Returning Value Blog

Whether it’s hard hats and drills on a job-site, iPads in an office or RFID readers in a warehouse, small tools and equipment have a tendency to disappear at many companies. The cost of lost, damaged and stolen items can quickly add up, consuming profits and cash flow. What can you do to manage these items more effectively and create accountability among workers?

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) covers both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans. If your organization offers its employees either, you may feel like you’re constantly walking on eggshells trying to oversee all the regulatory details involved. One critical way to stay in compliance and avoid costly penalties is to ensure your plan operates consistently with its plan documents.

One of the most laborious tasks for small businesses is managing payroll. But it’s critical that you not only withhold the right amount of taxes from employees’ paychecks but also that you pay them over to the federal government on time.

In financial reporting, investors and business owners tend to focus on four key metrics: 1) revenue, 2) net income, 3) total assets and 4) net worth. But, when it comes to gauging short-term financial performance and creditworthiness, the trump card is cash flow.

Is your business depreciating over a 30-year period the entire cost of constructing the building that houses your operation? If so, you should consider a cost segregation study. It may allow you to accelerate depreciation deductions on certain items, thereby reducing taxes and boosting cash flow. And under current law, the potential benefits of a cost segregation study are now even greater than they were a few years ago due to enhancements to certain depreciation-related tax breaks.

These days, most businesses need a website to remain competitive. It’s an easy decision to set one up and maintain it. But determining the proper tax treatment for the costs involved in developing a website isn’t so easy.

Did you know that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently extended the simplified private-company accounting alternatives to not-for-profit organizations? Many merging nonprofits, including educational institutions and hospitals, welcome these practical expedients. Here are the details.

New Rule will affect millions - After the 2016 regulation (which had a much higher threshold) was invalidated by a U.S. District Court, a new regulation was finalized on September 24, 2019, by the U.S. Department of Labor.  However, changes in the regulations do not formally take effect until January 1, 2020. Because of that, employers still have time to make the adjustments necessary to be in full compliance.

Technology is altering the traditional approach to internal audits. Instead of reviewing reams of paperwork, today’s auditor is learning to use electronic records. In turn, going paperless facilitates a concept known as “continuous auditing,” where internal auditors continually gather data to support their procedures. Here’s how your business can modernize this process.

As an employer, you must pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax on amounts up to $7,000 paid to each employee as wages during the calendar year. The rate of tax imposed is 6% but can be reduced by a credit (described below). Most employers end up paying an effective FUTA tax rate of 0.6%. An employer taxed at a 6% rate would pay FUTA tax of $420 for each employee who earned at least $7,000 per year, while an employer taxed at 0.6% pays $42.