During the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses are strapped for cash. They may find it beneficial to barter for goods and services instead of paying cash for them. If your business gets involved in bartering, remember that the fair market value of goods that you receive in bartering is taxable income. And if you exchange […]
External Audits Offer Many Benefits To Nonprofits
Your nonprofit organization may be required to hire an independent outside CPA to audit its books, depending on its annual gross receipts and other factors. Even when external audits aren’t mandated, however, they’re often recommended. These audits can provide assurance to donors and other stakeholders that your organization is operating with integrity and within acceptable […]
Zeros And Ones: Estate Planning For Your Digital Assets And Accounts
Nearly everyone owns at least some digital assets, such as online bank and brokerage accounts, bill-paying services, cloud-based document storage, digital music collections, social media accounts, and domain names. But what happens to these assets when you die or if you become incapacitated? The answer depends on several factors, including the terms of your service […]
To Find New Revenue Opportunities, Think Like An Auditor
Want to increase your not-for-profit’s revenue? First try analyzing current income as a professional auditor might. Then, you can apply your conclusions to setting annual goals, preparing your budget and managing other aspects of your organization. Compare contributions Compare the donation dollars raised in past years to pinpoint trends. For example, have individual contributions been […]
Conduct A “Paycheck Checkup” To Make Sure Your Withholding Is Adequate
Did you recently file your federal tax return and were surprised to find you owed money? You might want to change your withholding so that this doesn’t happen next year. You might even want to do that if you got a big refund. Receiving a tax refund essentially means you’re giving the government an interest-free […]
Accounting For Cloud Computing Arrangements
The costs to set up cloud computing services can be significant, and many companies would prefer not to immediately expense these setup costs. Updated guidance on accounting for cloud computing costs aims to reduce differences in the accounting treatment for these arrangements. In a nutshell, the changes will spread more of the costs of implementing […]
Businesses: Get Ready For The New Form 1099-NEC
There’s a new IRS form for business taxpayers that pay or receive nonemployee compensation. Beginning with tax year 2020, payers must complete Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, to report any payment of $600 or more to a payee. Why the new form? Prior to 2020, Form 1099-MISC was filed to report payments totaling at least $600 […]
Reporting Embedded Leases
In 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published guidance that requires major changes to how leases are reported on financial statements. One area of the guidance that’s especially complicated relates to “embedded” leases. Updated guidance Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), requires organizations to report on the balance sheet the assets […]
Family Matters: Estate Planning Considerations If You Have Adopted Children Or Unadopted Stepchildren
If you have adopted children or unadopted stepchildren, estate planning is critical to ensure that your property is distributed the way you desire. Adopted children Adopted children are placed on an equal footing with biological children in most situations for estate planning purposes. Thus, adopted and biological children are treated the same way under a […]
An Advisory Board Can Complement Your Nonprofit’s Board Of Directors
Your not-for-profit has a board of directors — so why would it need an additional advisory board? There are a few reasons. Some organizations assemble advisory boards to provide expertise for a specific project, such as a fundraising campaign. Other organizations use them to give roles to major donors and prestigious supporters who may not […]