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COBRA Provisions Play Critical Role in COVID-19 Relief Law
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees and their families have lost group health plan coverage because of layoffs or reduced hours. If your business has had to take such steps, and it’s required to offer continuing health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)…
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EIDL Loans, Restaurant Grants Offer Relief to Struggling Small Businesses
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law in early March, aims at offering widespread financial relief to individuals and employers adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The law specifically targets small businesses in many of its provisions. If you own a small company, you may want to explore funding via the Small Business…
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4 Ways to Improve the Effectiveness of Your Audit Committee
Audit committees face many challenges in 2021. As the economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are new dimensions to the oversight roles and responsibilities of the audit committees. Consider taking these following four steps to fortify your committee’s effectiveness. 1. Focus on fundamentals Once you’ve wrapped up the financial reporting process for fiscal year…
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Updated Guidance for Impairment Testing: When to Consider Triggering Events
On March 30, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published an updated accounting standard on events that trigger an impairment test under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). This simplified alternative may provide relief to private companies and not-for-profit entities that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what you should know. Simplified…
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Launching a Small Business? Here are Some Tax Considerations
While many businesses have been forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some entrepreneurs have started new small businesses. Many of these people start out operating as sole proprietors. Here are some tax rules and considerations involved in operating with that entity. The pass-through deduction To the extent your business generates qualified business income…
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Business Highlights in the New American Rescue Plan Act
President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on March 11. While the new law is best known for the provisions providing relief to individuals, there are also several tax breaks and financial benefits for businesses. Here are some of the tax highlights of the ARPA. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC). This…
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Is an S Corporation the Best Choice of Entity for Your Business?
Are you thinking about launching a business with some partners and wondering what type of entity to form? An S corporation may be the most suitable form of business for your new venture. Here’s an explanation of the reasons why. The biggest advantage of an S corporation over a partnership is that as S corporation…
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Rebuilding Your Nonprofit’s Operating Reserves
Events of the past year put a dent in many not-for-profit’s reserves. Perhaps you tapped this stash to buy personal protective equipment or to pay staffers’ salaries when your budget no longer proved adequate. As the pandemic wanes and economic conditions improve, you’ll need to start thinking about rebuilding your operating reserves. Back on steady…
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Nonprofits: Hit your targets with benchmarking
How committed is your not-for-profit organization to benchmarking? Perhaps you think it makes sense in the for-profit sphere, but not as much for charities and other nonprofits. If so, you’re probably missing out on benefits — including long-term sustainability. Here’s how to overcome reluctance and learn to love benchmarking. True impact Even if your staff…
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New Legislation Proposes to Help “Rescue” Nonprofits
No one needs to tell nonprofit organizations how tough the past year has been. According to the John Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 7.7% of not-for-profit workers — nearly one million people — lost their jobs between February 2020 and January 2021. An even higher percentage of arts and education organizations lost jobs last…
