Fraud is committed in small businesses every day. Some industries, such as retail and restaurants, are more susceptible than others but it happens everywhere. Yet most business owners do not believe it will happen to them. We know that the key element is to put in place key controls to deter and expose fraudulent behavior.... View Article
Compensation is a tricky subject that can be highly emotional for both employer and employee. Employees are looking for to what their peers are making in both salary and “perks.” Employers are looking at how to keep great talent and the costs of doing so. Employers look at a combination of salary, cash bonuses, and... View Article
When talking with business owners about exit planning, most of the big questions revolve around the buyer and the price. These are the most obvious components but, as they say, the devil is in the details and the details often come out in the deal documents. In this post, I’ll share a bit about the... View Article
As we review the provisions of the new Seattle Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, we thought we’d provide some examples to show some of the issues and complexities of the ordinance. Anchorage Accounting is an accounting firm with its principal office in Anchorage Alaska. It has 6 full time employees in Alaska, 2 full time employees... View Article
The Seattle Paid Sick Time and Paid Safe Time Ordinance goes into effect on September 1, 2012. The Ordinance will require that employers with more than 4 full time equivalent employees provide to employees who work in Seattle specified amounts of accrued, job-protected paid time off for personal illness, family care and other purposes. Every... View Article
Our Equinox Focus Event last week “Tax Update: What You Need to Know for 2012 (and 2011, too)!” was quite a success with raves from our participants. I wanted to share some of my key takeaways from the program. – Pre-Opening Costs. For folks starting or launching a business, certain pre-opening costs are tax deductible. In... View Article
Our guest blogger this week is Mary Marino, Partner at Clifton Larson Allen. Mary’s practice specializes in planning and compliance for closely-held businesses and their owners. Mary will also be our guest presenter at our upcoming Equinox Focus Event on January 25. There is a potentially lucrative tax credit that applies for the six year... View Article
Although it seems early, January is the start of tax season… Now’s the time to begin conversations with accountants about last year’s business activities and plans for the current year. It’s time to pull together documentation to support deductions and gather 1099s. Most of the work here is done with your accountant and CPA. From... View Article
Our guest blog post today comes from Kris Gray, Founder and Director of Business Financial Planning, and Jodi Giles, Director of Legacy Planning, at Integrity Financial Corporation. They share why the current lifetime gifting limits make now an ideal time to transfer ownership to the next generation in a company. Small and medium sized family... View Article