Nonprofit Blog

On April 20, 2017, the AICPA issued Exposure Draft AU-C sec. 703 entitled, “Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA.” Because the change is still in the draft stage by the AICPA Auditing Standards Board, there is an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft prior to August 21. Smith & Howard will be submitting our comments and we recommend that you do so, as well.

An update released by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) on August 18, 2016 is the first in a set of major changes which will substantially affect all nonprofit entities (“nonprofits”) and users of their financial statements.

On February 23, 2016, Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 742 (the annual Internal Revenue Code update) into law. As a result, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015*, the State of Georgia has adopted the provisions of all federal acts (as they relate to the computation of Federal Adjusted Gross Income or Federal taxable income for non-individuals) that were enacted on or before January 1, 2016.

Lease Accounting Guidance: For several years, we have been following and relaying information regarding the changing standards for lease accounting. Finally on February 25, 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published its long-awaited standard on lease accounting. With this change (ASU No. 2016-02), the FASB intends to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing the assets and liabilities that arise from mostly all lease transactions. The chief purpose of the change is to provide lenders and other users of financial statements a more accurate picture of the long-term financial obligations of the companies."The new guidance responds to requests from investors and other financial statement users for a more faithful representation of an organization's leasing activities," FASB Chairman Russell Golden said in a statement. "It ends what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other stakeholders have identified as one of the largest forms of off-balance sheet accounting, while requiring more disclosures related to leasing transactions."

To apply for Smith & Howard's Leadership Institute for accounting students, download the PDF above, complete and follow instructions. If you have any questions please email careers@smith-howard.com.

Georgians awaiting a sales tax holiday for savings on school supplies, computers or software or even clothing, can begin to set their clocks, as the next holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on July 31. It will conclude at midnight on August 1. 

In an effort to continually increase economic activity within the state, Georgia offers numerous tax credits and incentives to help support businesses within the state. One of these credits is the Qualified Investor Tax Credit (“Angel Credit”) which benefits anyone that operates or invests in a start-up.

In a recent decision, the Georgia Tax Tribunal held that a Georgia resident taxpayer was entitled to deduct pass-through income which was subject to the Revised Texas Franchise Tax (TFT) in computing his Georgia taxable income. This has the potential to create refunds and reduced tax liability for Georgia owners of partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations with Texas operations.

While failing to plan may be the the most common mistake in estate planning, creating a plan that is too complex or inflexible can create problems as well. In a recent article, Tim Agnew, Managing Director of Smith & Howard Wealth Management discussed five common estate planning mistakes he encounters. Check out his article to find out the other three and see if it might be helpful to discuss your estate plan with one of our professionals. 

Contractors are at risk in three general areas of sales tax liability: managing the contract, purchasing items for use in the contract, and the invoicing of customers. In this first article in a series by Tim Howe, we focus on what firms need to know about drawing up contracts.