Author Archives:
Vivian Dempsey

A thriving nonprofit can have grants awarded, pledges committed, and revenue reflected in its financial statements and still be short on cash. The issue is often not whether funding exists, but whether it is available when the organization needs it. Cash flow management helps nonprofit leaders understand what cash is available today and what cash flow looks like on the horizon. Several strategies can help nonprofits manage cash flow more effectively.

Organizations don’t usually decide to outsource accounting because of one major issue. It’s almost always a collection of small, persistent challenges that start to interfere with decision-making. These signs tend to emerge gradually, and leaders often suspect there are issues before they can articulate them. When several of the patterns below start to show up at once, it’s usually a sign that the accounting function needs more structure, capacity, or specialized skill than the current setup can offer.

Roughly 6 million U.S. workers rely on tipped income, and more than 80 million earn hourly wages, many of whom receive overtime pay. To support this large segment of the workforce as new tax rules take effect in 2025, the Treasury Department and IRS have released Notice 2025-69, which explains how workers can calculate the new deductions for qualified tips and overtime compensation created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The Treasury Department and IRS are giving employers extra time to comply with new payroll reporting rules created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). In Notice 2025-62, issued November 2025, the agencies announced penalty relief for tax year 2025, acknowledging that most payroll systems aren’t yet equipped to capture separate data on employee tips and overtime. The move gives businesses some breathing room to adapt, but it also means many workers may not receive the information they need to claim the new deductions.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 introduced significant changes to the U.S. tax code, offering tax savings, reductions, and other benefits to individuals, businesses, and families. The more popular provisions included an immediate reduction in the business tax rate, a new pass-through entity deduction (Section 199a), Net Operating Loss carrybacks, and changes to the annual estate tax exclusion. However, several of these provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, creating uncertainty for businesses. As the deadline approaches, it is important to be aware of the changes and how to prepare.

It’s easy for business owners and executives to get caught up in the daily tasks of running a company. The time and attention required to maintain operations, drive sales, and propel growth can be significant. Unfortunately, this often leaves little time for other important tasks, such as regularly assessing the organization’s financial vitality and performance. Regular monitoring of financial metrics through key performance indicators (KPIs) provides access to important financial information and trends.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made significant changes designed to help counteract the effects of growing inflation. The legislation not only worked to reduce healthcare costs, but also focused on climate change, in part, by incentivizing the addition of energy efficient updates to homes and other dwelling units. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit offers up to $2,000 for the installation of certain efficient appliances and systems. There is also a $150 credit for taxpayers that undergo a home energy audit. Unfortunately, there has been little guidance on what needs to be included in the audit.

For many Atlanta companies little time and attention is spent on tax planning unless the subject arises during year end planning discussions. Most business owners and managers focus on managing operations, sales, production, and human resource issues. Naturally this leaves little time to focus on tax planning, especially when it is an area where most have little practical experience. However, the reality is there are many tax incentives available to eligible businesses that can lead to significant savings. While many of these are taken at the federal level, the state of Georgia also offers several lucrative incentives for eligible companies.

Typically, the end of a state legislative session rarely captures the attention of Atlanta individuals, families, and businesses. However, the most recent session included several important changes and updates, including another personal income tax rebate. Other changes include the introduction of a new sales tax on digital goods, personal income tax updates, modified elections for pass through entities, and changes to the R&D tax credit. Since the updates were sent to the Governor on March 29, 2023, he has up to 40 days to sign or veto the legislation, otherwise it will become law on May 8th. Several parcels of legislation have already been signed into law including  House Bill 162 and Senate Bill 56. It is expected the remaining provisions will automatically become law early next week.

For the last few years, the IRS has been plagued by several issues which have not only resulted in return processing delays but also a decline in customer service. It started when the IRS had to shut down onsite operations, which included activities at mail processing facilities. This meant returns and other communications could not be acted on causing an increase in taxpayer communication and processing delays. In addition, the shutdown also disrupted enforcement activities because of limited access to mail, fax, and print services. Once restrictions were lifted, inaccurate or outdated notices were erroneously sent out creating even more confusion. In fact, the situation was so bad the agency stopped sending any notices until the backlog could be cleared.