By Nick Sabbatini, CPA, Audit Manager
By now, we are all aware of the Coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on our lives, including the impact on businesses and the overall economy. Companies are working remotely, where possible. Disruptions to vendor and customer bases, market value declines and day-to-day changes in the global economy are also creating broad impacts to companies’ operations.
At this point, the general impacts on operations for most companies are known through media coverage and changes in our daily lives, but most of us may not be fully aware of the impact on financial reporting. We have summarized a few financial statement considerations: (more…)
By Laura Mays, Director of HR & Employee Development
Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has very quickly become the new normal for a lot of us. For some, it’s convenient to skip the commute and jump right into a day’s work, for others, it may be a little uncomfortable and challenging to juggle a work-life balance. Here are a few tips to help keep you productive while working from a home office: (more…)
Updated 3/30/20
Property Tax Payments Must be Paid April 10th — see details below
For the past few weeks, the world around us and our economy have been rapidly changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In reaction, the federal and state governments have instituted new programs and tax changes impacting both individuals and business entities. The changes being made by both federal and state governments are rapidly evolving in response to ever-changing conditions. Below are links to some of the latest information.
As always, the Partners and staff of ASL are here to support our clients and answer any questions or concerns. In this new virtual environment, our employees are working remotely to continue to serve our clients as usual.
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In December 2019, the Internal Revenue Service unveiled the final version of its new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. The new withholding form, which is mandatory for all employees hired in 2020, incorporates several major revisions and could require significant reprogramming of your company’s payroll systems. (more…)
UPDATE — The California Assembly is currently drafting Assembly Bill 1850 that seeks to clarify the rules and modify the exceptions for employee classification created by Assembly Bill 5 discussed below. Check back for further updates.
In 2018, the California Supreme Court rendered its decision in the Dynamex case that significantly altered the rules used to classify workers as employees or independent contractors. In an attempt to “simplify the rules” and “help” workers in the gig economy the California legislature passed, and the Governor signed, Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) in 2019. The bill codified the worker classification tests used by the California Supreme Court. Prior to the passage of AB 5 many industry lobbyists were busy in Sacramento getting exceptions and special rules included in AB 5. As a result, the worker classification rules are now very complex, have many exceptions and come with significant penalties for noncompliance. (more…)
For many businesses, one of the most attractive features of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the new Section 199A deduction for qualified business income (QBI). In practice, however, the QBI deduction has proven to be one of the TCJA’s more confusing provisions.
With one complete tax cycle behind us and some additional IRS guidance now available, this is a good time to review the law’s basic provisions and re-evaluate strategies for maximizing the QBI deduction for 2019. (more…)
While many changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) involved rewriting entire sections of the tax code, some of the most consequential changes resulted from a simple change in definition. By expanding the definition of a “small business,” the law enabled many companies to simplify their tax preparation—and often improve their cash flow as well. (more…)
It’s all but official. On October 16th, the FASB voted to approve delays for private companies on three new accounting standards, one of which is Leases. The expected Accounting Standards Update (ASU), on which FASB voting will be the official action to implement the deferrals, is expected in November. By the way, the other two standards deferred under this vote are “credit losses” (or CECL) and “hedging”. As the effective date draws closer, we will certainly be posting about CECL, since some aspects apply to all companies. (more…)
Well…it’s all but HERE! For those of you who were hoping it wouldn’t come, it is best to switch gears and consider how to best harness the change to your advantage. The alternative is to risk being left behind in a world where accountants become less known for routine detailed tasks and are more often thought of as insightful, intuitive and forward-thinking strategic assets.
Sound like hyperbole? Read on… (more…)
