11.06.13

How to Define Business Transactions with Interested Persons
Jeffrey Chiles

The redesign of Form 990 a few years back ushered in a wave of new reporting, most of which focused on transparency, governance and recordkeeping. One of the new schedules created from the redesign was Schedule L, Transactions with Interested Persons. The purpose of this schedule was to allow the IRS and the public to gain visibility into the dealings that organizations have with those close to the organization.

11.05.13

Appellate Court Rules on Lease Obligations

One of the most vexing concerns investors have when buying real estate is whether they will end up being saddled with unexpected liabilities or obligations related to the property.  When it comes to commercial lease obligations, though, there is very little a real estate investor can do without the tenant’s consent, and the resulting costs […]

10.16.13

Who Should Be Involved in the Not-For-Profit Budget Process?
Harry Fox

With football season in full swing, the best teams are the ones that work together. A team may have the best coach, but without a good offense to contribute to the mix, they will get nowhere. A team with a great defense, but poor special teams, will also lose in the long run. In order to be successful, a team must have participation and contributions from all areas within their organization. Similarly, the best not-for-profits cannot rely solely on one area of the organization to prepare, update and review the budget. Rather, everyone must pitch in.

Three key players in the success of a not-for-profit are non-accounting personnel.

10.15.13

Big Data Strategies for Manufacturers and Distributors

“Big data” is a marketing buzzword used to describe any large set of electronic information that can be analyzed by businesses to increase efficiency. This article explains how, using these latest customer-behavior analytics applications, manufacturers and distributors can crunch their internal databases to see how their conclusions compare to those of their competitors, as well as more effectively analyze, track and predict their customers’, employees’ and inventory’s behavior.

10.06.13

Tab: Startup to Shutdown – 10 Lessons Learned

I highly recommend reading the article that I’ve linked to below.  I wish more people would write about their lessons learned after their start-up goes belly up. Failure in the start-up space is inevitable, but we may be able to help others avoid our mistakes if we take the time to write about them. Additionally, […]

10.03.13

Are You Ready for “Play or Pay” Under the Health Care Act?

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires large employers to offer comprehensive and affordable health care coverage to employees and their dependents or risk a penalty. This article discusses what a “large” employer is and the degree of coverage that’s necessary to avoid penalties.

10.02.13

Your Estate Tax Exemption Remains Portable

Portability allows one’s estate to elect to permit the surviving spouse to use any of the decedent’s available estate tax exemption that is unused at death. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 has made the portability provision permanent. It is a simple solution and provides flexibility if the couple has not done sufficient estate planning before the first spouse dies. This article explains why portability is not always the best option for couples.

09.30.13

Managing Your Debt-Related Loan Covenants

Since the real estate market crash, commercial mortgages have been more difficult to obtain. Lenders do not want to expose themselves to the types of losses they have sustained over the last several years and therefore, have become even more critical in evaluating the credibility of potential borrowers and the types of projects they will be financing.

09.26.13

What is Your Restaurant’s Break-Even Point?

Do you know how much your sales must be in order for your restaurant to make a profit? Determining your sales break-even point is an important step to profitability.

09.23.13

What are Gifts-In-Kind and How Should I Record Them?
Sarah G. Widlock

Cash contributions are fundamental sources of revenue for your organization; however, do not underestimate the importance and value of receiving gifts-in-kind. Gifts-in-kind refer to all noncash gifts and, as with cash contributions, there are requirements for recording these types of gifts. Gifts-in-kind should be recognized if your organization has discretion in using or distributing them and if your organization is the recipient of the risks and rewards of those gifts (such as the risk of loss if they are lost, damaged or destroyed).