Perspectives

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants defines forensic accounting as “(T)he ability to identify, collect, analyze, and interpret financial and accounting data and information; apply the relevant data and information to a legal dispute or issue; and render an opinion.” (1)
CPAs are often hired by clients and attorneys to conduct forensic accounting procedures in [...]

There have been numerous rumors surrounding whether Congress intends to eliminate discounts on transfers of family limited partnership interests and intra-family transfers of business interests. You may recall that the Pomeroy Bill proposed to eliminate these discounts. While this particular bill has not moved forward (and I understand is dead), it could come up in [...]

As a forensic accountant, I am involved in many different types of fraud investigations. Fraud in any organization can have a devastating effect on owners and employee.  In particular, fraud in small nonprofit organizations can be especially heartbreaking, as these organizations are often run by volunteers who are friends and neighbors.  Recently there have been [...]

In a split decision by the U.S. Tax Court (Suzanne J. Pierre v. Comm., 133 T.C. No. 2), the court dealt with the issue as to whether a single-member LLC is to be disregarded for transfer tax purposes (i.e., gift tax purposes), thus treating the gift as a direct gift of the underlying property of [...]

I recently read a short article in a business valuation newsletter regarding outsourcing valuation engagements.  The article pointed out some potential concerns with outsourcing this type of engagement. 
What really seemed interesting to me was the catalyst for the outsourcing.  The article suggested that fee pressures from clients were leading some BV firms to outsource as [...]

How do you balance a checkbook?   Does your 6-year-old child know the difference between a “want” versus a “need”.  Does your 10-year-old understand how businesses create products and earn profits? 
I am a volunteer for Junior Achievement, teaching principles of market-based economics and entrepreneurship in elementary schools.  Most people think Junior Achievement is taught in high [...]

  In the early 1980’s I had just become a partner in a 90-person Phoenix CPA firm.  I thought I had a pretty good idea of how to treat staff working for me – that is, from all the stuff I’d been taught in the management training courses I’d gone to, and from my own experiences [...]

The Census Bureau lists the population of Deadhorse at two. Current demographic information reflects only a few permanent residents. I can see why! This area, which is part of the North Slope of Alaska, is flat frozen tundra. There is not a tree in sight, only oil rigs, oil wells, pipelines, heavy equipment, support buildings, [...]

Our valuation work sometimes takes us to interesting places. Two weeks ago I traveled to Anchorage, Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, Alaska for a site visit and management interviews in connection with a valuation project. If you’ve seen the television show Ice Road Truckers, you might know that the truckers travel the Dalton Highway (the “haul [...]

With proper planning and execution, a leveraged ESOP can provide benefits to all parties of the transaction, including the company, the owners, the employees and lenders.
The Company
The most significant benefit for the company is the tax deduction for the contributions to the ESOP, which are essentially returned to the company and available to pay the [...]