Axley & Rode, LLP

Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases , requires organizations to report the full magnitude of their long-term lease obligations on their balance sheets — a historic first. For private companies and nonprofits, the changes take effect this year. Public entities adopted the rules in 2019. While the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) conducts its post-implementation review of the new-and-improved lease standard, the guidance is concurrently being adopted by private organizations. A major issue that has surfaced relates to leases under common control. In a surprise move, the FASB voted on September 21 to propose changes to address stakeholder concerns. Practical expedient for related-party leases Topic 842 requires an organization to account f...

Now that fall is officially here, it’s a good time to start taking steps that may lower your tax bill for this year and next. One of the first planning steps is to ascertain whether you’ll take the standard deduction or itemize deductions for 2022. Many taxpayers won’t itemize because of the high 2022 standard deduction amounts ($25,900 for joint filers, $12,950 for singles and married couples filing separately and $19,400 for heads of household). Also, many itemized deductions have been reduced or abolished under current law. If you do itemize, you can deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI), state and local taxes up to $10,000, charitable contributions, and mortgage interest on a restricted amount of debt, but these deductions won’t save taxes unless they’re more than your standard deduction. Bunching, pushing, pulling Some taxpayers may be able ...

The pandemic has presented numerous challenges for businesses, but it also taught us how to be resilient, cost-conscious, and adaptable. Over the last few years, we’ve learned that remote working arrangements offer many benefits, including reducing the time and cost of performing many tasks. Here’s how these lessons translate to the work  auditors  do to prepare your company’s financial statements. Transitioning from on-site to remote procedures Traditionally, audit fieldwork has involved a team of auditors camping out for weeks (or even months) in one of the conference rooms at the headquarters of the company being audited. Now, thanks to technological advances — including cloud storage, smart devices and secure data-sharing platforms — many audit firms conduct certain auditing procedures remotely, rather than sending auditors on-site. For example, drones and video-conferencing technology can be used to observ...

It’s a good time to think about making moves that may help lower your small business taxes for this year and next. The standard year-end approach of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes will likely produce the best results for most businesses, as will bunching deductible expenses into this year or next to maximize their tax value. If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket next year, opposite strategies may produce better results. For example, you could pull income into 2022 to be taxed at lower rates, and defer deductible expenses until 2023, when they can be claimed to offset higher-taxed income. Here are some other ideas that may help you save tax dollars if you act before year-end. QBI deduction Taxpayers other than corporations may be entitled to a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI). For 2022, if taxable income exceeds $340,100 for marr...

The updated lease accounting standard is currently in effect for private companies. After several postponements during the pandemic, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted unanimously to move forward with the changes. That means private companies and private not-for-profit entities that follow U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) must adopt the new standard for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. Surprisingly, some organizations still haven’t completed the implementation process, however. (Note: The updated accounting rules for long-term leases took effect for public companies in 2019.) In a nutshell Under the updated guidance, organizations must report both operating and finance leases on their balance sheets (with the exception of short-term leases with terms of 12 months or less). Pre...

Competition among employers for many types of employees remains fierce. For hard-to-fill positions, you might need to expand the search beyond your organization’s local geographic area. You may even have to offer financial incentives to lure applicants. Although signing bonuses are an obvious choice, a strong relocation package could give you an edge in reeling in the best job candidates. Costs to consider The purpose of a relocation package is to ease the financial and logistical strain of moving on a new hire. This benefit can range from a simple cash reimbursement to a lavish array of perks most often reserved for top execs. When creating a package, it’s critical to establish a firm budget for the costs you’re willing and able to cover. Generally, relocation packages include coverage for moving services and transportation (such as airfare). But there are many other pe...

  The pandemic and the ensuing economic turmoil have put tremendous stress on businesses. Many companies that appeared healthy on the surface, on their financial statements, quickly realized that they weren’t prepared for the unexpected. A so-called “stress test” of your company’s financial position and its ability to withstand a crisis can help prevent this situation from recurring in the future. In general, stress tests evaluate a company’s ability to handle an economic crisis. A stress test includes the following three steps: 1. Determine the types of risks the business faces Identify the operational, financial, compliance, reputational and strategic risks your company might face. For example, operational risks cover the inner workings of the company and can include dealing with the impact of a natural disaster. Financial risks involve how the company manages its finances, including the threat of fraud. Complia...

Do you own a successful small business with no employees and want to set up a retirement plan? Or do you want to upgrade from a SIMPLE IRA or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan? Consider a solo 401(k) if you have healthy self-employment income and want to contribute substantial amounts to a retirement nest egg. This strategy is geared toward self-employed individuals including sole proprietors, owners of single-member limited liability companies and other one-person businesses. Go it alone With a solo 401(k) plan, you can potentially make large annual deductible contributions to a retirement account. For 2022, you can make an “elective deferral contribution” of up to $20,500 of your net self-employment (SE) income to a solo 401(k). The elective deferral contribution limit increases to $27,000 if you’ll be 50 or older as of December 31, 2022. The larger $27,000 figure includes an extra ...