Invoice Factoring Is Your Friend - An Overview for the CPA

While most entrepreneurs are in business to grow, that growth itself is often the greatest cash flow issue they have to deal with, especially during the first five to seven years of business. As a company grows, more and more assets are tied up in working capital as well as plant and/or facility costs. During these early years it is absolutely critical that small business owners have access to both short-term and long-term capital.

The Snowball Effect

According to the Harvard Business Review, it takes 40 to 60 cents on the dollar for the average small business to fund new business growth. That money is needed to fund the things that deplete the cash in any business:

1. Materials and/or Merchandise
2. Labor
3. Accounts Receivable

How New EU Rules Will Affect Your Annuity Rates

The Solvency II Rule

This new rule, due to be implemented early in 2014, will require insurers to keep a larger sum of money close to home, just in case it is needed as security. This will ultimately mean that insurers have to change the way that they invest money and it is thought they will initially do this by opting for the relatively safe vehicle of government bonds rather than the higher paying corporate bonds.

Unfortunately lower bond yields also mean lower annuity rates and according to top business advisory firm Deloitte, the lower potential for growth could equate to an average drop in annuity rates of 5%, and if the worst happens this could increase up to 20%.

Why There's No Better Time to Look at Enhanced Annuities

What with the Bank of England's Quantitative Easing Programme (don't worry, you don't need to know the details of this is to see its negative effects on annuities) and the proposed EU rules regarding gender discrimination when related to annuity rates, it's no wonder that many of the UK's large insurers have dropped their average annuity rates by between 3% and 5% over the last month alone.

December of this year will see the introduction of a new EU rule that says insurers can no longer use gender as a criterion when determining the annuity rate offered to a retiree. At present gender is one of the biggest factors when calculating annuity rates, but take this out of the equation and thousands of males could see their potential retirement income plummet by up to 20% while females see theirs rise a little.

Obviously there is nothing you can do about the Bank of England or the new EU rules but there are ways to ensure you get the most from your pension pot.

Protecting Law Firms With Effective Trust Fund Accounting

A client trust account (TA) is an important part of any law firm's business. These accounts are used to cover the expense of a client's involvement with the firm. As such, these trust accounts (TAs), no matter their size, have specific limitations placed on them that the law firm must abide by. Failing to do so can result in serious legal sanctions and even the possibility of disbarment.

The most important fact when considering how to handle a trust funds accounting is the iron clad rule that the trust fund cannot be used to benefit the lawyer or the law firm. This includes direct payments, or the use of trust fund monies to assist in the operation of the law firm. In addition, any use of a TA must be noted as such, including the purpose for which it was used and the name of both the client and lawyer. Should a question be raised about the use of the trust fund, the lawyer or law firm must be able to provide accurate records that demonstrate that at no point have any of the funds been used for disallowed purposes.

Financial Records That Limited Liability Companies Must Maintain in Florida

According to Florida statutes, a LLC is a kind of business entity which is carrying a character of both a corporation as well as of sole proprietorship. As per chapter 608 of Florida statutes, there are certain laws with respect to a Limited Liability Company that makes it mandatory for them to maintain certain financial records as follows.

Department Of State Filing: All Florida LLCs are required to maintain a copy of filings that they do with Florida Department of State. This may include articles of organization, certificates regarding conversions, power of attorney and all other documents that a LLC has filed with the Department Of State. The LLC should also maintain an annual report which is to be submitted yearly to the Department Of State. This annual report should contain the formal name and address of the LLC, date of formation, and date of getting business licence. Full address of registered business and name of registered agent must be mentioned in the annual report.