Recent News

Selling your business? You might benefit from presale financial due diligence

If you’re contemplating a sale of your business, you probably know that any serious buyer will scrutinize your financial statements, operations, assets and legal agreements. Conducting your own due diligence now can smooth the buyer review process and ease deal negotiations. Working with financial and legal advisors, you’ll have the opportunity to fix any problems before your business goes on the market. Anticipate Buyer Scrutiny The primary goal of presale due diligence is to evaluate the quality and sustainability of earnings, identify risks, and normalize financial results before giving prospective buyers access to the company’s books. Financial advisors look for...

To maximize — or not to maximize — depreciation deductions on your 2025 tax return

The deadlines for filing 2025 tax returns (or extensions) are fast approaching. Although most tax planning moves must be completed by December 31 of the tax year, there are some decisions you can make when filing your return that can save taxes now or in the future. One such decision is whether to claim accelerated depreciation breaks. Depreciation Basics For assets with a useful life of more than one year, the cost generally must be depreciated over a period of years (unless accelerated depreciation breaks are available). In other words, taxpayers can deduct only a portion of the asset’s cost...

Advisory boards provide family businesses with independent perspectives

Does your family business keep its strategic decisions within the family? It’s common for family businesses to assign relatives to positions of authority and require other employees to defer to them. But “common” doesn’t necessarily mean “good.” Not only is outside input recommended, but it can help reduce the risk of certain problems (such as unaccountability and fraud) and promote long-term financial health. Here’s how your family business might benefit from an advisory board made up primarily of nonfamily members. A Consulting Body An advisory board serves only in a consulting capacity. So it doesn’t carry the fiduciary responsibilities or...

Consider these issues before providing (or reimbursing) mobile phones

For many employees, mobile phones are no longer a perk — they’re an essential business tool. However, issuing company phones or reimbursing employees for use of their personal devices can create hidden security risks, unexpected tax consequences and productivity concerns for business owners. Here are some key issues to consider before rolling out or revising your company’s mobile phone policy. Security risks In general, the biggest security risk associated with mobile phones is that they may lack robust protections against phishing, malware and other cyberthreats. Hackers could use an employee’s phone to access your business’s IT network, leading to theft...

Tax filing update for pass-through entities

Do you operate a business as a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC) treated as a partnership for tax purposes or an S corporation? In tax lingo, these are called “pass-through” entities because their taxable income items, tax deductions and tax credits are passed through to their owners and taken into account on the owners’ federal income tax returns. These entities generally don’t owe any federal income tax themselves. Here are some important things to know about tax filing for pass-through entities. March 16 deadline Even though pass-through entities generally don’t owe federal income tax at the entity level, they...

Is it time for your business to start outsourcing?

As a small to midsize business grows, demands on its time, talent and resources inevitably expand right along with it. Many business owners reach a point where continuing to do everything in-house — or even themselves — begins to slow progress or expose the company to unnecessary risk. Have you reached this point yet? If so, or even if you’re getting close, outsourcing could be a smart move. Common candidates Many business activities can be outsourced. The key is identifying functions that, if handled by an external provider, would improve efficiency, strengthen compliance, and give you and your team more...