Category: Tax Law Offices

Many attorneys have their practices in a home office, although it can be argued that a majority of “high powered” lawyers run their business predominantly from multi-floored office buildings found in our nation’s towns and cities. Some tax accountants and prepares work from a home office and others from commercial spaces like storefronts and office buildings.

  • Accounting Outsourcing

    A case for delegating

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    Delegating the flow of finances to professionals in a cost-efficient way may be the best thing you can do for your growing business because, as an owner or manager, you know that business is composed of a set of interrelated systems that will ensure the smooth flow of transactional processes and efficiently convert capital into revenue. It is therefore important for a business owner to consider each component as if it is just an existing process inside the controlling system.

    Of utmost importance and consideration is the attention and care which must be given to each process component; this includes the accounting process. That is why we have tax lawyers; and it is also why we have public accountants and financial managers.

    The accounting process

    It is the measurement and disclosure of essential financial information that will help public accountants, financial managers, tax authorities, investors, and other decision-makers to effectively allocate their financial resources to each business process, thus maximizing the conversion of a business’ working capital to substantial revenue.

    Accounting involves processes in which important financial information of a particular business is recorded, summarized, evaluated, and interpreted. Furthermore, since money is one of the biggest factors that may affect the existence of a business in a certain market, accounting is given the utmost attention and consideration at all times.

    In accounting alone, there are several aspects that a business owner must consider. As such s/he must be attentive to the cost accounting, the cash-basis accounting, the financial accounting, the internal fund accounting, the management accounting and the project accounting, as well as a few other aspects of the business.

    And the list expands more

    In other words, one might conclude that accounting is a serious and critical matter that must be handled by a group of people who have the technical expertise in dealing with the accounting as well as financial issues. Understanding this reality, more and more business organizations hand the accounting aspects of their business process to third-party organizations, most commonly known as accounting outsourcing.


    Accounting outsourcing is considered to be one of the more effective management tool, which is why many companies often incorporate outsourcing as one of their strategies in business planning. As a matter of fact, the Outsourcing Institute reported that the concept of a CRO (Chief Resource Officer), a professional outsourcing executive manager, is widely-acceptable in larger corporate organizations.

    For businesses large and small

    However, you need not to be a large corporation to benefit from accounting outsourcing, because even small and medium-sized enterprises can provide better service and produce high-quality products in a more cost-efficient way if they will outsource their non-core business processes, including the accounting aspect. By decreasing the demands on your administrative personnel, you will be able to free them from additional responsibilities and they will better be able to support areas directly impacting your sales and clients, as well as to the marketing tasks of your business.

    Accounting outsourcing firms can execute your accounting and bookkeeping tasks in all frequencies (monthly, quarterly, and annually) or can supplement your present administrative staff to lessen the responsibility. Following is a summary of the services you can expect by outsourcing your company’s accounting process.

    • Preparing cash disbursement checks;
    • Preparing input credits and bank deposits;
    • Preparing company payroll;
    • Preparing tax deposits and bank reconciliation;
    • Preparing financial statements;
    • Preparing payroll tax returns; and
    • Evaluation and review of financial results on different frequencies.

    With accounting outsourcing, you will be able to reap the benefits of having a cost-efficient business operation. And with your accounting process at the hands of outsourcing professionals, you can direct your focus to the core functions of your business and convert every cent of your working capital into thousands of dollars in generated revenues and profits.

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  • Cheap Prices and Buying Tips


    Low-budget items

    If you own or manage an office-based business (accounting, law, real estate, etc.), the price you pay for a good office chair should be in the range of $250 to $350; and even though the price of top-of-the-line office chairs can range in the thousands of dollars, they are usually no more comfortable than a $300 dollar chair. One reason for this is the high cost of the particular brand name tacked on to the item and not the item itself.

    Many office businesses are forced to operate on a budget and, as such, cannot afford to spend a lot of money on office chairs, especially when less expensive chairs are available for around 100 dollars per model. One example of where lower-priced chairs can be found is Global and Wallace, a company which often has the lowest-priced (or best low-budget) office chairs available. However, as a low-budget office chair buyer, you should be aware of the pros and cons involved.

    Ask about repairs & discounts

    Whenever repairs are required for your office chairs, you should ask if parts can be replaced; and if parts have to be shipped to your office, you should also find out who is responsible for shipping charges, as such charges be quite expensive. On the other hand, if shipping is not required you’ll need to find out about delivery, including date, time and whether the delivery company is owned and operated by the selling company or an independent company.

    Discounting is very prevalent among office furniture dealers, such that even if your purchase is limited to only one office chair, you can still get up to a 30 percent discount off the suggested retail price. As a condition of such discounting, the more office chairs you buy you can expect to get ever increasing discounts on those purchases.

    It is therefore always a smart decision to buy your office chairs in bulk; especially if you have a lot of employees, in which case you’ll save hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars. Saving money is something everyone likes to do, especially when it comes to their business offices and the furniture which must necessarily adorn it.

    Trials

    Another aspect of office chair purchases has to do with trials, in the sense that when you intend to make a substantial purchase of office chairs at one time, you should ask for a few trial chairs to be brought to your office prior to your decision to close the deal. This way, you can get your employees input by letting them vote for the chairs they like best; because even though a standard chair will be sufficient for most people, it may be necessary to purchase other chairs as well.

    For example, taller people will need special chairs, as well as those employees who weigh a little more (or a lot more) than the average individual. No one chair will work for everyone, as the human body comes in various different shapes and sizes.

    Maximizing comfort

    You can purchase your chairs either locally, or online based on your preference; but due to the increased selection available online you may be able to get them at cheaper prices, although you still have to worry about shipping charges. Buying locally allows you to physically feel the chairs, sit in them and test their sturdiness; and in this sense buying local may be the best; even if you are buying many different office chairs it may be beneficial but delivery will still be necessary.

    Those planning on getting the most from their office and employees should look into the most comfortable office chairs for the money. Employees will feel and work much better with comfortable chairs, which is reason enough to make the investment while getting the best quality chairs without having to lay out extra dollars for a manufacturers brand name.

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  • Job Search Tips for Sales Professionals


    Sales pros

    Each industry has a variety of specific requirements that an employee has to meet, and while a professional sales person may not always be considered an “employee,” depending on the company or organization with which s/he is associated, there are industry-specific requirements which they must meet also.

    That having been said, sales professionals in search of positions in their industry of choice must always be as prepared as possible in such a competitive environment as professional sales. So, to assist you in preparing for a highly sought-after and rewarding position – including a confident and effective interview – the information provided on this page might be of some value.

    Research

    In order to be prepared on your interview, you should learn important facts about the company beforehand.

    • The internet is one of the best ways to search for information; and most companies provide their own informational websites. Study the content of the company’s website; know their histories, goals, and information about the top executives.
    • By using search engines on the Internet, you could also obtain news about such things as progress the company has made, its past projects and issues, and organizations in which it has a membership, or to which it makes regular contributions.
    • Review the stock market chart of the company. Since majority of shares are publicly traded, you could examine recent stock prices and learn its successes and difficulties of its market performances over the past years. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of a company will help you in the interview.
    • Get as much information as possible about its competitors. When you read articles about the market space, you will find out who are the leaders in that particular market and you will then find that company’s competitors. Having this knowledge could help you during the interview since you will be able to intelligently discuss why that company is better (more appealing?) than its competitors.

    Attitude

    Having the right attitude towards the interview and the job itself would go a long way in ensuring the position is yours.

    • Majority of successful sales professionals have a unique energy that you can feel. They command a presence and has the unique ability to hold an audience’s attention. Be energetic about the job and interview.
    • Be enthusiastic also, since it is said that enthusiasm is contagious. Because you have done your research about the company and its competitors, those tasked with interviewing you will appreciate your enthusiasm and interest about the position.

    Preparation

    The position you desire could be yours as long as you show up prepared.

    • Create a presentation by researching the products and services of the company. Be prepared to speak directly and intelligently about the company’s products/services, activities, industry and leadership.
    • Provide statistics and industry related facts in your presentation. This goes to show that, not only are you enthusiastic about the job, but you are also aware of the industry as a whole.
    • An undeniable fact about a position or career in sales is that, it is numbers-oriented. If you are asked about your ability to deal with numbers, simply provide them with production reports, past employment lists or a W-2 form of your yearly earnings.

    By successfully performing these basic steps, your coveted sales job could be yours in just a handshake a broad smile and reassuringly confident attitude.

    As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

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  • Monetizing Your Traffic for Maximum Profit


    Customers generated from traffic

    Establishing your own E-commerce site is not like what it used to be. There are thousands of competitive sites doing everything possible to get a bigger share of the profit pie. So every scheme, method and technique you can find to augment your sales must be utilized in order to derive any benefit or achieve what can reasonably be considered success.

    We obviously have to admit to ourselves that most of us are in it for the money, otherwise why would we go about wasting our time, effort and money just for the fun of it. Of course we also must understand that while some of us take a measured approach, many others would not wait very long to see their profits. They would never take things lightly or take the measured approach because they are bent on grabbing an ever bigger portion of the profit pie.

    So what is this commodity that gives any one business a competitive edge over another? Customers! It is common knowledge that without customers we have no business, because without customers to buy our product or service we can’t get sales which is ultimately the fuel that powers the engine of your business, mine and any other.

    In Internet terms, large numbers of customers are generally referred to as traffic which represents all the people that get a chance to see what you have to offer, and it is therefore reasonable to conclude that the more people who see your products/services, the more people might decide to buy them.

    Seldom does anybody put up an E-commerce without expecting to make a profit, especially when there is startup capital that needs to be recovered. With a consistent traffic flow, we may at least have a fighting chance to achieve that profitability, and monetizing your traffic would optimize your chances of making the best out of it.

    Making money out of your traffic

    The best and most proven method of making a profit out of your traffic is using advertising. The Internet generates hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of traffic streams everyday and most of them are searching for something. While some are just looking for information there is also a good percentage that is shopping for something that they need.

    The Internet has proven to be a very reliable source of finding what was once deemed to be a very unsearchable products and in this respect, the internet has made the world a smaller place; you can advertise a product from the depths of Istanbul and still find a buyer from the center of Philadelphia or Beijing.

    Generating traffic is not an easy task though. You have to contend with a great number of sites to generate a reasonably satisfactory traffic flow; but if done correctly this could open up a Pandora’s Box of possibilities with one of the benefits derived is the monetization of your traffic flow.

    So, to get to the core of it the more traffic you generate the more likely you are considered a desirable, desirable, in a sense that a good traffic flowing site is easily convertible to profit. Basically traffic equals profit. Advertising is the name of the game; with a good advertising scheme you can use your traffic flow to your advantage.

    When you have above average traffic you’ll most likely have an above average potential to grab what can be considered a respectable share of customers that are willing to pour money into your coffers. Other than those who will buy from you directly, there are also those that can be redirected to sponsored links that are willing to pay you for a sizable portion of the traffic that you have generated.

    This scheme is called “pay-per-click”. With every click a visitor of your site makes on an advertised link you will be paid. The more traffic you generate and the more clicks that occurs would result in more profits.

    Traffic from affiliate programs

    Another method of monetizing your traffic is the utilization of affiliate programs. You can link up with other tried and tested sites and online companies and monetize your traffic by having a percentage of sales generated by traffic coming from your site. The basic idea is, traffic generated from your site will go to another site which can offer a product or service that you do not carry. Many programs can keep track and make records of transactions that was made possible because of this site linkage.

    When purchases are made by customers that sent by your site to their site you get a percentage of that sale. Affiliate programs would give you the benefit of monetizing your traffic without the actual need to carry or promote a certain product.

    There are so many ways and methods to monetize your traffic with the only requirement being a bit of hard work and the desire to successfully launch a profit-generating site. The Internet is a veritable source of information, tips and guides which are offered everywhere on how to monetize your traffic and make your site a good profit producer. Ultimately a traffic-generating site is a profit-producing site.

  • What does an audit report contain?

    Most audit reports on financial statements give the business a clean bill of health, or a clean opinion. At the other end of the spectrum, the auditor may state that the financial statements are misleading and should not be relied upon. This negative audit report is called an adverse opinion. That’s the big stick that auditors carry.

    Auditors have the power to give an adverse opinion and no business wants that. The threat of an adverse opinion almost always motivates a business to give way to the auditor and change its accounting or disclosure practices in order to avoid getting the kiss of death of an adverse opinion.

    An adverse audit opinion says that the financial statements of the business are misleading. The SEC does not tolerate adverse opinions by auditors of public businesses; it would suspend trading in a company’s stock share if the company received an adverse opinion from its CPA auditor.

    One modification to an auditor’s report is very serious – when the CPA firm says that it has substantial doubts about the capability of the business to continue as a going concern. A going concern is a business that has sufficient financial wherewithal and momentum to continue its normal operations into the foreseeable future and would be able to absorb a bad turn of events without having to default on its liabilities.

    A going concern does not face an imminent financial crisis or any pressing financial emergency. A business could be under some financial distress but overall still be judged a going concern. Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the CPA auditor assumes that the business is a going concern. If an auditor has serious concerns about whether the business is a going concern, these doubts are spelled out in the auditor’s report.

    Is there any wonder as to why business owners petrified by the dreaded audit? Both SEC and IRS are vested with tremendous power over your public or private business; and a report or ruling by one or the other is enough to render any business – that is the subject of one of their audits – non-existent, if that business fails to conform with certain acceptable accounting principles.


  • Some Operating And Accounting Costs A Business Incurs


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    Direct & indirect costs

    Direct costs are those costs that can be directly attributed to a product or product line, or to one source of sales revenue, or one business unit or operation of the business. An example of a direct cost would be the cost of tires on a new automobile.

    Indirect Costs are very different and can’t be attached to any specific product, unit or activity. The cost of labor or benefits for an auto manufacturer is certainly a cost, but it can’t be attached to any one vehicle. Each business has to devise a method of allocating indirect costs to different products, sources of sales revenue, business units, etc.

    Most allocation methods are less than perfect, and generally end up being arbitrary to one degree or another. Business managers and accounts should always keep an eye on the allocation methods used for indirect costs and take the cost figures produced by these methods with a grain of salt.

    Fixed & variable costs

    Fixed Costs are those costs that stay the same over a relatively broad range of sales volume or production output. They’re like an albatross around the neck of business and a company must sell its product at a high enough profit to at least break even.

    Variable Costs can increase and decrease in proportion to changes in sales or production level. Variable costs vary proportionately with changes in production

    Relevant & irrelevant costs

    Relevant Costs are essentially future costs that could be incurred, depending on what strategic course a business takes. If an auto manufacturer decides to increase production, but the cost of tires goes up, than that cost needs to be taken into consideration.

    Irrelevant Costs are those that should be disregarded when deciding on a future course of action. They’re costs that could cause you to make a wrong decision. Whereas relevant costs are future costs, irrelevant costs are those costs that were incurred in the past. The money’s gone.

  • Where Did Corporate Accounting Integrity Go?


     

    When a corporation deliberately conceals or skews information to appear healthy and successful to its shareholders, it has committed corporate or shareholder fraud. Corporate fraud may involve a few individuals or many, depending on the extent to which employees are informed of their company’s financial practices. Directors of corporations may fudge financial records or disguise inappropriate spending.

    Fraud committed by corporations can be devastating, not only for outside investors who have made share purchases based on false information, but for employees who, through 401ks, have invested their retirement savings in company stock. Some recent corporate accounting scandals have consumed the news media and ruined hundreds of thousands of lives of the employees who had their retirement invested in the companies that defrauded them and other investors.

    The nuts and bolts of some of these accounting scandals are as follows:

    WorldCom admitted to adjusting accounting records to cover its operation costs and present a successful front to shareholders. Nine billion dollars in discrepancies were discovered before the telecom corporation went bankrupt in July of 2002. One of the hidden expenses was $408 million given to Bernard Ebbers (WorldCom’s CEO) in undisclosed personal loans.

    At Tyco, shareholders were not informed of the $170 million in loans that were taken by Tyco’s CEO, CFO, and chief legal officer. The loans, many of which were taken interest free and later written off as benefits, were not approved by Tyco’s compensation committee. Kozlowski (former CEO), Swartz (former CFO), and Belnick (former chief legal officer) faced continuing investigations by the SEC and the Tyco Corporation, which is now operating under Edward Breen and a new board of directors.

    At Enron, investigations against uncovered multiple acts of fraudulent behavior. Enron used illegal loans and partnerships with other companies to cover its multi-billion dollar debt. It presented erroneous accounting records to investors, and Arthur Anderson, its accounting firm, began shredding incriminating documentation weeks before the SEC could begin investigations.

    Money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, and securities fraud are just some of the indictments directors of Enron have faced and will continue to face as the investigation continues, and someone is made to pay for all the wrongdoing that inflicted a great deal of suffering on the very people that depended on these white collar criminals to protect their interests.