Tax & Accounting Update is provided by Thomson Reuters and based on material published on Checkpoint, its online news and research platform. The Update is…
First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Impact on Estate Planning
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has doubled the amount that can be exempted from federal estate tax to $11.18 million per individual, effective…
Urgent Need for Governmental Accounting Education
New Generation Needed to Fill Retirements at Federal, State, and Local Agencies
The need for governmental accounting education has never been greater in the United States, as governments at the federal, state, and local levels face a…
GDP Fourth quarter U.S. GDP was revised up to 2.9%, completing a year that saw GDP grow at 2.3%. While the first quarter of 2018…
First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Impact of the New 20% Pass-Through Deduction—Traps and Planning Opportunities
The new IRC section 199A, with its complex terms and limits, will be part of almost every tax preparer's life until at least 2026. The…
Defined benefit pension plans offer politicians a convenient way to satisfy public employee demands while providing the means to defer budgeted cash payments and hide…
First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Impact of ‘GILTI’ on International Taxpayers
One of the central features of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is its reformation of the U.S. system for taxation of…
Governmental accounting has a long history of development. Although the designation of specialized standards-setting bodies has been relatively recent, with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board…
Top Challenges Facing Not-For-Profit CFOs Today
Revisiting the Toughest Challenges
In April 2017, the authors wrote “Top Challenges Facing Not-For-Profit CFOs Today.” The intent of the article was to affirm how complex and diverse the…
Retirement Plans for Employees of LLCs Owned by Tax-Exempt Entities
Implications of the IRS’s Chief Counsel Advice
Taxpayers conduct their operations via a variety of entities, including limited liability companies (LLCs). Even tax-exempt organizations are using the limited liability form to provide…
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) provides general standards of conduct for plan fiduciaries. A breach of fiduciary duty can result in personal liability…
Understanding the Community-Supported Business Model
A Primer for Tax Professionals
In Brief The community-supported business (CSB) model has enabled many people to preserve the economic vitality of their small business or start new business ventures.…
First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Impact on Individual Charitable Giving
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…
Tax Abatements Under GASB Statement 77
Exploring the Effects of the New Disclosure Rules
Many state and local governmental units have entered into agreements with business entities that offer tax incentives and tax breaks encouraging the companies to establish…
Written Supervisory Approval of IRS Penalties
When Must It Be Given, and Who May Give It?
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) imposes penalties on understatements of tax as a way to encourage voluntary compliance and deter noncompliant behavior. Generally, the revenue…
Control Issues in Charter Schools
An Examination of New York State Comptroller’s Audits
In Brief Charter schools are a controversial topic in education and politics because the public funding they receive makes them quasi-public organizations; thus, political groups,…
“Investment” can mean cultivating capital of many kinds—money, time, effort, energy—with the expectation of a positive result. As we approach the third annual Moynihan Scholarship…
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…
The June 2017 installment of this column covered “Reporting on Restatement Adjustments after an Auditor Change” (http://bit.ly/2pQMClB). This installment expands on that theme, providing guidance…
Identifying Deficiencies in Single Audits
Preparing for the Audit Quality Study
In Brief Under its Single Audit Quality Study, the Office of Management and Budget will soon be reviewing single audit engagements. To help auditors enhance…
Why have so many state and local governments accumulated massive debts, even as they claimed to balance their budgets every year? Political math. Wait, how…
First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Impact on Exempt Organization Employers and Employees
Since President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA) on December 22, 2017, not-for-profit and tax-exempt organizations have been analyzing the impact…