Returning Value Blog

There's been buzz about new retirement plan provisions for weeks, and now they're final, bringing about changes to various federal rules and adding flexibility for current and future retirees. The Secure 2.0 Act of 2022, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, includes the following modifications, some of which are immediate and others that will take effect in the future.

In the last few years, real estate and construction leaders have made great strides to implement new technologies into their regular practices. While these advances have uncovered additional efficiencies, their adoption has created a critical vulnerability: data security.

What a difference a year makes. In 2021, cryptocurrency markets reached all-time highs. Broader institutional adoption continued with the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs investing in the space and offering their clients crypto assets. Interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was at an all-time high.

If you ask some business owners why they do things a certain way, they might answer, “Because we’ve always done it that way.” But with all the changes that have taken place in the financial and accounting realm, doing things the way you’ve always done them could be costing your business in terms of lost efficiency and profits. Here are five considerations to help modernize your accounting processes and systems.

Bookkeeping is essential to running a business. QuickBooks® is one of the most popular software programs for this purpose because it offers numerous features that other programs may not have.

Student-athletes can now enter into name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts for compensation. NIL contracts have major federal and state tax implications, including income tax responsibilities, state nexus, and reporting obligations. How should athletes and their advisors navigate compensation issues related to NIL contracts so that there are no tax surprises? We share valuable insight on the game-changing issues related to NILs.

Risks abound in today’s uncertain marketplace. Nearly two-thirds of senior finance leaders said that the volume and complexity of corporate risks have changed “mostly” or “extensively” in the past five years, according to a new report published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and North Carolina State University.

Does your business need real estate to conduct operations? Or does it otherwise hold property and put the title in the name of the business? You may want to rethink this approach. Any short-term benefits may be outweighed by the tax, liability, and estate planning advantages of separating real estate ownership from the business.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Biden on August 16, contains many provisions related to climate, energy, and taxes. There has been a lot of media coverage about the law's impact on large corporations. For example, the IRA contains a new 15% alternative minimum tax on large, profitable corporations. And the law adds a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks of more than $1 million by publicly traded U.S. corporations.

Cryptocurrencies and the volatility of the digital currency market have garnered a lot of attention in the retirement plan industry over the past few years. The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a stern warning about cryptocurrencies on investment menus and brokerage platforms within 401(k) plans. Since the release of the warning, third-party plan providers have responded with differing stances on the guidance released. Some 401(k) providers believe that the DOL has gone too far.