If your organization or entity made severance payments to former employees in 2010, it may be wise to file a claim for refund of F.I.C.A. taxes with the Internal Revenue Service by April 15, 2014.The United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments this month on the question of whether payments made by employers under a severance plan were subject to F.I.C.A. taxes as [...]

Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released for public inspection the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. The intention of this 758 page document is to streamline Federal grants rules and procedures. The new requirements apply to continuing awards as of the start of the 2014/2015 fiscal year [...]

Nonprofit organizations inherently have less funding and resources to build a bulletproof internal control system. Therefore, the management team should look for less expensive ways to monitor the effectiveness of its control environment, especially now that more and more data resides and transfers through new technology. Words like “Cloud,” “Portals,” and “Smartphone [...]

With most of us looking forward to a day of over-indulgence with friends and family at the dinner table tomorrow, there are many who will be visiting community kitchens and missions for a donated meal, or sadly, even going hungry. On November 1, 2013, food stamp benefits were cut to more than 47 million Americans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) [...]

Last night, I attended Social Venture Partners’ Fast Pitch event at the California Science Center. This is the culmination of a two-month training and mentoring program for innovative nonprofits that are effecting social change in Los Angeles County. At last night’s competition, each of the 10 nonprofit finalists shared their mission and vision and made a monetary ask [...]

Welcome to the Entertainment Newsletter, containing content related to the people, news and business issues we see in our day-to-day service to the industry.In This Issue:California’s Withholding Tax Requirements Place an Extra Compliance Burden on the Entertainment IndustryThose involved in California’s entertainment industry understand the coordination and effort it [...]

As another week closes on the Government shutdown, we reflect on the impact felt so far by our nonprofit clients: Social Security and Medicare Benefits – these continue to be paid out, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications if the shutdown continues. Unemployment benefits are also still being paid. Federal Grant Administration - grantee [...]

The 3rd Quarter of 2013 was time for California to clarify existing law in a number of different areas including the California Enterprise Zone credit, like-kind-exchange transactions and the treatment of gain or loss on the sale of qualified small business stock. From a local perspective, the City of Los Angeles has implemented a tax am [...]

During our August nonprofit workshop, our nonprofit team shared the latest in accounting and tax updates, as well as insights from AICPA’s recently revised Audit & Accounting Guide for Not-for-Profit Entities. We posed various questions during our workshop and over the next few blog postings, we will share the answers to those questions. Q. Can permanent restric [...]