As we continue our winter webinar series, join us for our March webinar entitled “Lean Operations/Overhead for Small to Mid-Sized Companies”.
Most people that consider LEAN concepts focus on production, or perhaps operation areas of their business. And certainly the payoff for efficiencies gained in those areas make them the priority places to look for savings. Those savings provide immediate help in margin, and thereby market competitiveness. But the overhead areas of our business often do not get the scrutiny, even though they can equally benefit from LEAN thinking. That is why this upcoming webinar may be worth your time. Hosted by McKonly & Asbury Partner and COO, Greg Lowe, we will be having a brief discussion of best practices McKonly & Asbury has used both internally and also learned about as we partner with our clients. The goal will be to provide both best practice trends in major overhead areas, as well as some ideas that might inspire new ways to look at overhead areas within your business. If the “new normal” has you looking for ways to improve profitability, be sure to join us! Continue reading »
2012 is well underway. Some of you are enjoying the New Year with a promotion. Congratulations, you’ve just been promoted! Being promoted to a “Manager of people” and many more responsibilities is exciting but with it comes a tremendous amount of responsibility.
Have you noticed there are some managers/leaders that seem to have a natural gift working with people and getting the best out of their employees? Yes, we’ve seen it too. We aspire to be great leaders. But why is being a great manager such a challenge for some? There are no magical powers great managers have. But what you do find that is common is their ability to communicate and listen well. Taking the time to understand what is important to your employee, such as how he or she prefers to be rewarded and recognized, so that you can make the interaction as meaningful to him or her as possible is where the challenge lies.
Much has been discussed about the different generations working side by side in the workplace. Regardless of the generations that comprise your team, suffice it to say, employees just want to feel appreciated and valued. The book entitled The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace along with the Motivating by Appreciation (MBA) Inventory can help provide you with practical ways to help you as a manager communicate appreciation in your work-based relationships. The MBA is an assessment tool that can further explore and rank each person’s language of appreciation and provide an action list based on that person’s profile and preferences. Before you dismiss this as “warm, fuzzy stuff,” consider the outcome. Continue reading »
McKonly & Asbury is continuing our winter webinar series with a webinar entitled “Claim What You Deserve.” We are proud to feature alliantgroup’s Managing Director, Michael Siegel, as this month’s presenter! alliantgroup is a national advisory firm serving a broad spectrum of clients, from individuals and start-ups to Fortune 1000 corporations.
If you don’t think you qualify for the R&D Credit, think again! Learn how architects, engineers, software developers, contractors, and job shops are among the dozens of industries now taking advantage of this powerful incentive.
Since its inception in 1981, never has the §41 R&D Tax Credit been so broadly available, so lucrative, and – at the same time – so misunderstood as it is today. The now $10BB program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support by congress as made evident through recent legislative changes. Among them, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 turned off the AMT limitation on R&D (and other General Business) Credits. This single change will allow tens of thousands of closely held businesses to finally claim what they deserve!
In this interactive session, Michael Siegel will take you through recent changes to clear the cobwebs and help you take maximum advantage of the credit.
This free, hour-long webinar will take place on Thursday, February 23rd at 2:00 p.m. EST, and CPE credit is available.
Reserve your webinar seat now by clicking here:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/706932705
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
For more information, please contact us at info@macpas.com.
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
We have the distinct pleasure of working with many families as they embark on charitable planning. This can be as simple as regular contributions or as complex as creating a charitable entity that will carry on their philanthropic effort for many generations.
In this article—part one of a three part series—we will provide a basic explanation of the two main categories of charitable trusts: charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is an irrevocable trust that makes annual or more frequent payments to you or your beneficiaries for a specified period of time. The annuity payment must be paid for either a term of years (not to exceed 20 years) or for the life (or lives) of the designated living beneficiary(ies). What remains in the trust then passes to a qualified charity of your choice.
At the time when the trust is created you can obtain a current income tax charitable contribution deduction for the value of the charity’s remainder interest in the trust. The deduction is permitted when the trust is created even though the charity has to wait to receive anything. Continue reading »
As a new year begins it’s time to take a look ahead and see what comes next for us in 2012. As technology continues its rapid growth and change, it is important to continue to be forward thinking and look at the trends that we will see unfold in the months ahead. We’re not talking flying cars, hover boards, or time travel…this is about real, practical advancements that you’ll see in your professional environment. Lets take a look at some of the key technology trends that we expect to see in the year ahead.
Mainstream Mobile
One of the hottest trends in the technology field over the past few years has been the movement towards mobile devices. Look to see more and more smart-phones and tablets being used this year. New phones like the iPhone 4S, Android Galaxy Nexus, and Droid Razr as well as a recent flood of cheaper Android tablets and the ever popular iPad, will continue to be attractive upgrades for consumers and businesses alike.
As more and more users continue to use mobile devices there will also be a push to further optimize the content for these devices. This means making sure your websites, newsletters, blogs, and even applications are looking their best and are optimized for touch and smaller screen sizes than the traditional computer monitor. Also, don’t be surprised if some the business applications that you use start to advertise a mobile app as a companion to provide easy access for users on the go. Continue reading »
We had another great webinar yesterday presented by Reed Horanburg and Dan Matarrese (CPA) on How To Work From Anywhere! Thank you to everyone that attended and received CPE credit.
We reviewed some tips and insight on the services and applications needed, both from an enterprise and personal level, to facilitate remote connectivity and productivity.
Check out our Upcoming Events page for news and updates on our future seminars and webinars.
Below, you will find the link to replay the presentation, enjoy!
For your reference and ease of access, some of the applications and services we discussed were:
- Citrix Server (web published applications and desktops)
- Cisco VPN (secure remote network access)
- GoToMyPc (remote computer access)
- DropBox (file storage and sharing)
- ShareFile (file storage and sharing)
- Google Docs (web based documents)
- Microsoft Office 365 (web based documents)
- Evernote (web based notes)
- Remember the Milk (web based tasks and reminders)
- iPhone 4S with Siri (digital personal assistant)
- GoToMeeting (meeting and collaboration)
- Skype (chat and video conferencing)
- Google+ Hangouts (chat and video conferencing)
Fraud is a risk that most everyone is aware of in business, but it is addressed in different manners by different people at different times. This type of inconsistency can lead to holes in your company’s protection against fraud. Taking a look at the risks is the first step in addressing the issue, and payroll fraud prevention is the focus today.
Who doesn’t want a raise? It’s a nice feeling when you receive a paycheck that is a bit larger than the prior one. But when that paycheck or bonus was not approved or authorized, management will probably take issue when you cash that check. Within your business, you should be aware of the following schemes and how they might be perpetrated. Otherwise, how will you act to detect such frauds or prevent them from occurring in the future?
Abuse of Authority
Most types of fraud involve someone taking advantage of their role to scam the system. Supervisors are responsible for others and so have authority over approvals. But supervisors also need to answer to their managers. The question is: are managers of supervisors monitoring behavior or just trusting that the right things are being done? And are supervisors checking up on their employees to ensure that the right things are being done? Continue reading »
The nonprofit financial reporting model could soon receive a face lift as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) recently announced in November 2011 two agenda projects aimed at reevaluating and improving the financial reporting model for nonprofit organizations. The addition of these projects to the FASB agenda resulted from recommendations by FASB’s Not-For-Profit Advisor Committee (NAC).
The two projects include a standard-setting project and a research project:
1. Standard-Setting Project:This project will evaluate the current standards of financial statement presentation and note disclosures of nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on methods to improve transparency and usefulness for financial statement users.The FASB will evaluate the current net asset classifications used in financial statements based on commentary from the NAC that certain categories might be confusing to users of financial statements.
In addition, the project will examine liquidity, financial performance, and cash flow information included in the financial statements and note disclosures. The NAC had previously noted that accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. does not always lend itself to liquidity transparency for creditors and recommended that the FASB evaluate the presentation in the financial statements and notes. The committee also recommended that the FASB evaluate the form of the financial statements and focus on improving the presentation of operating versus non-operating financial performance within certain statements. Continue reading »
The holiday shopping season has come and gone as many retailers had strong sales. Equally, if not more successful, were the many online retailers. With all the chaos that occurs in stores during the holiday season, it is no wonder why online shopping is becoming more and more popular. Add to that, the convenience and selection are often unmatched by the traditional “brick and mortar” stores. People also find that many online retailers do not charge sales tax, and instantly people believe they have an automatic 6% savings. Although sales tax due may not be required to be paid to the vendor at the time of your online purchase that does not mean tax is not due to Pennsylvania.
In recent months, there has been a tremendous amount of attention focused on the collection of sales and use tax between states. Much of the attention comes in the wake of budget shortfalls, where governments are looking to be more aggressive in collecting the tax owed to them. Pennsylvania has recently been considering more efficient ways to collect use tax. Use tax generally applies to the same items that would have been charged sales tax, but were not charged sales tax at the time of the transaction. Some vendors, including many internet-only vendors, are not required to collect sales tax in Pennsylvania because they do not have a physical presence in the Commonwealth, but that does not relieve the consumer from the obligation to remit use tax for “use” of the product or service in the state. Continue reading »
McKonly & Asbury is pleased to announce the promotions of several of our team members, effective January 1st. Eight M&A team members were promoted, as well as four Financial Outsourcing Solutions team members. Please join us in congratulating these team members!
McKonly & Asbury – Principal
Janice Snyder, CPA (Camp Hill – Audit) joined M&A in 2010. She specializes in serving healthcare entities, continuing care retirement communities, for profit companies (manufacturing, distribution, and services), and other not-for-profit organizations. Ms. Snyder assists clients with implementation of new accounting pronouncements, interpretation and adoption of US accounting standards and IFRS, acquisition/merger accounting, internal controls evaluations, and employee benefit plan audits. She serves on the Advisory Committee for the Women’s Leadership Network of the United Way of the Capital Region and sits on the Board of Directors for Tri-County OIC and the Ronald McDonald House of Central Pennsylvania.
Daniel Sturm, CPA (Camp Hill – Audit) joined M&A in 2007. Mr. Sturm is a key leader of the firm’s external audit segment serving middle-market, closely held businesses. His industry focus includes manufacturing, insurance, construction, and nonprofits. Mr. Sturm also serves as the firm’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Services Coordinator. He is a member of the Maryland and American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.
Welcome to the M&A News Site!
Posts From All M&A News Sites
- Firm Billings Continue Rise in December
- Achieving World-Class Cost Optimization
- Construction Backlog Declines in Fourth Quarter But Remains Up Over Prior Year
- Register Today for McKonly & Asbury’s Free “Lean Operations/Overhead for Small to Mid-Sized Companies” Webinar
- Construction Productivity Improves, as Companies Do More with Fewer People, FMI Survey Says
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