Surviving a Business Tax Audit

I've watched all manner of people and clients freak out about audits. This seems to get especially bad around tax time. One of my colleagues writes a great newsletter and I thought I'd share some of her wisdom to help get you get back to business.


From: The CPA Newsletter: www.irynacpa.com
Surviving a Business Tax Audit

A tax audit might be the ultimate nightmare scenario for many business owners. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to provide some audit survival tips for small businesses. These tips apply whether your business is being conducted in a business entity or as a sole proprietorship.

1. Remember what an audit is all about – An audit means the IRS needs to reconcile what they think you owe to what you’ve paid. It doesn’t mean you are being accused of something or that you have done anything wrong. Many audits end with the happy letter stating that no change is necessary to your tax payment. It’s even possible that an audit can result in a refund. Therefore, don’t assume you’ve done anything wrong.

2. Provide only what is asked for – Prior to the commencement of the audit you, or your representative, will receive a letter requesting certain documents or other information to have available at the initial meeting. Provide specifically what is requested and nothing more. Make sure your receipts and invoices reconcile with each other and with your tax return. Reconciliation is an automatic procedure in every audit. If the records integrate with the return, it may well prevent the agent from expanding the original scope of his audit.

3. Some patience and understanding is in order – In recent years the IRS has been doing compliance audits for certain industry market segments. At times these audits can be prolonged. The companies in these industries are generally selected at random, so if your company is one of the chosen, it doesn’t mean that the IRS has concerns about your company in particular. However, if you know that you have been pushing the envelope with the numbers and deductions, you may need all the help you can get.

4. Be properly represented – It has been said that one who represents himself in court has a fool for an attorney. The same is true in dealing with the IRS. Your interests would best be served by a tax professional who understands the language, rituals, and even the games that can be played when one interacts with the IRS. For example, skilled IRS agents often ask questions that seem innocuous, but can have ramifications you’re not aware of. Casual, seemingly harmless conversation can be trap bait for the unwary.

5. Give the impression of total organization from the outset – Even if you are well represented, the agent at some point will likely want to question the business owner at his place of business. This should be done only with your representative present. In many cases, a tour of the facility would be Included in this visit. Not only is it important for you and your representative to be organized and prepared regarding the books and records,, but also from the standpoint of the appearance of the physical place of business. Good impressions can score many advantage points.

Four Keys to Clarity in Accounting Systems

Contrary to popular belief, accounting systems are not static. Nor are they the same for all businesses or even all businesses in the same industry. Those ideas imply that there is something about accounting that is required, but not useful - stiff, stifling, and boring. Like high school English.

Accounting is optional. You do have a choice about whether or not to do it.

I have met and worked with plenty of people who don't pay attention to their finances and find checks bouncing off the walls. It's a great place to start.

From Dictionary.com: Accounting is...

1. the theory and system of setting up, maintaining, and auditing the books of a firm; art of analyzing the financial position and operating results of a business house from a study of its sales, purchases, overhead, etc.
2. a detailed report of the financial state or transactions of a person or entity: an accounting of the estate.
3. the rendering or submission of such a report.

Accounting is how you get detailed information about your financial position. You can only do that if it's set up and used to get the information you need.

There are four keys to getting the most out your accounting system so that gives you what you need for decision-making:

• Accuracy
  
• Consistency
  
• Reporting and
  
• the Chart of Accounts

Accuracy is the first most important thing to ensure in your system. In fact QuickBooks and other pre-packed software systems have a function called reconciling that helps you find discrepancies. If you don't have the right numbers, you can't get accurate information.

The second is consistency. It's more important that most pieces of accounting: if you don't update consistently, you don't have accurate information and you can't do other important things like reporting. Consistency is also important for another reason, like brushing your teeth. It's improves your current and if you do it regularly it improves your long-term health. It is an investment in the future of your business.

Reporting is the function that aggregates (or puts together) all the information that you've been entering and gives it to you in one neat little package for easy reading. If you are entering the information consistently and accurately, these reports can give you up to the minute information about your money that even the banks don't know - that's exciting! Reports are what moves you beyond bookkeeping as a chore to using accounting for management decisions, budgeting, hiring, expanding, and so on. Reporting rocks!

The last piece we'll touch on today is your chart of accounts. That's the place where you find the categories of transactions that you use (which is another basis for reporting). Some of them like "postage" or "printing and reproduction" are about expenses and seem straight forward and the easiest for people to understand.

I find that people get into trouble in two main places in their accounting: categorizing/understanding income and balance sheet accounts. Assets, liabilities and equity seem to confound people regularly to the point where they give up and stop doing accounting all together. Understanding those pieces will make your accounting a lot easier. If you don't understand them either do your homework or hire someone to help you set these accounts up and teach you how to use them. This, in my experience is a critical piece of a business and deserves the time and dollars you put into it. In fact I find that as a bookkeeper and accounting consultant, having this piece in order makes the other pieces both possible and likely to get done. Having clarity here creates a place for people to take action from.

I think accounting can be a lot of fun. It can also be a function of your business that really supports and informs your decision making and growth. It's up to you to keep it healthy and vibrant.

Enjoy!

Alternative to Quicken, for Mac

I am always on the lookout for alternatives to the Intuit Empire. The makers of QuickBooks and Quicken sell a number of services and have become the lion's share of the market. Yes it's what most people are using.

But it leaves a lot to the imagination. They don't develop almost at all for Mac and their compatibility and other issues seem unnecessary and unreasonable.

This morning I was gifted with a new idea: iBank. For Mac. It seems to have the functionality of Quicken plus some and is integrated with all the cool Mac functionality that we love.

Try it and let me know what you think!

6 Ways to Take Money Out of Corporation

One of the bigest confusions I see in corporate bookkeeping is how you can take money out of the corporation. So I've complied a very basic list for us to refer to.

(1) Repayment of a loan to the corporation. This is not taxable to the stockholder. The stockholder should have reported interest earned and the corporation should have taken an interest expense deduction.

(2) As dividends paid by the corporation. Dividends are profits split among the shareholders proportional to the number of shares each stockholder owns. For example, a company has $100 to pay in dividends, if one stockholder owns 40% of the stock, he should receive 40% of the dividends or $40. See dividends for more information on them.

(3) By selling some of his stock back to the corporation. This becomes Treasury Stock to the corporation (as opposed to Common Stock) and is not taxable to the sharehold if he receives the same amount per share as the amount per share for which he originally bought the stock.

(4) As salary. The salary amounts are not dependent upon the number of shares owned. For example, if two shareholders each owns 50% of the outstanding stock, it is not necessary that each get identical salaries. Bonus payments would also fall under this category. This is taxable as payroll and the corporation must pay liabilities on the amounts paid.

(5) Theft or embezzlement. This is taxable to the shareholder as he is caught.

(6) As a loan from the corporation. In this case there should have been loan documents drawn up and signed by both the stockholder and a corporate officer. The corporation will record periodic interest earned and the stockholder may be able to take interest paid as a tax deduction.

There's abunch of other things that people think they can take out of a corporation, but they can't. Partner "draws" are one of those things.

Reimbursements are not wages or money taken out, they are corporate expenses being paid in advance by an individual. So the reibrusement is not taxable and does not fall into this category.

Please note: this is a beginning only. This does not create a reliance of any kind.

Accounting terms - debit and credit

There were two specific terms that were challenging for me because them mean different things are different times - or so it seemed.

You see a debit is an accounting entry which results in either an increase in assets or a decrease in liabilities or net worth. Opposite of credit.

Where as a credit is the opposite.

But when you look it up the definite says nothing about accounting entries. It talks about consumer credit and lines of credit. So when the banks loan you money, they see an increase in assets (especially because they've been lending on a 1:40 ratio). A credit is an increase in liabilities - for you. So while you receive cash, you're worth less money because of it.

Interesting no?

An affirmation to work with around credit and debt: My debts represent my and other's belief in my future earning potential.