NYSSCPA Members in the News

Robyn Cohn (Manhattan/Bronx)
5 Financial Strategies That Save Photographers Money
Photo District News
Photographers are problem solvers—but figuring out expenses and taxes are the kinds of puzzles many studio owners and freelancers would rather avoid. Hiring a financial professional can ease the pain, but the onus remains on shooters to be tidy record keepers and get a handle on their expenses. Here are five ways photographers can avoid some common, and costly, business mistakes.

Other Accounting and Financial News Stories

America's 7-year bull market: Can it last?
CNN Money
The bull market in stocks officially turns seven today. It's the third longest stock market upswing in U.S. history. But dark clouds hover above this milestone birthday celebration. The S&P 500 has nearly tripled (up 194% to be exact) since its low point on March 9, 2009. The surge reflects America's recovery from the Great Recession. Yet the bull run has slowed considerably, especially in 2016. Stocks started the year with a scary plunge that was fueled by fears of a new global recession and worries about the downsides of cheap oil.

IRS Changes in Tax Return Due Dates Promise to Help Preparers Next Year
Accounting Today
The Internal Revenue Service will be making some changes in the due dates next year for several types of business tax returns, which should give accountants a little extra breathing room. “In general I think most CPAs are looking forward to the changes,” said Texas Society of CPAs chair Allyson Baumeister, who is also a principal in charge of the Forth Worth office at CliftonLarsonAllen. “The purpose of them is to spread out the workload a little bit, particularly as it pertains to flow-through entities, so that the flow of K-1s works better. Entities that generate K-1 flow-through activity will be due before C corps and 1040s that receive that K-1 information. I think we’re all looking forward to seeing how it works, and we’re very hopeful it will help with the compression issues.”

Firms Plead Guilty to Helping U.S. Taxpayers Hide More Than $130 Million
Wall Street Journal
Two financial firms based in the Cayman Islands have pleaded guilty to helping U.S. taxpayers hide more than $130 million in offshore accounts, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The two firms, Cayman National Securities Ltd. and Cayman National Trust Co. Ltd., are both affiliates of Cayman National Corp., which provided investment brokerage and trust management services to individual and entities, according to the Justice Department.

The New Lease Accounting Rules - Implications for Financing Agreements
JD Supra Business Advisor
New updates to accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) on February 25, 2016 and by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) on January 13, 2016 will dramatically change financial reporting with respect to leasing transactions. The Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) issued by FASB, which mirrors the IFRS 16 Leases rules issued by the IASB in January, will affect all companies and organizations that lease assets.

John Gutfreund, Face of 1980s Wall Street Swagger, Dies
Wall Street Journal
John Gutfreund died of pneumonia Wednesday at age 86, marking the formal end of an era on Wall Street when swashbuckling bond traders made huge bets using house money. A cigar-chomping former bond trader, Mr. Gutfreund spent 38 years at Salomon Brothers, once a feared powerhouse on Wall Street that he boasted was “the greatest trading organization the world has ever known.” Mr. Gutfreund transformed Salomon into the dominant force in the Treasury-securities market, overseeing a trading floor the size of a football field. Under his helm, Salomon made big wagers using the firm’s cash and sold the first mortgage-backed bonds.

Mutual Funds Oppose S.E.C.’s Plan for a Bigger Cash Cushion
New York Times
At an industry conference last week, the lead regulator for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s asset management division came under fire. The official, David W. Grim, was highlighting an initiative that would require mutual funds to increase their liquidity cushions to accommodate investors looking to leave in a hurry. But the two industry representatives sitting on his panel — both of whom had held the fund watchdog job before he did — immediately went after him, arguing that the proposal was misguided and overly restrictive. Hold on a minute, said Mr. Grim, a 20-year S.E.C. veteran whose gaunt appearance was accentuated that day by a cold that had left his voice scratchy and weak.

SEC and FASB Update GAAP Taxonomy for 2016
Accounting Today
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accepted the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s 2016 GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy. FASB’s staff is responsible for ongoing development and maintenance of the GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which is used by public issuers registered with the SEC. Every year, FASB updates the taxonomy to reflect new accounting standards updates and other related improvements and enhancements.

How Big Banks Have Prepared for Higher Rates
Wall Street Journal
What if they build it and the Federal Reserve doesn’t come? Big U.S. banks have continued to construct balance sheets that are ready for a rising interest-rate environment. So far, though, to little avail. The four biggest banks— J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo—all substantially increased the portion of their securities that are classified as “held to maturity” in 2015. This seemingly arcane technical adjustment is essentially a way to protect against the downside to their massive bondholdings that could result from higher rates.

Small Gains for the Market as Energy Prices Rebound
New York Times
Stocks rose Wednesday on the seventh anniversary of the bull market as crude oil resumed its climb from a 13-year low. The gains were modest as investors await key policy decisions from Europe’s central bank on Thursday and from the Federal Reserve next week. Energy companies rebounded from big drops the day before, gaining 1.5 percent.

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Provide Tax Credit for Caregiving Expenses
Accounting Today
A pair of lawmakers on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses.  Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., introduced the Credit for Caring Act, which provides a tax credit to working family members equal to 30 percent of a caregiver’s expenses greater than $2,000.