A County Buys a Strip Mall Under Eminent Domain Process; at Issue is Whether Chairs and Tables Require Additional Tax   A Bankrate Tax Talk column at Fox Business News Personal Finance site considers a rather unusual case of a strip mall's sale:    ...

Tips for Family Businesses to Survive and Thrive When Tough Times Hit Can You Revive Your Distressed Family Business?  The first step to figuring that out, Steven F. Agran explains, is an objective assessment of cost structure.  What determines whether a business can be cash flow positive at current sales levels or even at lower levels, if sales continue to decline?  Find out here. ...

Reviewing and Revising Partner Agreements. In my prior firm, the review and revision of partner agreements was a process that happened every ten to fifteen years, if that often. I think that is pretty common in most firms. The problem is that firms change and evolve as do the partners and the environments that we practice in. Our agreements need to keep pace with that change. I continue to be amazed at the ...

When Do Too Many Active Shareholders Hurt Instead of Help? At Forbes, Lawrence Siff relates his conversations with CEOs of two family businesses, discusses the challenge of bringing in new leadership, and offers tips on how and when to go about it:  ...

Why The Black-Scholes Model Overvalues Conversion Options. The Black-Scholes method was the predominant model for many years, and was even endorsed by accounting rules prior to the introduction of FAS 157, even though it was never intended to be used for valuing complex securities or illiquid assets. Some have substituted lattice models or Monte Carlo simulation, making modifications or adjustment to attemp ...

The New York Times' Dealbook reports that after putting banks on watch four months ago, Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday cut the credit ratings of 15 large financial firms, in a move that could do lasting damage to their bottom lines and weigh on the markets. ...

Biotechnology Valuation: An Introductory Guide Biotechnology is producing quantum advances in medicine, but the specter of unforeseen consequences from treatments has brought with it a parallel growth in litigation.  Valuing biotechnology assets isn’t easy: generally accepted methods of discounted cash flows (DCF) and market comparison are sometimes difficult to apply in an industry rife with low probabilit ...

Smart Consultants Use Benchmarks to Add Insight and Increase Profits Business valuation professionals constantly use benchmarking tools to evaluate businesses that we determine values for—but we aren’t always as diligent in using benchmarking tools to evaluate and to manage our own consulting businesses. Dave Cooper explains why this should be a priority. ...

Jon Hilsenrath at the WSJ's Real Time Economics blog captures  some interesting tidbits from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke‘s testimony which go beyond the big question of whether the Fed will try to ease financial conditions again: ...

This is increasingly a point of concern, writes Molly Williams at the Wall Street Journal's Small Business Blog. Business owners can eliminate the possibility legal chaos on this front by ensuring Web accounts are in their business' name, rather than their own.   And it's probably not a good idea to include  account numbers and passwords in wills and trusts because those can become public documents. A few s ...

Charles Green has posted an interesting thought-piece over at the Trusted Advisor site: When clients don’t buy what a CPA firm is selling, it’s unlikely that they don’t want what you’re selling. More likely it’s that they’re not buying how the service is being sold. For example, a potential client is talking with several accounting firms about a significant assignment. One firm has expertise in that area an ...

U.S. banks are awash with money from depositors, reports David Reilly in Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street, while demand for loans lags behind. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s banking profile shows that net loans amounted to 70% of deposits in the first quarter, the lowest figure since 1984. As far as problems go, this isn't the worst to have. Deposit money is still washing over U.S. banks eve ...

The June issue of Investment Advisor includes a story on practice management that features an interesting graphic: ...

Ace Accounting Today reporter Danielle Lee may well have feared decadence, aggressive and overly-medicated groupies, atonal experimentation, psychedelics, and really bad rhyme.  But she braved the challenges and took on the story in any case, and it turned out to be pretty cool:  An all-CPA band rocked tax day, performing a long set of classic rock during their annual End of Season Tax Bash in a Connecticut ...

New private company council includes FASB, but in reduced role, The Journal of Accountancy explains.  "This announcement is excellent news for small businesses that have been concerned about the future of US GAAP particularly in relation to an international move toward IFRS," adds Editor Gail Perry at AccountingWeb.  Emily Chasan at the Wall Street Journal reports: The Financial Accounting Foundation’s Boar ...

The recession is over and entrepreneurs are looking for cash, but are banks willing to lend? The answer is a resounding yes, according to reports at OPEN Forum. OPEN Forum's Katie Morell talks to lending and credit experts to get the tips you need to get that loan application approved.  Here's what she found out: Bankers emphasize that borrowers need to present a solid picture of their business and themselv ...

 . . . or at least  so opines Edi Osborne, of Mentor Plus, at CPA Trendlines.  She throws in a third promise you've probably heard but we couldn't fit on the subject line:  "No Surprise Billing. Ever."  More:   What do these three tag lines have in common? Predictability. Dominoes and Fed Ex built their entire business model on making (and keeping) an uncomplicated predictability promise to the customer.  D ...

The U.S. likely will fall back into recession if scheduled spending cuts take effect and Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire this year, the Congressional Budget Office said. If the U.S. falls off this "fiscal cliff," the economy will probably contract 1.3% in the first half of 2013, the CBO said.  CNN Financial Times / Alphaville New York Times NPR Reuters USA Today Wall Street Journal Yahoo! Finance ...

Congressional Democrats have proposed financing student-loan legislation by expanding payroll taxes on subchapter S corporations and partnerships. The bill would levy Social Security and Medicare taxes on all business income if the firm is engaged in professional services, such as investment advice, or if 75% or more of the gross income of the firm is attributable to three or fewer shareholders. Investment ...

Over at OPENForum, Mike Periu, a Principal at EcoFin media writes: Using counterintuitive strategies in your business can be risky, but when they work the rewards can be enormous. Trying these methods can help you improve sales and profits: Preventing Theft Warehouse stores like Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s Club are very careful with their inventory management and go to great lengths to avoid shrinkage, which is ...