Blog

News of commercial database hackings may seem commonplace in 2019. But while many of these stories focus on hacked bank and credit card accounts, 401(k) plan sponsors and participants probably don’t realize that their plan assets also are at risk. Employers who offer 401(k) plans to their employees need to take precautions against identity theft. Part of this is educating participants. Role of sponsors If your organization sponsors a 401(k)...

Read more
April 13, 2019

Congress has yet to tackle several outstanding uncertainties frustrating both businesses and individual taxpayers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), for example, contains several “glitches” requiring legislative fixes. Congress also has neglected to pass the traditional “extenders” legislation that retroactively extend certain tax relief provisions that expired at the end of an earlier year, in this case 2017. TCJA glitchesThe sprawling TCJA signed into law in late 2017 contains...

Read more
April 13, 2019

Protecting assets from creditors is a critical aspect of estate planning, but you need to think about more than just your own creditors: You also need to consider your heirs’ creditors. Adding spendthrift language to a trust benefiting your heirs can help safeguard assets. Spendthrift language explainedDespite its name, the purpose of a spendthrift trust isn’t just to protect profligate heirs from themselves. Although that’s one use for this trust...

Read more
April 13, 2019

Many organizations are adopting qualified transportation plans. Under these arrangements, employers contribute dollars toward mass transit expenses and allow employees to use pretax compensation reductions to pay for any additional qualified transportation expenses. A common conundrum of offering such a plan, however, is how to handle unused balances credited to terminated employees. Must they be immediately forfeited? Are employer and pretax compensation reductions subject to the same rules? Let’s take...

Read more
April 13, 2019

It’s every business owner’s nightmare. Should hackers gain access to your customers’ or employees’ sensitive data, the very reputation of your company could be compromised. And lawsuits might soon follow. No business owner wants to think about such a crisis, yet it’s imperative that you do. Suffering a data breach without an emergency response plan leaves you vulnerable to not only the damage of the attack itself, but also the...

Read more
April 13, 2019

It should come as no surprise that cash is the most popular target of fraud perpetrators. After all, once stolen, cash itself is virtually untraceable. But that doesn’t mean forensic accounting professionals can’t unearth cash fraud schemes — and the crooks behind them.   3 categories According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, there are three main categories of cash fraud (which includes checks because they’re easily converted to...

Read more
April 08, 2019

Charitable giving is a key part of estate planning for many people. If you have a collection of valuable art and are charitably minded, consider donating one or more pieces to receive tax deductions. Generally, it’s advantageous to donate appreciated property to avoid capital gains taxes. Because the top federal capital gains rate for art and other “collectibles” is 28%, donating art is particularly effective. Considerations before donatingIf you’re considering...

Read more
April 08, 2019

It’s no surprise that 360-degree performance evaluations have grown in popularity. We live and work in an age of data — the more, the better, to avoid inaccurate assessments based on biases or small sample sizes. Under the 360-degree model, an employee is evaluated by not only his or her supervisor, but also by direct reports (if applicable) and peers. Sometimes even vendors or customers, too. The result is a...

Read more
April 08, 2019

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) covers both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans. If your organization offers its employees either, you may feel like you’re constantly walking on eggshells trying to oversee all the regulatory details involved. One critical way to stay in compliance and avoid costly penalties is to ensure your plan operates consistently with its plan documents. Most important requirementAlthough abiding by your plan documents might sound...

Read more
April 03, 2019

Absenteeism has typically been a thorn in the side of many companies. But there’s a flip side to employees failing to show up to work: “presenteeism.” This is when employees come in to work unwell or put in excessive overtime. Now you probably appreciate and respect workers who are team players and go the extra mile. But employees who come to work when they aren’t operating at full physical or...

Read more
April 03, 2019