All posts by Nancy McClelland

IRS, Site News

IRS Budget Set to Be Slashed Again

Leave a comment

Unfortunately, Congress is clashing yet again over the state of the IRS budget.  Many are making this out to be an issue of partisan politics, but in fact, it’s an issue that should be completely independent of party lines.  Congress has increased the IRS’s responsibility year-after-year, asking them to monitor new programs and police tax evasion schemes, all the while reducing the budget for doing so.

“Starving the IRS costs the government revenue from tax enforcement, with about a $6 return on every dollar spent.”

In my opinion, this is not — or at least should not be — a partisan issue.  All of us accountants have had to deal with excruciating wait times at the IRS, elimination of hotlines, an increasingly untrained and inexperienced workforce… and the result is to hinder our work with clients.  We’re shooting ourselves in the foot, and setting ourselves up for failure.  “Penny-wise, pound foolish,” as one commenter stated.

If you have sway with your federal representatives, or feel like writing a letter to support increasing the IRS budget, I strongly encourage you to do so.

Source: Republicans Chop IRS Budget Again, Setting Up Clash with Obama | Accounting Today News

Illinois, Tips

Open Co-working Week at Free Range Office Chicago, June 15-19

Leave a comment

Open Co-working Week at Free Range Office Chicago is coming up!

From Mon. June 15th through Friday, June 19th, Free Range Office (2nd Floor, 2141 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647) will be offering free workspace for a day, educational seminars, workshops, complimentary food and drinks, and a happy hour to get folks acquainted with their space and with the co-working movement. Email carly@freerangeoffice.com for a free Day Pass.

http://www.freerangeoffice.com/open-coworking-week/

The idea behind the co-working office space movement is to offer alternatives to both the corporate box and the isolating home office. “You set the pace, and the terms, in an environment that promotes comfort, innovation, networking and collaboration. The welcoming ambiance provides extra amenities to make your life easier, including ergonomic chairs and spacious desks; private telephone room; outdoor terrace; chef’s kitchen; gourmet coffee and tea; video blogging studio; laundry and dry cleaning delivery service; and even a weekly chair massage day to work out those knots.”

According to an article in last year’s Chicago Tribune, “coworking spaces are the front lines of Chicago’s new economy.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/series/coworking-spaces/chi-bsi-series-chicagos-coworking-spaces-ngux-story.html

(Note: I’m not affiliated in any way with Free Range Office, or any other co-working space — I just think they’re a genius idea for small businesses and have a few clients who get a lot out of the arrangement, so I wanted to spread the word.)

Education

Chicago Seminar: Developments in Workplace Law and Practice 2015

Leave a comment

My friend and client’s law firm is giving what looks to be a great seminar on employer/employee labor law from 8-11:30 am on June 4th at 190 South LaSalle, in the Library. Please pass this along to any employers or HR folks you know who might benefit.

Topics include:

– Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) for 2015 and Beyond
– Important Updates for Employee Conduct Rules and Employee Handbooks
– Would Your Company Be Ready for a Union Election in Less Than Two Weeks?
– What’s New for Illinois Employers in 2015?
– Cybersecurity, Breaches and Everything in Between: What Employers Need to Know to Avoid Becoming Target, Home Depot or Anthem
– Immigration Compliance Update

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Duane Morris’ annual Developments in the Workplace Law and Practice seminar series provides our clients and friends with a comprehensive update of important employment, labor relations, benefits and immigration law developments over the past year, as well as imminent changes that may seriously impact their businesses. Emphasis is placed on understanding the practical implications of these developments and the key strategies that immediately can be implemented to deal with them efficiently and effectively.
Join Neville Bilimoria, Lawrence Davidson, Bruce Kasten, Jennifer Long and Lisa Spiegel, who will discuss the following topics:
Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) for 2015 and Beyond
Learn what actions employers should take if the ACA subsidies are disallowed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hear the latest developments for benefits rules applicable to same-sex spouses.
Important Updates for Employee Conduct Rules and Employee Handbooks
Learn why the NLRB thinks your work conduct rules and employee handbook policies violate the NLRA and what you should do about it.
Would Your Company Be Ready for a Union Election in Less Than Two Weeks?
Find out what to do now to be prepared under the new NLRB “ambush” election rules.
What’s New for Illinois Employers in 2015?
Learn the latest legal developments on an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or related condition(s), and how to respond to requests for accommodation and leaves of absence.
Find out whether your applications and hiring process satisfy new state law requirements that “ban the box” for criminal conviction inquiries.
Cybersecurity, Breaches and Everything in Between: What Employers Need to Know to Avoid Becoming Target, Home Depot or Anthem
Learn how to avoid and manage breaches in privacy and security and how HIPAA privacy and security rules may affect you and your company, even if you are not a healthcare provider. These rules carry stiff penalties and enforcement actions that will take your breath away.
Immigration Compliance Update
Hear about the latest developments and trends in I-9 and work visa compliance, including what triggers immigration investigations by the USCIS, DHS, DOL, DOJ and SEC. This session will also explore best practices for avoiding and responding to immigration audits and investigations.

Source: Duane Morris LLP – Developments in Workplace Law and Practice 2015

Illinois

Guzzardi Works On New ‘Cooperative’ Law For Illinois | LoganSquarist

Leave a comment

Really looking forward to hearing more about our state representative, Will Guzzardi’s work on this new “Cooperative” law.  As most of you know, I’m a keen proponent of cooperative structures as a sustainable alternative to typical corporations, where the managers and board members are obligated to put shareholder returns first.  With cooperatives, the mission is just as important as the margins.

Also very excited to see clients Dill Pickle Food Co-op and Five Point Holistic quoted and referred to in the article!  Give it a read:

Guzzardi Works On New ‘Cooperative’ Law For Illinois | LoganSquarist.

QuickBooks Software, Tips

Resolving Inactive Inventory Items with Quantities on Hand

Leave a comment

Read this great little blog post by The Inuitive Accountant on Resolving Inactive Inventory Items with Quantities on Hand.  It’s a common problem — your client deactivates an inventory item, but there’s still a quantity on-hand left… how do you best troubleshoot this?  The Intuitive Accountant gives some suggestions to QuickBooks Professionals using the “Troubleshoot Inventory” tool with some nice tips for filtering and adjusting entries.

Education, IRS, Tips

Small Business Health Insurance Credit ONLY Available to “SHOP” Participants

Leave a comment

(Inspiration for this post: I just met my FOURTH health insurance agent that did not enroll their small business employer client in a SHOP Marketplace plan. And this client is a not-for-profit that was counting on the credit.  It’s thus far been one of my major sources of stress this tax season.)

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT — The small business health insurance credit is ONLY available in 2014 & 2015 IF the small business buys employee health insurance through SHOP. Please check with your agent for 2015 to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

See if you qualify to purchase insurance through SHOP, here:
https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/provide-shop-coverage/qualify-for-shop-marketplace/

We’re talking about a 35-50% credit for what you paid for employee health insurance. Insurance agents are often not doing this on behalf of clients; be proactive. And please spread the word to your small-business-owner friends:  https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/provide-shop-coverage/shop-marketplace-overview/ .

Also — The U.S. Small Business Administration has numerous articles and webinars on the Affordable Care Act for small business owners.  A great resource for non-tax-professionals.  More SBA resources and a link to an archived audio recording on the topic, here: https://www.sba.gov/content/affordable-care-act-training-materials .

It breaks my heart when I have to tell small business owners that they don’t qualify; then they put me in touch with their agent, who acts defensively and tells me to stop telling them how to do their job, instead of a being a partner to their client.  All I’m saying is I’ve seen it too many times and I’m not arguing with any more brokers.  I’m just sending them to this post.

For the record, I understand that there are other reasons than a tax credit to choose a particular health insurance plan, and that’s fine — if the client is informed that they will not qualify for the credit, and chooses to get a non-SHOP plan for other reasons, that’s fine by me.  But they need to know what they’re giving up to do it.

Education, QuickBooks Software

QuickBooks Accounting Virtual Conference: May 19-20

Leave a comment

The agenda is up and registration is open.  Another announcement about one of the other big QuickBooks conferences of the year — this one entirely free and virtual.  Offered by the same company that puts on Scaling New Heights, the biggest QuickBooks training event of the year.  See more on these and other annual conferences in an earlier blog post of mine.

QuickBooks Accounting Virtual Conference – May 19- 20 – intuitiveaccountant.com.

Education, POS - Point of Sale, QuickBooks Software, Software

Scaling New Heights 2015 Keynote Speakers Announced

Leave a comment

The keynote speakers for June’s big Intuit education conference in New Orleans, Scaling New Heights, have been announced, and schedules and track listings are now updated.

In case you’re not sure what this conference is all about, please see my blog post on QuickBooks-related training from a couple months ago.  This conference is one of the biggies!

Scaling New Heights 2015 Keynote Speakers Announced – intuitiveaccountant.com.

Illinois

Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Accountant’s Privilege

Leave a comment

Illinois CPA Society – “Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Accountant’s Privilege”

Fascinating update on an important court case for Illinois CPAs. The Illinois Supreme Court recently upheld that:

1) The accountant is the holder of what is known as Accountant’s Privilege (similar to attorney-client privilege), not the client;

2) That a particular common law exception — which for attorneys permits a breach of the privilege — does not breach the accountant’s privilege; and,

3) That the accountant’s privilege can be waived when the accountant discloses information to a party.  This means that if subpoenaed, CPAs must carefully consider from the beginning whether to disclose documents, as it could lead to inadvertently waiving the privilege.

Thanks to the Illinois CPA Society for bringing this important Regulatory Bulletin to my attention.  It’s big news!

 

IRS

IRS Spares Small Employers Big ACA Penalties For 2014

Leave a comment

In Last Minute Move, IRS Spares Small Employers Big Affordable Care Act Penalties For 2014.

This article is almost a month old, but it’s still the best one I’ve seen out there on the “critical takeaways” from IRS Notice 2015-17, and the relief it’s bringing to small employers.  It also explains a few confusing bits about why these penalties are of concern in the first place: for example, how old “health insurance reimbursement plans” are not compliant with ACA rules, and how it’s taken a while for the IRS and DOL to get on the same page about it.  It also confirms that S-Corp >2% single-shareholder health insurance is going to be treated the same as it always has — for the time being — but not if there’s more than one person (2% shareholder or not) on the policy.  Considering that the prior ACA guidance in these areas common to small businesses was either vague or conflicting (or both), this is welcome relief, indeed.