Accounting News and Notes

Duluth/Gwinnett CPA: Preparing Financial Statements for Gwinnett/Atlanta Business Owners

CPA Serving Atlanta GA & Beyond

Today’s small business owner is bombarded daily and hourly with decisions, which are critical to both their short and long term success. Having a set of internal financial statements an entrepreneur can use and rely on, is their best first step in having at their ready disposal accurate and insightful management information. This will help with decisions ranging from when to set up additional lines of credit, hiring and staffing decisions, purchase vs. leasing analysis, job costing and financing decisions of all sorts. Well-organized financial statements allow a business owner at a glance to see their available cash balances, accounts receivable and payable balances, current assets vs. current liabilities and a company’s net book value.

Key management information is an essential and critical component of making good business decisions. Utilization of a Certified Public Accountant is a wise call for an owner to make to develop a set of meaningful “management friendly” financials. The first task is to have a well-laid out and organized chart of accounts that the CPA/owner can use to track all of the company’s assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, cost of goods sold and administrative expenses. Having enough charts of accounts to both run the business as well as to prepare the year-end corporate income tax return is essential. However, equally as important is in not having any more charts of accounts than are necessary, which will otherwise clutter and confuse its reader.

After your CPA has helped you set up the chart of accounts and taught you some of the finer points of Bookkeeping 101, then you can turn your attention to setting up a Management Reporting System where monthly reports can be prepared. This will help an owner go beyond the financial data to discover key operating data such as a job costing program to track revenue and cost by individual job, invoice or client. By reducing business variables to the lowest common denominator, business entrepreneurs are able to gain a good understanding of the many cause and effect relationships of their decisions. By costing jobs individually by both dollars of revenue, cost and profit by job in both dollars and percent, the financial veil is lifted allowing any necessary corrective operating decisions to be made. A good management reporting system will also include key operating statistics, which can be utilized for cash flow forecasts, short and long term planning, and to discover trends before they become problematic. To help you along your way you will find on our web site many more articles you can use to help you along the way to discover how to use company financials to your best advantage.

Utilizing Financials as a Management Tool

Using the Profit and Loss Statement to Determine the Value of Your Business
While the balance sheet shows what a business is worth, the profit and loss statement, properly analyzed, shows a company’s growth rate and rate of return, and points to its future viability. Visit http://www.hiscpa.com/profit-loss-statements.html

Audits, Review & Compilations
There are three different levels of independent attestation services your outside CPA may provide for you. This section will provide you with a basic understanding of each, thereby providing a good reference point for selecting the level of service that is right for your business. See http://www.hiscpa.com/attestation-services.html

Using Cash Flow Forecasts to Improve Business Decision Making
Many cash/acquisition decisions when made in with little or no information appear prudent until it is too late. Beginning with the basis of Cash Flow 101 a business owner can learn how to best make larger financial decisions with prudence and foresight. Visit http://www.hiscpa.com/cash-flow.html

Your Business Credit
Knowing your business and its key operational statistics and ratios will be of prime importance as you plot your company’s short and long term profitability. See http://www.hiscpa.com/creditworthy.html

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Payroll Administration, Bookkeeping.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Cumming, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Tucker as a Faith Based CPA Firm

You Can Still Fund Your 2011 SEP/IRA if You Have Property Extended Your Return.

It’s Not Too Late To Reduce Your 2011 Tax Bill.

If you have properly filed an extension for your business entity you can still fund your 2011 SEP/IRA as long as you fund your SEP/IRA before you file the return and the final due date the extension gained.

For example, if you are an S or an C Corporation you can still fund your 2011 SEP/IRA in 2012 as long as you do it by September 15, 2012 for your S or C Corporation for the 2011 tax year as the return has been properly extended and you fund the SEP/IRA before/reflecting the filing of the return.

If you are an LLC, LLP, Partnership or Proprietorship you can still fund your 2011 SEP/IRA in 2012 as long as you do it by October 15, 2012 for  your LLC, LLP, Partnership or Proprietorship for the 2011 tax year as the return has been properly extended and you fund the SEP/IRA before/reflecting the filing of the return.

The below is a quote directly off of the IRS web site:.

“What is the time-frame for depositing contributions into SEP-IRAs? The employer must deposit contributions for a year by the due date (including extensions) for filing its Federal income tax return for the year. Note: If the employer extends its tax return then it has until the end of that extension period to deposit the contribution, regardless of when it filed the tax return. However, if the employer did not deposit the contribution timely, it must amend the tax return and pay any tax, interest and penalties that may apply.”

To read more about 2012 Tax Rules & Guidelines see http://www.hiscpa.com/blog/2012/01/03/snellvillelilburnnorcrosstucker-cpa-2012-tax-rules-guidelines/

For Your Gwinnett Personal Investing Needs and to set up a retirement plan for your business and to gain more information call Mike Allee of Edward Jones at 770 962 0831

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Dunwoody, Grayson, Alpharetta, Roswell, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs & Tucker as an Award Winning CPA

Duluth CPA Teaches Gwinnett/Atlanta Business Owners Bookkeeping

If you have the full time day-to-day and hour-to-hour responsibilities of running your business the last thing you will want to do at the end of the day is your own bookkeeping.

At His CPA PC We Can Help You With…

• Outsourcing of Financial Statements

• Outsourcing of Bookkeeping

• Overseeing of your In-House Bookkeeper

• Serving as a Part-time Virtual CFO/Controller

As an outside Certified Public Accountant, His CPA PC provides Part-Time Virtual CFO and controller support including guidance on:

• Bookkeeping and Accounting.

• The initial set-up of your company’s books and chart of accounts.

• Payroll and Sales Tax administration.

• Monthly and Quarterly Financial Statements.

• Monthly Management Reports including substantive ratios, trends and gross margin analysis.

“We work with our clients to help guide you step-by-step to help you guide and manage your business towards profitability and business success.” – John Dillard CPA

Contact HIS CPA PC (A Christian CPA Firm) today.

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Lilburn, Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Gwinnett, Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Cumming, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Tucker as a Faith Based CPA Firm

Duluth GA/Gwinnett/Lawrenceville Christian CPA…A Full Service Bookkeeping Firm

His CPA PC: A Full Service CPA/Bookkeeping & Financial Statements. This week at His CPA PC we:

-Helped guide a client to properly classifying their accounts on their Profit and Loss

-Guided a client in being sure their bank account were properly classified and that reconciling items were evaluated for correctness

-Ensured that Health Insurance Premiums were properly classified and listed on the company’s internal financial statements and tax returns

-Reminded a client that QuickBooks is not a “static accounting package” requiring ongoing maintenance to prior periods to ensure congruence with filed tax returns.

-Assisted with determining the chart of accounts to compile financial operating results

-Worked with a taxpayer to pull their financial information together for several years of old tax returns

Financial statements are often misused and abused. They are often ornately presented with accountant’s opinions ranging from audits to compilations. Often we even find a statement of cash flows and financial footnotes. What do these statements tell us? Numbers and data when prettily presented often are an accountant’s representation of the financial status of an entity.

“I believe that financial statements without narratives, analysis of trends, and a review of expenditures are nothing more than formal proof that the bank account has been reconciled and that everything balances. Data without thorough critique is useless.”  –John Dillard CPA

Monitoring Your Books at the End of the Month

Consistent month end control procedures are critical, as any variance to these will negatively impact the reliability of your internal financial. As a Duluth CPA Serving Gwinnett & Metro Atlanta business owners and entrepreneurs here are just a few of the tips we give clients each and every day http://www.hiscpa.com/monthend.html

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Alpharetta, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Atlanta, Gwinnett, North Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Dunwoody, Snellville, Lilburn & Grayson as an Award Winning CPA

Duluth Bookkeeping by Award Winning Gwinnett CPA

John Dillard CPA has been an Atlanta CPA for decades, in Gwinnett since 1982 and in Duluth for the last fifteen years. At His CPA PC we focus our business on helping Gwinnett and Atlanta Business Owners succeed.

“Working with Gwinnett Entrepreneurs and Business Owners is the focal point of our practice. Put our talents to work for you today, being sure you get timely relevant financial information.” – John Dillard CPA

At His CPA PC we can help you with your bookkeeping ensuring that:

• Your financial statements are properly compiled

• Your bookkeeping gives a true picture of your financial position

• You gain financial insight you can use to make prudent business decisions

• Your charts of accounts are well organized for the tax and the “tax man”

• Your accounts are properly classified in the proper sections of your company’s Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss

• Your payroll and sales tax reports are prepared efficiently

• Your financial reports provide essential management information

“The best way to know where you are going is to know where you are.” -John Dillard CPA

We work hard on your financial statements so that you don’t have to. John Dillard CPA of His CPA PC provides Atlanta Business Owners with the option to outsource your bookkeeping needs. Whether you need light bookkeeping or help with the most difficult of management and financial statement issues, His CPA can help. Providing Virtual CFO services to Atlanta Business Owners for decades John Dillard CPA, “brings to the table” a varied and expansive resume of credentials, awards, community involvement and expertise. To read more about Bookkeeping Solutions For Your Metro Atlanta Business see http://www.hiscpa.com/bookkeeping-solutions.html

www.HisCPA.com A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Alpharetta, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Atlanta, Gwinnett, North Fulton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Forsyth, Flowery Branch, Buford, Dunwoody, Snellville, Lilburn & Grayson as an Award Winning CPA

Alpharetta/Lawrenceville/Norcross CPA…Assisting Atlanta Taxpayers Financial Statements & Bookkeeping Issues

Having computerized accounting package which has a balance sheet and profit and loss capability is a great start to being able to track your business transactions accurately and efficiently. Each year we assist many small businesses in using QuickBooks as it is good system and often has much more capability than you will ever need. For many Atlanta new and startup business we help advise them on the easiest way to use their accounting program/QuickBooks so that their bookkeeping and financial statements are both easy to prepare and utilize in making wise and informed management decisions.

Being an expert at running your business does not make you the one that should assume the responsibility of accounting for your business. By applying our decades of experience we are well suited to guide you to track the financial and operational affairs of your business so that your bookkeeping issues and preparation of your financial statements is seamless and painless.

Atlanta Part-Time Virtual CFO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDEgIDuDv_g&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

www.HisCPA.com

A Christian CPA Firm in Duluth GA Proudly Serving Alpharetta/Suwanee/Lawrenceville/Norcross/Atlanta/Gwinnettt/North Fulton as an Award Winning CPA