Nonprofit Blog

When it comes time to transition your role as business owner to someone else, you’ll face many changes. One of them is becoming a mentor. As such, you’ll have to communicate clearly, show some patience and have a clear conception of what you want to accomplish before stepping down. Here are some tips on putting your successor in a position to succeed.

President Trump’s one-page tax reform plan issued in April set out four goals:

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.

Georgia’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) — a reading of economic activity in the state’s manufacturing sector — decreased by 8.3 points in May to 63.8. Even with the decrease, the reading is still significantly above 50 - the benchmark for expansion. New orders and production reverted to more moderate paces, while employment remained consistent with additional job creation.

Earlier this year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued an update that will significantly change the way in which lessees and lessors account for leases. The change, which takes effect in 2020, will require businesses to recognize lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet and to disclose key information about leasing arrangements. 

We’re at the onset of the next big industrial revolution—and the widespread adoption of new technologies, including Internet-connected devices, machine learning and robotics in the manufacturing industry. Strides in automation have significantly boosted U.S. manufacturers’ output in recent years, and the industry is just beginning to understand and exploit the full potential of technology and disruptive supply chain models to reinvent manufacturing as we know it. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"2516","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"223","style":"float: right; margin: 10px;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"335"}}]]

Every company has at least one owner. And, in many cases, there exists leadership down through the organizational chart. But not every business has strong governance.

The educational requirements for becoming a CPA in the state of Georgia require you to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher with a minimum of 150 credit hours, 30 of which need to be in upper-level accounting, and an additional 24 need to be in business related subjects. Your school will require certain courses for the accounting degree, and you will most likely have some options as to which business electives you choose. However, that leaves a lot of room for decisions on what classes you could and should be taking. How do you decide which classes are the right ones?

At Smith & Howard, we place high value on the internship process.  This is one of the primary ways we find and develop our talent at the firm. As you are going through your course work towards an accounting degree, you might be wondering if an internship is really necessary. The purpose of this article is to shed light on why it is so important for you to make an internship a priority in helping to lay the groundwork for developing your career.

At Smith & Howard, we are proud of our accomplishments. Smith & Howard has been named a Best of the Best firm for the past six years. However, what many of us are most proud of is being a multi-year recipient of both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Top Work Place” award and the national Accounting Today “Best Accounting Firms to Work For” award.