3 Strategies for Preventing Procurement Fraud

Michael D. Rockefeller, CPA, Principal

As recently profiled on our Financial Statements blog, research by Pricewaterhouse Coopers notes that a staggering number – 30% – of US organizations report incidences of procurement fraud. The research defines procurement fraud as “illegal conduct by which the offender gains an advantage, avoids an obligation, or causes damage to his organization.” The recent trial of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is an excellent example of procurement fraud, as Nagin accepted bribes in exchange […]

March 13, 2014 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

New Report on Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans

Larry Beebe, CPA

A new report provides valuable information for all those involved in multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. It is a must-read resource and a helpful benchmarking tool for pension plans.

Published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) andHorizon Actuarial Services, LLC, The Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plan Landscape: A Ten Year Look (2002 – 2011) was compiled based on statistics taken from the Forms 5500 filed by the 1,385 multiemployer pension plans that existed at December […]

March 11, 2014 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders for the Family Business: Part 4 of 4

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Principal

In my prior posts on this topic I discussed identifying possible leadership candidates, and establishing criteria for education and appropriate work experience for your family business’s future leaders. Outside of those three issues, there are several other considerations that a family business CEO or owner should take into account when preparing the next generation of leaders for the family business. For an effective succession process, it is essential to manage the expectations of […]

March 10, 2014 Family Owned Businesses Read more...

SENATE REPORT REVEALS ‘GAPING HOLES’ IN US EFFORT TO CURB OFFSHORE TAX EVASION

Brian Wynne, CPA

We’ve invited Davis Burroughs of JD Katz, a Bethesda-based law firm, to share some tax law insights with our readers.  This post reviews the latest developments in offshore reporting requirements in advance of FATCA’s implementation later this year.  For more information on JD Katz, visit www.jdkatz.com.  If you are interested in guest-posting for It’s Taxing, contact us.

A new report (PDF) from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (SPSI) ripped into several ongoing endeavors by the Securities […]

March 10, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

6 STRATEGIES FOR YOUR 2013 TAX FILING

Brian Wynne, CPA

For many people, there is nothing as dreadful as dealing with income taxes each year. When you first sit down with all the forms and receipts, you may feel overwhelmed; our goal is to simplify the process while keeping you in compliance with the tax codes so you can preserve, grow & protect your assets.

A lot has changed for 2013 – there are a number of new taxes and tax increases. If you are just sitting down […]

March 7, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Fighting Fraud with a Health Claims Audit

Linh T. Crider, CPA, CFE, Senior Manager

Health claims audits are essential tools for preventing and detecting fraud in health & welfare plans. Additionally, these audits can help to uncover inefficiencies and find opportunities to streamline operations. Ineffective or inaccurate claims processing can lead to significant losses and, with the sheer volume of plan claims, fraud can often go on undetected for quite some time.

Our forensic accounting team is frequently called on to perform health claims audits and investigations for […]

March 5, 2014 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders for the Family Business Part 3 of 4

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Principal

In the last two posts we talked about identifying potential leaders and educating the next generation of family business leaders. In this post I’ll discuss setting standards for work experience for developing leaders.

If several (or all) of your children have a desire to work in the family business, it’s obvious that not all of them can ascend to the role of CEO, so as leaders, finding the right fit for them is important. […]

March 3, 2014 Family Owned Businesses, Human Resources Read more...

PBGC Flat-Rate Premiums Not Due Until October 15

Mark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF

If you are gathering your pension fund’s information to submit your PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) flat-rate premiums by the end of February, just as you do every year, stop now!

The PBGC has given you some breathing room. In a move that should simplify plan administration going forward, the PBGC published a final rule moving the flat-rate premium due date for large single and multi-employer plans, defined as over 500 participants, to the variable rate premium […]

February 25, 2014 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

NEW GUIDANCE FROM IRS IS GREAT NEWS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Kelly Lopez, CPA
The IRS Provides New Guidance on Tangible Property Regulations
The New Repair Rules have been a hot topic in the tax community since their release. While they provided much needed guidance regarding the capitalization and disposal of tangible property, they also required businesses to file numerous change of accounting method forms (3115) in order to adopt them. This put a significant burden on businesses.

Fortunately, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2015-20 a few days ago. This revenue procedure […]

February 24, 2014 Accounting, Family Owned Businesses Read more...

Upcoming OLMS Webinars on Common Reporting Errors for Forms LM-2 & LM-3

Sue Weaver

It has come to our attention that the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) is offering free webinars on common reporting errors made on Forms LM-2 and LM-3.

Details regarding times and dates are below. While these are free and open to the public, there is a registration limit of 200 participants per webinar.

Our LM-2 specialist and other professionals will be sitting in on these webinars; we plan to post an overview of each webinar on the […]

February 21, 2014 Accounting, Firm News & Events, Human Resources Read more...