At Machen McChesney we are committed to Returning Value to you through our monthly e-newsletter, The Value Report.

Here you'll find regular tips to help with your business and personal finances, as well as strategies to grow and more efficiently run your organization. 

Table of Content

1. New Law Provides a Variety of Tax Breaks to Businesses and Employers
2. Wayfair Revisited - It's Time to Review Your Sales Tax Obligations
3. Nonprofits: Are You Ready For the New Contribution Guidance?
4. Employee Benefit Plans: Do You  Need a Form 5500 Audit?
5. New Rules Will Soon Require Employers to Annually Disclose Retirement Income to Employees
6. Cents-Per-Mile Rate for Business Miles Decreases Slightly for 2020
7. What Are the Responsibilities of an Audit Committee?
8. Accounting for Indirect Job Costs the Right Way
9. What's New at Machen McChesney

New Law Provides a Variety of Tax Breaks to Businesses and Employers

While you were celebrating the holidays, you may not have noticed that Congress passed a law with a grab bag of provisions that provide tax relief to businesses and employers. The “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” was signed into law on December 20, 2019. It makes many changes to the tax code, including an extension (generally through 2020) of more than 30 provisions that were set to expire or already expired. Continue reading.

Wayfair Revisited - It's Time to Review Your Sales Tax Obligations

In its 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld South Dakota’s “economic nexus” statute, expanding the power of states to collect sales tax from remote sellers. Today, nearly every state with a sales tax has enacted a similar law, so if your company does business across state lines, it’s a good idea to reexamine your sales tax obligations. Continue reading.

Nonprofits: Are You Ready For the New Contribution Guidance?

When the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated its rules for recognizing revenue from contracts in 2014, it only added to the confusion that nonprofits already had about accounting for grants and similar contracts. Continue reading.

New Rules Will Soon Require Employers to Annually Disclose Retirement Income to Employees

As you’ve probably heard, a new law was recently passed with a wide range of retirement plan changes for employers and individuals. One of the provisions of the SECURE Act involves a new requirement for employers that sponsor tax-favored defined contribution retirement plans that are subject to ERISA. Continue reading. 

Cents-Per-Mile Rate for Business Miles Decreases Slightly for 2020

This year, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business decreased by one-half cent, to 57.5 cents per mile. As a result, you might claim a lower deduction for vehicle-related expenses for 2020 than you can for 2019.2019 tax bill. Continue reading. 

What Are the Responsibilities of an Audit Committee?
Before you jump headfirst into the year-end financial reporting process, review the role independent audit committees play in providing investors and markets with high-quality, reliable financial information.. Continue reading.

Accounting for Indirect Job Costs the Right Way

Construction contractors, professional service firms, specialty manufacturers and other companies that work on large projects often struggle with job costing. Full cost allocations are essential to gauging whether you’re making money on each job. But some companies simply lump indirect job costs into overhead or fail to use meaningful cost drivers, thereby skewing their profit reports. Here’s what you should know to avoid this pitfall and get a clearer picture of your company’s profitability. Continue reading.

What's New at Machen McChesney?

Sponsorships, new hires, announcements
Continue reading. 

We hope you found value in The Value Report you've received this month. We look forward to finding even more ways to Return Value to you in the future.