Accounting and Financial News Stories

How and When to Grow Your Company's Accounting Function

Entrepreneur

Shortly after we had started our consulting firm, Whitestone Partners, we began an engagement with a home healthcare business. As we do in almost all of our engagements, we asked to see the company's financials. In response, the owner reached behind her and grabbed a three-ring binder, from which she extracted three pages, neatly stapled in the top left corner.

Phasing Out a Tax, Saving the Family Farm

Wall Street Journal

New Jersey farmer Jim Abma is trying to figure out how to keep the business his grandfather started more than 85 years ago in the family. This can be a complex undertaking in New Jersey. To avoid paying estate and inheritance taxes, some residents take out insurance, put their assets in trusts or establish residency in other states. Pennsylvania, with no estate tax, is a favorite destination.

Mutual Funds Win Key Concessions on Liquidity Rules

Wall Street Journal

Mutual funds will soon face new regulations to reduce the risks of an investor exodus during a panic, though they have managed to win some concessions that will make the rules more flexible. The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to release the new rules Thursday, a key part of its plan to modernize supervision of the $15.7 trillion sector.

Clinton wants to double the child tax

CNN Money

With just a month to go before the election, Hillary Clinton detailed a new proposal to help limit the burden of child care costs for lower and middle income families. She wants to double the child tax credit for children under 5 years old. A credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the taxes you owe. Today low- to upper-middle-income parents may claim up to $1,000 per child under the age of 17. Under Clinton's plan they could claim up to $2,000 for any children who are infants, toddlers or preschoolers, or $1,000 for those 5 and older.

Basel to Give Banks More Time to Phase in Loan Provision Rules

Bloomberg Markets

Banks should be given three to five years until new accounting rules for loan losses have an impact on regulatory capital, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Accounting standards that require banks to set aside money for expected bad-loan losses will enter into force in 2018 in most of the world, and in 2020 in the U.S. While the Basel Committee said it welcomes the change in principle, it said banks may have to raise provisions as a consequence and hence should be given more time to phase them in.

SEC Breaks Record for Number of Enforcement Cases

Wall Street Journal

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday it has again shattered its record for the number of enforcement cases it is brought—adding to a string of broken records that, in part, is thanks to the likes of City of Devils Lake, N.D. The SEC brought 868 cases for the 12 months through September, its highest-ever tally, according to people close to the agency. It marks the third year in a row the 82-year old agency has filed the most cases in its history.

Tapping into a Job Candidate's True Abilities at Tax and Accounting

Accounting Today

Hiring the wrong candidate for a position in accounting and tax is expensive, in money, time and effort. The difficulties in hiring an experienced candidate can be ameliorated through an effective interviewing process. Tapping into a job candidate’s true abilities is oftentimes difficult and elusive, but extremely critical. Fortunately, the accounting and tax profession demands highly specific technical skills that are measurable during the interviewing process.

Trump’s Tax Plan Seen Turning Employees Into Contractors

Bloomberg Politics

Donald Trump’s proposal to offer all businesses a flat 15 percent income-tax rate would prompt workers to try to cut their tax bills by turning themselves into “self-employed” contractors -- without leaving their current employer -- according to a tax-policy group’s report. By offering such an advantageous tax rate, the proposal “would create a strong incentive” for wage earners to form their own businesses and provide “labor services to their current employer,” said the report by the Washington-based Tax Policy Center.

Fed’s Minutes May Leave Investors Hungering for More

Wall Street Journal

Officials at the Federal Reserve appear more divided than usual. When the central bank kept interest rates unchanged last month, three regional bank presidents disagreed with that decision, the most dissents at a meeting since December 2014. Simultaneously, economic projections showed three other officials don’t believe a rate increase is warranted at all this year.

Thomson Reuters Offers Retirement Planning Certificate

Accounting Today

Thomson Reuters has introduced a certification program for practitioners who want to offer retirement planning services to their clients. The Checkpoint Learning Retirement Planning Certificate Program provides training in best practices for retirement savings and Social Security options. It also covers planning for Medicare and other budget needs of retirees.

Now Hiring: Under de Blasio, New York’s Government Grows to Record Level

New York Times

New York City is undergoing a rare explosion in city government: More people now work for the city — 287,002 full-time employees as of July — than at any other point in its modern history, with thousands more scheduled to join them. The projected growth finds few parallels in other major American metropolises; most, like New York, trimmed their numbers after the financial crash of 2008.

Employers Shift Higher Health-Care Costs to Workers

Wall Street Journal

Open enrollment season is under way, and when workers get their health-plan information, many of them can expect higher out-of-pocket costs. As employers cope with rising health costs, some are shifting more of the burden onto their workers, often in the form of health insurance plans that carry high deductibles.

IRS Offers Tax Relief for Hurricane Matthew Victims

Accounting Today

The Internal Revenue Service is giving victims of Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina extra time to file their tax returns and make tax payments. North Carolina victims of the hurricane that left a path of destruction and flooding this past weekend will get until March 15, 2017, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments, with similar relief expected soon for Hurricane Matthew victims in other states, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.

Wall St. Closes Lower as Oil Prices Fall

New York Times

A batch of disappointing company earnings reports helped put Wall Street investors in a selling mood on Tuesday, pulling stocks sharply lower. Health care companies led the broad market slide, which more than wiped out gains from the day before. Materials, utilities and technology stocks were among the big decliners. Energy stocks also closed lower as crude oil prices declined.

Accounting and Financial News Stories

How and When to Grow Your Company's Accounting Function

Entrepreneur

Shortly after we had started our consulting firm, Whitestone Partners, we began an engagement with a home healthcare business. As we do in almost all of our engagements, we asked to see the company's financials. In response, the owner reached behind her and grabbed a three-ring binder, from which she extracted three pages, neatly stapled in the top left corner.

Phasing Out a Tax, Saving the Family Farm

Wall Street Journal

New Jersey farmer Jim Abma is trying to figure out how to keep the business his grandfather started more than 85 years ago in the family. This can be a complex undertaking in New Jersey. To avoid paying estate and inheritance taxes, some residents take out insurance, put their assets in trusts or establish residency in other states. Pennsylvania, with no estate tax, is a favorite destination.

Mutual Funds Win Key Concessions on Liquidity Rules

Wall Street Journal

Mutual funds will soon face new regulations to reduce the risks of an investor exodus during a panic, though they have managed to win some concessions that will make the rules more flexible. The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to release the new rules Thursday, a key part of its plan to modernize supervision of the $15.7 trillion sector.

Clinton wants to double the child tax

CNN Money

With just a month to go before the election, Hillary Clinton detailed a new proposal to help limit the burden of child care costs for lower and middle income families. She wants to double the child tax credit for children under 5 years old. A credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the taxes you owe. Today low- to upper-middle-income parents may claim up to $1,000 per child under the age of 17. Under Clinton's plan they could claim up to $2,000 for any children who are infants, toddlers or preschoolers, or $1,000 for those 5 and older.

Basel to Give Banks More Time to Phase in Loan Provision Rules

Bloomberg Markets

Banks should be given three to five years until new accounting rules for loan losses have an impact on regulatory capital, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Accounting standards that require banks to set aside money for expected bad-loan losses will enter into force in 2018 in most of the world, and in 2020 in the U.S. While the Basel Committee said it welcomes the change in principle, it said banks may have to raise provisions as a consequence and hence should be given more time to phase them in.

SEC Breaks Record for Number of Enforcement Cases

Wall Street Journal

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday it has again shattered its record for the number of enforcement cases it is brought—adding to a string of broken records that, in part, is thanks to the likes of City of Devils Lake, N.D. The SEC brought 868 cases for the 12 months through September, its highest-ever tally, according to people close to the agency. It marks the third year in a row the 82-year old agency has filed the most cases in its history.

Tapping into a Job Candidate's True Abilities at Tax and Accounting

Accounting Today

Hiring the wrong candidate for a position in accounting and tax is expensive, in money, time and effort. The difficulties in hiring an experienced candidate can be ameliorated through an effective interviewing process. Tapping into a job candidate’s true abilities is oftentimes difficult and elusive, but extremely critical. Fortunately, the accounting and tax profession demands highly specific technical skills that are measurable during the interviewing process.

Trump’s Tax Plan Seen Turning Employees Into Contractors

Bloomberg Politics

Donald Trump’s proposal to offer all businesses a flat 15 percent income-tax rate would prompt workers to try to cut their tax bills by turning themselves into “self-employed” contractors -- without leaving their current employer -- according to a tax-policy group’s report. By offering such an advantageous tax rate, the proposal “would create a strong incentive” for wage earners to form their own businesses and provide “labor services to their current employer,” said the report by the Washington-based Tax Policy Center.

Fed’s Minutes May Leave Investors Hungering for More

Wall Street Journal

Officials at the Federal Reserve appear more divided than usual. When the central bank kept interest rates unchanged last month, three regional bank presidents disagreed with that decision, the most dissents at a meeting since December 2014. Simultaneously, economic projections showed three other officials don’t believe a rate increase is warranted at all this year.

Thomson Reuters Offers Retirement Planning Certificate

Accounting Today

Thomson Reuters has introduced a certification program for practitioners who want to offer retirement planning services to their clients. The Checkpoint Learning Retirement Planning Certificate Program provides training in best practices for retirement savings and Social Security options. It also covers planning for Medicare and other budget needs of retirees.

Now Hiring: Under de Blasio, New York’s Government Grows to Record Level

New York Times

New York City is undergoing a rare explosion in city government: More people now work for the city — 287,002 full-time employees as of July — than at any other point in its modern history, with thousands more scheduled to join them. The projected growth finds few parallels in other major American metropolises; most, like New York, trimmed their numbers after the financial crash of 2008.

Employers Shift Higher Health-Care Costs to Workers

Wall Street Journal

Open enrollment season is under way, and when workers get their health-plan information, many of them can expect higher out-of-pocket costs. As employers cope with rising health costs, some are shifting more of the burden onto their workers, often in the form of health insurance plans that carry high deductibles.

IRS Offers Tax Relief for Hurricane Matthew Victims

Accounting Today

The Internal Revenue Service is giving victims of Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina extra time to file their tax returns and make tax payments. North Carolina victims of the hurricane that left a path of destruction and flooding this past weekend will get until March 15, 2017, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments, with similar relief expected soon for Hurricane Matthew victims in other states, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.

Wall St. Closes Lower as Oil Prices Fall

New York Times

A batch of disappointing company earnings reports helped put Wall Street investors in a selling mood on Tuesday, pulling stocks sharply lower. Health care companies led the broad market slide, which more than wiped out gains from the day before. Materials, utilities and technology stocks were among the big decliners. Energy stocks also closed lower as crude oil prices declined.