HEALTH FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (HFSA) – ADDITIONAL CHANGES FOR 2013

2013 brings additional changes to HFSAs that are offered by many employers. As you may recall, not long ago these accounts were forced to discontinue reimbursements on a pre-tax basis for medication purchased “over the counter.”

Beginning in 2013, HFSAs will encounter further limitations. Starting next year, the maximum amount allowed as a salary reduction contribution to an individual employee’s HSFA will be $2,500. The IRS recently issued Notice 2012-40 which contains guidance as to how this new contribution limitation […]

May 31, 2012 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Getting Out: Measuring Your Benefit Plan’s Investment Liquidity

Jason Edwards, CPA

Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, employee benefit plan trustees are as focused as ever on asset preservation. We hear them asking “How do I obtain the best return on investment, while protecting the plan’s assets from market decline.  This is a great question and one that certainly merits concern. There is, however, yet another factor you should also consider that carries equal or greater weight: liquidity.

Alternative or non-traditional investments are becoming mainstream as […]

May 24, 2012 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Gretzky’s Puck and the Commitments that Drive Family Business Success

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

Wayne Gretzky once said that good hockey players play where the puck is, but great players play where the puck will be. That statement was certainly true for Gretzky’s career, but I was again inspired when it was referenced by an industry icon as one of the fundamental reasons his family business has survived for 212 years.

Charles Kittredge is the Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer (as of this year) of Crane & Co., […]

May 21, 2012 Family Owned Businesses, Human Resources Read more...

Detecting Financial Statement Fraud: Part 2

Alex Helfand, ENCE, Computer Forensic Specialist

In the previous post , I reviewed common motivations for committing financial statement fraud, as well as several common ways that financial statements can be manipulated.  This post covers additional misrepresentations and how forensic accountants identify them.
Concealed Liabilities and Expenses: Concealed liabilities can include warranties attached to sales, underreported Incurred-but-not-Reported (IBNR) health benefits, or simple omission of liabilities.  Expenses can be concealed by capitalization that spreads the expense out over a number of years […]

May 21, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Using a Dashboard to Help Operate Your Benefit Plan

Larry Beebe, CPA

What is a dashboard and why should you be using one to improve operations for your employee benefit plan?  A dashboard is a digital display of key performance indicators relevant to your plan.  Like the dashboard of your car, this display can, at a glance, provide the status of key information from many different systems.

Dashboards are a business management tool that can be used to determine the status of a plan, usually on a monthly basis.  […]

May 21, 2012 Accounting, Audit, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

TAX INCREASES FOR SOME MARYLAND RESIDENTS

The Maryland Senate (on Tuesday) and the House (on Wednesday) passed a tax increase on individuals reporting income of more than $100,000 and joint filers reporting income of more than $150,000 in Maryland.  The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The increase is retroactive to January 1, 2012, and Maryland will issue new withholding tables in the coming weeks.  The increase is a quarter of a percentage point (.25%) in tax on those higher-income earners.  The […]

May 18, 2012 Accounting, Tax Read more...

WILL 2013 BRING TAX CHANGES?

Daniel Bottner, CPA

Next year has the potential to bring big changes for taxpayers.

The Bush-era tax cuts are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2012 and a new Medicare tax will be established.  However, there is great uncertainty as to what will actually happen because of the election in November and (in some economists’ views) the potential adverse economic impact of large tax increases.

Expiring Bush-Era Cuts

The Bush cuts were the product of the Economic and Tax Reconciliation Act of […]

May 18, 2012 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Bond Beebe Principal John Merchant Participates in eDiscovery Panel

Natalie Burchfiel, CPA

BETHESDA, Maryland (May 4, 2012) – Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, announced that Principal John A. Merchant was a panelist for “Digital Hide and Seek,” a Forensic Symposium hosted by Stevenson University on April 26, 2012.  Merchant, a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner, spoke on the role of eDiscovery as it relates to the field of accounting. Other panelists included Michael Berman, counsel […]

May 4, 2012 Accounting, Human Resources Read more...

Considerations When Hiring a Forensic Accountant

Alex Helfand, ENCE, Computer Forensic Specialist

Not all forensic accountants are created equal.  Just as you would with any service provider, you must exercise due diligence when selecting a forensic professional, ensuring that you choose an individual with the right credentials for your case.  There are four key factors to consider: Certifications, Experience, Reputation and Capabilities.

Certifications
The most common certification associated with a forensic accountant is Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). To become a CFE, the individual must be a member of […]

May 3, 2012 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Human Resources Read more...

UNDERSTATEMENT OF BASIS IS SUBJECT TO 3 YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

The Supreme Court issued a ruling on 4/25/12 that an overstatement of basis is not an omission of gross income for determining the statute of limitations that applies under Code Section 6501(e)(1)(A) (Home Concrete & Supply LLC (109AFTR 2nd 2012-661).
This means that the normal 3 year period  in which the IRS can make tax adjustments  will  apply rather than the special 6 year period the IRS has been using .  This issue has been litigated for several years with […]

May 2, 2012 Accounting, Tax Read more...