IRS OFFERS VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT PROGRAM FOR WORKER CLASSIFICATION

Brian Wynne, CPA

In Announcement 2011-64, the IRS details an offer for settling potential worker classification issues. The IRS is offering employers a chance to reclassify workers as employees (as opposed to independent contractors) going forward. An employer who wishes to avail themselves of this settlement offer will pay 10% of the employment taxes (as calculated under IRC section 3509) that would have been due for the most recent tax year (if the worker had been classified as an employee), […]

September 22, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

0 DC DELAYS MUNI BOND INCOME TAX FOR ONE YEAR, ADDS HIGHER TOP TAX RATE (UPDATED)

Brian Wynne, CPA

First, the bad news. Effective October 1, 2011, DC residents with taxable income above $350,000 in a tax year will be subject to a new 8.95% tax rate on that income. This is up from a top rate of 8.5% on income over $40,000. This rate will be effective for 4 years only, then expire.

Now, the good news. The higher rate was implemented as an offset to pay for delaying the taxation of out-of-state municipal bond income. […]

September 21, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Trustee Education

Larry Beebe, CPA

Trustees in employee benefit plans face unique challenges. Being a trustee is a second job. An appointment as a trustee comes about because of a person’s position in a union or with a contributing employer; serving as a trustee is what you do in addition to your regular job.

A person who becomes a trustee needs a great deal of knowledge and experience to do a proper job. Experience can only come with time and observing the actions […]

September 20, 2011 Accounting, Firm News & Events, Human Resources Read more...

Top Ten Fraud Prevention Tips for Small Businesses, Tip #2: Creating Fraud Reporting Mechanisms

Michael D. Rockefeller, CPA

As a small business owner or senior executive, it is your responsibility to promote integrity and ethical values to your employees and implement the proper controls and procedures to prevent fraud.  In this series, we are highlighting ten basic fraud prevention steps you can take to keep your organization safe.

Employee tips are often an important source of information and many times they can help identify smaller cases of fraud before they grow into large losses.  Research […]

September 19, 2011 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Basic Guidelines for Searching for a Benefit Plan Investment Advisor

Fabricia Edwards, CPA

An investment advisor serves a very important function in a retirement plan.  In most cases, investment advisors are given the discretion to administer and manage plan assets, which makes them fiduciaries of the plan.  As a result, advisors should act in the best interest of plan participants, with the sole purpose of protecting retirement savings.  As a plan trustee, the process of selecting an advisor must be carefully conducted and documented. What should you consider when searching […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

An Ethical Issue in a Multiemployer Benefit Plan

Larry Beebe, CPA

Trustees to a multiemployer benefit plan are generally appointed by either a sponsoring labor union or a sponsoring employer or employer association.  Once a trustee is appointed, he or she does not act as a representative of the appointing authority in making plan decisions.  Instead, the trustee must act solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries.

Does the trustee face any ethical issues by representing both a bargaining party to the collective bargaining agreement and […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Adopting Policies Included on Form 990

Sherwin Abellera, CPA

For nonprofit organizations, Form 990 is a key document in disclosing a nonprofit organization’s financial status and internal policies and procedures.  In 2008, The Internal Revenue Service made substantial changes  to Form 990 for on the heel of the influences and impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.   The revised Form 990 introduced items such as Part VI, Section B Policies where it requests “…information about policies not required by the Internal Revenue Code” such as:

Whistleblower
Document […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

New 401(k) Disclosures as Service Provider Fee Disclosure Date Moved Again

Scott Price, CPA

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has again extended the applicability date of new service provider fee disclosures under ERISA Section 408(b)(2) to April 1, 2012.  The participant-level disclosures are also extended to July 15, 2012 to coincide.  What does this mean to employers?  To employees?  Among other things, it is helpful that the employer be the one to ensure employees understand fees that exist as part of their retirement plans, how they’re being covered, and that […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Full Scope vs. Limited Scope Audits: Key Differences and Applications

Marcella Pascal, CPA

A plan administrator may engage an auditor to perform a full-scope audit of the financial statements of an employee benefit plan in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS).  Alternatively, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) allows the plan administrator to engage a Certified Public Accountant to perform a limited scope audit.

When an auditor is engaged to perform a full-scope audit, everything in the plan is subject to audit testing.   However, when performing […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Audit Read more...

Establishing a Disaster Recovery Plan for an Employee Benefit Plan

David Dorsey, CPA

Employee benefit plans are designed to try to juggle the pressures of day-to-day benefit processing, adjusting for constant changes from federal and state regulators and ensuring that the Plan is fiscally fit.  It is therefore easy to understand why so many Plans overlook some of the most obvious risk exposures that could cause a catastrophic problem for the Plan participants and the fiduciaries charged with the responsibility of running the Plan.  Disasters come in many different forms […]

September 16, 2011 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...