03.10.17

Prioritize Your Tasks by ‘Eating Your Frogs’ First

“Eat Your Frogs” has become part of our team language over the past few years and, more importantly, it has become part of our culture. It is an idea and approach to help you stop procrastinating and prioritize your tasks appropriately. Our latest Cloud Services blog breaks down the meaning behind this saying in order to help you tackle the tasks that you have on your to-do plate.

03.07.17

Fiduciary Duties: Reviewing & Benchmarking Plan Fees

Are the services a plan receives reasonably priced? Knowing the answer is a vital fiduciary duty. ERISA expects more from plan fiduciaries than simply shopping around for plan providers offering rock bottom rates. This article summarizes some key areas all fiduciaries must consider when benchmarking costs of their qualified retirement plan. A sidebar discusses a report that suggests ways employers can help current plan participants ease into retirement.

02.28.17

Is Your Not-For-Profit Organization Ready for Endowments?

With baby boomers (the largest and wealthiest generation in U.S. history) expected to transfer trillions of dollars of assets in the next few decades, this could be the right time to launch an endowment. This article explains the two main types of endowments, describes the pros and cons and addresses managing assets and spending restrictions. “Quasi” endowments also are discussed.

02.27.17

Could the Small Taxpayer Safe Harbor Work for You?

Although the final property repair regulations have been in effect since 2014, the question we still are asked most is how a property owner can tell the difference between a repair and an improvement to a unit of real estate. Stated differently, which costs can be deducted, and which must be capitalized and depreciated? This article focuses on the Small Taxpayer Expensing Election and the Small Taxpayer Safe Harbor Rule which allows a “qualifying small taxpayer” to treat costs as deductible expenses. We will also look at the other safe harbors applicable to real estate: The Routine Maintenance Safe Harbor and the De Minimis Safe Harbor.

02.20.17

Don’t Apologize for Raising Your Prices

Price hikes are always a delicate business decision to make. You do not want to raise your prices too high and scare your consumers or clients off, but you want to address your business needs. Our latest Cloud Services Group blog looks at strategies you can deploy at your business to raise the price of your product/service.

02.17.17

Four Signs It’s Time to Outsource Your Accounting

When and Why You Need a Virtual CFO and Accounting Team As Entrepreneur recently pointed out, there are certain things a growing business should not “skimp out” on, a primary one being who you have looking after your finances. Number one on their list of three alternatives to hiring a full-time CFO? A virtual CFO! Enter ORBA’s Cloud […]

02.17.17

Four Tips for Strengthening Cybersecurity
Robert Swenson

Law firms of all sizes have sensitive information that make them vulnerable to data breaches. This article outlines four strategies for preventing — or, at worst, minimizing the damage of — a cyber attack. These are encryption, employee training, cyber liability insurance coverage and recovery planning.

02.14.17

Use Management Letters to Improve your Business

Audited financial statements typically come with a surprise bonus that business owners might not be aware of: the management letter. This article describes what is required to be reported in the management letter, how a company can use it and the types of comments a CPA may voluntarily opt to report to demonstrate his or her commitment to the client’s success.

02.10.17

Harnessing Best Practices in Claim Denial Management

Claim denials are a huge financial drain on physician practices. If nothing is done to reverse a denial, the revenue that it represents is lost to the practice. Attempts to manage and resolve the denial can cost an average of $25 to $30 per claim, according to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). In this blog, we take a look at some best practices you can employ to help manage claims denied by payers.

02.09.17

Meet the Team: Chris Arndt

In our newest feature, “Meet the Team,” we introduce you to some of ORBA’s talented accountants and tax professionals. In this edition, learn more about Chris Arndt, Director of the firm’s Cloud Services Group.