Featured Articles for Accounting, HR, Healthcare, Tax, and other Professional Services | LBMC - Tennessee Accounting & Professional Services

Featured LBMC Articles

Healthy Choices

CIGNA's Workplace Partners Program reinforces wellness messages in the workplace and encourages the understanding, adoption, and maintenance of health lifestyle choices. January’s topic is “Make the Choice to be Healthy”. The tools and resources below will help you and your employees focus on making healthy lifestyle choices and setting year-long health goals.

I. Healthy eating: Starting a plan for change

Joe Scarlett on Leading Through Lifelong Learning

This week, one of my early meetings consisted of attending the Nashville Chamber Small Business Council Informed and Inspired Speaker events at the Scarlett Leadership Institute at Belmont University. The speaker was Joe Scarlett, retired Chairman of Tractor Supply. Now, I signed up for this session because I knew Joe was speaking and I wanted to know more about him and because the topic interested me – Leading Through Lifelong Learning.

What will a President Obama mean to MY taxes?

With the current turbulent financial situation and a new chief executive preparing to take the oath of office in 76 days, many of us are wondering what impact our new President will have on our taxes.

IRS Proposed ISO and ESPP Regulations to Help Employees Calculate Taxes Owed on Stock Dispositions

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced proposed regulations under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section (§)6039 that would require information reporting when employees acquire shares upon the exercise of Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP). The information will assist taxpayers in calculating their tax obligations when they dispose of shares obtained by the exercise of a statutory option.

2008 Year-end Tax Planning for Individuals

November 19, 2008 - The end of 2008 is coming up fast. With the year drawing to a close, now is an ideal time to review your tax situation and evaluate strategies that may help minimize your tax bill. Once December 31 passes, your 2008 tax bill is essentially set. Taking certain steps before then can make a difference. How much you can save depends on your individual circumstances, but examination of the following general areas is worth a look -- in addition to considering the tax impact of any special circumstances in which you might find yourself this year.

Learn how to make everyone around you better!

by Allen Hovious

In the sports world you often hear it said of great players that they make everyone on the team better. Shouldn't businesspeople strive for the same high goal? Who in your organization succeeds time and again in every environment, taking the productivity of any group to a higher level? Look closely, and you'll find that he or she knows how to make everyone around them better.

The Value of Planning in Today’s Uncertain Environment

Today’s uncertain economic environment and dismal outlook requires managers to take a different view of their responsibilities. The pressing question is, “ What actions can I take that will provide an answer that will allow me to survive the uncertain times and simultaneously strengthen my business to a level that will allow me to take off quickly when the times get better. Our business experience has taken us through three significant recessions. Although you never know how deep or how long the current economic crisis it is being described as a potential disaster.

Standing Firm In Times of Turmoil

Most of the time, being a long-term investor is not such a difficult task. The stock market bumps along day-to-day, sometimes higher and sometimes lower, but the overall trend is decidedly upward. Investors who are patient and don't move their money in and out of the market are rewarded with steady gains in their portfolios. It is easy to think this is what "discipline" is all about when it comes to investing.

It's not.

Make Intelligent Financial Decisions For the Future of Your Business

The recent credit crisis is just a reminder of the importance and benefits of having a sound strategy that you can use to navigate through turbulent times. Please do not hesitate to ask us for objective guidance in helping you make intelligent financial decisions for the future of your business. We have prepared some tips to help you assess your current financial condition and start rethinking your business plan to face the current economic challenges.

Open Enrollment Survival Guide

With many company sponsored benefit plans renewing January 1, 2009, open enrollment season is here again. The following tips can help you to survive open enrollment and make it successful:

Beware of Scams!

As if companies don't have enough to deal with in complying with the various state regulations and tax laws, over the last few months there have been a number of scams detected in several states. It is very important for companies to closely scrutinize anything received from a state which may seem to be out of the ordinary. These scams usually come in the mail and seem to be official-looking documents. They generally request officer and director information and seem to require a filing fee by a specific date.

Sales/Use Tax Compliance Outsourcing – When does it make sense?

As a company expands, especially into multiple states, the area of sales/use tax compliance is among the many areas that take on added significance. Many growing companies unfortunately realize too late that at a certain point this minor area can grow into a time consuming headache for your staff. What was at one time an annual or quarterly filing of a few tax returns can turn overnight into a required monthly process with many returns and payments being required by the various taxing jurisdictions in which the company does business.

Proposed Changes to FASB #5 – FIN 48 for Sales/Use Tax Reserves?

So far businesses, regarding sales/use tax reserves and required disclosures, have escaped much of the regulatory fallout of the highly publicized accounting scandals of recent memory. FIN 48 of course was one of the direct reactions to those scandals which brought increased disclosure requirements and scrutiny of tax reserves for public companies regarding federal and state income taxes. In regard to sales/use tax reserves companies continued to rely on FASB #5 (Disclosure of Certain Loss Contingencies) for guidance in establishing such reserves.

Intangible Expenses Paid to Affiliates – Audit Program

The Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Audit Division has recently initiated an office audit program to review all franchise, excise tax returns with a deduction for intangible expenses paid to affiliated entities. The statute was changed effective January 1, 2004, to require the completion and submission of a disclosure form detailing the specifics of such expenses with the return in order to be able to deduct the expenses for excise tax purposes. Without the disclosure form, the deduction for such intangible expenses will be disallowed and additional excise tax will be assessed.

Job Tax Credit – Economically Distressed Counties

Effective July 1, 2008, there were a few significant changes to the list of Tennessee counties that are considered to be economically distressed within the three tiers of such counties. The most notable changes were for Davidson and Wilson Counties, which are now listed as economically distressed counties.

Voluntary Disclosure Agreements

As Certified Public Accountants, we sometimes are faced with giving clients the “bad news” about their state and local tax situation. We frequently run into clients that may not be in full compliance with tax laws in every state where they are doing business.

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