special

tax: explaining the bad news about canceled debt to clients

by

meet form 982.

by eric l. green
tax rep network

“what do you mean i have to pay tax on that debt? it was a debt, and they forgave it. the bank gave me a gift; i am pretty sure that is how it works.”

more: offers in compromise aren’t for everyone
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

all of a sudden, my client – who five minutes before told me they knew nothing about taxes – is now explaining to me, a tax attorney, that the canceled debt cannot be income and that a third-party bank obviously meant it as a gift.

sadly, it is not a gift; there was never any intent for it to be a gift. when either the bank or another creditor writes off that debt you owed, they are required to file a 1099-c to report the canceled debt to the irs so the lender can take the bad debt write-off. according to congress, the courts and the irs, the recipient now has income because they received value that they do not have to repay. in tax parlance it’s called an “ascension to wealth.”

read more →

manage better with the right financial tools

by

two businessmen discussing a projectget the most out of what you’re paying for.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

directors and managers have many functions. a major tool is having the right financial data.

more: charity directors must take theft seriously | client hires new manager: you need a plan | anatomy of a fraud | how to explain internal controls to clients | organization minutes too often overlooked | the seven-minute financial statement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

unless you are an accountant or have an mba, few directors or managers know what to ask for, let alone how to use what they get. here are some suggestions.
read more →

how to set your firm’s cas pricing

by

businessman and tablet with the word "pricing" above.time taken to produce the work is not a usable outcome for the client.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

when your prospects shop for client accounting services, what they find out about cas pricing methods and trends defines their pricing expectations. if you follow very different approaches to price your cas offering, it will take significant effort on your part to educate the prospects (and existing clients) about why you are pricing cas the way you are. as they say, it’s easier to ride the horse in the direction it’s going.

more: the top cas pricing strategies | cas involves true communication | how weekly cas reports help businesses | cas: much more than bookkeeping | matching your tech to your cas clients | six steps to spreading cas awareness
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it is good to first conform to the perceptions of prospects when it comes to your cas pricing. once you ride the horse, you can direct it to the destination you want to take it to. once you conform to the pricing method (not the dollar value) expectations of the prospect, their anxiety, and perception of risk (what value will they receive in the price they are willing to pay) reduce. after that, they are more open to evaluating the choices you present to them.
read more →

five questions to ask your partners about accountability

by

three business colleagues arguing while seated at tablefive consequences when it’s lacking.

by august j. aquila
what makes a great partnership

why accountability now?

lack of accountability is not a new phenomenon. there are several factors that have caused accountability to become an important element of successful cpa firms today.

more:how you can get partners to change | the seven building blocks of a great partnership

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.


the external environment has changed and firms find themselves in an environment of:

  • scarcity of people. finding good staff and developing future partners still remain critical problems for the profession. one of the key issues facing firms today is the lack of future owners. this problem has reached epic proportions that firms are requiring more of their current owners and staff.

read more →

five people to keep out of partnership

by

businesswoman opens door to brick wallyou’ll resent them later.

by marc rosenberg
how to bring in new partners

many firms make the mistake of admitting to the partnership someone who will not be a strong contributing member of the group. they miss the signs that this person will be a bad fit.

more: nine ways to woo a prospective partner | tell potential partners what it takes
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the following red flags may signal a potential future challenge in the partnership. consider whether your candidate
read more →

stop tax return review shortcuts

by

//www.g005e.com/2021/03/23/17-basic-expectations-of-partners/three questions to ask when choosing a process.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

the big issue that i see with the tax season review process is that the workload compression and rush cause the use of shortcuts to get the return out quicker.

more: the best way to review a tax return | three types of tax return reviews | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

doing this has a cost of breaking down the system and having you have to start over each year with the same problems of untrained or poorly trained people not following procedures and making the same type of mistakes they always made. shouldn’t this stop?
read more →

top tech tools for building your new bos business

by

a businessman with some jigsaw puzzle pieces in his handlots of specific recommendations for small to midsized firms.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

obtaining the source documents is the most difficult aspect of being a virtual back office support (bos). waiting for documents is the death knell for this type of work.

more: workflow tools can deepen client relationships | the best tech for your team and clients | marketing? know your goals first | eight things to stop doing now | you don’t have to do everything | why ai is not the enemy
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

luckily, technology has provided tools to take away this pain.

here are just five of the tools we use currently to collect information from our clients:

read more →

how to differentiate cas

by

learn what the client wants and needs.hitendra patil cas q-and-a logo

by hitendra patil
the definitive success guide to client accounting services

have a cas question? get it answered here.

q: my firm is growing into cas offerings. we have different pricing levels as well. but it seems clients are not grasping how our cas offerings are different. how do we differentiate?

more cas: matching your tech to your cas clients | the tech stack you need for cas | yes, you have the staffing for cas | six steps to spreading cas awareness  | finding profits in cas |

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a: accounting is about doing work that is exceptionally well-defined. it follows clear laws and regulations. people, processes and technology cannot easily differentiate you from the competition. but client accounting services is different than traditionally defined accounting work. you can differentiate cas in many ways.

read more →

outlook 2023: change becomes a constant

by

recruiting and capacity remain challenges.

by art kuesel
the rosenberg map survey: national study of cpa firm statistics

firm leaders will respectfully ask for a day, week or even a month to catch their breath, but will not get it. running a business today is unlike anything anyone has ever contemplated. the past year brought permanent changes in how our firms operate, and the pace of change will continue. those awaiting a return to the way things were should strongly reconsider.

more: outlook 2023: grow your own partners | authenticity comes to the workplace | private equity pumps up paychecks | tech automation takes hold | irs hires will add pressures | look who’s making money now | capacity strategies drive change | top five trends | compensation gets creative | the office is over | accounting firms face up to private equity
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

merger activity will continue as staffing challenges strain capacity, internal succession plans can’t be fulfilled, and needed technology investments balloon. the declining talent pipeline of accounting graduates and cpa candidates will require fresh perspective on how we grow and staff our firms in the future.
read more →

four biz dev tasks to start the new year

by

dollarphoto screen shot 2016-02-22 at 12.23.16 pmthe science behind pipelines.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

i’ve taken many accounting firm partners through this process, and it’s quite common for them to balk a little at the pipeline idea when they see the amount of work involved.

more: good enough is not enough | a list is not a pipeline | prepare the next generation now | nine points to check before hello | why clients struggle with growth | nine biz-dev metrics for making partner
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

they see it as just another call on their time when they already have far too much to do, and they ask me why they can’t just write down a list of prospects and go to work on them.
read more →

offers in compromise aren’t for everyone

by

how much can the client pay?

by eric l. green
tax rep network

no irs program is more interesting yet misunderstood than the irs’s offer in compromise program. for taxpayers who owe money to the irs, between 15 million and 20 million of them, the thought that they can settle their back tax debt for less than the amount owed is an answer to many of their prayers.

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

many people have seen the late-night television ads or heard the satellite radio spots: the taxpayer, who seems just like them, owed huge sums of money to the irs and was being abused by the callous tax machine when the advertising company came to the rescue and settled that tax debt for “pennies on the dollar.”

are these ads telling us the truth? can taxpayers really settle their tax debt for little to no money? the answer is yes, they can, but it depends upon their financial situation.

read more →

charity directors must take theft seriously

by

older man reading newspaper by fireplacereading and understanding financials is key.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

hardly a week goes by that i do not read about a theft, fraud, misappropriation, defalcation or egregious wasteful spending at some charitable organization. some are perpetuated over many years – perhaps as many as seven years.

more: client hires new manager: you need a plan | do you need a forensic professional? | six benefits of an internal audit | the ten financial controls that’ll make you a hero | five cash reports you can’t live without | when an audit is a great thing | which kpis do you need?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

lack of controls, oversight, disinterest or lackadaisical care creates an atmosphere where an already weak person can spot an opportunity, or perhaps an uncaught or unguarded careless mistake gives birth to a pattern of ongoing criminal action by someone who never had an unlawful thought.
read more →