Tell us about your company. We’re (a) locally owned, full-service CPA and business advisory firm. Some of those services encompass accounting, auditing, tax, management consulting, business valuations, litigation support and retirement-plan record-keeping services for businesses and individuals. We have a staff of around 70 individuals and 13 shareholders.
You were promoted to manager with the firm this summer. What is your role? I specialize in individual and corporate tax, so I serve on the firm’s tax committee. I also serve on our marketing committee. I also specialize in auto dealers, so I’m the chair of our auto dealer committee and I help organize and provide some of (KPM’s) internal training.
What are some key challenges facing businesses for the upcoming tax season? First, just the opportunities for planning are probably a little bit different than prior years, because we know there will be some types of legislation after the elections. We don’t know what’s going to be included. There are expiring lower tax rates. Estate taxes are up in the air and there are a variety of expiring provisions that we expect an extender for, but we’re always waiting until the last minute to know if we’ll get it. Some of the planning techniques that you’ve used in the past are a little iffy, because we’re not sure what’s going to happen before the end of the year.
The second (is) health care reform … because it is so complicated and things are still coming out about what it entails, and everybody’s still hoping for changes and more guidance.
And the last one is just the economy. The businesses that are starting to feel like they’re turning around are wondering, “Should I hire some people back or bring them back full time, and those others that aren’t there yet are wondering when they will be there. … For a lot of small businesses, in a time of recession, it’s not so much profitability as it is surviving (and returning) to the point where they can start thinking of making changes.
How do economic concerns relate specifically to tax issues? One of the (most recent) things done was passing the Small Business Jobs Act to stimulate the economy. It (includes) some pretty hefty small-business expensing provisions to encourage people to purchase new fixed assets, and basically, encourage businesses to spend money in order to get the economy going. And if you’re not quite sure how your business is positioned, I think that makes it a little scarier to put the cash flow that you have on the line.
How do you help business owners plan for their upcoming tax years? We’re always interested in helping business owners plan for the next year. Hopefully, we’ll get some legislation that will give us more than a Band-Aid, so that we’ll have some idea of what’s going on. Then, I think it’s just looking at the position that they expect to be in with their business and how it relates to the tax breaks and tax changes that may be available to them. … It’s easier to take advantage of tax rules when you’re planning for it up front instead of after you’ve already done something.
Why did you decide to work in public accounting? I was incredibly interested in my auditing class when I was in college, and I’d done a little bit of summer work with some private accounting. (But) I was more interested in the variety that comes from public accounting – the chance to deal with different business owners or different individuals. When I (joined KPM), I actually realized that I liked tax a whole lot more than I did auditing, so I focused most of what I do on tax. … It’s a lot of numbers and a lot of rules. And it’s a lot of searching for the right answer that’s both acceptable to the government and beneficial to the client.
