Category: Construction

Lapping schemes are one of the most common ways crooked employees skim money from their employers. In these schemes, a perpetrator uses receipts from one account to cover theft from another. Here’s what lapping looks like and how you can help prevent it....

The Minnesota Legislature recently passed a tax bill that conforms or partially conforms several Minnesota tax laws to changes made under prior Federal tax bills. Below is a link to a listing provided by the Minnesota Society of CPAs (MNCPA) of the items that now conform or...

Time flies when you’re having fun — and running a business. Although it’s probably too early to start chilling a bottle of bubbly for New Year’s Eve, it’s certainly not too early for business owners to start doing some strategic planning for next year. Here are som...

Fraud experts have long suggested that the presence of three conditions, known as the “fraud triangle,” greatly increases the likelihood that an employee will commit fraud. Over the years, this conceptual framework has been expanded to become a “fraud diamond.” Under...

We all know that solar energy can save you money on future energy costs. But did you also know that there is a federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) of up to 30% of the total cost of the energy property? The energy property must meet performance and quality standards, mu...

Early revenue recognition has long accounted for a substantial portion of financial statement fraud. By recording revenue early, a dishonest business seller or an employee under pressure to meet financial benchmarks can significantly distort profits. Fortunately, fraud exper...

Many business owners reach a point where managing the financial side of the enterprise becomes overwhelming. Usually, this is a good thing — the company has grown to a point where simple bookkeeping and basic financial reporting just don’t cut it anymore.  If you can re...

ASC 606 provides different guidance about revenue recognition because it explains things differently about completion of contracts. Instead of thinking about revenue recognition based on being able to estimate the contract value and duration, it considers it in terms of “p...

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ Report to the Nations: 2018 Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, organizations victimized by fraud lose a median $130,000. But construction companies, in particular, are even harder hit, with a median loss...

Key Tax Deadlines for Businesses and Other Employers:  Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the third quarter of 2019. This list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you....

Imagine giving your company’s retirement plan a report card. Would it earn straight A’s in preparing your participants for their golden years? Or is it more of a C student who could really use some extra help after school? Benchmarking can tell you....

We’ve reached the middle of the calendar year. So how are things going for your business? Conversationally you might say, “Pretty good.” But, analytically, can you put a number on how well you’re doing — or several numbers for that matter? You can if you choose and...