Cleveland Tax Accountant

This month's Special Delivery e-newsletter includes the following articles:

• Year-End Tax Planning
• InvestOhio Tax Credit REgistration Now Open: Quick Action Required
• Make 2012 a "Record Year" for Taxes
• Happy Trails: Getting Ready for Retirement
• How to Put Time on Your Side
• Group Workers' Compensation Programs
• Skoda Minotti Professional Receives Certified Exit Planning Advisor Credential

Year-End Tax Planning

Once again we find ourselves with the Holidays upon us and we wish you and your family all...

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, has been named a recipient of The Plain Dealer’s second annual Top Workplaces 2011 award, for the second year in a row. This honor was given to 132 companies, nonprofits and agencies in northeast Ohio companies this year, based strictly on survey results of their employees.

Survey results were gathered using an independent workplace consultant. Employees were asked to indicate, on a seven-point scale, how much they...

We are currently in search of a Bookkeeper for a Non-Profit client. This is a part-time position (21 hours/week)

Job summary:  Responsible for preparing client financial statements, monthly sales tax and payroll reports, quarterly payroll reports, and other associated bookkeeping services using QuickBooks.

Essential Functions:

• Prepare bank reconciliation.
• Prepare/input appropriate journal entries.
• Reconcile financial discrepancies by collecting and analyzing account information.
• Prepare appropriate...

Ohio recently enacted legislation creating two tax amnesty programs that may affect you or your business. 

Use Tax Amnesty Program

The first program is a change to the Ohio Use Tax Education Program. In case you are unaware, here is a quick refresher on Ohio use tax.

Use tax is a tax on the storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property and certain taxable services in Ohio. The use tax is a complement to the sales tax.   In general, if you have paid Ohio sales tax on an item,...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, has once again been named a World Class Customer Service award winner, as presented by Smart Business Magazine. With this year’s award, Skoda Minotti became one of only four companies to have won this award in each of the five years since its inception.

“At Skoda Minotti, a key component of our firm’s vision is to create a culture of continually improving client service,” says Skoda Minotti partner, Mike Trabert, CPA. “This...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm with offices in Cleveland and Akron, has been named a recipient of the 2011 Leading EDGE Award. Presented by Crain’s Cleveland Business and The Entrepreneur’s EDGE, this award recognizes companies that have consistently generated value to the Northeast Ohio economy over the past three years.

Uniquely positioned to provide business and financial advisory services to companies of differing sizes and industries...

Tax Analyst Job Description:

• Prepare and file international tax compliance forms and disclosures within the US federal income tax return, such as forms 5471, 8858, 1118, etc.. including calculations of Subpart F, foreign E&P, foreign tax credit and Section 987 within the required time limit established by the taxing authority.
• Assist as needed in the preparation and filing of foreign, federal, state and local income tax returns, and property tax returns within the required time limit established...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce one new hire to its Small Business Services Group:

Alexandra Goodrich – Goodrich joins the firm as paraprofessional in Skoda Minotti’s Small Business Services Group. In this role, she will provide outsourced bookkeeping support for the Kidney Foundation and Epilepsy Association in Cleveland, Ohio. Goodrich also currently works as bookkeeper for the Lake Humane Society.

Skoda Minotti’s Small Business Services Group assists small- to mid-size...

This issue of the Real Estate Monitor includes the following articles:

• Understanding the Energy Efficient Tax Deduction
• New Requirements for Asbestos Surveys from the Ohio Department of Health
• Housing: Affordability of Home Ownership
• Deductions: Passive Losses
• Mortgage Loans: New Rules
• Housing: Residential Ground Leases
• Securities: No Liability Under Securities Exchange Act
• Cleveland Market Overview

Understanding the Energy Efficient Tax Deduction

Skoda Minotti, along with CLS Facility Services, invites...

This issue of the Real Estate Monitor includes the following articles:

• Survey of Northeast Ohio's Construction & Real Estate Industries
• Communicating the Value of Development Projects Through Economic Impact Analysis
• The Outlook for Construction and Real Estate
• Commercial Real Estate: How Will Refinancing Take Place?
• Proposed New Accounting Rules
• Due Diligence: Purchase With Care
• Leases Checking: Property Tax Invoices 
• Upholding a Letter of Intent
• Cleveland Market Overview

Survey of Northeast Ohio's...

Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape or Part 2 to learn more about the accounting and tax ramifications of issuing stock options.

What To Do?

As discussed above, there are significant risks that a company brings upon itself if it decides to issue stock options without properly valuing the options and the equity of the company. Rather than issuing stock options, if a company wants to offer an employee the opportunity to obtain an ownership...

Accounting and Tax Ramifications of Issuing Stock Options

 Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape.

To give you more perspective, first let us review the accounting treatment for the issuance of stock options (rest easy - this will not be too painful). When stock options are issued, an expense must be recorded based on the value of the option. A stock option’s value is derived from a variety of factors, two of which are the value of the stock as of...

When selling your home, it is common to use an agent to list, promote and show the property. In exchange, you pay a portion of the sales price as a commission to the agent. The benefits of using an agent include: 1) the listing of your home in a database so that homebuyers can access information about it; 2) the agent acting as your middleman during the negotiation process; and 3) the incentive it gives the agent to sell your home quickly (so that her or she can earn their commission). 

Some peop...

With the passage of Health Care Reform, the big question is, "How will it affect my business?" SmartBusiness Cleveland recently hosted a webinar series which looked at this topic from five angles: tax implications, legal issues, economy, benefits, and health care.

Click here to download my segment which looked at how the accounting and tax implications of the health care reform will affect your business, and how you should react and adapt to absorb the changes.

For more information on how health...

It's like a game of hide and seek for wealthy Americans.  In 2001, the Internal Revenue Service estimated that Americans owed $345 billion more in tax than they paid, or about 14% of federal revenues from fiscal year 2001.  Where were these tax dollars hiding?  The U.S. government is betting a good portion is hiding in the Swiss Alps. 

In an unprecedented move, the Swiss Justice Department agreed to disclose the names of 4,450 UBS account-holders from 2001 to 2008 that contained more than...

In today’s economy, it is crucial to keep good tenants. The following nine points will help you maintain maximum occupancy in an uncertain environment:

1. Understand the tenant’s business. Research their industry so you can credibly talk about their business, and make them feel that you understand their concerns in today's economic conditions. 
2. Respond reasonably to rent relief or downsizing. This entails a two-step process consisting of listening to the request, and then formulating a personal...

Many of us probably remember Harvey Dent, aka “Two-Face,” from our childhoods as one of Batman’s arch enemies. He looked like a normal guy from one perspective, but from the other side, he was a bizarre-looking villain. While normalizing adjustments in business valuation may not be quite as exciting as watching Batman battle Two-Face, they bear a similarity to this comic book character.

The results of many companies as reported in financial statements or tax returns do not always reflect...

While the likely adoption International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a hot topic for accountants, many privately-held small and medium-sized business owners may not be aware of the potential changes on the horizon for financial reporting. The general consensus is that in the coming years, the U.S. will move to adopt IFRS in place of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as the governing standards for financial reporting, although no official date for conversion has been set...

Many companies are unaware of their obligation to obtain a use tax account and self remit use tax on a regular basis.  Companies should review their purchases for potential risk to use tax.  Reviewing a company's use-tax exposure is a specialized service tax we are able to offer to our clients.

Who does use tax affect?

Purchasers of tangible personal property or taxable services that are consumed, used or stored in Ohio can be subject to use tax when a vendor does not charge sales tax.   However,...

A business valuation is a just a business valuation – isn’t it? This would be akin to saying that a steak is just a steak when, in fact, there are ribeyes, strips, sirloins, and filets (just to name a few). Likewise, business valuations come in two distinct “flavors” – conclusions of value and calculations of value.

As of January 1, 2008, valuation analysts who hold either the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) credential supported by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts or...