2018 Strategies Newsletter

Point Of View

By Jason Machgan, CPA

I have had the pleasure of working in the accounting profession for nearly twenty years, working with wonderfully talented business owners and entrepreneurs, real estate agents, engineers, doctors, contractors, and many others. It is interesting how certain industries attract similar personalities and those characteristics often seem to push them to great success. Our personality traits develop early in life and can play a major role in our adult life. When I was a teenager, my father and I embarked on a restoration project of my 1974 Triumph TR6. As Dickens wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It was the best time, working with and learning from my father. He could build and fix just about anything. He guided me as we pulled the car apart, had the engine and transmission rebuilt, painted the car, and slowly began putting the pieces back together. The struggles came in putting the car back together. Car parts were everywhere and not just in the garage. I had taken over parts of the dining and living rooms as the interior of the house was perfect for storing freshly painted parts, including the hood (or bonnet), dashboard, or anything I wanted to not get scratched.

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Focusing On Our Clients

For the Love of Beer—and Community

Ask the founders of Draughtsmen Aleworks (DA), Goleta’s own award winning craft brewery and taproom, what the center of their success has been. Their answer is simple: good beer. But don’t let the modest business model fool you. A talented, hard working team of brewmeisters, builders, artists, and entrepreneurs has been innovating and improvising behind the scenes for nearly five years (from inception in 2014 to brick-and-mortar opening in 2016) to keep their tasty suds flowing, their taproom sparkling (and growing), and their customers coming back for more. Impressively, those suds currently flow at a sleek modern facility featuring a 4,200 square-foot brew area, fully visible and open to the taproom; with 15 barrels-ofbeer in the production system; and 19 taps dispensing a rotating selection of brewed-on-site varietals, ranging from blondes, reds, and porters, to lagers, IPAs, and even a series of gluten-reduced ales.

DA also partners with SB’s favorite food trucks, so there’s often tasty grub to pair with your pint of choice. On the brewery’s décor and atmosphere, DA’s “Chief Storyteller” Tami Snow remarks, “It’s clean in design with an approachable, colorful personality—not unlike its founders.” As for the beer, DA produces a well-rounded selection of “quality classic beers” and “euphoric (Continued on page 2) concoctions,” drawing inspiration from both international and California taste profiles. 

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How to Prepare for an Upcoming Financial Statements Audit

By Colin Mak, CPA

Are you looking for a commercial bank loan for your company? In order to obtain the loan, the bank is going to require a lot from you. It is likely that you will be required to produce audited financial statement for your business. To help you get organized for a financial audit and successfully obtain that loan, here are some guidelines and suggestions to help you
get prepared:

What You Need to Know

To get your financial statements audited, your company will engage an audit firm to provide the service. Auditors from the firm
will generally come to your place of business and require full access to your financial records.

The auditor will:

1. Talk to management and employees to gain an understanding of your organization.
2. Evaluate and perform walk-through of your organization’s internal controls over financial reporting.
3. Conduct physical inspection on tangible assets such as inventory and fixed assets.
4. Perform analytical procedures on variances in account balances.
5. Confirm significant account balances such as cash and accounts receivable with banks and customers.
6. Test documentation supporting account balances and classes of transactions.

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2019 Tax Updates

By Jason Portner, CPA, MST

On December 22, 2017, the most sweeping tax legislation since the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was signed into law. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (often referred to as the TCJA) significantly reduces the federal
C-corporation income tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018. It also reduces income tax rates for most individuals, but simultaneously eliminates or limits many tax breaks. The act also provides a new tax deduction for owners of pass-through entities. Most changes to individual provisions take effect 1/1/2018 and expire on 12/31/2025. Here is an abbreviated list of the most important changes.

Exemptions and Standard Deduction

Personal and dependent exemptions have been repealed as of 2018. In exchange, the Standard Deduction has roughly doubled compared to 2017 and a new dependent credit has been added.

The following deductions have been eliminated after 12/31/2017:

Moving Expenses, home equity interest, certain casualty losses, investment expenses, tax return preparation expenses, employee expenses, union dues, and safe deposit box expenses.

Alimony Deduction and the requirement to include Alimony Income—After 12/31/2017 have been eliminated, but existing alimony agreements have been grandfathered.

Mortgage Interest Deduction on purchases or improvements to a primary or secondary home—After 12/31/2017 they are limited to loans of $750,000 or less, but existing mortgages have been grandfathered.

State and Local Taxes Deduction—After 12/31/2017, it is limited to $10,000 annually.

Net Operating Losses (NOL)—For losses arising after 12/31/2017, the NOL deduction is limited to 80% of the taxpayer’s taxable income in the year the deduction is claimed. Most carrybacks are eliminated. Carryovers are allowed indefinitely.

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