In Brief Blockchain came to mainstream attention in 2017, despite having existed for almost a decade prior. The author explains how this new technology, perhaps…
Machine Learning in Auditing
Current and Future Applications
In Brief Machine learning provides the potential for significant improvements in audit speed and quality, but also entails certain risks. The authors provide a general…
Around the globe, cybercrime cost society over $3 trillion in 2018, and this cost is forecast to rise to $6 trillion by 2021 (“Cybercrime Damages…
A growing area of expertise among CPAs is the addition of family office financial planning and management to their practices. Family office services may include…
Tax & Accounting Update is provided by Thomson Reuters and based on material published on Checkpoint, its online news and research platform. The Update is…
Quarterly Real U.S. GDP Growth First quarter Gross Domestic Product, released on April 26, rose 3.2% versus estimates that averaged approximately 2.5%. The higher-than-expected increase…
Earning Real Income from Fantasy Sports
Tax Opportunities and Pitfalls under the TCJA
According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), fantasy sports is a $7 billion industry, with 59.3 million people in the United States and Canada…
Outsourced finance and accounting is one of the fastest growing areas for CPA firms and one of the leading values firms can offer their clients.…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) made dramatic changes to the rules for individuals that affect tax planning at all stages of…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) will have broad-ranging effects on all kinds of individuals. Taxpayers with a personal connection to gambling…
The Changing Regulatory Climate on Privacy
What CPAs Need to Know about 23 NYCRR 500 and the CCPA
Over the last two years, the states of California and New York issued new regulations regarding data privacy and cybersecurity. Both rules will have far…
Financial Planning Using Qualified Opportunity Zones
The Integration of Estate Tax and Income Tax Planning Is Now Complete
In Brief The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expanded the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amounts, dramatically changing the landscape…
Reviewing Contracts with Customers
How CPAs Can Advise Business Owners
CPAs do not review contracts or practice law, but if they fail to pose common sense legal questions to their business clients, those clients may…
ICYMI | Medicaid Qualifying Strategies When There Is No Time to Plan
How a Financial Planner Can Intervene in a Crisis
In Brief As people age, disability can strike with little to no warning, leaving scant time for individuals and families to craft a financial plan.…
Thousands of CPAs work in the not-for-profit sector, and thousands more volunteer as members of the governing boards of not-for-profit organizations. There is little in…
Changing the State and Local Tax Nexus Playing Fields
An Update on the Impact of Wayfair
One of the major state and local tax developments that CPAs have been dealing with is the Supreme Court's decision on June 21, 2018, in South…
In Brief Trusts enable individuals to ensure the financial health of loved ones long after they are gone, but only if they are properly set…
Given the recent spate of financial and accounting scandals, greater attention has been placed on the importance of strong ethical behavior on the part of…
How the New Ethics Code Will Affect Your Standards
An Interview with Stavros Thomadakis, IESBA Chair
Given the recent spate of financial and accounting scandals, greater attention has been placed on the importance of strong ethical behavior on the part of…
In Brief The sweeping changes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) have prompted reconsideration of many financial plans. The realm of estate planning…
Sweet (and Sour) Charity
Examining the Deductibility of Unreimbursed Charitable Expenditures
Taxpayers who give to charitable organizations may be rewarded by a reduction in the amount of federal and state income taxes they pay. Some charitable…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law on December 22, 2017, delivered sweeping changes to the federal tax code. These changes brought…
Financial Planning Challenges Facing Older Americans
How CPAs Can Help
In Brief As the number of senior citizens in the United States continues to rise, CPAs and financial planners will be increasingly called upon to…
A True Portrait of America’s Finances
Analyzing the Federal Government’s Fiscal Year 2018 Financial Statements
In late March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the fiscal year 2018 financial report for the U.S. government. The report had some bad…
In 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The standard is…
Mastering Fiduciary Activity Reporting For Governments
An Explanation of GASB Statement 84
In Brief GASB recently updated its guidance on the reporting of assets held by governments in a fiduciary capacity. While the clarification on how to…
In Brief The tax impact on investment income can be mitigated through the transfer of assets into retirement accounts. Not all accounts and investments are…
Evaluating the Financial Planning Services Business Model
Is It the Right Time to Start a Planning Practice?
Financial planning is a generic term for all of the services that CPAs perform that deal with a client's individual wealth. It is also a…
On the timeline of financial accounting history, 2018 may well be the “year of the nonprofits.” Accountants and auditors began applying FASB Accounting Standards Update…
U.S. Wages and Salaries Growth Wages grew by 4.16% during January 2019 versus the same period in 2018. According to Trading Economics, this is below the long-term…