Imagine you’ve spent the past decade pouring your blood, sweat and incapacitated neighbor’s social security checks into your wholly owned C corporation. Your business has evolved into a raging success, and it’s nearly all attributable to your efforts. New clients sign on because of you. Suppliers negotiate on favorable terms because of you. Your corporation…
Jet Lag A 12-hour time difference (after 16 hours on a plane) really does wreak havoc on a sleep schedule. “Jet Lag” most often results from a high-speed trip through multiple time zones. Duh! The symptoms include fatigue, inability to concentrate, feeling disoriented or out-of-sync and headaches — none of which you want to have…
SEC TO SRUTINIZE PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS I recently came across several articles discussing whether the SEC should get involved with the oversight of private equity (PE) funds’ valuation of their underlying investments (assets). Under the Dodd-Frank Act, more regulatory requirements are being put forth to protect the public interest. On the radar is the private…
Business Travel: Hong Kong When I was in grade school, I had a social studies project researching (albeit in encyclopedia NOT on the internet) a country and presenting it to the class. I chose Hong Kong and all these years later, all I remember is that the old airport was right on the water in…
Filing With Tax Exempt Status Pending So you’ve successfully defined your organization’s mission, recruited your board members, drafted and filed your corporate documents and even solicited your first donation. Just prior to the filing deadline of your first Form 990 “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax,” you remember to file Form 1023 “Application for…
Giving Away the World Eight days, three office visits and two tax conferences. I met tax professionals from all over Asia and the Pacific Rim, and delivered a National Geographic Map of the World — that world that got quite a bit smaller over those 8 days in Asia– to colleagues who are now a…
Estimating in Good Faith I have been approached by several private equity funds and hedge funds to propose on performing their annual audits. Each were audited by the “Big 4″ and looking to save some audit fees by moving toward the next tier audit firm. They all had the same concern – how are you…
Surprise audits are an important, but often overlooked fraud prevention mechanism. Many unscrupulous employees anticipate the regular audit and cover their tracks accordingly, but a surprise audit can expose the usually hidden graft. Additionally, the simple threat of a potential audit can deter fraudulent employee behavior. Areas of Focus in a Surprise Audit These audits…
No Mo’ Credit Unions One of my partners was recently approached by an insurance company looking to switch accountants. This insurance company, whose customers are typically motorcycle owners, was seeing its revenue decline due to the recession. As the banks tightened their lending policies, motorcycle buyers were finding it harder to obtain loans. They had…
Variations of the following question commonly make their way into Double Taxation HQ, by which I mean my email: My client is an S corporation owned equally by A and B. If the S corporation makes a $100 distribution toA but only a $75 distribution toB, does that terminate my S election? Answer: This is…