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On Monday, President Obama signed into law The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act. This law provides $30 billion of tax incentives and small business lending. The new Small Business Administration (SBA) loan limit increased from $2 million per business to $5 million.
The law also included many tax law changes. Click on this link to read a great summary of those changes on the McKonly & Asbury blog – McKonomics.
I recently had the honor to be profiled by Roger North of North Group Consultants in their continuing series called StraightForward. This is an “audio series produced by North Group that provides direction for your future by way of interviewing today's leaders in business.” I am certainly humbled that Roger thought enough of what we are doing at McKonly & Asbury to interview me for his series.
Roger and his team do excellent Leadership and Management Coaching and often work with Family Business organizations.
I had a blast doing the interview in a real recording studio (Eric Lee Production). No truth to the rumor that I cut a musical CD while I was there :)
If you desire to listen to the 30 minute clip, please click on this link.
What role does Mojo (the business equivalent of charisma) play in making a company great? Would any business choose to be small over being big? Well, according to Bo Burlingham’s new book, Small Giants – Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big, many are making that decision and with wonderful success.
Today, I had the privilege of attending Bo’s session on what makes a company great at the S. Dale High Center for Family Business. I found him to be an excellent speaker and thought he shared many valuable insights.
As Bo was doing research for his book, he wanted to find if there were companies in America that were “Small Giants.” Companies that he called great, but chose to not necessarily grow at any cost. He listed 6 criteria to be considered for his book:
Continue reading "What Makes a Company Great – The Secrets of Small Giants" »
As most everyone has heard, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire on December 31, 2010. If nothing is done a huge tax increase will be placed upon the highest income earning Americans.
Many have different opinions on whether this is a good idea, if the rich deserve a tax break, if they are paying their fair share… All of this talk reminds me of a cute little tax fable that was given to me many years ago and I thought now was a good time to share.
I was having lunch with one of my friends last week, and the conversation turned to the government’s recent round of tax cuts. “I’m opposed to those tax cuts,” my progressive friend declared, “because they benefit the rich. The rich get much more money back than ordinary taxpayers like you and I, and that’s not fair.”
“But the rich pay more in the first place,” I argued, “so it stands to reason that they’d get more money back.” I could tell that my friend was unimpressed by this meager argument. So, let’s put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.
Continue reading "Bush Tax Cuts Set to Expire – Should They? A Tax Fable to Enlighten" »
As Forrest Gump so famously said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Well yesterday I got a wonderful tasting chocolate covered almond (my personal favorite) – not literally of course. When I started writing this blog over two years ago, I really just wanted to share some ideas about leadership, family business, book reviews, proactive advice… with my clients and some friends in my network. Of course the blog has grown well beyond anything I could have imagined and occasionally some nice accolades will come to confirm that I am making a difference. Yesterday was such a day!
The Wellesley Hills Group (a nationally recognized consulting firm) and their premier online website – RainToday.com (source for insight, advice, and tools for growing your business) recognized my blog along with some national (and even international) organizations. They published an article titled, Are There Any Good Professional Services Firm Blogs Out There? and listed 8 professional service firm (law, architecture, consulting, IT services, accounting…) blogs that are well done and really add value to clients. I was pleasantly surprised to see my name on the list that included Accenture (former Arthur Andersen Consulting Group) and PWC (Global Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers).
Thank you to everyone that checks in and reads the blog, because without any readers this blog would not happen. I also really appreciate the feedback and dialogue I have with so many of you as this is the energy that keeps me writing. So, thank you for allowing me to enjoy a wonderful chocolate covered almond yesterday!
In the past few months, I have been asked by numerous business owners if they should sell their company. In most cases they have reached a point of “overload syndrome” and running the company is no longer fun. The downturn in the economy has caused them to work harder and take home less money.
They are facing even greater government regulations and scrutiny and the joy of owning the business is fading. The prospects for higher taxes and an even greater drop in the return on investment (of time, money and energy) is weighing them down. They probably have some business broker or synergistic buyer inquiring if they are interested in selling.
When they finally ask me, they have often spent countless hours laying awake at night thinking about what it would be like to not own the company. The business is often their identity. I wonder if they hope I talk them out of “these crazy thoughts.” My standard response is to ask them why they are thinking about selling the business. I want to hear their reasoning and then I can usually help them process their thoughts.
Of course, there is no correct answer to this difficult question, but certain things need to be considered. Here are several key things to consider before you decide to sell your business (several from The Business Sale System Book):
The Internal Revenue Service released a draft version of the form that small businesses and tax-exempt organizations will use to calculate the small business health care tax credit when they file income tax returns next year. The IRS also announced how eligible tax-exempt organizations – which do not generally file income tax returns – will claim the credit during the 2011 filing season.
The IRS has posted a draft of Form 8941 on IRS.gov. Both small businesses and tax-exempt organizations will use the form to calculate the credit. A small business will then include the amount of the credit as part of the general business credit on its income tax return.
Tax-exempt organizations will instead claim the small business health care tax credit on a revised Form 990-T. The Form 990-T is currently used by tax-exempt organizations to report and pay the tax on unrelated business income. Form 990-T will be revised for the 2011 filing season to enable eligible tax-exempt organizations - even those that owe no tax on unrelated business income - also to claim the small business health care tax credit.
Continue reading "IRS Releases Form to Help Small Businesses Claim New Health Care Tax Credit " »
Something that I find very fulfilling is mentoring young people – next generation in a family business, new hires at our firm, college students… I find the relationships help me grow, keep me young and enrich my own life. When you help a young person gain greater self awareness and gain clarity about direction for their own life, it can be extremely rewarding in your own.
Well, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a project to help some young college students. As a graduate of
· Importance of starting early.
· Being intentional.
· Building a network (becoming known).
· Volunteering, internships, externships and part time jobs (gaining experience).
I think the video turned out pretty well and if you desire to watch the clip or share the clip with a teenager who could benefit from some coaching about how to find a job, please click this link.
That is right! The Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board is coming to our FEI Chapter meeting!!!
My firm, McKonly & Asbury is proud to be a sponsor of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of Financial Executives International. FEI is the leading advocate for the views of corporate financial management. Its 15,000 members hold policymaking positions as chief financial officers, treasurers, and controllers. Members participate in the activities of 85 Chapters, 74 in the U.S. and 11 in Canada.
FEI will be sponsoring a presentation by Mr. Robert H. Herz, Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Mr. Herz will be speaking on The Changing Landscape of Financial Reporting, including an update on international convergence efforts, major projects, and developments regarding private company reporting on October 7, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at the Hershey Country Club. We invite you to come hear the FASB Chairman speak on topics of importance to accounting and finance professionals. More details are below.
Continue reading "Robert Herz, Chairman of the FASB is Coming to FEI Event" »
