Tax Reform, Two Years Later

Tax reform clarifications keep coming. Here’s a look at how 2019 tax reform updates could impact your business.

2020 Accounting Preview

Here’s a snapshot of the top accounting topics that companies should be aware of going into the new year.

Year-End Tax Planning Strategies for Your Business

There’s still to make some strategic tax moves for your business that could help you save on 2019 taxes. Here are some of top ideas to consider, including strategies for recovering the cost of business property, dispositions of business property, and tax attributes and corporate tax considerations.

Best of Cyber Month 2019

Threats to information security remain top of mind for many organizations today. At industry risk management conferences this fall, we asked attendees about their greatest area of risk and more than 72% of respondents said the same thing: Data and cybersecurity.

Technology Valuations and the Path to Profitability

Recent technology company initial public offerings have changed the landscape for early-stage tech companies. Here’s what technology companies and investors should know about their current marketplace.

Your Guide to 2019 Accounting Changes

Both public and private companies have some major accounting updates that will affect their 2019 financial reporting. The following recaps what companies need to know to be prepared for year end, including the potential impact accounting changes could have on 2019 financial statements.

An Important Estate and Gift Tax Planning Question Answered

The IRS announced recently that enhanced estate and gift tax planning opportunities will not be clawed back once the provisions expire.

Webinar: Individual Year End Tax Planning Tips for 2019 and Beyond

Please join us for this webcast in which we will identify and assess effective individual year-end strategies including interactions with trusts and estates, S corporations and other pass-through entities for optimal tax minimization for 2019 and beyond.

Webinar: Eye on Washington Quarterly Update Q4 2019

Our Eye on Washington webinars assist CEOs, CFOs, financial executives and advisors, and other interested parties in navigating the complex tax environment.

How Not-for-Profits Can Find the Middle Ground between Efficiency and Innovation

Is your organization setting the bar for overhead expenses too low? The perceived harm of overspending on non-program related ventures could be stifling innovation in your organization. Here’s a guide on how to strike the right balance between budget and modernization.

6 Tips for Building a Resilient Charitable Contribution Plan for 2020

The landscape has shifted for charitable giving. As individuals feel the effect of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 on their personal tax situation, charities making requests for donations will need to respond in kind.

How to Explain Revenue Recognition Impact to Your Financial Statement Users

All private companies should be prepared to answer at least one question about their 2019 financial statement: How did the new revenue recognition standard affect your organization? The following provides a closer look at how to communicate the impact of ASC Topic 606.

Partnership Reporting Changes on the Horizon

Draft versions of 2019 partnership tax returns indicate that substantial information reporting changes are on the way. Here’s a closer look at what partnerships can expect.

The Important Role Purchase Price Allocation Plays in M&A

If M&A is part of your inorganic growth plan for 2020, you may want to be thinking ahead to the resources needed for purchase price allocations.

Tax Tips for Manufacturers & Distributors: How State and Local Incentives Can Subsidize Your Growth Initiatives

Whether your manufacturing or distribution company is planning to expand, add more employees or bring in new technologies, growth takes investment.

3 Ways Commercial Real Estate Can Save on 2019 Taxes

As the end of 2019 approaches, commercial real estate owners and investors are looking for strategies to increase their 2019 tax deductions and reduce income taxes.

Tax Planning in 2020: Tax Rates and Inflation-Adjusted Figures

The IRS and the Social Security Administration have released 2020 inflation-adjusted figures for more than 50 tax provisions.

Don’t Let These Oddities in Lease Accounting Be the Odd Thing Out of Your Implementation Plan

Certain leasing arrangements will complicate your adoption of the new leasing standard. Here’s what lessees can do to navigate the nuances of sale and leaseback and build-to-suit arrangements.

The Latest Craze in Sales Tax Policy: Marketplace Facilitator Laws

Now that the states have the ability to tax out-of-state vendors, they are onto their next quest to capture more sales tax revenue from online sales by shifting the burden of sales tax collection and remittance from sellers to marketplace facilitators.

How to Have a Transition-Ready Strategy for Information Security

The frequency of cyberattacks and information security incidents in today’s market makes information technology controls vital.

Webinar: Fourth Quarter Accounting and Financial Report Issues Update

This quarterly webinar will bring you up-to-date on hot topics, technical matters and current events that affect financial reporting.

What the Leasing Effective Date Delay Means for Private Companies

The votes are in: Private companies and smaller reporting public companies are getting more time to work through some complex accounting changes, including the updates to lease accounting. With the effective date delay, it might be tempting to put implementation activities on the back burner. Here’s what to do to keep your leasing standard adoption on track.

Valuation Matters to Watch for in the IPO Process

Companies considering an initial public offering (IPO) should be aware of the types of information the SEC wants to see, which includes the fair value of financial instruments, share-based compensation arrangements, and other types of company assets.

Webinar: Key International Tax Development Update

Our webinar will recap hot topics, technical matters, and other current events that have a bearing on international tax planning and compliance. We will highlight emerging best practices and other tips to help you navigate through these areas.

Court Ruling Indicates SALT Cap Not Going Anywhere

A recent court opinion deals a blow to efforts to overturn the so-called state and local tax cap. The following is a closer look at the reasons the court gave for supporting tax reform provision.

The Importance of Data Security for Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms

Cybersecurity is a concern for all industries, but some sectors like private equity and venture capital tend to be targeted more than others due to the nature of their business. The following are some of the top data security considerations for PE/VC firms.

Takeaways from 2019’s Biggest Information Security Incidents

Major cybersecurity incidents from 2019 can tell us a lot about the current information security landscape. Here are some of the top lessons we have gleaned from some of the year’s most disruptive cyber attacks.

The Top 6 Practical Expedients for Revenue Recognition

Practical expedients in the revenue recognition accounting standard are designed to make adoption easier for private companies, but they come with some considerations. Evaluating your practical expedient options can help make the transition to Topic 606 easier, and also helps with compliance in the standard in the long-term.

10 Questions Lessees Should be Asking About Their Leases

Some companies will have a harder time making the changes in the new lease accounting standard than others. Reviewing these 10 questions may help illuminate lease features that may make adopting ASC Topic 842 more complicated for lessees.

5 Things Board Members Need to Know About Their Organization’s Cybersecurity Strategy

October is cybersecurity month, a good reminder for not-for-profits and their boards to re-examine their information security strategies. The following are five ways a not-for-profit’s board can help with data protection.

Are Donor Disclosure Rules Going to Change?

A recent court decision put a pause of an IRS regulation that would have allowed some not-for-profit organizations to forgo including the names and addresses of major donors in their annual information filings. But the decision does more than question a rule change; it speaks to how complicated it is to balance financial transparency with donor privacy protections.

4 State and Local Income Tax Concerns for Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms

Tax planning season is almost here. Private equity and venture capital firms will have a lot to sift through but one element that should not be overlooked are funds’ state and local income tax obligations.

Not-for-Profits Wanting to Reduce Spend? Take a Look at Contracts

Cost containment strategies may help not-for-profit organizations reduce their overhead expenses. Three avenues in particular may be ripe for cost recovery opportunities: construction contracts, accounts payable practices, and telecommunications contracts.

Qualified Opportunity Zones: 2020 and Beyond!

The tax reform law’s Qualified Opportunity Zone program is gaining popularity, but individuals, business operators, and real estate developers who are looking to take advantage of the program’s benefits should note that both the Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds and the businesses they support come with compliance requirements for 2020. The following gives a preview of what to expect.

Watch Out for These Revenue Recognition Pain Points

As private companies gear up for their revenue recognition adoption, they will want to be aware of some of the thornier elements of the new accounting standard. Being aware of the nuances around contract features will help ensure companies complete their adoption in time.

Webinar: Trends in SOC Reporting and How Organizations are Effectively Reducing Data Security Risks

Breaches in data security continue to increase worldwide, making it more and more important for service providers to take a proactive approach to safeguarding their data as well as their clients’ data. System and Organization Controls (SOC) Reports can be an efficient and effective way to provide your customers with the assurance they need today.

What France’s Digital Services Tax Says about Tech and Taxes

July nearly turned into a tit for tat between the United States and France that involved Google, Facebook, French wine, and a tax on digital services revenue. The two sides resolved the disagreement over France’s Digital Services Tax, but the root of the France-U.S. conversation remains: Should the U.S. change the way digital business activities are taxed?

Parking Expense and Food Cost Relief Could Be on the Way

One of the big sore points with the 2017 tax reform law involved the elimination of some business write-offs, including the deductibility of parking expenses and employer-provided food costs. At a recent event, a spokesperson from the IRS indicated that it may be adjusting its approach to give taxpayers some relief.

How Professional Sports Stadiums Are Affected by the Leasing Standard

New professional sports stadium builds like the ones in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Dallas could look very different under the forthcoming changes to lease accounting. The following is a closer look at some of the implication the standard changes could have on professional sports teams and their local governments.

AI's Implications for the Accounting Experience

Artificial intelligence technologies could reshape the world of accounting as we know it, but we may never get to the point where AI completely replaces the human accountant. The most promising AI accounting technology available today requires human-machine collaboration. Here’s how it may be affecting your organization.

The 2020 Campaign and Taxes Part 6: The Price of an Economic Safety Net

A recent proposal from a Democratic presidential candidate sounds good in theory—$1,000 per month per citizen—but the provision designed to be an economic safety net would come at a huge cost. Even its proposed economic benefits would not be enough to make it affordable. Our analysis takes a closer look at why the concept of universal basic income is so difficult.

Relief Coming for Parking Expenses? Not-for-Profits Hold Out Hope

Not-for-profit organizations drew the short end of the stick when the new tax law commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made parking expenses incurred on behalf of their employees a taxable increase to unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).

5 Ways the New ERISA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Standards Will Affect Your Plans

Changes are coming to auditing standards for employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). While most of the updates affect plan auditors, there are implications for your management team. Here are some changes ERISA plan sponsors should expect for their employee benefit audits starting in 2021.

How Tech Will Change Cyber Defense in 2020

Goran Kovacevic, a director at CBIZ, looks ahead to 2020 and how tech trends will impact cybersecurity and risk management.

The Challenge of Valuing a Deferred Revenue Liability - Part 1: Definition and Basic Valuation Principles

Advance payments happen every day, from subscription services to purchasing airfare or tickets to a sports game. For the companies accepting the advance payments, however, the deferred revenue liability that comes from those sales presents certain challenges, particularly if those companies were to undergo a business combination while holding the deferred revenue.

Webinar: Key Issues Facing Public Companies in 2020

The AICPA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments, held December 9-11 in Washington D.C., highlights current key topics that will have an impact on SEC registrants and other public business entities moving forward into 2020. Members of our team who attended the conference will provide a debrief on the key points, tips and other guidance shared at the conference.

How to Ensure Estimated Discount Rates for Lease Liabilities Hit the Mark

The forthcoming lease accounting changes will require companies with leased assets to record a lease liability. For most lessees, the only option they will have to calculate their lease liability will be to estimate an incremental borrowing rate. Careful analysis is needed to estimate an incremental borrowing rate. The following factors should be part of that evaluation.

Do Your FATCA & CRS Due Diligence

Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) firms can save a lot of grief with their international tax requirements by setting up parameters for their investor onboarding and reporting processes.

Get A Jump-Start on Planning for Your 2019 Tax Bill

While the 2018 tax filing season has come and gone, it is never too soon to start thinking about filing for next year’s taxes.

IRS Announces New Comprehensive Withholding Estimator

After a tax season with some unwelcome withholding tax surprises, the IRS created a new tool to help. Taxpayers can use the Tax Withholding Estimator to complete their Form W-4 so that they get the desired income tax withholding outcome: a refund or a zero balance. But the new tool is only as good as the information supplied.