top of page
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS & NEWS
Cash balance plans offer an intriguing pension possibility
Pension plans aren’t as popular as they used to be. For years now, employers have been moving from defined benefit plans (pensions) to defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s. But one type of hybrid pension that remains relatively popular is the cash balance plan. Examining the concept With a cash balance plan, the employer commits to adding a fixed percentage of participants’ compensation to an “account” that’s, strictly speaking, more of an accounting device than an actu
Sep 17, 20192 min read
Grading the performance of your company’s retirement plan
Imagine giving your company’s retirement plan a report card. Would it earn straight A’s in preparing your participants for their golden years? Or is it more of a C student who could really use some extra help after school? Benchmarking can tell you. Mind the basics More than likely, you already use certain criteria to benchmark your plan’s performance using traditional measures such as: Fund investment performance relative to a peer group, Breadth of fund options, Benchmarked
Jul 9, 20192 min read
The simple truth about annual performance reviews
There are many ways for employers to conduct annual performance reviews. So many, in fact, that owners of small to midsize businesses may find the prospect of implementing a state-of-the-art review process overwhelming. The simple truth is that smaller companies may not need to exert a lot of effort on a complex approach. Sometimes a simple conversation between supervisor and employee — or even owner and employee — can do the job, as long as mutual understanding is achieved a
Jun 4, 20192 min read
Prepare for the worst with a business turnaround strategy
Many businesses have a life cycle that, as life cycles tend to do, concludes with a period of decline and failure. Often, the demise of a company is driven by internal factors — such as weak financial oversight, lack of management consensus or one-person rule. External factors typically contribute, as well. These may include disruptive competitors; local, national or global economic changes; or a more restrictive regulatory environment. But just because bad things happen does
May 21, 20192 min read
Responding to the nightmare of a data breach
It’s every business owner’s nightmare. Should hackers gain access to your customers’ or employees’ sensitive data, the very reputation of your company could be compromised. And lawsuits might soon follow. No business owner wants to think about such a crisis, yet it’s imperative that you do. Suffering a data breach without an emergency response plan leaves you vulnerable to not only the damage of the attack itself, but also the potential fallout from your own panicked decision
May 2, 20192 min read
Three questions you may have after you file your return
Once your 2018 tax return has been successfully filed with the IRS, you may still have some questions. Here are brief answers to three questions that we’re frequently asked at this time of year. Question #1: What tax records can I throw away now? At a minimum, keep tax records related to your return for as long as the IRS can audit your return or assess additional taxes. In general, the statute of limitations is three years after you file your return. So you can generally ge
Apr 19, 20192 min read
Does it still make sense for employers to reimburse employees’ moving expenses?
Some employers reimburse new hires for moving expenses when they relocate. Others reimburse existing employees whose jobs are moved to other locations. Maybe you do both. Now that there’s no tax deduction for moving expenses incurred by individuals, and no more tax-free treatment for employer moving-expense reimbursements, you might wonder: Does it still make sense to reimburse employees for moving expenses? Suspension period The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) suspended the mov
Mar 2, 20192 min read
Some of your deductions may be smaller (or nonexistent) when you file your 2018 tax return
While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces most income tax rates and expands some tax breaks, it limits or eliminates several itemized deductions that have been valuable to many individual taxpayers. Here are five deductions you may see shrink or disappear when you file your 2018 income tax return: 1. State and local tax deduction. For 2018 through 2025, your total itemized deduction for all state and local taxes combined — including property tax — is limited to $10,00
Feb 22, 20192 min read
4 Questions of Compensation Philosophy to Ponder
In the simplest of worlds, an employee effectively performs a set of tasks on an agreed-upon schedule and you pay him or her a fair wage. End of story. But, in the real world, employers need to craft a compensation philosophy: a formal statement outlining their belief system and approach to all the different ways they compensate employees. Here are four compensation philosophy questions to ponder: 1. Do small annual raises for everyone really make sense? Many employers have
Feb 20, 20192 min read
What will your marginal income tax rate be?
While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) generally reduced individual tax rates for 2018 through 2025, some taxpayers could see their taxes go up due to reductions or eliminations of certain tax breaks — and, in some cases, due to their filing status. But some may see additional tax savings due to their filing status. Unmarried vs. married taxpayers In an effort to further eliminate the marriage “penalty,” the TCJA made changes to some of the middle tax brackets. As a result,
Feb 19, 20192 min read
3 Big TCJA Changes Affecting 2018 Individual Tax Returns And Beyond
When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you, besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemize deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the TCJA: 1) eliminates personal exemptions, 2) increases the standard deduction and 3) expands the child credit. The degree to which these changes will affect you depends on whether you have dependents and, if so, how many. It also depends on whether you typically itemize deduct
Feb 13, 20191 min read
Welcome to our New Website
Welcome to our new online home. We hope our website provides our current clients with an effective gateway to communication and information exchange. To our prospective clients, we hope our website provides you with the knowledge to evaluate where our services may benefit your business or you individually. For more information about how our firm can better serve you, feel free to contact us.
Feb 4, 20191 min read
Bruce & Company P.S.C. is an accounting and financial consulting firm in Madisonville, Kentucky. Bruce & Company proudly serves Evansville, Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, and across the United States. Search for certified public accountant near me. At Bruce & Company, we offer tax compliance and consulting, quality auditing and assurance services, audits of employee benefit plans and options, payroll processing, Quickbooks consulting, personal financial planning, and general accounting services.
bottom of page