Category: Outsourced Accounting

Councilor, Buchanan and Mitchell (CBM) works closely with clients to protect their financial and data operations from phishing attacks and criminals seeking access to corporate networks to steal or hold private, customer-related information for ransom. Members of CBM’s outsourced accounting and advisory team recently prevented a business from falling prey to a phishing attack and potentially losing a considerable sum of money. The client had reached out to a vendor to obtain ACH information for sending a payment electronically. When… Read more ›

Comprehensive financial statements prepared under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) include three reports: the balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. Together these reports can be powerful diagnostic tools to help evaluate the financial well-being of a business. Moreover, by carefully analyzing them, you may be able to uncover potential money-management problems or even fraudulent activity. Balance Sheets Show Assets vs. Liabilities The balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s financial health at a moment in… Read more ›

It’s not uncommon for an incoming partner in a professional firm to take out a personal loan to finance all or part of the cost of acquiring an ownership interest. If some of your firm’s partners have done this, they need to know the proper federal income tax treatment of the resulting interest expense. Such partner-level interest expense is sometimes called “outside interest” because it comes from a personal loan that is outside of the partnership. IRS guidelines say outside… Read more ›

  Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell’s (CBM) quick reference resources are high-level insights about critical issues and concerns facing your organization. CBM’s accounting advisory group is available to help you implement solutions.  Standard business insurance policies may provide coverage for certain types of cyber incidents. For instance, if you lose electronic data as a result of a computer virus or hardware failure, your insurance may pay recovery or replacement costs. To extend coverage for a fuller range of cyber liability risks,… Read more ›

Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell’s (CBM) quick reference resources are high-level insights about critical issues and concerns facing your organization. CBM’s accounting advisory group is available to help you implement solutions.  What is the new lease standard? The new lease standard is intended to account for all lease obligations on financial statements, rather than excluding operating leases as has been the standard. This change ensures that a company’s financial situation is reflected as accurately as possible within the financial statements. With… Read more ›

PDF: Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell Senior Accounting and Finance Specialist Anne Hayes Earns People Advisory Certificate Anne Hayes, MSF, a senior accounting and finance specialist at Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell (CBM), was recognized with a People Advisory certificate on June 30, 2022. The People Advisor Certified program, launched in 2020 by Gusto, a digitally-based service provider to small businesses, trains professionals to leverage their financial advisory expertise to deliver additional people-focused services to clients including in the areas of payroll,… Read more ›

Is your not-for-profit the same organization it was three years ago? Are your stakeholders the same now as then? What about your community and its support? It’s been said that the only thing certain in life is change, so you likely answered “no” to each of these questions. Change is a key reason why your nonprofit needs to revisit and revise its strategic plan regularly. And you can make your strategic planning process as dynamic as change itself. But it… Read more ›

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many small businesses to reduce their operations, furlough workers and even shut down for a period. But this doesn’t mean employers can allow payroll recordkeeping obligations to lapse. Your business is still responsible for creating and maintaining records for possible inspection by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor (DOL). Documents to Keep In general, payroll records refer to the documentation of employee time worked and wages paid for each payroll… Read more ›

The CARES Act and Relief for Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 On Friday, March 27, President Trump signed into legislation the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. The $2.2 trillion legislation represents the largest stimulus package in U.S. history—dwarfing the $800 billion package signed during the 2008 financial crisis—and provides a variety of economic relief measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American society. The Act provides for five options for businesses in search of relief,… Read more ›

Unlike many accounting systems, QuickBooks does not require you to close your books at the end of an accounting period. But is that a good thing? Most accountants would argue that it is not! At a minimum, you should update the QuickBooks closing date annually to ensure that the data will continue to match the tax return prepared by your accountant. But even when using this feature, it’s often deployed way too late in the game. Generally, when you are… Read more ›