Tax Examination – Hot Tips…You Don’t Want to Miss!

Posted by Kelley Lear on Dec 6, 2011 in Audit, Audit, Tax | 0 comments

Tax Examination – Hot Tips…You Don’t Want to Miss!

You know when you attend a tax or vendor conference in the tax industry…and you are sitting there wondering why you are sitting in this mind numbingly boring session? In fact, as your mind starts to wander, you begin to picture yourself sitting on a beach sipping a marguerita under a softly swaying palm tree, swishing down the slopes at Breckenridge with the wind whipping through your hair, or swinging that golf club and hearing that familiar (or not so familiar) “ting” as your ball explodes off the sweet spot on your driver and lands in the middle of the fairway…or anything but sitting in that painful PowerPoint display of bullet points and monotone discussion devoid of any passion or value? Have you even contemplated sticking a pen in your eye so that you could be carried out of there and rushed to the emergency room, just to avoid the remaining hour of that session? Well, I certainly have.

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What Frightens You?

Posted by Kelley Lear on Oct 11, 2011 in Audit, Audit, Compliance, Process Improvement, Tax | 2 comments

What Frightens You?

I thought the title was apropos for this time of year, with “All Hallows Eve” so soon upon us…what does frighten you?  Is it scary late night ghost stories by the fire, or watching a Michael Myers movie in your dark living room with the wind whipping outside your window pane, and the distant call of a coyote in the background?  Or perhaps it is the tall, dark and bony image of a grim reaper in dark robes invading your dreams…reaching out for you with an outstretched hand and ominous groan, with you waking up in a cold sweat?  Well, for many of you tax professionals out there (a bit more practical like myself), perhaps the scariest  thing you can think of is a “Material Weakness” or a “Tax Restatement”! 

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What in the World is a “Tax Portal”?

Posted by Kelley Lear on Sep 29, 2011 in Audit, IT, Process Improvement, Software, Tax | 0 comments

What in the World is a “Tax Portal”?

Finally…tax professionals are beginning to hear about and start to implement portal solutions for their tax departments!  I am so happy to hear this.  I was designing and implementing portal solutions some ten years ago…and these solutions have come along way in terms of technological advances, functionality, ease of use and reduction in cost.  Always a plus for cash strapped tax department budgets!  However, there are still so many tax professionals who have never heard of these solutions and/or are just not aware of what is possible in terms of these solutions for tax.

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Unclaimed Property – Why do I care?

Posted by Kelley Lear on Aug 16, 2011 in Audit, Fixed Assets, States, Tax | 0 comments

Unclaimed Property – Why do I care?

OK, for the average tax department, you might be asking yourself, why do I care about unclaimed property?  And depending upon your industry, operations and organizational structure, you may not.  However, since this is a hot topic out there in industry, even if this topic does not affect your tax department heavily today, you may want to get educated on what it is all about.  Thought I would share some thoughts about it…

So, what is it?  Well, today it can be one of the biggest sources of state revenue.  As defined, it is the “fixed and certain interest” in tangible and intangible property (held, owed, or issued), in the course of a “holder’s” (your company’s) business that at some point has been unclaimed or abandoned for a specific period of time (dormancy period) by the rightful owner.

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Are Your Audit Info Ducks in a Row?

Posted by Traci Wheeler on Jul 28, 2011 in Audit, Empowerment Series, Software, Tax | 0 comments

Are Your Audit Info Ducks in a Row?

As part of our Empowerment Series, aimed at bringing together the collective voices of authorities on such matters as Workplace, Innovation and Industry in tax, we will periodically be polling our readers to understand and share more of their experiences.

With Federal and state governments scrambling to generate revenue, tax audits have been on the rise. Corporations are being subjected to far greater scrutiny than they have been in the past. Resources required to manage these audits have put a strain on most tax departments.  This year, particularly, we have seen an increase in the number of conference sessions devoted to audit issues and challenges, and have written several posts to share with our readers, including a post on state tax audit and appeals strategies and one providing more information on what auditors really need.

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State tax audits are on the rise. If you haven’t had this happen to you yet – just wait – and plan on it. Posted by Guest Contributor: Sam Hodges

Posted by Contributor on Apr 28, 2011 in April, Audit, Audit, Blog, Guest Post, Tax | 5 comments

State tax audits are on the rise. If you haven’t had this happen to you yet – just wait – and plan on it. Posted by Guest Contributor: Sam Hodges

You receive an inconspicuous-looking letter with your state’s seal, small but visible in the corner. Addressed to you. Oh – and you didn’t think anyone (let alone your home state) would be interested in you – but here it is: you are the lucky recipient of an audit notification. After your heart calms down a little, and your mind clears (a couple of good deep breaths do help) you read more, and realize they want this experience to take place in your office – IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! [At least your doctor has the decency to do it in private, with curtains and a paper gown.] AND it will cover several years!!! After you regain your composure (and dust yourself off if you fainted) you should call you accountant(s) and break the news.

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