How You Spend Your Tax Refund to Improve Your Financial Situation

Tax RefundI believe our job as accountants is not simply to prepare a client’s tax returns, but also to help our clients manage personal tax issues and financially succeed.  Preparing tax returns may be considered a commodity service, however, understanding the client’s financial situation and giving advice is a value added service that we are happy to offer our clients.  Below is an example where working with your accountant can help you to have a more profitable outcome.  Additionally, NBC5 did a nice piece with tips from Smart Money Magazine.

Video: How to Spend Your Tax Refund

Article: How a Tax-Refund Windfall Can Hurt Your Finances By Richard Satran | U.S.News & World Report

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Lessons Learned from Joint Hearing

 

Kurt Anderson of Corbett, Duncan & Hubly testfied at the Joint Hearing on EDGE tax credits

Recently, our own Kurt Anderson testified before the joint Revenue Committee regarding the EDGE Tax Credit and proposed modifications to the legislation to grant greater access for small businesses to the EDGE Tax Credits.  Read a short synopsis of the hearing below.

After an historic joint hearing among the State Government and Revenue and Finance Committees today on Representative Jack Franks’ legislation HB 1336 to modernize and reform the EDGE tax credit program, there were broad areas of agreement and several areas of concern expressed on Illinois’ economic development policy.

The Small Business Advocacy Council applauds Representative Jack Franks for his leadership at pushing to ensure state economic development policy benefits all businesses, not just those with special connections or clout to get the attention of public employees.

Broad areas of agreement from the testimony include:

  1. Allowing professional services firms to compete for EDGE tax credits (currently they are statutorily prohibited from doing so)
  2. Lowering the capital investment requirements for EDGE tax credit applicants as they have little to do with the cost per job created (which ought to be a key metric in determining the success of each application).
  3. Ensuring that small and mid-sized businesses have a fair opportunity to compete for EDGE tax credit.

“I was disturbed to confirm that there is no limit on how many tax credits the Department can give away without any oversight from the General Assembly. They could give away all the corporate income tax without anyone able to stop them and it is outside the budget process entirely. That’s not right.” said Representative Franks.

“Small businesses that are committed to Illinois are the engine of job growth, but the state’s economic development policy is built around those businesses who say they want to leave. We need to change that to help benefit the businesses who are building their businesses here.” said Elliot Richardson, President of the Small Business Advocacy Council.

Representative Franks intends to continue this discussion over the summer and fall to build more support for an economic development policy that benefits everyone, with hope to move legislation in the veto session or in early 2014.

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Technology: Innovating Faster Than Users

It seems that every few months, some new technology is invented that Embrace Technologychanges how we do business. I’m just old enough that as I started working in the late 1980s, the fax machine was relatively new technology, and if you exchanged documents with customers and vendors, it was done via fax or via messenger service. Mobile phones looked like bricks or were carried around in bags–or you had a “car phone.” Computer monitors were small, heavy and not very good. There were entire businesses built around printing out high-quality color laser prints–because most small businesses could not afford color printers.

Fast forward just under 25 years–and it’s all changed. Cell phones, tablets, PDF files, secure file delivery are all the norm. In the accounting industry, it’s normal to have multiple flat-screen monitors on our desks to do our work. I can’t remember how I got things done when I only had one 15″ monitor to work with. (Occasionally, I have to work on a laptop, and I am reminded.)

Cell phones are ubiquitous–and now tablets have become mainstream, too. You’re never more than a few feet away from a text mesage, an instant message or a video chat.

There is no question in my mind that technology changes much faster than people do. We adapt and use the technology–but old habits die hard. For example, most work can now be done at any computer that is connected to the Internet. People have more flexibility to work and get tasks done than ever before. That flexibility comes along with a small price–where is the line between work and professional life? However, most of us still cling to the command-and-control management style of having “butts in seats” at our offices, and requiring endless meetings or having people at their desks in case something comes up. It’s very hard for most of us to manage people unless we know where they are and how many hours they’ve put in this week.

Why do we do this?

Technology is changing constantly. There has been at least one new iPhone version introduced every year since the product was introduced. New tablets, computers, cars and televisions are coming out faster than ever. We’ve come to expect this and we embrace it.

What major upgrades have you made to yourself over the last two years? Are you still running the same “operating system” that you were two years ago? Five years ago? Longer? What upgrades do you need to make to grow and get out of your comfort zone?

Technology is changing faster than we are. Those of us who don’t try to change ourselves may find that we’re becoming obsolete more quickly than we think. E-mail me and let me know what you’re doing to change.

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Risky Business

Road sign warning about risk aheadAt CDH it is our culture to take risks; risks to challenge how we do things so that we can improve; risks to provide useful feedback to clients and staff so that we can add value and build stronger relationships.  These risks empower us as individuals and our firm to continually grow.  As a woman at CDH, I found this article on taking risks very interesting.  It leaves me with many unanswered questions.  Am I taking as many risks as my male colleagues?  Are the risks I take fundamentally different than my male colleagues, and is that okay?  Since my male colleagues view risk taking differently, what is their perception of my ability to take risks?

This article makes me realize I may need to revise my approach on taking risks. One thing is certain, I will continue to get out of my comfort zone and take risks.   What kinds of risks do you take in your work?  Do you feel like you take more risks or less than your male counter parts.  I look forward to hearing from you!

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Keeping up with Technology

Old ComputerI was asked to write a blog related to Technology. At first I thought that was like asking the blind to lead the blind. However, after thinking about it, I decided there are probably a lot more people out there like me than there are like Bill Gates. In my case, technology first showed itself in a college some 40 years ago in the form of a programming class using a language called FORTRAN. After that I pretty much forgot about it until the accounting firm I was with started buying Compaq Computers which we called luggables. These were 40 pound computers we could lug around to clients offices and impress them by producing lotus spreadsheets, while they peered over our shoulder and thought we were either magicians or practicing witch craft. 

Fast forward 30 years and here I am trying to keep up with the latest trends in “social media”. I am told if I don’t get with it I will be left out of the future. Since I was hoping to take part in the future for a little while longer, I have delved into the various forms of keeping in touch. I have always thought that connecting and collaborating with clients and team members are essential to the long-term survival of a business. Therefore, for those clients and team members that are choosing to connect and collaborate through social media, I better get on board. I started with e-mail, moved on to Facebook, progressed to LinkedIn and am now being introduced to the world of tweeting.

Do I wish all this social media stuff had never happened? Maybe.  However it has happened, so if I don’t want to get left behind I better get on board.  One thing I have learned over the years – while I have often resisted some of the new technological advances, in most cases because of the learning curve, I usually learn to appreciate the benefits that come with it and am happy the advances came along. It will be interesting to see where I go with this and what the outcome will be. I’m sure as soon as I learn the basics of tweeting, something new will come along, or maybe it already has and I just don’t know about it. 

Hope to tweet you soon @DPCorbett

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CDH Meets with the Accountants of Tomorrow!

UIC AccountingCorbett, Duncan & Hubly, P.C. (CDH) attended the annual University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Accounting Club banquet at the Westin Hotel in Chicago on Thursday, April 25, 2012.  The UIC Accounting Club banquet is an event to allow accounting professionals to connect with students looking to start their accounting career.  CDH proudly sent two representatives, Hiromi-anne Usui and Christopher Piatek, to the event to provide encouragement to and network with the future accounting professionals.  Both representatives are UIC alumni.  Here are their thoughts.

Hiromi: “I have attended the UIC Accounting Club banquet since my sophomore year in college.  This is my second time attending the UIC Accounting Club banquet as a professional.  Each year, I am impressed by how students organize such a large banquet/event for approximately 200 guests.  I reconnected with my past classmates and I met a lot of great students!  I even met Everett, who will be starting at CDH this coming November.   I described my experiences as an auditor and the students genuinely asked elaborate and interesting questions.  It was amazing to meet the future successful accountants.”

Chris: “In prior years my attendance at this event has always been as a student. I remember how exciting it was to meet former students that “have made it”. However, now that I was on the other side, I must admit I was a little bit nervous. I wanted to leave the best impression possible of myself and of CDH. As the networking at the beginning of the event commenced my doubts and fears were short lived. The students were very welcoming, and reminded me much of myself a few years ago. It was a very rewarding experience to be able to share with the accountants of tomorrow on what makes our firm so unique and why it is such a great place to work.”

Thank you for the invitation, University of Illinois at Chicago.  We hope to continue to provide encouragement and success to the next generation of successful accountants.  CDH is proud to be part of a growing community.

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Corbett, Duncan & Hubly – A Great Place to Work!

PrintOne of the most common questions that I get from candidates during an interview is, “Why did you choose to work for CDH?”  I love getting this question because for me, it’s so easy to answer and the best part is that I usually surprise candidates with the answer that I give.  Most candidates expect to hear something related to having great people; a terrific social calendar; challenging work or a great culture.  While this is all true, it does not make us any better than our competition and certainly does not differentiate us as a great place to work.  The reason that I accepted my CDH offer and why I continue to choose to work here is because CDH rewards me, and all of its people, for living, promoting and championing a values-based work environment that I truly believe in.  At CDH I am individually responsible for taking care of the things that I have committed to do.  If I do not do this, I am held accountable by those that I have given my commitment.  I can count on the fact that the actions and intentions of those that I work with are done with the utmost integrity and I am free to take risks, speak my mind, challenge the status quo and embrace change as part of my personal and professional growth.

I was recently at a seminar on employee engagement and we had a panel containing HR execs from some of the top companies in Chicago.  I was disappointed to hear what they thought of as cutting edge ways to keep your employees engaged and happy.  I heard about company picnics, jeans Fridays and flexible work arrangements.  I heard about offering challenging work and incentive compensation strategies.  I asked myself, “What is so cutting edge about all of this?”  This was nothing new and everybody is doing this in some way or another.  At CDH, we believe employee engagement starts with creating real relationships with our people and our customers.  We break down personal and professional barriers by challenging our people to live our values, to embrace change and to take risks.  Ideas are welcome and everybody’s opinion counts.

My firm believes in challenging the status quo and in making a difference for our people and our clients.  We have recently defied the industry standard and eliminated all billable hours and time sheets from our firm.  We do not have a time and billing system!!  Wow!  We price all of our engagements in advance and we have not missed a beat!

So how has this different way of doing business worked out for us?  Well, CDH was just named as one of the Best Places to Work in Illinois for the fourth straight year by Best Companies Group.  We take great pride in this because it is our people that fill out the surveys that result in this honor.

If what I have said resonates with you, check out the attached link and see if there might be a place for you within our great firm.  We are always looking for the right values match to make the next great CDH hire.

http://cdh.hireology.com/s/5185

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KPMG Case Serves As Reminder…

I’ve been following the recent KPMG case where a long-standing partner who had spent nearly three decades as an auditor admitted he provided stock tips on clients to a friend in exchange for cash and gifts. These stock tips allegedly led to $1.2 million in illicit profits by one of his clients and the KPMG partner obtained personal benefits including more than $50,000 in cash and gifts.

In addition to the obvious thoughts and questions about why a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with almost 30 years experience would do something like this, it made me reflect back to a recent conversation I had with one of our up and coming senior auditors. The conversation surrounded our CDH WHY statement of how we strive to “make a difference” for our clients. He was struggling to come up with thoughts and ideas on how we can really make a difference for our audit clients. He believes an audit engagement is really important work for our clients but was not sure about how to make a difference in the work that we perform. As I think about this situation and our conversation, it leads me to consider that we really don’t need to get fancy in order to make a difference. Following our profession’s code of ethics and handling our client relationships with the utmost integrity can truly make a difference.

Can it really be that simple? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Freedom!!!

Tax freedom day banner1No, that’s not my imitation of William Wallace, or the ramblings of a tax accountant on April 15. I am referring to Tax Freedom Day or April 18, 2013 (for Federal taxes). And for those of you in Illinois, Tax Freedom Day is actually April 25, 2013, (http://taxfoundation.org/state-tax-climate/illinois) which means an additional 10 days of work (the fifth latest in the Nation). That’s right, every year the Tax Foundation calculates the date when the average tax payer will have earned enough to pay their Federal and State income tax and payroll tax obligations.  That’s five days later than last year, and does not include the governmental spending covered by borrowing (i.e. the taxes required to cover the current year’s projected deficit)–which would push Tax Freedom Day tTax Burdeno May 9.

In 2013, Americans will pay more in taxes than they spend on food, clothing and housing combined.

I’m hoping these facts and figures might motivate citizens to consider whether or not we as a Nation are spending our tax dollars in a reasonable fashion.  I know my children, who will be forced to work extra days to make up for our current deficit spending, are already questioning whether it’s worth it.

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I Take It Back

bio_dcorbettI’m used to telling our younger team members how hard we used to have it during “tax season” (which we now call “opportunity season”) compared to how they have it now. I’d talk about the all-nighters, not seeing the kids for weeks on end, etc., etc.  You remember the stories your parents would tell you about having to walk five miles to school with holes in their shoes. Well, that was me talking to the younger associates.

I now take it back.  It used to be that the afternoon of April 15 was party time and April 16 was a holiday at our firm. Yesterday was April 15 and everyone worked late.  Today is April 16 and almost everyone is here. All the departments – Audit, Tax, Entrepreneurial Services and IT are fully staffed. They have worked well into the night the last few months, worked weekends and worked through holidays. They had the option of taking today off as paid time off. Yet, here they all are.

I think I know why we are still busy: our firm has grown. Preparing personal tax returns, while still an important piece of our business, is not the dominant source it used to be. Today our corporate taxes, audits, international work, consulting and IT services are now bigger pieces of the CDH pie. A lot of that type of work also comes in the same time at the personal tax return work.

I often hear the generalizations about Generation X, Y and Millennials, but I don’t see the distinction in our firm. They are accountable, individually responsible, have integrity and want to continually grow. In other words, they are living our core values. They are team players and I am very proud to be associated with them.

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