Mon.Dec 02, 2024

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Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy: 3 Best Practices for Supporting Your Client in a Tax Audit

CTP

Despite your best efforts as a tax planner, your client may still end up facing an audit. Since some audits are randomly chosen, this is an unavoidable reality for those of us in the tax field. The question is: what is our role when it comes to supporting our clients through an audit? Where do our responsibilities begin and end? And how can we best prepare for this possibility so we can guide our clients toward the best attainable outcome?

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The best and worst states for taxes in 2025

Accounting Today

States that do not assess the major taxes are more competitive than states with complex taxes with high rates.

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Trending Sources

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IRS Warns of Holiday Scams, Kicks Off Security Awareness Week

CPA Practice

The Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit partners are warning taxpayers to approach their holiday shopping with extra caution because scammers are also shopping – for their next victim’s personal information. The consumer alert kicks off the ninth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week featuring tips for taxpayers and tax professionals to avoid scams and protect their sensitive data.

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Slow down on that SLAT. Here are some of the risks

Accounting Today

The tax advantages and a degree of flexibility have added to the appeal of spousal lifetime access trusts. But they aren't a fit for everyone.

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2025 Payroll Calendar Templates (Biweekly, Semi-Monthly, and Monthly)

Use these handy calendar templates to stay on top of payroll in 2025! Download them today to share with your HR team or post for employees. Whether your company has biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly pay periods, Paycor has you covered. Get your templates today!

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Prompt Engineering Best Practices: Crafting Effective Prompts for Your Power Platform AI Tools

Withum

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the power of artificial intelligence (AI) stands as a transformative force, particularly within the realm of the Power Platform. Crafting effective prompts is the key to unlocking the true potential of these AI tools, enabling you to drive innovation and achieve unparalleled results in your projects. This blog post will delve into prompt engineering best practices and strategies to maximize the efficacy of AI, setting the stage for a deeper explorati

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Taxes and the 'amateur athlete'

Accounting Today

Court decisions have opened up a whole new world of tax worries for college athletes.

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More Trending

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Looking back with Barry Melancon

Accounting Today

On the eve of his retirement, AICPA chief Barry Melancon looks back at how the institute – and the accounting profession – have changed over the past 30 years.

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IRS Announces New 1099-K Reporting Thresholds for 2024-2025

Insightful Accountant

In a significant development for tax practitioners and their small business clients, the IRS has established new transitional thresholds for Form 1099-K reporting through Notice 2024-85.

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Maximizing Business Value: Essential Steps for Manufacturing and Distribution Companies Prior to Sale

LSLCPAs

Preparing to sell your manufacturing or distribution business can feel like a full-time job—and for good reason. The outcome of the sale could impact your retirement plans, the livelihood of your employees, and the future of your management team. A well-planned approach to selling, merging, or acquiring your business is crucial, as it not only. The post Maximizing Business Value: Essential Steps for Manufacturing and Distribution Companies Prior to Sale appeared first on LSL CPAs.

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Maximize Efficiency with QuickBooks Online Accountant’s 8 Prep for Taxes Features

Insightful Accountant

Tax season is a big challenge for all accountants. You need to get information from clients, clean up their books, carefully review data, and export and/or check trial balances. “Busy season” is accurate.

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

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Understanding Cash vs. Accrual Accounting

Withum

When it comes to accounting methods, businesses primarily choose between two approaches: cash basis accounting and accrual basis accounting. Understanding the key differences between cash vs. accrual accounting is essential as this decision impacts financial reporting, cash flow management and long-term planning. What Is Cash Basis Accounting? Cash basis accounting is a straightforward method in which revenue and expenses are recorded only when cash is exchanged.

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Insights on Business Valuation and M&A with John Martinka

Insightful Accountant

In this episode of the Accounting Insiders podcast, Gary DeHart interviews John Martinka, co-founder of Nokomis Advisory Services, about key strategies for small businesses in the M&A sector.

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In-Kind Donations Can Help Retail Clients Solve Unwanted Returns and Inventory

CPA Practice

By Paula DeJayes. Generous return policies by companies like Target, Kohl’s and Walmart are popular with customers. Though they generate goodwill and repeat business, retailers are not exactly happy to be stuck with returned inventory. Now, your client retailers are thinking the unthinkable: Giving customers refunds but letting them keep their unwanted goods.

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SAS 145 insights: Inherent risk assessment and effective confirmations

ThomsonReuters

← Blog home At a high level, SAS 145 brings with it refinements to risk assessment standards in audits, reinforcing the need for vigilance and critical thinking. While it does not change the confirmation requirements, it prompts auditors to re-examine inherent risk factors closely, particularly for areas like cash and cash equivalents, where fraud can be more prevalent.

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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

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Year-End Hiring Strategies for 2024: Navigating the Senior Talent Gap in Accounting

CPA Practice

By Amy Gallagher, Managing Director, UHY. As we move into 2025, accounting firms face a significant challenge: a growing talent gap caused by many experienced CPAs and professionals retiring. The accounting profession’s yawning talent gap has long been a thorn in the industry’s side. However, with an estimated 75 percent of CPAs having hit retirement age by the year 2020, and the number of accounting graduates continuing to trend downwards , the talent challenges the accounting industry is facin

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Navigating Employment Status in Physician Practices: Are They an Employee or an Independent Contractor?

Withum

In many physician practices, it has been common practice to contract an outside healthcare professional to provide services at a per-procedure rate. Did you know that those healthcare professionals may now be considered employees? On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule, effective March 11, 2024, revising the Department’s guidance on analyzing who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

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Research Shows Top Hiring Challenges for SMBs in 2025

CPA Practice

Research from global talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half reveals the top recruiting obstacles small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are facing now and in the months ahead. The research offers valuable insights to help SMBs compete for top talent in a complex and evolving hiring landscape. According to a survey of more than 1,700 hiring managers at small (20-99 employees) and midsize (100-999 employees) companies, the greatest hiring challenges facing SMBs include: Salary pres

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Help, I’m Being Audited! 3 Reasons You’ll Want a Tax Planner in Your Corner When Facing an Audit

CTP

Tax audits are, unfortunately, a possibility that every taxpayer should be prepared for. Even if you’ve crossed your t’s and dotted your i’s, the IRS does sometimes choose tax returns at random for an audit. How can you ensure you are ready if this happens to you? The more documentation you have to support the claims made on your tax return and the more understanding you have of the tax laws that apply to your case, the better you’ll fare.

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Back to Basics with Reconciliations

Join us in this webinar, where we share best practices on how to think about the reconciliation work each month, when best to do reconciliations, how they should be prepared, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how to properly prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations and its impact on the financial statements.

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Lucanet Enhances CFO Platform with GenAI Capabilities

CPA Practice

Lucanet , a provider of CFO software solutions, is releasing the first of its GenAI capabilities as an addition to its CFO Solution Platform. This release will add advanced Copilot features for Lucanet’s Consolidation and Financial Planning and Disclosure Management solution, in addition to the Copilot for the XBRL Tagger made available in October.

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Transportation and Logistics Industry End-of-year Updates: Three Things to Keep an Eye on in Q1

Anders CPA

There’s good news for the transportation and logistics industry heading into 2025: the Bank of America Shippers’ Diffusion Index has been ticking upwards for four consecutive surveys, reaching its highest level since June 2022. It looks like the over-supply problem will start to settle down and rates will increase to allow for more comfortable margins.

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Aprio Releases 2025 Technology Outlook

CPA Practice

Aprio , the 25 th largest business advisory and accounting firm, has released its 2025 Technology Outlook , highlighting the recent impact of private equity and venture capital funding within the tech sector and key trends that will continue to make an impact in 2025. The Outlook dives into the particularities of equity investment in the tech sector.

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Expense Report Fraud

FraudFiles

The dreaded expense reports. Employees hate preparing them. Companies hate reviewing them. They seem to be painful for everyone involved, yet companies can’t get away from them all together. You’re asking yourself why this might be an important topic. Expense report losses are really a minor expense for most companies, aren’t they? Yes, they are. [.

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Usage-Based Monetization Musts: A Roadmap for Sustainable Revenue Growth

Speaker: David Warren and Kevin O'Neill Stoll

Transitioning to a usage-based business model offers powerful growth opportunities but comes with unique challenges. How do you validate strategies, reduce risks, and ensure alignment with customer value? Join us for a deep dive into designing effective pilots that test the waters and drive success in usage-based revenue. Discover how to develop a pilot that captures real customer feedback, aligns internal teams with usage metrics, and rethinks sales incentives to prioritize lasting customer eng

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AICPA News – December 2024

CPA Practice

AICPA News is a round-up of recent announcements from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. AICPA Reiterates ‘Grave Concerns’ with BOI Reporting Requirement Timeline, Requests Filing Delay In a letter to Congressional leadership of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently expressed their concerns with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report

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Expert Advice for Financial Planning for SaaS Startups

inDinero Tax Tips

This article is a primer for founders without finance backgrounds who want a sense of what should be on their minds when developing a financial plan for their SaaS startup. There are plenty of free spreadsheet templates online, but without an understanding of how or why to customize them, they aren’t particularly useful. It’s like the difference between copying someone else’s homework and doing it yourself.

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Extended 2025 ProAdvisor Nomination Deadline Approaching

Insightful Accountant

December 10th is the 'Extended Deadline' to nominate a ProAdvisor. There's still time to nominate a deserving U.S. or International ProAdvisor for the 2025 Awards.

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Small firms must balance budget and ambition on AI

Accounting Today

Small firms can't drop billions on custom AI systems, but there are still ways to leverage the tech without breaking the bank.

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Harness the Potential of Your Enterprise Knowledge

The first Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management, conducted by Deep Analysis with support from AIIM and M-Files, surveyed 500 enterprises across various industries to assess their readiness to employ AI. The results reveal that AI is already far more embedded into organizations' operations than previously realized. These findings and more insights have been brought to you in the "Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management.

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Aprio Releases 2025 Technology Outlook

Insightful Accountant

Aprio tech outlook outlines key trends that will influence investment in the tech sector during 2025.

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Ex-bank CEO's tax scandal bill raised to €5.6M by top court

Accounting Today

Germany's top criminal court almost doubled the amounts of illicit profits a former chief executive officer of a defunct bank and other ex-managers must repay.

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: KPMG Wins in Losing Clients; PwC Supports Alternative Pathways (We Know) | 12.2.24

Going Concern

Welcome back to the working world, everyone. I trust you all had a nice holiday. Since we had a couple days off I took the opportunity to finally finish the Silent Hill 2 remake. I got the ‘Head of Controlling’ ending (jk, I got Leave). Let's acknowledge the most important people behind the spectacular Silent Hill 2 remake: pic.twitter.com/GGquHgEVvq — Going Concern (@going_concern) November 30, 2024 Alright, enough chit-chat.

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Super Micro finds no evidence of fraud, will replace CFO

Accounting Today

The investigation determined that "the conclusions EY stated in its resignation letter were not supported by the facts examined in the review.

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Solve Your Firms Automation Complexities Once and For All

Speaker: Mark Stovel

When it comes to automating, many firms focus on finding the latest tech, believing that efficiency is something achieved through new tools. Yet true efficiency is achieved by delivering real value to clients, not merely by upgraded systems. Without a clear approach, no level of automation can overcome the complexities of serving every client’s needs.