Accounting
Which states have publication requirements for business entities?
When your business clients form a limited liability company or corporation — or they make certain changes to their entity — they may be required to publish a notice in a local or legal newspaper. Some states have publication requirements to inform the public about new business entities and changes to existing entities. It’s critical that business owners comply with their state’s rules, or they could face fines and other penalties.
In this article, I’ll discuss the states that require public notices and provide some details about when, where, and for how long the notices must appear. The exact information states require companies to include in their published notices vary. It’s important that your clients check with their state or talk with an attorney to ensure they disclose all of the required information.
Arizona publication requirements
In most Arizona counties, LLCs and corporations must publish a public notice of their formation. The Arizona Corporation Commission automatically publishes a notice in the Public Notice section of its website for entities in Maricopa and Pima counties with more than 800,000 persons. Entities in other counties must publish their own notice in a newspaper. If your clients are in a county other than Maricopa and Pima, you can direct them to ACC’s
Although optional, business owners may file the Affidavit of Publication (verification of publication) issued by the newspaper with the ACC. If they opt not to file the Affidavit of Publication with the ACC, the entity should retain it with its other business records.
Arizona LLC publication rules
A new
Arizona corporation publication rules
A new corporation must publish a copy of its Articles of Incorporation in a general circulation newspaper if its known place of business is in any Arizona county other than Maricopa or Pima counties. It’s required to do so within 60 days after the corporation’s Articles of Incorporation are approved by the ACC.
Georgia publication requirements
Georgia requires that corporations formed in the state and all companies registering for a trade name publish a notice. Business owners should keep a copy of the publisher’s affidavit as proof of publication.
Georgia corporation publication rules
The notice of intent to incorporate and a $40.00 publication fee must be delivered to the newspaper no later than the business day after the corporation files its Articles of Incorporation with the Georgia Secretary of State office. The notice must be published within 10 days after the newspaper receives it, and it must appear in the publication once per week for two consecutive weeks.
The Secretary of State requests corporations to use the format below when submitting their notice:
NOTICE OF INCORPORATION
Dear Publisher:
Please publish once a week for two consecutive weeks a notice in the following form:
Notice is given that articles of incorporation that will incorporate (Name of Corporation) have been delivered to the Secretary of State for filing in accordance with the Georgia Business Corporation Code (or Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code). The initial registered office of the corporation is located at (Address of Registered Office) and its initial registered agent at such address is (Name of Registered Agent).
Enclosed is (check, draft or money order) in the amount of $40.00 in payment of the cost of publishing this notice.
Sincerely,
(Authorized signature)
Georgia trade name publication rules
Nebraska publication requirements
New LLCs and corporations in Nebraska must publish a notice of their formation. Nebraska also requires notices of amendments to entities’ formation documents, mergers, entity conversions (i.e., changing entity type), domestication changes, and voluntary dissolutions. The state also requires businesses that file a trade name to publish a notice. Entities must file proof of notice of publication with the Secretary of State office.
Nebraska LLC publication rules
An
If an existing LLC makes a change (e.g., an amendment to its certificate of organization, a merger, conversion or domestication), it must publish a notice summarizing the change for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper of general circulation near its principal office.
In the case of a dissolution, the LLC must publish a notice in a legal newspaper of general circulation for three consecutive weeks.
Nebraska corporation publication rules
A
Nebraska trade name publication rules
If a business files to use a DBA in Nebraska, it must
New York publication requirements
In New York State, new domestic LLCs and foreign LLCs must publish a notice of their formation (domestic LLC) or authority to conduct business (foreign LLC). After publication, companies must submit a Certificate of Publication and affidavits from the newspapers to the New York Department of State.
New York LLC publication rules
A
The state requires the notice to be published in two newspapers (one daily newspaper and one weekly newspaper) designated by the county clerk where the LLC is located once per week for six consecutive weeks.
Failure to publish a notice could result in suspension of an LLC’s authorization to conduct business in New York.
Pennsylvania publication requirements
New corporations and all businesses using a DBA in Pennsylvania must fulfill the state’s “advertising requirements.”
Pennsylvania corporation publication rules
New corporations in Pennsylvania must
While Pennsylvania does not specify specific deadlines for publishing notices nor consequences for failing to fulfill the corporation publication requirements, noncompliance could be risky. For example, a court might determine that the entity pierced the corporate veil, thereby losing its capacity to sue in the state and compromising its shareholders’ and board members’ personal liability protection against the corporation’s debts.
The PA secretary of state office does not require proof of publication, but it’s recommended that the business keep affidavits of publication from the newspapers and retain them with other corporate records.
Pennsylvania fictitious name publication rules
If a business (any entity type) will do business under a fictitious name and it has listed an individual in Box 4 of the Registration of Fictitious Name form [DSCB:54-311]), it must
The advertisement must appear in two newspapers of general circulation (one a legal newspaper, if possible) in the county where the business is located. The notice may appear before or after the business files its fictitious name application with the state. Business owners should keep proof of publication in their company’s records.
States requiring only DBA public notices
Several states without publication requirements for LLC and corporation formations require companies to publish DBA notices in a newspaper or legal publication:
California – A registrant must publish a notice 30 days after filing a fictitious business name statement in an approved local general circulation newspaper near the company’s principal place of business. The public notice must appear once each week for four consecutive weeks. Within 30 days of the final published date, the registrant must file an affidavit of publication with the city or county office.Florida – In Florida, a business must advertise its fictitious name at least once in a newspaper in the county of its principal place of business. The state does not require proof of advertisement.Illinois – A notice of an assumed name filing must appear in a general circulation newspaper in the county of filing once weekly for three consecutive weeks. The first publication should occur within 15 days after the business files its assumed name certificate with the county clerk. Proof of publication must be submitted to the county clerk within 50 days of the assumed name certificate filing date.Minnesota – An individual or entity must publish its Certificate of Assumed Name for two consecutive issues in a qualified legal newspaper where the principal place of business resides. The company should keep the affidavit of publication in its records in case it needs proof that it published the required notice.
Where your clients can find additional information
Secretary of state offices and other agencies that oversee business affairs in your clients’ states usually provide information about publication requirements on their websites. If your clients have questions or don’t find what they need there, they can get the details they need by calling or emailing those resources or reaching out to their attorney for guidance.
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Investor Advisory Group is asking for examples of critical audit matters or key audit matters that can be used for analysis.
The PCAOB’s Office of the Investor Advocate released an advisory last week asking the public to submit examples to the Investor Advisory Group by June 30.
The nominations can come from public company issuers (both management and boards), auditors, financial analysts and investors. They’re looking for the most decision useful CAM or KAM contained in public company audit reports included in the 2024 Form 10-Ks and Form 20-Fs. The PCAOB began requiring the disclosure of CAMs in 2019, while the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board began requiring KAMs disclosures in 2016.
The IAG plans to choose what they believe to be the top three decision useful CAMs or KAMs for 2024 among those nominated. The CAMs or KAMs selected will be identified and discussed in an IAG report expected to be issued publicly later this year.
Each nomination (which may be submitted anonymously) should include an explanation (maximum five hundred words) of why the nominated CAM or KAM provides decision useful information to investors.
The IAG has asked the public to provide submissions to the IAG by June 30, 2025. For more details, see the
More than 11,400 Internal Revenue Service employees have either received termination notices as probationary employees or voluntarily resigned, representing an 11% reduction to the agency’s workforce, according to a
In February, the IRS had around 103,000 employees, but that number has dropped by about 11% due to a series of executive orders from President Trump since his inauguration in January and the downsizing instigated by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, also known as the U.S. DOGE Service. Specifically, 7,315 probationary employees received termination notices, according to the report, and 4,128 employees were approved to accept the Deferred Resignation Program, a voluntary buyout program offered by the Trump administration, which has been
Monday’s report was TIGTA’s first on IRS workforce reductions and it focuses on the probationary employees identified for termination and the employees who voluntarily participated in the initial Deferred Resignation Program. TIGTA plans to periodically update the report to highlight further reductions, including the impacts of the second Deferred Resignation Program and Reductions in Force. The DRP allowed federal employees to voluntarily resign with pay through Sept. 30, 2025.
In conjunction with the reduction in force, the IRS is offering three voluntary separation programs: the Treasury Deferred Resignation Program will mirror the benefits of the first DRP offering; the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment; and the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. In April, the IRS extended the TDRP offer to its employees. According to the IRS, over 23,000 employees have applied for the TDRP, and 13,124 were approved as of April 22.
The report includes a look at the IRS business units affected by the layoffs and voluntary departures. The separations disproportionately impacted employees in certain positions. For example, approximately 31% of revenue agents left the IRS under the program, while 5% of information technology management departed. Revenue agents conduct examinations and audits by reviewing the financial records of individuals and businesses to verify what is reported, and they can work in several IRS business units examining different types of taxpayers.
The Tax-Exempt/Government Entities division lost 31% of its staff, representing 694 employees, while the Large Business and International division lost 25%, or 1,733 employees. The Small Business/Self-Employed division lost 23% of its staff, or 5,765 employees. In contrast, 7% of the Human Capital Office (207 employees), 5% of IT (450 employees) and 4% of taxpayer services (1,714 employees) were affected.
In March, a federal court ruled that the
Most of the 7,315 probationary employees who received termination notices had less than one year experience with the IRS, according to the report, and 6,669 employees had one year of service or less, while 615 employees had between one and five years of service, and 31 employees had more than five years of service.
“The termination of probationary employees will have a greater impact on certain age groups within the IRS workforce,” said the report. The probationary employees who received termination notices tended to be under the age of 40, including 549 probationary employees who were less than 25 years old, representing 14% of all IRS employees in that age group.
Various estimates have been given of the number of IRS employees who will ultimately be affected by the layoffs, ranging from about 20% to 50%. The budget proposal released last week by the Trump administration would cut $2.5 billion from the IRS budget, following on the heels of clawbacks of about
Amid all the turmoil this year, the IRS has also seen a number of high-profile departures, including former commissioner
Some former IRS employees and government accountants may be attractive hires by accounting firms and departments that need to fill their ranks amid the ongoing talent shortage.
“We’re certainly seeing more interest in the hiring of former IRS employees and government accountants in conversations we’re having with clients, and this tracks given the current talent shortage in both the finance and accounting fields,” said Kyle Allen, executive vice president of sales and recruiting for Vaco by Highspring, a recruiting and staffing firm. “These folks bring strong regulatory and audit experience to the table, and their insider knowledge of tax compliance is a big plus for private companies. They can often jump into roles like compliance or advisory work quickly, which is a huge benefit. It’s not a silver bullet for the talent gap, but having more qualified professionals in the mix is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Eide Bailly, a Top 25 Firm based in Fargo, North Dakota, is expanding its presence in Southern California by adding Hamilton Tharp LLP. a firm headquartered in Solana Beach, its third M&A deal in a week.
Hamilton Tharp dates back over 45 years and provides services such as tax planning, trust and estate consulting, family office solutions and accounting to clients in the biotech, real estate and health care industries.
“Bringing Hamilton Tharp into Eide Bailly is an exciting step forward in our continued growth,” said Eide Bailly managing partner and CEO Jeremy Hauk in a statement Monday. “Their strong client relationships, deep technical expertise, and commitment to personalized service align seamlessly with our values. We’re proud to join forces with a team that shares our passion for helping clients thrive.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eide Bailly ranked d No. 19 on
“While this is a relatively small acquisition in terms of size, the real significance lies in the strategic value it brings to Eide Bailly,” said a spokesperson. “This move strengthens our presence in California — particularly in the Solana Beach area — and reflects our continued commitment to serving clients throughout the state with a local, personalized approach backed by the resources of a top 25 CPA and advisory firm.”
Hamilton Tharp managing partner Tina Tharp wanted to expand her firm’s services for clients and create provide more growth opportunities for staff while staying true to their culture. “We were intentional about finding the right fit,” Tharp said in a statement. “Eide Bailly brings the scale and expertise we were looking for, but just as importantly, they share our values and people-first approach.”
Last week, Eide Bailly announced two other M&A deals: with
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