Rick Ubinger, B2B CFO®
Providing CFO services in Pittsburgh, PA and surrounding areas

President Obama wants to repeal the LIFO method of accounting as part of his 2013 budget proposal. See what other changes may be in store in the attached article.

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20125148.htm

Should business owners engage advisors to help solve their business issues? If you don’t, you are in the majority according to the attached article.

http://registeredrep.com/news/what_advisors_should_know_about_the_small_business_owner_market_1213/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/business/smallbusiness/when-should-a-small-business-hire-a-chief-financial-officer.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

I frequently remind my clients that forecasts or budgets are wrong as soon as the results are printed.  We all have a hard time predicting what will happen tomorrow.  Therefore, how can we accurately predict what will happen 3, 6 or even 12 months from now?  The attached article provides some useful guidelines on how to use the forecasting process to help your business succeed.

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Oct/20114354.htm

Fraud can destroy a business in seconds. Everyone agrees that the best preventive measure is to establish a sound “tone at the top”. Here is an excellent article from the Journal of Accountancy to help you understand some very basic principles to protect your company from fraudulent activities.

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Aug/20113924.htm

Today, many small business owners have found financing through asset-based lending facilities. Here is an article from the Journal of Accountancy that explains the basics of this popular method of securing financing for your business.

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Aug/20113992.htm

The newly passed and signed 2010 Tax Act, formally named the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, includes several provisions that will affect taxpayers. Here is the information you need to know now about this legislation, formally named the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.

Major Provisions
The new law
• postpones the sunset of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts;
• reduces the estate tax;
• extends unemployment benefits;
• includes an alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch;
• continues through 2012 the lower capital gains tax rate introduced by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003; and
• extends for two years the repeal of the itemized deduction phase-out and the personal exemption phase-out.

Provisions That May Affect You
Estate Tax
The Act temporarily reinstates the estate tax, with an estate tax rate of 35% and an estate tax exemption of $5 million (adjusted for inflation after 2011).

Payroll Tax

For 2011, the Act reduces the rate for the Social Security portion of payroll taxes to 10.4% by reducing the employee rate from 6.2% to 4.2%. The employer’s portion remains 6.2%.

Family
The Act extends several expired or expiring provisions affecting families, including the following:

• The increased standard deduction for married taxpayers filing jointly, which is scheduled to expire after 2010, continues for two years.
• The $1,000 child tax credit amount continues for two years instead of reverting to $500.
• The increased starting and ending points for the earned income credit continues for two years.
• The $3,000 amount for the child and dependent care credit, which was scheduled to revert to $2,400 after 2010, continues for two years.
• The American Opportunity Tax Credit continues for two years.

The Act also makes adjustments to the gift exclusion and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax that will affect family giving:

• The federal gift tax exemption is increased to $5 million for 2011 and 2012, up from $1 million in 2010.
• The GST tax exemptions are set at $5 million for 2011 and 2012. The exemption limit is scheduled to drop to $1 million beginning in 2013.

Business

The Act extends the 100% bonus depreciation for business property acquired after September 8, 2010, before January 1, 2012, and placed in service before January 1, 2012 (or before January 1, 2013, in the case of certain property). It also sets the expensing limitation under IRC §179 at $125,000 and the phase-out threshold amount at $500,000 for 2012. The Act then reduces these amounts to $25,000 and $200,000 for tax years beginning after 2012.

The temporary 100% exclusion of gain from the sale of certain small business stock under IRC §1202, enacted by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, is extended through 2011.

AMT
The Act includes an AMT patch for 2010 and 2011.

• For 2010, the AMT exemption amounts will be $47,450 for unmarried individuals and $72,450 for married individuals filing jointly.
• For 2011, the amounts will be $48,450 and $74,450, respectively.

Needless to say, the 2010 Tax Act is still very new. It is only just being analyzed by professional advisers. The law is potentially subject to modifications by technical correction acts. In addition, provisions of the law may be interpreted by the Treasury Department issuing regulations and by the IRS issuing forms and instructions.
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This material was compiled by Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP, JD

B2B CFO NAMED IN PRESTIGIOUS INC. 5000 LIST

184% Growth Earns B2B CFO Spot in the 2010 List of Fastest
Growing Companies in America

Phoenix, Ariz. August 24, 2010 – B2B CFO, nation’s largest
provider of CFO services to small businesses, has been named to the
prestigious Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America.



Now in its 29th year, Inc. Magazine’s annual ranking judges US-based
and privately held companies by their revenue growth. This year’s
list was ranked on the percentage in revenue increase from
2006-2009. B2B CFO’s growth earned 84th place in its industry.

“There are approximately 27 million small businesses in the U.S.
today,” said Jerry L. Mills, founder and chief executive officer of
B2B CFO, “It is a huge honor to be among the fastest growing and the
most successful businesses in the country. Our firm has experienced
tremendous growth over the past few years and we are on track to
continue expanding. I am especially grateful to all of the firm’s
dedicated Partners who continue to advocate our services around the
nation.”

In a personalized letter congratulating B2B CFO on this
accomplishment, Jane Berenston, editor-in-chief of Inc. Magazine’s
wrote “Congratulations: your company, B2B CFO, has made the 2010
list of the fastest growing private companies in America. This
achievement puts you in rarefied company, especially if you consider
that over 27 million businesses are registered in the USA. The elite
group you’ve now joined has, over the years, included companies such
as Microsoft, Timberland, Visa, Intuit, Jamba Juice, Oracle, and
Zappos.com. I look forward to congratulating you in person in
Washington, D.C.”

B2B CFO’s growth is reflected in numerous awards this year. The
company was also recently named in ACE Corporate Growth Awards,
which recognized the most successful and fastest growing companies
in Arizona.
In August 2010, B2B CFO has grown to 170 Partners across 39 states,
representing 5,000 years of cumulative experience. Each Partner is a
seasoned financial executive who serves as CFO to growing businesses
on as-needed basis. Approximately 80% of the Partners have a
background that includes senior executive positions at the Big Four,
and all of the Partners have held high level executive finance
positions in various industries in corporate America. Together, B2B
CFO Partners work with more than 500 businesses in the nation with
combined annual sales of more than $3 Billion.

Jerry L. Mills and many of the B2B CFO Partners regularly dedicate
time to educate business owners on financial matters. Mills is a
frequent speaker and contributor and has been featured on many
national media networks including FOX Business, Fortune Small
Business, Smart Money and many others. Mills is also the author of
The Danger Zone – Lost in the Growth Transition, and Avoiding The
Danger Zone – Business Illusions, both business non-fiction books
that help entrepreneurs understand and build a strong financial
strategy.

“We look forward to participating in the Inc. 500|5000 conference in
Washington, DC this fall,” added Mills. “Along with my colleagues, I
look forward to the October 2nd awards ceremony and to meeting the
entrepreneurs that created the other 5000 fastest growing companies
in America.”

About Inc. Magazine

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc.
is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners
and managers of growing private companies that delivers real
solutions for todays innovative company builders. Inc. provides
hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people,
finances, sales, marketing, and technology.

Inc. Magazine’s 29th annual Inc. 5000 ranking of the fastest-growing
private companies in the country is available online at
www.inc.com/inc5000/list

About B2B CFO

Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the firm was founded in 1987 by
Jerry L. Mills. B2B CFO is the nation’s largest CFO firm serving
entrepreneurial, growth and mid-market companies with revenue under
$75 million. The firm’s partners have an average of 25 years of
experience and each individual partner is a senior level executive
with a broad range of expertise. Please visit online at
http://www.b2bcfo.com/