FOUR BUSINESS TRAVEL STRATEGIES THAT CAN YIELD PERSONAL SAVINGS

Jobe Dupre’, CPA

Here are four ways to make your required business travel a little less stressful:

Saturday night stay-overs:  Your out-of-town business chores conclude on Friday and you would like to extend your business trip to take advantage of a low-priced fare requiring a Saturday night stay-over.  The IRS says that if the savings in airfare are higher than the costs of the weekend meals and lodging, then you can deduct your Saturday meal and lodging expenses.

When a personal day […]

June 23, 2011 Accounting, Firm News & Events, Wealth Management Read more...

Major Cases Helped by Digital Forensics: The Casey Anthony Trial

Alex Helfand, ENCE, Computer Forensic Specialist

One of the most publicized cases in a long time, the Casey Anthony trial has involved a variety of expert witnesses.  Last week the prosecution called for the testimony of a computer forensic expert who had examined a hard drive related to the case.

Up to this point, the case had not had any significant breakthroughs and most of the evidence was circumstantial.  The examiner was facing a tough problem and the defense was ready […]

June 20, 2011 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

“€œALWAYS BE PREPARED…”

Billy Thomas, CPA

Do you have a personal disaster recovery plan?  We like to think disasters can never happen here, but as we have seen by many recent tragedies across the globe, disaster can strike anywhere and when we least expect it.

The IRS recently released a very helpful and timely guide to safeguarding tax records in concurrence with the start of Hurricane Season on June 1st.  Nonetheless, here are some additional steps recommended by the IRS for you to safely […]

June 9, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Top Ten Fraud Prevention Tips for Small Businesses, Tip #9: Simple Internal Controls Small Businesses Often Miss

Alex Helfand, ENCE, Computer Forensic Specialist

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.
Small businesses are especially vulnerable to fraud simply because they often lack the necessary internal controls to help prevent fraudulent activities and safeguard assets.  A […]

June 6, 2011 Accounting, Family Owned Businesses, Forensic Accounting Read more...

You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling: Getting that First Generation Family Business Enthusiasm to the Second and Third Generations

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA, Principal

I’ve seen it before.  You’ve seen it before.  A business is created from scratch, perhaps a lifelong dream of the founder, and after years of sweat equity and learning from mistakes, a rags-to-riches tale unfolds.  We all know the type of person who starts a successful business.  Their passion is omnipresent, their multitasking constant, their drive unrelenting, and their mission clear.  No wonder this type of person succeeds in starting a business, and […]

June 6, 2011 Family Owned Businesses Read more...

INTEREST FREE LOANS AND THE APPLICABLE FEDERAL RATES (AFR)

Billy Thomas, CPA

Recently being in the market to upgrade my car to a more fuel economic vehicle, I went to the neighborhood dealership.  Financing the vehicle is probably the only way I could afford the purchase until I saw the terms of the loan, which were approximately $32,000 at almost 4.5% interest over the next five years.  Perhaps the economy has not turned for me as quickly as it has for others, but I left the offer on the […]

June 2, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS NOW ALLOWED LATE ELECTION TO GROUP RENTAL REAL ESTATE INTERESTS

Glenn Bailey, CPA

The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2011-34, which allows most real estate professionals to make a late election to treat all interests in rental real estate as a single rental activity for the purpose of applying the passive activity loss rules. Prior to this an election had to be filed with the original tax return, or a Private Letter Ruling could be requested, which was a costly and burdensome process.

The real estate professional exception allows a person […]

June 2, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

THE FOREIGN ACCOUNT REPORTING DEADLINE IS COMING SOON. DON’T BE LATE!

Glenn Bailey, CPA

Foreign bank account reporting forms, “FBAR” for short, are due June 30th. Unlike your typical tax return, these must be delivered to the U.S. Treasury office by the due date, rather than just postmarked.  Enforcement of the rules related to foreign account disclosure has increased dramatically in the last couple years.  News articles abound with stories of civil and criminal prosecutions and penalties for failing to report the income and/or existence of covered foreign accounts. Standard […]

May 31, 2011 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Embezzlement in a Weak Economy

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

It has long been accepted that there are three factors that must exist for an embezzlement to occur – motivation, opportunity and rationalization.  Employees have motivation to steal when they have a financial need that cannot be met by their current income plus savings.  Once employees are motivated to steal, they must, of course, have the opportunity to accomplish the task.  Finally, most employees have some sense of right and wrong and must rationalize within themselves […]

May 24, 2011 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Can You Hear Me Now? Searching Cell Phones for Forensic Evidence

Alex Helfand, ENCE, Computer Forensic Specialist

Digital forensics investigations are not limited to computers and removable media.  Mobile phone forensics is an important part of the digital forensics landscape; mobile phone usage is quickly growing and these devices are increasingly being used in a variety of crimes.

What evidence can be found on a mobile device?

Not only can mobile phones create logs of all calls and texts, but now smartphones are increasingly storing both personal and work emails for users.   Furthermore, […]

May 20, 2011 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...