Nonprofit Blog

In recent quarters, manufacturing has been subject of a tug of war between economic trends that support the re-shoring of foreign production and the adverse effect of recent strength in the US dollar.

Each month in Manufacturing and Distribution Matters, we provide monthly PMI updates to our readers. This month, we wanted to bring you a “big picture” look back at the first half of 2016.

Georgia’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) — a reading of economic activity in the state’s manufacturing sector — decreased 0.1 points during June to 49.3, its lowest level of the year despite growth in various areas. Areas with the largest decrease include employment; down 12.7 points, and production; down 9.6 points. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) Report is underwritten by the Manufacturing and Distribution Group of Smith & Howard, a top Atlanta CPA firm with a focus on serving manufacturing businesses, and is produced monthly by the Econometric Center at Kennesaw State University.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"1646","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"371","style":"float: right;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]]Smith & Howard was proud to join members of the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance (GMA) at the third annual Georgia Manufacturing Day at the Georgia State Capitol on June 22. Governor Deal presented a “Buy From Georgia” Proclamation to GMA leadership in recognition of the group’s efforts to promote Georgia manufacturing.  

Two key Georgia technology leaders are playing a pivotal role in the advancement of the large-scale manufacturing of cell-based therapeutics that can treat a wide range of serious illnesses. The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) – a fellow Midtown neighbor – and the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) have joined forces to launch the National Cell Manufacturing Consortium (NCMC), an industry-academic-government partnership that recently released the National Roadmap for Advanced Cell Manufacturing. The roadmap was announced June 13 at the White House Organ Summit.

Shopping, anyone? If your business is in need of office equipment, computer software or perhaps an HVAC system, the purchase you make today could provide you with a tax break tomorrow — or, more specifically, when you’re ready to file your 2016 taxes. The Section 179 expensing deduction remains a solid potential tax-saving value for today’s companies.

As jobs in the manufacturing industry have become more advanced, there is a growing demand for educated workers to fill open jobs in Georgia. In May, Gov. Nathan Deal approved a budget that includes tuition money for students working in high-demand fields, including industrial maintenance. The Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grant is open to technical college students pursuing a certificate or diploma in high-demand industries. You can learn more about the grant in this article or visit the Technical College System of Georgia's website. 

If your global company is engaged in the exchange of goods, services or intangible assets with related entities across international borders, you should be aware of the tax requirements regarding transfer pricing. The IRS has identified transfer pricing as one of the top audit issues, and you could risk incurring steep penalties of 20% - 40% on transfer pricing adjustments if you are not in compliance. A transfer pricing study could prevent that from occurring.

Inefficient inventory management is one of the biggest cash drains on many businesses, depriving them of valuable working capital. Excess inventory is literally cash wasting away in your warehouse or on your shelves. So every company needs to do everything it can to minimize its inventory investment.