You've probably been reading and hearing a lot lately about the Digital Age and how it's reshaping finance and management accounting professions. When we consider management accounting and its role in translating data, there is a brilliant future for organizations that decide to seize the opportunity. For many years, the aspirational vision of accounting has been focused on the compilation [...]
When a plane encounters turbulent weather in the air, the pilot and copilot have to collect and consider all the relevant data available and make the decision whether to fly through, over, or around the turbulence, making the best choice for the safety of the passengers. When business organizations respond to challenges of managing change, they too are faced with [...]
One of the more important provisions in the most recent tax overhaul, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December 2017, is the new section 199A, the deduction for qualified business income (QBI). Section 199A allows a deduction for up to 20% of QBI from partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), S corporations, trusts, [...]
Working capital is a simple concept because it's all about freeing up the company's cash. Unfortunately, many organizations face serious internal challenges that can interfere with their ability to do this. As they've discovered, it's one thing to recognize the need for working capital improvement and another to understand what steps to take to improve cash flow. Common challenges to [...]
No other process managed by Finance has as much potential to create or erode business value as FP&A. If done poorly, FP&A is an exercise in minimizing expectations and commitment, which in turn minimizes actual results. Since that activity takes organizational time and resources, it returns a negative return on investment (ROI). If done well, however, FP&A will drive business [...]
For mature companies, the budgeting process is of enormous importance. Each year, companies manage to introduce an item or two into their budgets to keep pace with the rapidly changing business environment. A solid budget generally includes a macroeconomic forecast for the upcoming year, a description of the business outlook, revenue forecasts by business segments, geography, product lines, etc. as [...]
Tackling Inventory Related Accounting Issues Whether your company is a manufacturer or a retailer, having accurate inventory helps you avoid inventory write-off, ensuring that aging inventory is addressed before expiration or obsolescence, which saves you space and money. Imagine if your largest customer places a significant order but the inventory system doesn’t accurately reflect stock counts. To fill the order, [...]
1. Corporate Tax (C-corps) Previously, income was taxed on a graduated basis with income over $10M at a rate of 35%. The overhaul revises this to a flat tax rate of 21%. Corporate AMT was also repealed. 2. Accounting Method The cash method of accounting has been expanded to include taxpayers with gross receipts averaging less than $25M in the [...]
