Is your favorite non-profit at risk?

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

In May, the IRS began revoking tax-exempt status from nonprofits that had failed to file required returns (including the on-line postcard Form 990-N) for 2007, 2008, and 2009. According to a free report from Guidestar, 300,000 nonprofits could lose their status.

Is your favorite non-profit at risk?   If your business, like ours, is involved in the community, you’ll want to check.  The IRS has published a list. 

The good news is that there’s a “one-time relief program.”  Organizations can preserve their status by filing returns by October 15, 2010. 

If you’re involved with a nonprofit organization of any type, make sure they’re aware of the IRS actions, and the deadline to file returns if they have not done so!

Janet Fifer is an associate principal in the Estate, Trust and Exempt Organizations department at Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast.  She can be reached at jfifer@kaufmanrossin.com.

FICPA Miami-Dade Chapter Raises $20,000 Despite Tropical Storm Bonnie

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

The 2^nd Annual FICPA Ocean Reef Retreat was a huge success, despite Tropical Storm Bonnie. The FICPA Miami-Dade Chapter held the event on July 22 – 25, at the Ocean Reef Club Resort in Key Largo, FL – right in Bonnie’s path. Regardless of the weather, we raised more than $20,000 for the FICPA Education Foundation, and managed to still play golf and get a nice tan. The best part is that the money raised provides Florida accounting students with scholarships to local universities. 

The retreat consisted of CPE presentations, planning meetings, plenty of networking happy hours and a golf tournament, not to mention tanning by the pool. Bonnie gave us a little scare – I was up early Friday morning checking the weather reports. We lucked out only having to reschedule the golf tournament, and by 2:00pm the sun was back out.

The retreat was well attended with many of our industry leaders. For example, we held a happy hour in honor of Michael Pender, the current FICPA President. Bill Ezzell, the former chairman of the Board of Directors of the AICPA and past president of its Foundation Board of Trustees, was our Keynote speaker for the Beach Luau dinner. And we honored nine past presidents of the FICPA ED Foundation including the current president, Jeff Green, at the 50 Past Presidents dinner. Beyond raising money to benefit a great cause, this retreat is an excellent networking event for CPAs and a great mini-vacation for their families. Mark your calendars now, and I look forward to seeing lots of new CPAs at the Reef next year as we continue to raise more money for the FICPA Ed Foundation.

Jason A. Chorlins

President, FICPA Miami-Dade Chapter

Jason A. Chorlins, CPA, CFE, CAMS, is a member of the Forensic, Advisory and Valuation Services department at Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in Florida. He can be reached at jchorlins@kaufmanrossin.com.

Back to the Basics

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

On July 14, 2010, I hopped on a plane to Jamaica with one goal in mind – no, not to bask in the sun and get as tan as possible on their beautiful white sandy beaches, but to educate local Jamaican entrepreneurs by teaching them the basic skills they need to operate and grow their small businesses. 

The University of Miami American Airlines/Eagle Jamaica Project is the final result of University of Miami Hyperion Council members devoting their energy, time and knowledge to creating lessons and real-life activities to teach 50 Jamaican small business owners.  In the U.S. we take a lot of things for granted like basic education, financing, paved roads, modern technology, clean water and shelter. How would you run your business if you didn’t have access to all of these things (which we consider necessities)? It would probably be pretty challenging, which is exactly what these business owners are experiencing.  And by business owners, I mean chicken farmers, agro-processors, juice producers, and hair dressers among others.

Although we couldn’t help them through all of their challenges, we are confident we taught them sound business practices.  We presented lessons that taught these Jamaican entrepreneurs basic accounting, marketing, operations, and business plan development skills.  We actually visited some of their businesses to help them distinguish themselves in their local market and obtain small business loans.  We worked in small groups which helped us really get to know these participants on a deeper level and understand their mission and vision.

It was truly amazing to see how these third world businesses survive on a daily basis.  Even though it was my second time visiting Jamaica and implementing this project, I was still stunned and fascinated by what I saw.  As a new addition to Kaufman, Rossin, I’ve grown accustomed to the great work environment that I experience every day.  We’re able to make business decisions by the click of a button, and many of our employees have graduated from some of the nation’s top schools.  And it goes without saying that we have clean water, beautiful facilities, and some other great amenities that come with being a part of the Best Place to Work For in South Florida.

Experiencing Jamaica and meeting these extraordinary people reminded me of how great things are here, and how entirely different it is just one time zone away.  As I now begin my professional career at Kaufman, Rossin, I bring to it my one-of-a-kind experience meeting and teaching these inspiring business owners as I was exposed to a different way of living and operating a business.  As we work in our robust, modern business world sometimes it’s necessary to go back to the basics – and enjoy the simple things in both life and business.

Aubrey Swanson is the social media coordinator with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top accounting firms in the Southeast. She can be reached at aswanson@kaufmanrossin.com.

Community Association Relief – It’s about time!

Friday, June 11th, 2010

On June 1, 2010, there was a big sigh of relief across the state of Florida.  We all heard it.  On that day, the Florida residential community associations’ voice was heard.  In a stunning reversal from the year before, Florida Governor Crist elected not to veto Senate Bill 1196 and House Bill 561, also referred to as the Distressed Community Association Relief Act.  Long overdue, the Act will finally provide some much needed relief to distressed condominium and homeowner associations, and their law-abiding members, when it goes into effect on July 1, 2010. (more…)

Keeping condo associations afloat

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

As foreclosures mount, condominium and homeowner associations have been reeling from sharp decreases in revenue due to the delinquency of unit owners in the payment of their association fees. This has created a tremendous burden for the paying unit owners to shoulder the shortfall so the association will have sufficient income to continue operating.

However, many homeowner and condominium associations in Florida are taking advantage of an equitable remedy known as the “Blanket Receivership” to increase the association’s revenue stream. To effectuate a Blanket Receivership, the association engages an attorney to petition the court to appoint a Receiver over the delinquent units. Once appointed, the Receiver is authorized to collect rent directly from the tenants residing in the delinquent units to pay the association fees. It’s called a “Blanket Receivership” because it eliminates the need to appoint a Receiver over each delinquent unit individually, which is a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Although there is some cost involved in implementing the legal remedy, it allows the association to collect funds it otherwise would not see at all. The “Blanket Receivership,” approved by Florida courts, is a cost effective and efficient remedy that enables the association to stay afloat.

Read the whole article

Amir Isaiah is the Director of Receivership & Fiduciary Services for Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast. He has been appointed numerous times as Receiver for residential and mixed-use community associations and was the first Receiver to obtain authorization to lease abandoned units under the Blanket Receivership structure. Mr. Isaiah has extensive experience serving as a guest speaker and panelist on the topic of receiverships, and is co-author of “The Receivership Manual for the Florida Juiciary” revised 2009. He can be reached at aisaiah@kaufmanrossin.com.