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Heads Up: SECURE Act 2.0 and Why It Matters for Those Approaching Retirement
President Biden signed the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 on December 29, 2022. The SECURE Act 2.0 is a follow-up to the original Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019.
The SECURE Act of 2019 was a tremendous help for seniors—allowing them to keep their tax-free retirement savings accounts longer. But some legislators believed that wasn’t enough, so they began working on other legislation to support retirees in their goal to save more and hold on to their hard-earned money longer. This resulted in SECURE Act 2.0.
Here is an overview of the key changes that are scheduled to come into effect mostly in 2024 or later.
Ashlynn Ball – Partner @ RBTK. LLP
Community Highlights: Meet Ashlynn Ball of RBTK
SD Voyager features our very own Ashlynn Ball . . .
[SD Voyager] Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlynn Ball.
[SD Voyager] Hi Ashlynn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello and thank you for having me! I’m a wife and mother to two wonderful children, ages 5 and 2. I’m a partner with RBTK, LLP, a San Diego based CPA firm. I’ve always had an affinity for math. Even as a child, my mom would take me to the grocery store and I’d calculate the change before the cash register. By the time I got to college, I still loved math but quickly learned that I didn’t like it enough to pursue a career in applied math. When I took my first accounting course at the University of Redlands, I loved the idea that there is an answer to any question before I started; everything had to balance! . . .
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Tax Organizer for 2022 Taxes
Tax season is here. The tax deadline – Tuesday, April 18th – is fast approaching. The RBTK 2022 Tax Organizer will assist you in collecting and reporting information necessary to properly prepare your 2022 income tax returns.
You can download your Tax Organizer from SmartVault by going to www.my.smartvault.com or by clicking on your specific SmartVault link that was emailed to you by our office this January.
Please complete the appropriate organizer sections and provide supporting documentation where necessary. Prior year data is included for your reference. Please provide us with your items by uploading your completed organizer and supporting tax documents via your SmartVault account, courier services or USPS.
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Understanding ASC 842 Compliance
Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 842 is effective for private companies for years beginning after 12/15/21, so for companies with calendar year ends, your 2022 financial statements will need to be compliant with ASC 842.
What Is Accounting Standards Codification 842 (ASC 842)?
Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 842 requires capitalization onto the Balance Sheet of all leases with terms more than 12 months. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (or FASB) created this new standard to foster more transparency between investors and companies by moving information that was primarily in the footnotes in the past onto the Balance Sheet.
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2022 Tax Planning: What to Know Heading into 2023
Along with pumpkin pie and turkey, Q4 is the time to cook up an End of Year and 2023 Plan for your business. Let’s dive into Year-End Planning, 2022 Tax Planning, and getting ready for the 2023 year.
Time to start shifting into year-end tax planning and getting into the mindset of tackling next year’s season. A constantly changing tax environment creates an abundance of issues to track. Here are key issues to track for your 2022 tax planning and 2023 financial planning: . . .
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What Is the Difference Between a Controller and a Fractional CFO?
What is the difference between a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Controller? Understanding each of these roles, expectations and responsibilities is critical when building your business. For instance, most people think a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Controller are the same, but in fact these two roles have very different expectations and responsibilities.
Before you make a decision on who to hire, it’s important to understand the difference between these two roles.
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Six Questions Construction Contractors Should Ask When Hiring an Accounting Firm
Are you a construction company owner, CEO or CFO looking to hire an accounting firm?
Many accounting firms specialize in specific kinds of clientele such as doctors, lawyers, corporations and service-based providers. If you are an executive of a construction company, and are considering hiring an accounting firm, you need a firm that truly understands the construction industry and its specialized accounting needs.
Here are 6 critical questions you should ask before making a decision.
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Four Accounting Questions to Consider When Starting a Business
The best way for a new business or startup to build a strong foundation is to implement a financial strategy right from the beginning. If you’re considering starting a company, remember this: when building a business, it is critical to consider and develop a thoughtful financial strategy by asking the right accounting questions. Taking the time to build your business from the ground up with a healthy financial foundation can help you increase profit, reduce overhead, and minimize tax liability.
Here are just a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself before getting started.
2022 New Year Planning
A Discussion with Kevin Brown of RBTK & John Wheeler of Akili Capital
Kevin Brown:
Hi, this is Kevin Brown, managing partner at RBTK. We’re starting off the new year and what is one of the typical things we tend to do in the new year? We make new year’s resolutions. Well, any resolution requires good planning. So, most of the clients we work at RBTK are closely held businesses and their owners and entrepreneurs. And there are a number of things to plan for as you come into the new year when you own your own business.
End of Year Planning
A Discussion with Kevin Brown of RBTK & John Wheeler of Akili Capital
Kevin Brown: We’re coming up on the end of the year, and of course, that’s exciting with the holidays and all the things around that and family, but it’s also a time that is really a necessary time to consider some issues around planning, tax planning, year end planning. And today I have John Wheeler joining me, and John is with Akili Capital. John works with a lot of high net worth individuals and I’ll let him share a little bit more about who he works with, but John, with that, tell us a little bit what you’re seeing with your clients and things that may be concerning them as we come into the end of the year.
We Are More Than CPAs
Here at RBTK, we take a very unique approach to servicing our valued clients. That’s because we are more than just CPAs. We are actual business owners who also operate in the CPA service arena. Operating and focusing from a business perspective means we know how to look at a variety of angles to help your business thrive, given your own unique circumstances.
To define our strategy, we ask some key questions: What is your business? What are you doing? And most importantly . . .
Testing the Waters Before Jumping In
When considering a merger or acquisition, the most opportune time to find out about possible culture clashes is obviously before the deal is complete. In fact, one often-cited reason for mergers or acquisitions that fail to get off the ground is concern about potential cultural integration problems. Avoiding such costly pitfalls by conducting a cultural evaluation has become a high priority for most companies considering transactions.
While other facets of due diligence focus heavily upon quantitative factors such as . . .
Helping Business Owners Plan Their Future
At RBTK we are more than just CPAs, we are business financial advisors for our clients and we help them make informed and strategic decisions based not only on their financial information but also on where they want to take their business in the future.
For example, we have a very successful and profitable client that we have been working with for 30 years.
When they first started out as a small company we . . .
Strategic Planning
Many small businesses prepare — and regularly update — a strategic plan, but many overlook this important task.
Whether your business falls into the “have” or a “have-not” category, a strategic plan can be an invaluable resource to help your company accomplish its ultimate objectives. And part of this process involves having a succession or exit plan.
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Succession Plan Troubles
Family-owned businesses often face distinctive challenges when it comes to succession planning. Emotions can run high, and the business owner’s lifelong working legacy may be at stake. This article discusses various ways to address succession planning concerns and conflicts.