Get To Know MORE about Chris Gehling.

We recently had the chance to catch up with Tax Partner, Chris Gehling.  Learn about how he leads by example and what he initially thought of becoming an accountant!

What are some of the more important leadership lessons you’ve learned in your career?
I’ve learned to listen.  I think this is important in client relationships as well as the relationship you have with your employees.  I have learned that active listening requires not just listening to what people are saying but to what they are not saying as well.

Why accounting?  What brought you to this career and what do you like most about it?
To be honest, accounting was the last thing I wanted to do when I entered college as an undeclared business major.  But, as I progressed in my coursework, I excelled at accounting and quickly learned that not only could I enjoy something I was good at but I could be successful with it as well.

Why BP?  What differentiates this firm for you?
Coming out of school I knew that a smaller firm would be a better fit for me so I began looking at regional firms like Bergan Paulsen.  I thought this was important as I was interested in getting experience in many areas rather than just tax or just auditing.  Bergan Paulsen continues to believe in personalized service and I enjoy working for a company that allows me to invest in my community.

What do you look for when you hire?
Most of the time we come across extremely smart and capable candidates so what it comes down to is their personality, communication skills and work ethic.  I often talk with candidates about busy season and what it takes to work in the accounting field.

How would you summarize your leadership philosophy?
I believe in leading by example and being candid with my employees.  I don’t believe in micro-managing so I often step back and allow my team to get the job done.

What advice would you give someone getting out of school right now?
I would give practical advice – focus on the CPA exam!  The pass rate is better when you take it as soon as you graduate rather than after a few years in the field.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Now Available to Qualified Tax-Exempt Organizations that Hire Veterans

The work opportunity tax credit provides an elective credit to employers that hire individuals from targeted groups that have a high unemployment rate.  This credit has been extended only with respect to qualified veterans who begin work for an employer on or before December 31, 2012.  For the first time, this credit is available to certain tax-exempt organizations.  Effective November 21, 2011, a tax-exempt organization may claim a credit against its FICA tax obligation for hiring a qualified veteran.  To be considered a veteran, an individual must:

• Have served on active duty (not including training) in the U.S. Armed Forces for more than 180 days or have been discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability, and
• Not have a period of active duty (not including training) of more than 90 days that ended during the 60-day period ending on the hiring date.

In addition to the above, the veteran is considered qualified for purposes of the credit if he or she is certified as:

• A member of a family receiving assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps) for at least a three-month period during the 12-month period ending on the hiring date.
• Unemployment for a period or periods totaling at least four weeks (whether or not consecutive) but less than six months in the one-year period ending on the hiring date (short-term unemployed).
• Unemployment for a period or periods totaling at least six months (whether or not consecutive) in the one-year period ending on the hiring date (long-term unemployed).
• Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and hired not more than one year after being discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least six months (whether or not consecutive) in the one-year period ending on the hiring date.

The credit is equal to 26% of qualified wages paid to a qualified veteran during the first year of employment if the veteran performs at least 400 hours of service and 16.25% of qualified wages paid to a qualified veteran during the first year of employment if the veteran works less than 400 hours, but at least 120 hours.  No credit is available for a veteran who works fewer than 120 hours.

Qualified wages are limited to $6,000 for a short-term unemployed veteran or a veteran certified as being a member of a family under SNAP (for a maximum credit of $1,560).  The limit on qualified wages is $14,000 for a long-term unemployed veteran (for a maximum credit of $3,640).  The limit on qualified wages for a disabled veteran who is hired not more than one year after being discharged or released from active duty is $12,000 (for a maximum credit of $3,120).  Qualified wages for a veteran with a service-connected disability is doubled to $24,000 (for a maximum credit of $6,240) if the veteran is certified as having been unemployed for an aggregate of six months or more during the one-year period ending on the hiring date.

Tax-exempt organizations can only take into account the wages paid to a qualified veteran for services that further the exempt purpose or function of the exempt organization.  The total credit allowed for hiring all qualified veterans cannot exceed the total amount of FICA tax imposed on the organization as an employer on wages paid to all employees during the period the qualified veterans were hired.

For further questions, feel free to contact one of the CPAs within our nonprofit specialty team.

Contractors Deal With Confusing Sales Tax Laws

ARTICLE:  CONTRACTORS DEAL WITH CONFUSING SALES TAX LAWS

Bergan Paulsen Partner, Tom Kunz, recently shared his expertise with the Corridor Business Journal in an article entitled Contractors Deal with Confusing Sales Tax Laws.  The article discusses challenges that contractors face regarding sales tax.  Some contractors erroneously pay the sales tax from their equipment purchase and then submit the full amount of sales tax paid by the end consumer.  One example highlighted in the article resulted in a sales tax refund of $75,000 due to overpayment of sales tax.  Find out more by reading the full article.

In addition, we've outlined an example below where sales tax has been calculated and paid correctly.

Congress Passes 2012 Payroll Tax Holiday Extension

Congress has extended the employee-side payroll tax cut through the end of 2012. After weeks of uncertainty over whether an agreement could be reached, the House passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (H.R. 3630) by a vote of 293 to 132 on February 17, 2012. Senate approval quickly followed, also on February 17, by a vote of 60 to 36.

Lawmakers agreed not to require the $93.2 billion estimated cost for the payroll tax cut extension to be offset by revenue-raising provisions. A potential impasse over revenue increases was avoided entirely when both parties agreed to offset costs of the full-year, two percentage point payroll tax cut through transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the OASDI trust fund.

In a revenue neutral provision, however, the new law eliminates a timing-shift in the estimated tax payments that had been required of certain large corporations under previous laws. Non-tax provisions within the new law extend unemployment benefits and implement a “doc fix” for Medicare.

President Obama is expected to sign the bill as soon as it reaches the White House.

Impact:  The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has estimated that approximately 170 million wage earners and self-employed individuals will benefit from the payroll tax reduction in 2012. 

This tax rate and other payroll information can be found on the Bergan Paulsen payroll tax card.  Visit our website to view/print.

How Long Should You Keep Financial Records? Sample Retention and Destruction Schedule

We often get asked how long you should keep important documents and when is it time to clean up the office.  So, we compiled the below chart with some rules-of-thumb to help keep your business organized.

Description of Records	Manner of Keeping Record	Retention Period	Disposition
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules	Compile and file records on annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records and shred after three years of storage.
Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules	Compile and file records on annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records and shred after three years of storage.
Annual information returns (IRS Forms 990)	Federal law requires that the three most recent years’ returns be kept in the organization headquarters and be made available for public inspection.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
Audit reports	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
Banking statements and reconciliations	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Three Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Cash books	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Chart of accounts	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Cancelled checks	For important payments, i.e., taxes, purchases of property, special contracts, etc., checks should be filed with the papers pertaining to the underlying transaction.  Otherwise compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Depreciation schedules	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Six Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Duplicate deposit slips	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Six Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Expenses analysis and distribution schedules	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Financial statements (year-end, other optional)	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
General / private ledgers	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Journal entries	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Notes receivable ledgers and schedules	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
Payroll records and summaries	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Petty cash vouchers	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Property records, including costs, depreciation reserves, year-end trial balances, depreciation schedules, blueprints and plans	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
Purchase orders	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	One Year.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Requisitions	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Tax returns, worksheets, and revenue agents’ reports	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Permanent.  Store with financial records.	Archive with financial records at the end of the retention period.
Time cards	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Vouchers (invoices) for payments to vendors, employees, etc. (includes allowances and reimbursements of employees, officers, and consultants for travel and entertainment expenses.)	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.
Withholding tax statements	Compile and file records on an annual basis.	Seven Years.  Store with financial records.	Shred at the end of the retention period.

If you have further questions or think we missed something, feel free to contact one of our team members.  

Changes to Form 990 for 2011

The Internal Revenue Service has posted a new version Form 990 for 2011 filings by tax-exempt organizations. Among other changes, the new form revises how exempt organizations report income from joint ventures and changes the threshold for required reporting of activities outside the United States.

For more information on the changes to Form 990, please refer to this article on the American Institute of CPAs website.

Bergan Paulsen 2012 Goals [VIDEO]

We are excited to share our 2012 company goals.  We believe that by investing in growth, talent and a one firm mentality we can continue our history of providing timely, quality services which exceed the expectations of our clients.

We want your feedback!  Send thoughts, comments and suggestions to feedback@berganpaulsen.com.