Outsourcing may appeal to organizations that are currently struggling with mounting overhead costs during the COVID-19 crisis. By outsourcing, you convert certain fixed overhead costs associated with compensating and supporting employees into variable costs that can be scaled back in an economic downturn — or dialed up in times of growth and transition.

While the COVID-19 crisis has devastated many existing businesses, the pandemic has also created opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses. For example, some businesses are being launched online to provide products and services to people staying at home.

Some companies are expected to report impairment losses in fiscal year 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis. Depending on the nature of your operations and assets, the pandemic could be considered a “triggering event” that warrants interim impairment testing.