Accountant, Bookkeeping, Small Business, Taxes
The Panama Papers leak has made waves across the globe and for good reason – celebrities, CEOs and even political leaders face accusations of widespread tax avoidance. An anonymous source leaked the implicating documents, and an international coalition of hundreds of journalists has sifted through each and every piece of evidence. The parties involved in the cover-up went to great lengths to avoid the law, and there have been calls for increased financial transparency among the super wealthy. The purpose of accounting is not to bend the rules, but to provide a wealth of knowledge for sensible financial decision-making. The Panama Papers leak shows us that accountability is the most important part of accounting and being an Accounting firm servicing many businesses in a metropolis like Chicagoland that has many businesses with global connections made us want to shed some light on what happened.
What Happened
Just over a year ago, the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung received 11.2 million documents from an anonymous tipster. These papers, sourced from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, included the hidden financial transactions of everyone from public officials to sports stars. These people used offshore shell companies within Panama to hide their money from their own national governments, and avoid paying taxes. Those accused of funneling money were able to stay anonymous for years because of a complex network of offshore accounts run by Mossack Fonseca.
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Accountant, Taxes, Uncategorized
With each New Year comes an inevitable change to the federal tax code, prompting individuals, businesses, and accounting firms alike to reassess how their returns will be filled and filed. 2015-2016 brings us a host of changes, even an adjustment to the traditional tax deadline of April 15th.
Filing Deadline
Due to Emancipation Day, the official tax-filing deadline has been moved from Friday, April 15th to Monday, April 18th. Emancipation Day is a holiday celebrated by the city of Washington D.C. to commemorate the day in 1862 on which President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing approximately 3,100 slaves in the District. This holiday is typically celebrated on April 16th, which falls on a Saturday, and therefore will be observed on the Friday prior. And because the IRS treats D.C. holidays as federal holidays, Americans have three more days to file their taxes, according to the Washington Post.
For those living in both Maine and Massachusetts, Patriot’s Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, pushes the deadline back yet another day to April 19th. (more…)
Accountant, Business Expenses, expenses, Small Business, Taxes, Uncategorized
While the past decade has seen the advent of several tax preparation programs that allow users to file their taxes online, these programs raise several questions: Will filing your taxes online find you all of the deductions you qualify for? Are these programs secure? What if you encounter an issue? Here, we will examine the pros and cons of using tax software versus the advantages and disadvantages of filing with a CPA.
Time
Depending on how complex your returns are, filing your taxes can take a fair amount of time. But, with that said, when you compare filing online with visiting an accountant, the time difference is clear. When you file online, you are still responsible for inputting all of the necessary information into the program. When you file with an accountant, they are responsible for wading through your information to complete the worksheets and calculations that result in your final return. This gives you the opportunity to spend your time doing what you want to do, rather than dealing with your taxes – which few people find enjoyable. (more…)
Accountant, CPA, Small Business, Uncategorized
Do you need help preparing your taxes? Do you want to plan for retirement, but aren’t quite sure where to start? A personal CPA can help you with these tasks and many more related to your personal finances—find out all you need to know in this month’s post.
What is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant)?
All CPAs are accountants—but not all accountants are CPAs (AICPA). To earn CPA licensure, a certified public accountant must complete a high level of accounting education, gain experience in public accounting, and pass their state-regulated Uniform CPA exam. Once an accountant has met these stringent requirements, he or she can practice accounting for all sorts of clients including non-profits, government agencies, privately owned companies and individuals. (more…)
Accountant, Taxes, Uncategorized
Earlier this year, Entrepreneur Magazine composed this article discussing the task small business owners loathe the most. TD Bank released the results of survey in which 508 small business owners revealed what they loved – and hated – about owning and running their own businesses. The best part was, overwhelmingly, flexibility and control. The most underwhelming part? Bookkeeping. A whopping 58 percent of those surveyed called bookkeeping “particularly draining.” This sentiment is not new. In fact, some people find it so draining they just don’t even do it.
For business owners, bookkeeping can be tedious, difficult, and just frustrating in general. While the correct course of action would be to hire a trained, qualified, and passionate accountant to handle the numbers, not every person has reached this conclusion. Every year the news networks have stories about various incidents of tax evasion. Realizing the actual repercussions of inaccurate bookkeeping is difficult to comprehend until it actually happens to you. Since this is one experience you will want to avoid, here’s are just a few of the most infamous tax evasion cases and consequences.
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Accountant, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Business Expenses, CPA, Deductions, expenses, Small Business, Taxes, Uncategorized
Cost accounting is a technique used to determine the best financial course of action. The primary purpose of cost accounting is to help decision-makers make decisions. By analyzing the cost of products, services, and projects, accountants can advise businesses of the best course of action regarding a particular transaction. To put it more simply, you calculate the elements of cost for product process (raw materials, labor, and expenses/overhead), compare that cost with the product price, determine the business’s revenue, and decide if and where savings are needed.
Cost accounting doesn’t have a singular approach. Cost accounting methods include: (more…)
