Business Commons^™

2024 Brings Many New Opportunities For Your Clients’ Tax Savings, Michelle Freeman, Shelby Follis

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt:

With the April 15 tax filing season deadline behind us, there are several conversations that practitioners still need to have with their clients about new tax savings opportunities for 2024. Helping your clients take advantage of some of these new opportunities, as well as reminding them of tax savings options that are often forgotten, are value-added services you can provide that will keep them returning for your advice [...]

Beneficial Owner Reporting: Our Role As Trusted Advisor, Shelby Follis, Michelle Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Article Excerpt: The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, enacted on Jan. 1, 2021, contained the first-ever federal requirement for certain legal entities to identify and report their beneficial owners, also known as the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The CTA was designed to “prevent wrongdoers from exploiting United States corporations and limited liability companies for criminal gain, to assist law enforcement in detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, money laundering, and other misconduct.” As trusted advisors, CPAs should consider informing clients of the new reporting requirements and advise them on the best option to pursue, even if they do not file the …

How To Help Your Clients Understand Their 1099-K And Its Everchanging Threshholds, Shelby Follis, Michelle S. Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Although there have not been many ta law changes this year, one tax policy change being implemented this year is sure to cause confusion for a plethora of our clients. That change is the new reporting requirements for the 1099- K. CPA firms are already beginning to get calls from clients about these information reporting forms. If you are a tax preparer, you will no doubt have to help your clients sort through the tax consequences of this form if they use third parties such as PayPal, Venmo and many others for day-to-day cash transactions [...]

Irs Modernization – Preparing Clients, Shelby Follis, Michelle S. Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedures seem to be outdated due to a lack of technology. On a good day, one can call the IRS and only wait on hold for an hour or two before speaking to an agent who may request a form be faxed. A tax professional may have spent half their workday by the time the situation is resolved or a plan of action has been established. It is no secret the IRS has had many setbacks the past 10 years including budget cuts, employment drops and workload increases. The budget declined by 17% from 2010 to …

The Tax Implications Of H.R. 5376: Inflation Reduction Act Of 2022, Michelle Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 16. Interestingly, this Act began its journey into becoming law under a completely different name and year. The Act was originally introduced to the House of Representatives in Septembers 2021 as the Build Back Better bill.

Avoiding Unfavorable Results Of The Favorable Tax Treatment Of Cares Act Withdrawals: An Unexpected Problem, Emily Cokeley, Michelle Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Aicpa Adopts Changes To Auditor’S Report, Ashley Bentley

ETSU Faculty Works

Throughout 2019 and 2020, the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued a collection of seven new auditing standards. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the original effective date of the guidance was deferred. All seven standards went into effect in 2021. The new requirements build on the AICPA’s continuous effort to improve audit quality and promote audit consistency between public and private companies. Many of the provisions of the new standards are closely aligned with previously issued standards by the PCAOB and IAASB. Statement on Auditing Standards (SASs) Nos. 134-140 impact several aspects of the audit, including the concept of materiality, …

Tax Implications Of The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, Michelle Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

On Nov. 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The purpose of this legislation is evident in its name as it encompasses funding for “roads, bridges, railroads, airports, public transportation, access to broadband internet, and clean water” (Stradling, 2021). The revenue to support the $1.2 trillion Act will mainly result from “repurposing COVID-19 relief funds and unused unemployment benefits, delaying a Medicare rebate, and enacting stronger cryptocurrency reporting requirements" (Stradling, 2021). Although there are few provisions in this Act that will affect the average taxpayer, there are some that tax preparers should note.

The Expanded Child Tax Credit And Advance Payments: What Your Clients Need To Know, Michelle Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

The American Rescue Plan, signed into law on March 11, 2021, contained $1.9 trillion of relief for taxpayers (Segers, 2021). The new law, with several retroactive 2020 tax return items, passed in the middle of filing season. Tax preparers scrambled to quickly understand how to process the remaining tax returns and how to handle the millions of already filed tax returns. Tax professionals and individuals seem to now have a handle on the changes that were retroactive, but the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit and its advance payments are still causing much confusion among individual taxpayers. Tax preparers need to …

Story Writing In The Accounting Classroom, Michelle Freeman, Mark Friedman

ETSU Faculty Works

A story is an established method of communicating fact, fiction, parable, and myth from cultural generation to generation. Is it possible to actively engage accounting students with content when the student becomes the storywriter? Can story writing by the student be an effective teaching tool, and should accounting professors consider its use in their classrooms? This archival research seeks to review the literature regarding the value of story writing as a pedagogical tool across academic disciplines in higher education, synthesize the findings of existing research and describe the uses, benefits and difficulties with using story writing in various accountancy classes …

Vita Programs On A College Campus: Create A Win-Win For Students, Professors, Alumni, Employers And Community, Michelle Freeman, Gary Burkette

ETSU Faculty Works

In the spring 2017 semester, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) hosted an on-campus Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Through a series of discussions with other department faculty, it was decided to offer the experience as an internship for accounting students who had completed the federal income tax course in our accounting curriculum. Although one could easily see the benefits of VITA for taxpayers who received the service, I personally had no idea what a blessing the experience would be, nor did I recognize the positive ripple effects it would have for students, alumni and employers. This article will explain …

The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Hurts Single Parents With Children Pursuing A College Education, Michelle S. Freeman, Alyssa Reed

ETSU Faculty Works

This article highlights some instances where the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) increased taxes for single parents at the moment their children are pursuing a college education. The article further recaps education credits that were saved (but not increased) by the TCJA and a deduction that was lost. The authors also discuss an implication of the TCJA that could cause the burden on families sending children to college to increase further. Finally, the article captures items that legislators could enact to relieve the additional burden on families with students pursuing a college education.

Storytelling In The Accounting Classroom, Michelle Freeman, Gary Burkette

ETSU Faculty Works

Under what conditions and in what situations is the telling of personal history and other stories an effective teaching tool?

Storytelling has been used by many of the greatest teachers throughout history. Plato, Jesus and Gandi, used stories, parables and personal histories to educate students (Zabel 1991). In fact, storytelling has been referred to as the foundation of the teaching profession (Abrahamson 1998). In recent years, the use of storytelling has received attention from academic researchers and has been studied in several academic disciplines. It has been suggested that the use of storytelling in higher education settings increases student performance …

Is Your Client’S Short-Term Rental Truly Tax Free?, Michelle S. Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Article Excerpt: Tennessee is well-known to tourists. According to the Tennessee Economic and Community Development blog…..

The Cpa Exam Is Changing: Are The Professors Ready?, Michelle S. Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Accounting professors will now be accountable for teaching their students to think critically, analyze, and evaluate information. The pressure to change accounting higher education cannot be ignored with the new version of the CPA exam, released in April 2017, which now tests analysis and evaluation skills. Have the professors made the changes in their classrooms that will help their students to be successful with this format of questioning? This research seeks to find whether professors have indeed embraced pedagogy that will enhance students’ ability to develop higher order thinking skills. The study begins by explaining changes to the CPA exam. …

The New Lease Standard: What You & Your Clients Need To Know, Michelle S. Freeman

ETSU Faculty Works

Article Excerpt: For many years, operating leases have been an easy, legal and GAAP approved way of keeping debt off the balance sheet…..

Getting Them There: Removing Barriers To The Cpa License, Michelle S. Freeman, Mark Steadman

ETSU Faculty Works

Article Excerpt: An intelligent student chooses to major in accounting. She persists through fraduation with a couble major in accounting and math and meets the 150-hour minimum education requirements…..