Examine aspects of bankruptcy, including whether a CPA is likely to get paid and steps that a business can take when dealing with a bankrupt customer.
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Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Reorganization
Emergence through fresh-start reporting
As an entity moves through the bankruptcy process, it must meet certain criteria to qualify, upon emergence, for fresh-start reporting under FASB ASC Topic 852, Reorganizations.
Spotting fraud during the bankruptcy process: Top red flags
CPAs will need to be vigilant to see these warning signs of fraud as post-pandemic bankruptcies begin to rise.
New options for small business bankruptcies
Changes went into effect in February to ease the burden for smaller businesses seeking relief through the bankruptcy process.
Valuing Preferred Stock
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Preferred stock—a class of ownership with priority over common stock— once was issued mainly by large companies but now is common in small to midsize privately held companies, too. CPA/ABVs may be engaged to value preferred stock (also called preferred shares) to assist with
Employee Benefits News You Can Use
Here are some of the more important developments CPAs need to make their clients and employers aware of for 2006. Executive compensation rules under IRC section 409A. The American Jobs Creation Act’s new IRC section 409A makes sweeping changes to the tax rules governing nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements such as
Protect Retirement Assets
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW protects tax-qualified retirement plans—pensions, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans—from creditors in bankruptcy. SEP AND SIMPLE IRAs ARE excluded from bankruptcy estates under the new law, even if they qualify as ERISA pension plans. TRADITIONAL AND ROTH IRAs that are created and funded by an individual
Bankruptcy Reform Is Here
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY LAWRENCE S. CLARK, JD, LLM, is dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Wilmington and lead author of the McGraw-Hill Law and Business textbook series. His e-mail address is clarkl@uncw.edu . RANDALL HANSON, JD, LLM, chairman of the department of
No Privacy in Bankruptcy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROHIBIT CPAs from disclosing clients’ personal financial information, but bankruptcy statutes require that very same information to go into the public record. CPAs can’t change the law, but they can help clients get through the bankruptcy process. THERESA HOLT, JD, is an attorney and associate
Does Bankruptcy Terminate S Corp Status?
A business that elects to be an S corporation continues to be taxed as such until the election is terminated. It can be terminated in any of three ways: (1) The shareholders revoke the election, (2) the corporation no longer satisfies the eligibility requirements or (3) the corporation has too
Buy-Sell Agreements
There are numerous legitimate business reasons to establish a buy-sell agreement for a closely-held family business. Many of these agreements set the value for estate tax purposes when one of the shareholders dies. If the IRS rejects the price set to represent the value of the stock, a significant estate
Is Your Retirement Plan Really Safe?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BENEFITS IN TAX-QUALIFIED RETIREMENT PLANS generally are protected from the creditors of plan participants and insulated from claims in bankruptcy. PLANS NOT PROTECTED FROM CREDITORS are those that cover only the business owner and/or the owner’s spouse and section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans whose assets are held in
Golden Business Ideas
The Right Way to Use PowerPoint Do you use PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation software, to make sales pitches for new clients? Or do you use it, as a consultant would, to lay out in-depth analyses in an effort to convince a client or your boss to adjust complex business strategies?
Bankruptcy and S Corporation Pass-Through
Although there are some signs the economy is improving, many businesses continue to fail. Recently the Tax Court considered the effect of an S corporation’s selling an asset while in bankruptcy. All S corporation shareholders contemplating filing for corporate bankruptcy need to consider the potential tax outcome of such a
Losses Trust Deducted Were Not From Passive Activity
IRC section 469(a)(1) defines a passive activity as one involving the conduct of any trade or business in which the taxpayer does not materially participate. In section 469(a)(2), the statute describes a taxpayer as any Individual, estate or trust. Closely held C corporation. Personal service corporation. In general, the IRS
Reasonable Compensation
Determining what constitutes reasonable compensation is a long-standing issue for C corporations. IRC section 162(a)(1) allows a deduction for reasonable compensation for personal services actually rendered. The IRS views unreasonable salaries as disguised dividends, making them nondeductible by C corporations and taxable to the shareholder. This means employee shareholders are
A Perspective on Audit Malpractice Claims
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs CAN USE DATA ON AUDIT MALPRACTICE claims filed with CNA, which underwrites 22,000 CPA firms in the AICPA professional liability insurance program, to help them avoid high-cost claims when they audit nonpublic entities such as private companies, governments or NPOs. MOST NONPUBLIC AUDIT CLAIMS ARISE
Smart Stops on the Web
BUSINESS CONSULTING SITES Business Advice for Mom and Pop www.efamilybusiness.com This site offers information about off-site presentations on topics such as succession and continuity, and strategy, planning and family-business policies. Free articles written by internal staff include these titles: “Supporting the Successor” and “Estate Fairness for Children In and Out
The Business of Bankruptcy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A CPA FIRM WITH A CLIENT filing for bankruptcy has a responsibility to serve the client as well as an opportunity to compete for some of the work on the case—and through it develop a specialty. The need for bankruptcy services is expected to grow for a while.
The Downside of Good Times
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A PRACTITIONER FOUND ONE RISK OF A STRONG economy is that small business clients may loosen their internal controls, discovering fraud or theft only long after it has happened. THE MOST VULNERABLE ARE PRIVATE COMPANIES in the $10 million to $30 million range because they are large
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From The Tax Adviser
August 30, 2025
2025 tax software survey
July 31, 2025
