On May 21, 2018, President Trump signed into law a resolution disapproving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) guidance on Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  In that Guidance, the CFPB expressed the view that certain indirect auto lenders—that is, lenders that coordinate with dealerships to provide auto loans to consumers—are subject to the Equal Credi ...

To develop the skills you will need to respond to adversity with strength, follow these three steps. To read the full article in Strategy+Business, click: Build Your Leadership Resilience.  It is an Act of Defiance. ...

The IRS released a draft Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and its instructions, for individual taxpayers to use to determine their income tax withholding for 2019. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Draft 2019 Form W-4 and Instructions Posted. ...

This is the final installment of the four-part series highlighting some of the key investigation issues and findings of the Examiner’s report.  In this article, the author explores the claim that CEC inappropriately elected to close the Showboat Atlantic City casino and diverted its customers to Harrah’s Atlantic City casino. ...

Impact on Expert Witness Testimony Expert witness testimony has played a vital role in both criminal and civil trials in the United States. Testimony from expert witnesses constantly helps judges and jurors reach conclusions in controversial and complex cases. Therefore, the Daubert Standard is important to know and understand in general, and especially as an expert witness. The Daubert Standard helps court ...

The IRS announced relief from late-payment penalties and that it will allow late elections for taxpayers subject to the new Sec. 965 transition tax on deemed repatriated foreign earnings. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Sec. 965 Transition Tax Penalty Relief Issued. ...

Some wealth management firms are finding that solutions to two of the industry’s big stumbling blocks—succession planning and diversity—may be intertwined.  Indeed, a link between the two emerged when firms began to diversify their advisor staffs, according to executives. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Is Diversity the Key to the Succession Plan Challenge? ...

If you are on a quest to find the career of your dreams, look no further.  Take control of your career with these four tips from Mark Astrinos, CPA, PFS, who shares how he built a career in financial planning as a CPA and emphasizes the need to follow your passion.  Be sure to check out this new hub with free guidance, tools and resources to learn more about how you can start or expand your services to indi ...

Business Valuation Comparison Charts A quartet of present and former Standards Board chairs for the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) were on hand to harmonize about valuation standards during the 2018 NACVA and the CTI’s Annual Consultants' Conference at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. During NACVA’s Industry Standards and Ethics Update, and the Around the Valuation Worl ...

Competition (Part Four of a Six-Part Series) The first part of this six-part series provided an overview of the due diligence imperative for valuation professionals, in the context of the Four Pillars of Healthcare Value, i.e., Reimbursement, Regulatory, Technological, and Competitive environments. The second and third installments reviewed the due diligence process related to the reimbursement and regulato ...

Elder financial fraud happens "at an alarming rate" and is often perpetrated by relatives, said Ted Sarenski, CPA, PFS.  Protect against elder financial fraud by safeguarding assets, following scam alerts, and monitoring accounts. To read the full article in The Lifeline Blog, click: Don’t Get Ripped Off!  What You Need to Know About Elder Financial Fraud. ...

Advisors failing to embrace ETFs will miss out on the next generation of clients.  While only 42% of millennial investors say their portfolios currently hold an ETF, 91% say the funds are their investment vehicles of choice, according to Schwab’s annual ETF investor study. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Interested in Working with Millennials?  Start with ETFs. ...

Retirees may face a more complicated tax situation than when they were still working.  For example, a portion of their Social Security benefits may be taxed at the federal level if their combined income, which is their adjusted gross income, plus any non-taxable interest and 50% of their benefits, exceeds a certain limit.  Their retirement benefits may also be subject to state income taxes.  Those who reach ...

Our Top Seven Ideas for Accounting and Financial Services The author discusses findings from a Hinge Research Institute (HRI) conducted with 523 professional services firms regarding why firms do not get more referrals. One interesting finding was why firms do not get more referrals. HRI found that in 72% of cases, the answer is simple: no one asked them. HRI also learned that 81.5% of service providers hav ...

Knowing the Business is Critical to Effective Risk Oversight In this article, the author shares excerpts of a speech he presented to board members regarding the importance of managing risk and sources of risk. ...

Ted, a senior VP at a large media company, was famous for publicly deriding and humiliating others.  Working for him was like walking on eggshells, as he could fly into a rage over the most trivial matters.  He would also impose deadlines designed to set his staff up for failure.  To top off his bullying behavior, he expected his staff to work 24/7, leading many to complain about stress-related problems.  T ...

Many of the biggest beneficiaries of President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul have not even been born yet.  The new law doubles the amount that can be passed to heirs without worrying about estate and gift taxes, to about $22 million for a married couple.  But the thresholds are in place only until 2025, and the ultra-rich are turning to a key tool—the dynasty trust—to secure the financial futures of their gra ...

When an NFL-athlete client heard about the alleged fraud of star quarterback Vince Young in 2012, former advisor Kenneth Ray Cleveland used it to his advantage.  “Saw that, but it is like I said this morning in my text message, you get the credit for your financial success,” Cleveland wrote in a 2012 e-mail to former Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Cory Redding.  “Dare I say Vince Young is every bit as ...

Considerations for Fair Market Value Healthcare enterprises are increasingly relying on intangible assets to enhance their ability to provide timely, quality professional medical services to patients. Trade secrets are one such class of intangible asset that may be owned by a healthcare enterprise. A trade secret is any information that has economic value and is not generally known by the public. Technical ...

Odds as a Financial Ratio in Business Valuation Theory Every business transaction involves a bet of sort. This is also evidenced in the price of put and call options. Can we draw some insight from sports betting to help us calculate the value of a business? Perhaps. Odds in sports betting is a common expression communicating the change and return of winning a bet. Odds as a ratio in business valuation theor ...