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…
Tax & Accounting Update is provided by Thomson Reuters and based on material published on Checkpoint, its online news and research platform. The Update is…
Functional Expenses by Nature and the Overhead Debate
Crafting an Alternative Approach to ASU 2016-14
FASB ASU 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, is in full effect with the close of the December 31, 2018, fiscal year. As implementation progresses,…
Most CPAs practicing in the not-for-profit sector understand what a donor advised fund (DAF) is and how it is used to benefit both donors, as…
Attest services rendered to not-for-profit (NFP) entities provide assurance to stakeholders as to the quality of the financial condition, results of operations, and internal controls…
The 2019 tax filing season was a missed opportunity for the CPA profession. This was the year to get ahead of the new tax laws…
Charitable Contributions by S Corporations
A Mismatch of Pass-through and Basis Adjustment
Many taxpayers oversimplify the rules surrounding the charitable contribution deduction. Most are aware that contributions to public charities were previously deductible up to 50% of…
Over the years, there has been much confusion about whether to treat certain types of transactions as contributions or as exchanges, especially when they involve…
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law by President Trump. Numerous revisions to the tax code, most…
To Audit or Not to Audit
Whether to Accept a Uniform Guidance Audit
For many public accounting firms, the client acquisition decision often follows a common cost-benefit analysis; beyond the consideration of additional revenue generated, scheduling constraints, opportunity…
Changes Affecting Connecticut Personal Income Taxes
A Refresher of Key Revisions
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 made significant revisions to federal personal income taxation. In response, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted legislative changes…