CPA Tip: How to Protect Your Identity

Business Concept Of Internet ScamChances are, you or someone in your family has been a victim of identity theft. There are so many opportunities for thieves to obtain your personal data from sites that are outside your control.  (Remember the Anthem and Target data breaches?).  There isn’t much you can do about identity theft with the information you’ve given to other companies, but you can protect your data that is in your control.  One strategy is to protect yourself from those posing as illegitimate companies and the IRS.  Here are some tips from the IRS:

Don’t take the Bait; Avoid Phishing and Malware to Protect Your Personal Data

“Update your account now.” “You just won a cruise!” “The IRS has a refund waiting for you.”

In the cyber world of phishing, the sentences are “bait” – lures from emails, telephone calls and texts all designed to separate you from your cash, your passwords, your social security number or your very identity.

The IRS has teamed up with state revenue departments and the tax industry to make sure you understand the dangers to your personal and financial data. Taxes. Security. Together. Working in partnership with you, we can make a difference.

No doubt you’ve heard that warning to beware of phishing many times. But, phishing remains a problem because it works. Cybercriminals on a daily basis concoct new ways to trick people into turning over cash or sensitive data that can affect your taxes.

When it comes to this type of crime, the main line of defense is not technology, it is you.

Criminals pose as a person or organization you trust and/or recognize. They may hack a friend’s email account and send mass emails under their name. They may pose as your bank, credit card company or tax software provider. Or, they may pose as a state, local or federal agency such as the Internal Revenue Service or a state agency. Criminals go to great lengths to create websites that appear legitimate but contain phony log-in pages.

Just remember: No legitimate organization – not your bank, not your tax software company, not the IRS – will ever ask for sensitive information through unsecured methods such as emails. And the IRS never sends unsolicited emails or makes calls with threats of lawsuits or jail.

Scam emails and websites also can infect your computer with malware without you even knowing it. The malware can give the criminal access to your device, enabling them to access all your sensitive files or track your keyboard strokes, exposing login information.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself:

  • Avoid suspicious phishing emails that appear to be from the IRS or other companies; do not click on the links- go directly to their websites instead.
  • Beware of phishing scams asking you to update or verify your accounts.
  • To avoid malware, don’t open attachments in emails unless you know who sent it and what it contains.
  • Download and install software only from websites you know and trust.
  • Use security software to block pop-up ads, which can contain viruses.
  • Ensure your family understands safe online and computer habits.

To learn additional steps you can take to protect your personal and financial data, visit Taxes. Security. Together.

______________________________________________________________________________

IRS CIRCULAR 230 DISCLAIMER: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this e-mail (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and may not be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or state tax authority, or (b) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties. If desired, (Firm) would be pleased to perform the requisite research and provide you with a detailed written analysis. Such an engagement may be the subject of a separate engagement letter that would define the scope and limits of the desired consultation services.

 

Business Strategy: Don’t Replicate, Innovate

jazz-clarinet-man.jpg

Business Strategy: Don’t Replicate, Innovate
I remember back around 1990 when a film producer client told me about a great script of a kid who foiled robbers. I responded that it sounded like Home Alone.  His eyes lit up and he said, ” That’s why it will be a hit because the Home Alone concept is so big now.”This meeting came back to me when I read Shira Levine’s article, What it will take to become the internet’s next big thing.  It reminds me of so many copy cat product and services.
So many business persons set their strategy in the direction to replicate what a successful business person has already accomplished.  That is not American Ingenuity.  These businesses just ride on the coattails of the creativity of others.

Read On

    
Competitive vs Competitor, Knowing the Difference Using the Southwest Airlines Story
Do you know that difference between the competitive intelligence and competitor intelligence? Does it matter, or is it just a play on words?  Join Rick and Brandon as they use one of Seena Sharp’s books, Competitive Intelligence Advantage which can give you the small business edge that you have been searching for.
        candy_beatles.jpg          
Business Models: The Big Data Pitfall
When my youngest son Austin was in middle school, his small business enterprise was known as “the candy man.”  He would go to the 99 Cent Store and buy about $50 of candy in bulk.  He then broke them down selling them in small quantaties for $1-$5 in his small business.  My favorite story is when he would approach the kids who were not strong in math. It went like this, “Hey, sell you 4 airheadsfor $6.00 ?”  The kid pulled back, “No way, that’s a rip off?” My son would respond, “Ok, how about 3airheads for $5.00?” “Cool, I’ll take that deal!” screamed his customer.  (For you math-challenged people, he increased the sales price  from $1.50 cents each to $1.67 cents for each airhead).  My son didn’t realize it, but regardless of the victory of increasing his profit, he degraded his merchandise to the status of a commodity.
    Read On
Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,
The LA CPA
Gray
Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookView our profile on LinkedIn

How Does a Small Business Grow? You Can Try to Think Like A Rock Band

foggy-stage-drummer.jpg

How Does a Small Business Grow?  You Can Try to Think Like A Rock Band
We were called the Mini Playboys. Three ten year old musicians who temporarily  put down their rock roots to play old standards, big band, and Italian songs.  The band consisted of a drum, guitar, and accordion.  We almost never played like this for our friends for the obvious reasons, but played at old folks parties and restaurants. Heck, we each earned $5.00 an hour in 1967 when minimum wage was $1.40.  Great money!  Our band  focused on a strategy to hit a particular niche market, and it worked for 2 years until we went our separate ways.
I came across an article by Apryl Peredo

Read On

    
Predicting and Accomplishing Your Business Success
Do you own a struggling small or mid-sized business?  Are you between jobs and want to start your own business, but are intimidated with the high failure rate?  Join Rick and Brandon as they use a method described in Les McKeown’s Predictable Success, Getting your organization on the growth track-and keeping it there.  Learn about the business’s good and bad cycles and the stages they go through.  Rick and Brandon leave you with tips on how to get out of bad cycles and into a balance, which he calls Predictable Success.
        financial-planner.jpg         
Business Vision and Goals: Understand the Target You are Aiming For
In the early 1970s, I watched a Stanford professor  choose Jim Plunkett, (Stanford’s star quarterback) to demonstrate perception and the brain. The professor placed a pair of glasses on Jim that caused his vision to be distorted, shifting everything he sees to the right about 20 degrees.  Jim missed his attended receiver throwing consistantly  to the right by 20 degrees.
    Read On
Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,
The LA CPA

Are Business Strategies Obsolete? Does it Matter?

       ice_cream.jpg
 
Are Business Strategies Obsolete? Does it Matter?
My wife and I have started a new hobby of collecting and reselling small antiques. We really enjoy “the hunt,” but one of the most rewarding aspects is our increased knowledge of 100 year old household tools.  One such item was a nickle/steel handle with a cone cup on the end.  The cone cup had a butterfly handle on the end of the cone that turned blades inside the cone,  scraping the sides.
Almost nobody guessed its function, which was a Delmonico ice cream scoop.
Today, the basic operation of the Delmonico ice cream scoop is the same, scoop it up, and scrape it out.

Read On

Business Plans Can Be as Entertaining as a Russian Nesting Doll
Are you thinking about starting a new business? Whether you are starting a new business or wanting to expand your current business using investors, you will need a business plan.  But how should you go about it?  Hire a financial consultant?  Or maybe buy the expensive software that churns out business plans? Join Brandon and Rick as they go through the steps of building a business plan and the pitfalls that many stumble into when doing so.
       man-cliff-illustration.jpg
       
Strategic Thinking: Don’t Confuse Tactics for Strategy
“There’s nothing worse than a sharp picture of a fuzzy concept.”  -Ansel Adams
“There is nothing more wasteful than becoming highly efficient at doing the wrong thing.” -Peter Drucker
Mike Michalowicz’s article The 90-Day Method: A Strategy For Business Growth in Difficult Times offers some suggestions for business to strategize.  He says that a business owner should ask what they have done in the last 90 days that has brought results, and then replicate those things that were successful.  Even though these may sound like sage advice, they can be interpreted as tactics instead of strategy.
    Read On
Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,
The LA CPA
Gray
Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookView our profile on LinkedIn

Are Music and Small Business Creativity Leaving Us?

The LA CPA logo

A Rick E Norris, An Accountancy Corp Publication
Issue: # August 12th 2015
Welcome to the LA CPA Expose’ .  These articles outline business and personal financial advice on a variety of topics.  You should always consult your professional and legal advisors before implementing any new strategies.
                                                                                   Like us on Facebook   Follow us on Twitter    View our profile on LinkedIn    View our videos on YouTube                          

 

         bills_coins.jpg   

 

Pareto’s 80/20 Principle: Business Playing the Odds
Amazing, just amazing. No more than amazing, it was magic.  That was my first reaction to the 80/20 rule when I reached into my pocket and saw that 20 % of the coins equalled 80% or more of the value.  So, I read the book The 80/20 Principle, The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch.

That was a few years ago.  Since then I have applied the concept of the book (and the 1906 Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who created the principle) in many business situations.  Here’s a few conclusions:

Read On

Policies, Processes and Procedures can Save a Business and Even Lives 

Do you run your business by the “seat of your pants?”  Do you engage company policies, processes and procedures?  Do you know how these three concepts differ?  Join Rick and Brandon as they lift the veil off these seldom implemented small and mid-sized business necessities.  Learn the importance of these components in Rick’s story as a Mounted Volunteer Patrol serving in the Santa Monica Mountains with his wife Judy, as they responded to a life-threatening emergency.
Listen To Our Podcast Here

 guitar-slider.jpg

Is Music and Small Business Creativity Leaving Us?

Have you heard?  We’re still in a major recession.  Well, not according to our government.

However, according to Paul Resnikoff’s article, What is the Economy Doing to Creativity , our current economic disaster may quiet musicians because of their prolonged economic struggle.

I think Paul is on the wrong side of history.  Artistic and business creators could not have a better feeding ground than our current economic condition:

    Read On

Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,
The LA CPA
Gray
Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookView our profile on LinkedIn

Is it a Good Idea to Pay off a House?

 Welcome to the LA CPA Expose’ .  These articles outline business and personal financial advice on a variety of topics.  You should always consult your professional and legal advisors before implementing any new strategies.

 movie-tickets3.jpg  

DeBabbitting the Business Strategy Process: Can Creative People Be Developed?

My grandfather left quite a legacy.  He came from Italy as a boy to start a new life.   He acted in and scripted silent movies, fought in WWI, tightrope walked between two eight story buildings (without a net) over a busy Chicago street, helped build navy ships as an electrician during WWII, and founded a successful restaurant with his wife and nine kids.

His success in the variety of endevours is grounded in one quality: creativity.  Creativity is a right-brain function, natural to some and alien to others.  Should all brain-storming teams  have a business strategist who has this trait?

Read On

Improving Your Business Immediately with Pareto’s 80/20 Rule and Tea

Would you like a quick way to improve your business? Have other projects taken too long before showing results?  Learn a faster way to improve your business in different areas with Pareto’s 80/20 Rule.  Join Rick and Brandon on the Improv-ing Business Podcast as they discuss Rick’s visit to the Charleston Tea Plantation and how the 80/20 Rule applies to tea.

         house-for-sale.jpg

CPA Economic Depression Thinking: Buy Your House and Pay it off…Good Idea?  Maybe.

As a CPA, I have categorized home-owner’s financial strategy into two categories over the last 32 years:  One, the Depression Victim, and Two, the Leverage Junkie.  The Depression Victim’s financial strategy is a person who has lived or heard about people living during the Great Depression of the 1930s. My mother is like that.  The philosophy goes like this.  You buy a house, and you pay it off, period…Sure, you can buy rental real estate, but don’t use your house as a piggy bank.

The other financial strategy extreme is the leverage junkie.  Looking at them through my CPA glasses, I see that a person who holds that philosophy will buy a house, and then when it goes up in value, borrow against it to buy an other.

    Read On
Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,
Rick E Norris 
Subscribe To Podcast

Fulfilling Your Passion by Creating a Non-Profit Business

Welcome to the LA CPA Expose’ .  These articles outline business and personal financial advice on a variety of topics.  You should always consult your professional and legal advisors before implementing any new strategies.

            jumping_schoolkids.jpg

 

Business Strategy and Tactics: What We Can Learn From How We Raise our Kids

Our kids hate us…when we don’t give them money.  Oh sure, we pay of their schooling, sports, and other school-related activities, but we are determined to require them to work for their recreation money.  All three of my boys have worked for me from time to time.

So, when I came across Barbara Haislip’s article, How to Raise en Entrepreneur, it rang true with lessons with business strategy and tactics:

Read On

Fulfilling Your Passion by Creating a Non-Profit Business

Do you have a passion to do charitable work?  Have you thought of creating a non-profit to make the world a little bit better? Have you been asked to volunteer or participate on a board of directors of a non-profit?  Today, we will be addressing this aspect of our society and some advice to starting or maintaining your own on-profit business.

 

elephant-statue.jpg   

Antiquing: How My Wife Convinced Me, and The Impact on Business Strategy

It started with Chumlee.  I walked through the living room to my computer and stopped to watch Rick and Chumlee on Pawn Stars discuss the historical significance of something like a musket rifle.  This intrigued me, but what really got me interested in their antiques was “value.”  No, I don’t mean some 1920 decorative egg, I mean something that won’t break down within two years like my microwave.

Eight years ago, we purchased moderately expensive sconces.  We didn’t realized that they would only last about five years.  They developed an electrical short, and succumbed to the outside elements.

Inspired by the Pawn Star’s antiques, I bought four 1929 sconces at an estate sale that I will recondition.  I believe these will be a better value than going to a lamp store to pay $200 per sconce.  These antiques have lasted over 80 years, and are pretty cool to look at.  I believe they will be a good value.

    Read On

Mobile Payment Strategy: Is Your Small Business Developing One?

The LA CPA logo

A Rick E Norris, An Accountancy Corp Publication
Issue: # July 8th 2015
Welcome to the LA CPA Expose’ .  These articles outline business and personal financial advice on a variety of topics.  You should always consult your professional and legal advisors before implementing any new strategies.
                                                                               Gray

            

hanging-bike-display.jpg

Mobile Payment Strategy:  Is Your Small Business Developing One?

I remember around 1970 asking for a “stingray” type bicycle with a five speed stick shift and a slick tire.  I was definitely leap-frogging my friends’ stingrays who lacked multiple gears.  I nailed them on the hills.  My bike was the early precursor of the multi-gear mountain bikes that cost up to $5,000 today.  I was ahead of the pack, for a while anyway.

Last December, I wrote about the mobile payment strategy in Is Your Viral Strategy Becoming Obsolete?  I asked the question of whether your strategy and tactics are being adjusted to accommodate the next horizon?  If you were, you were ahead of the pack.

Read On

 In a Company’s Strategic Culture, Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire!  (But What if You Can’t See the Smoke?)
Employee resistance is the most common reason executives (and small business owners) cite for the failure of organizational change.   Strong, respected change leaders i.e., people with informal influences, is needed to convince employees about the value of a new business strategy.  Your effort to convince those who can influence others may create cultural change, allowing employees “own” the process. Join Rick and Brandon as they give some tips on how to nurture these key individuals.

 

clouds.jpg  

Social Marketing Cloud Computing: Ground Control to Major Tom

“Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you”

When David Bowie sang these lyrics, the astonauts’s image touched us.  We wondered what the astronaut was thinking, and why did he suffer a demise.

Cloud comuting is going private. Dan Rowinski came out with an article, The Personal Cloud will be a $12 Billion industry business by 2016.  He claims that this will be the next horizon.    In addition, an article by Jim Blasingame  Social Media Builds Customer Communities touches on this new frontier combining cloud computing and social networking.

Read On

Rick E Norris An Acctcy Corp Logo
We hope our articles were informative.  All questions, comments,and feedback are welcome.
Sincerely,

The Circulatory System of Business Processes and How to Cut Down On Filing

Rick_E_Norris_An_Accountancy_Corporation_The Circulatory_System_Of_Business_Processes_And_How_To_Cut_Down_On_FilingYou may be too young to recall the era before computers.  Paper was the medium, and people the processors.  In the 1960s even copy machines were rare, so offices had to rely on carbon paper. My elementary school used mimeograph machines that used some sort of magic blue ink that copied documents on a roller that spit out test sheets. I believe my blood pressure would rise if I smelt the ink today, bringing back memories of fifth grade math tests.

I recall tagging along with my mother to a governmental office like the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  We would wait, and wait, and wait for someone to call our number.  Upon arriving at our window, many times we would be greeted (I’m using that word “greeted” loosely) by a woman who looked like she was counting the days to her next vacation, eleven months away. She would hardly make eye contact and go through the mundane process that she will do seventy times that day.  The required business form was to be filled out in triplicate separated by black carbon paper.  It regretfully left an unwanted black tattoo on her thumb.  She, and clerks like her, would always said the same incantation in order to make the carbon paper magic work. “Please press firmly so as to be legible on all three copies.”

The carbon paper was one of the time-saving tools that spawned in the 1950s.  A business practice that relied on its product was the practice of shuffling the forms into filing cabinet folders, many of them never be touched again.

Though as archaic as this may seem, we still acquire clients who still practice it.  I don’t mean they use carbon paper or mimeograph machines, but they still lug mountains of paper that contribute to the middle aged bulges of their filing cabinets.

Assuming you don’t have to keep hard copies for such things as required by government regulations and such, the advent of the computer along with a scanner should put an end to most of the paper filing practice.  I don’t advise this change just to be technologically advanced, but instead to be more efficient.  Business information moves faster than ever.  The more time you save performing mundane processes, the more time you can focus on managing your business.   Here is a suggested procedure that you can implement in your accounts payable process:

  1. Paperless Accounts Payable set up: You need a few components to have an accounts payable paperless system.
    1. An accounting software like QuickBooks that can attach files as part of its functionality.
    2. A scanner, preferably one that can scan both sides of a document if needed.
    3. A digital Accounts Payable folder (on your computer) to scan your bills and receipts.
  2. Scan bills and receipts into folders: The first step is to scan your (approved) bills and receipts into folders that are located on the same computer as QuickBooks.  They could be scanned onto other drives in a company network, but I like to see everything in the same place.  You can create subfolders by:  date, employee, or office location.  Identify them by Vendor and invoice number.  You do not want to duplicate functions like creating folders for jobs, or vendor names, etc. because that will be superfluous to QuickBooks’s functions. The paper receipt should be initialed and dated by the person before he/she scans it.
  3. Dual screens work best: After scanning into your respective folders, bring your first bill up on a screen. Dual, synchronized screens work best because you can look at the bill as you process it.  You may have to close the view when you attach it in QuickBooks, but not at the point of just entering the bill.
  4. Enter the bill in QuickBooks: Follow the normal procedures of entering a bill in QuickBooks.  We strongly recommend that you enter the job name and use the Class system to allow greater flexibility in reports. If you are entering a credit card remittance (receipt), you may go to the Bank menu and enter it in that menu to the specific credit card, unless you want to track the vendor on the credit card.  In that case, you would use the bill paying function and choose “credit card” under Method.
  5. Attach the bill or receipt to the Vendor Bills: As stated before, you may have to close the scanned item window, but attaching to QuickBooks is as easy as looking up the file.
  6. Following the Bill Paying Procedures: Open the Choose Bill Paying and follow the procedures you have established.

We normally shred the paper receipts at this point, but if you want to hold on to them initially until you are comfortable with the system, then let your anxiety level be the barometer.  If you follow this procedure and tweak it to fit into your specific business, you will have accomplished not only reducing the filing burden, but increase your flexibility to report on your business, the ability to drill down to the actual receipt for each expense, and more time to manage your business.

 

Employer Responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

Rick_E_Norris_An_Accountancy_Corporation_Employer_Responsibilities_Under_The_Affordable_Care_Act_ObamacareHere is another attempt by the IRS  to explain employer’s responsibilities in the never-ending saga of  Obamacare.  If you are a growing business, make sure you are aware of the number threshold of employees requiring you to purchase health insurance.

Employers with 50 or more full-time and full-time-equivalent employees are generally considered to be “applicable large employers” (ALEs) under the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA.  Applicable large employers are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions.  However, more than 95 percent of employers are not ALEs and are not subject to these provisions because they have fewer than 50 full-time and full-time-equivalent employees.

Whether an employer is an ALE is determined each calendar year based on employment and hours of service data from the prior calendar year. An employer can find information about determining the size of its workforce in the employer shared responsibility provision questions and answers section of the IRS.gov/aca website and in the related final regulations.

In general, beginning January 1, 2015, ALEs with at least 100 full-time and full-time equivalent employees must offer affordable health coverage that provides minimum value to their full-time employees and their dependents or they may be subject to an employer shared responsibility payment.  (On January 1, 2016 that threshold is lowered to 50 employees.) This payment would apply only if at least one of its full-time employees receives a premium tax credit through enrollment in a state based Marketplace or a federally facilitated or Marketplace.  Also, starting in 2016 ALEs must report to the IRS information about the health care coverage, if any, they offered to their full-time employees for calendar year 2015, and must also furnish related statements to their full-time employees.

For 2014, the IRS will not assess employer shared responsibility payments and the information reporting related to the employer shared responsibility provisions is voluntary.  In addition, the employer shared responsibility provisions will be phased in for smaller ALEs from 2015 to 2016.  Specifically, ALEs that meet certain conditions regarding maintenance of workforce size and coverage in 2014 are not subject to the employer shared responsibility provision for 2015.  For these employers, no employer shared responsibility payment will apply for any calendar month during 2015 (including, for an employer with a non-calendar year plan, the months in 2016 that are part of the 2015 plan year). However these employers are required to meet the information reporting requirements for 2015.  The employer shared responsibility provision questions and answers section of the IRS.gov/aca website and the preamble to the employer shared responsibility final regulations describe the requirements for this relief in more detail.  Both resources also describe additional forms of transition relief that apply for 2015.

Small employers, specifically those with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees, may be eligible for the small business health care tax credit.

Regardless of the number of employees, if an employer sponsors a self-insured health plan, it must report to the IRS certain information about its health insurance coverage plan for each covered employee.

More information

Find out more about the small business health care tax credit, applicable large employers, the employer shared responsibility provision, information reporting requirements and the premium tax credit at IRS.gov/aca.

Find out more about the health care law at HealthCare.gov.

______________________________________________________________________________

IRS CIRCULAR 230 DISCLAIMER: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this e-mail (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and may not be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or state tax authority, or (b) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties. If desired, (Firm) would be pleased to perform the requisite research and provide you with a detailed written analysis. Such an engagement may be the subject of a separate engagement letter that would define the scope and limits of the desired consultation services.