I recently stumbled across this wonderful “decoder” for Form 1095-C — the form that you’ll receive from your employer if they provide your health insurance. You simply click on the line number and a pop-up window explains all the different codes that you might see on your copy, and what each one means. It’s a confusing form, with many options, and I think this interactive website does a great job clearing up the complexity and confusion.
Category Archives: Education
NSAC Cooperative Learning Network – Upcoming Webinars
The National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives offers some great online learning resources from time-to-time, and in today’s e-newsletter update, a few in particular were listed that caught my attention. In particular, George Benson and Teree Castanias are excellent, knowledgeable presenters, and Don Frederick — himself a legend in the co-op tax world — does a great job introducing the concept of co-op taxation.
The full list of online webinars can be found at the NSAC Cooperative Learning Network.
Proposed Changes to QBO ProAdvisor Certification Program
Intuit just announced major changes to the annual certification and re-certification exams for QuickBooks Online. Their intent is to standardize the testing windows so that all ProAdvisors are up for renewal at the same time, and to recommend four hours of annual continuing education (recognizing that many of us already have much more stringent CE requirements due to CPA, EA or other professional designations). They also are considering switching from the requirement to re-take the same certification exam each year to opting for a shorter exam that focuses only on what’s new in QBO.
In the meantime, while they evaluate the best way to implement these changes, they have paused all requirements for certification, with the following statement:
If you completed the QuickBooks Online Certification on or after October 21, 2016, your Certification status will not expire until after we release the new Certification exam. If you completed the exam before October 21, 2016, you can complete the exam currently available in your ProAdvisor Center to maintain or reinstate your Certification benefits.
Source: New QuickBooks Online Certification – Coming in 2018 – QuickBooks Learn & Support
October is National Women’s Small Business Month
The SBA (@SBAgov) will be hosting a Twitter chat on women-owned small businesses on Thursday, October 26, at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT. They’ll be sharing tips and resources to help women start, grow and succeed in business. Follow along with the hashtag #SBAchat.
Linda McMahon, the Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, starts this article off by saying, “Seems hard to believe today, but thirty years ago, some state laws prevented women from getting a business loan without having a male relative co-sign for it.”
I had to admit, even I was shocked by that. Accounting is a field that’s not overrun by males, thankfully, and I’ve had no problem holding my own when confronted with discrimination, harassment, and condescension — though it’s happened all-too-often, especially with male lawyers, consultants, and financial advisers. (There was one time in particular when I was taken so off-guard that I didn’t stand up for myself, and actually had to sit at a side table while a male co-presenter stood at the lectern and took credit for a lecture that I wrote. I’ll never let that happen again.)
At this point, women-owned businesses are the fastest-growing sector of the economy, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. And October is National Women’s Small Business Month, in honor of the creation on October 25, 1988 of the National Women’s Business Council.
Today, 9.9 million businesses in the U.S. are owned by women, they employ more than 8 million workers, provide more than $264 billion in wages and salaries to employees, and contribute $1.4 trillion in sales to our national economy. The SBA’s Office of Advocacy describes them as an “economic powerhouse”.
But we’re far from done with the work it takes to right so many years of wrongs — so much inequity, as well as cultural mores that leave us all affected with subconscious sexism. Let’s take a moment each day this month to pause and check our actions and reactions; and maybe it will last us at least part-way into November.
The SBA (@SBAgov) will be hosting a Twitter chat on women-owned small businesses on Thursday, October 26, at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT. They’ll be sharing tips and resources to help women start, grow and succeed in business. Follow along with the hashtag #SBAchat.
Source: Supporting Women in Business | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov
IRS Webinar: Understanding Tax Relief for Victims of Disasters
In today’s IRS e-News for Tax Professionals, the IRS announced a 2-hour webinar — held twice, once on Oct 18 and again on Oct 19 — geared toward helping taxpayers and their preparers understand various tax relief provisions in the code and administrative rulings.
Following the recent natural disasters in various parts of the U.S., this timely web conference will discuss:
- Statutory Tax Relief for Casualty Victims (Both Individual & Business)
- Special Rules for Federally Declared Disaster Areas
- IRS Disaster Assistance Administrative Relief
- Calculating and Reporting Disaster Area Losses
- Involuntary Conversions resulting from Disaster Losses
- Disaster Related Tax Issues: Harvey, Irma & Maria
A live question and answer session will round out the webinar.
Register and Attend:
Oct. 18 – 11:00 a.m. Eastern
Oct. 19 – 11:00 a.m. Eastern
Closed captioning is offered for the Oct. 19 web conference only.
NSAC Cooperative Learning Network – Upcoming Webinars
The National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives offers some great online learning resources from time-to-time, and in today’s e-newsletter update, a few in particular were listed that caught my attention. In particular, George Benson and Teree Castanias are excellent, knowledgeable presenters, and Don Frederick — himself a legend in the co-op tax world — does a great job introducing the concept of co-op taxation.
Book vs Tax vs Hybrid Basis of Paying Patronage
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
02:00 PM EST / 01:00 PM CST / 12:00 PM MST / 11:00 AM PST
The full list of online webinars can be found at the NSAC Cooperative Learning Network.
NCBA Co-Op Professionals Conference, Oct 5-6 2017
For the past three years I’ve been honored to participate in planning the NCBA Co-op Professionals Conference — a get-together for attorneys, accountants, developers and other professionals that work with cooperatives. It’s an amazing opportunity to learn, network, and connect.
Please join us in examining “The Regulated Cooperative” at the 2017 Cooperative Professionals conference, October 5-6, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia. The first day’s professional development program is devoted to the many ways in which federal regulation affects and controls cooperative enterprise, including regulation of financing, immigration, tax and labor. All four sessions have continuing professional education credit for CPAs and attorneys — the schedule is here (scroll down to Thursday & Friday — Wednesday is IMPACT- and Purchasing-only).
We are especially excited to present our luncheon speaker, Nathan Schneider, a thought leader in the new realm of Platform Cooperativism. He is Co-editor of the new book, Ours to Hack and to Own: The Rise of Platform Cooperativism, A New Vision for the Future of Work and a Fairer Internet, which explores how the cooperative model can thrive in the Internet economy and inquires into the effects of antitrust enforcement, or its absence, in that highly consolidated landscape.
In the evening we will join the NCBA plenary session with mayors and city leaders who are taking different approaches to supporting the co-op ecosystem so that people can use cooperatives to create economic opportunity and address challenges within their cities.
On the second morning, we will be considering and framing a formal organization for this to-date informal grouping, a Cooperative Professionals Guild. After four years of successful conferences, is it time to create a permanent organizational home for planning the conference and other year-round professional development activities? In the spirit of cooperation, the ad hoc CPC planning committee invites you to participate in this effort.
This year’s conference is held in conjunction with Cooperative IMPACT convened by NCBA on October 4-6. We look forward to seeing you there!
Linda Phillips
Nancy McClelland
Thomas Beckett
Therese Tuttle
Sushil Jacob
Camille Kerr
Roland Hall
Elizabeth Van Der Wiede
Jason Wiener
Sara Stephens
Free Socially Responsible Investing Seminar 9/23
A colleague of mine, Khloe Karova of Modern Capital Concepts, is offering a free seminar on Socially Responsible Investing this Saturday, September 23 at 10 am, at the Logan Square Chicago Public Library — details at the facebook event page here: Socially Responsible Investing.
She stays after each seminar to answer questions from attendees on financial planning, identity theft, and related topics.
Ultimate Annual vCon Sept 21-22, 2017
For QuickBooks bookkeepers and accountants interested in growing their businesses, the upcoming 2-day virtual conference put on by Michelle Long and Sandi Smith Leyva — two of the QB world’s thought leaders and trainers — is a great opportunity for learning and networking.
Intuitive Accountant made a good point a few years back about the value of this v-conference: for the price ($199), the content (educational sessions) and exposure to potential vendors (networking with reps) can’t be beat, not to mention the fact that it’s all accessible from your computer, wherever you and the internet are found.
The theme this year is “Accelerate Your Success”, and is much more oriented toward marketing/ pricing/ business development topics than usual, including:
- How to price both old and new services
- How to find new revenue stream ideas
- How to get clients
- How to learn how to introduce clients to new technologies
- How to transition clients to new technologies without losing your revenue
The schedule is here, the vendor list is here, and registration is here.
Source: Join us for the Ultimate Annual vCon next week – Long for Success, LLC
IRS Webinar – Electronic FBAR Reporting
The dreaded Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Reporting — a mystery to so many! Well, the IRS is offering a webinar to help:
| August 30, 2017 2 p.m. Eastern Time 1 p.m. Central Time 12 p.m. Mountain Time 11 a.m. Pacific Time |
This webinar features the latest information on how to properly report foreign financial accounts on the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly called the FBAR. You’ll learn:
- Who must file the FBAR
- What accounts must be reported on the FBAR
- When the FBAR must be filed
- How to file the FBAR
Plus, it’s eligible for CPE credit in Federal Tax. Check it out: Internal Revenue Service Webinar Registration Page