Accounting

It’s never too late for year-end tax planning

Published

2 years ago

December 18, 2024

2024 brought a variety of ups and downs to the U.S. stock market, job market, and individuals’ pocketbooks and financial plans.

The year started with volatility driven by inflation, interest rate adjustments by the Federal Reserve, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical issues. Yet the second half of 2024 has seen some stabilization as inflation receded and the Federal Reserve started to signal a pause in interest rate increases.

However, what does not change is that we need to help our clients navigate their taxes and provide guidance for their financial future amidst the backdrop of uncertainty.

As we approach 2025, now is an important time to sit down with clients to review their goals and do specific year-end planning to help them keep more of what they earn. We have put together a helpful guide to have productive conversations with clients about maximizing retirement contributions, considering tax-smart investment strategies to reduce their tax burden and more.

Maximizing retirement contributions

Whether it is a 401(k) or a SIMPLE IRA, workplace retirement plans are a great option for clients to reduce their taxable income and save more of what they earn for their retirement. You should highly encourage your clients to participate in the employer-offered retirement plan.

If the employer offers a retirement contribution match, clients should try to at least contribute enough to receive the full match. To harness the most tax-efficient elements of the plan, clients should max out the retirement plan, which reduces their overall taxable income. The 401(k)-employee contribution limit in 2024 is $23,000, but those 50 and older can contribute up to $30,500. The employee contribution limit for a SIMPLE IRA in 2024 is $16,000.

Tax-smart investment strategies

End-of-year financial reviews should provide an outline of the gains and losses in your clients’ portfolios. This may identify opportunities for tax-loss harvesting. Tax-loss harvesting is when capital losses from one investment are used to offset taxes owed on capital gains from another investment or personal income.

There are restrictions on the amount you can deduct from personal income taxes due to tax-loss harvesting; however, this could be something to consider if a client navigated several capital losses this year.

Understanding their tax bracket

Work with your clients so they understand where they fall in their tax bracket to determine the most ideal strategies for them. For example, if your client is on the cusp of a higher tax bracket, are there tax-smart strategies that they should consider to stay below that higher tax bracket?

Questions to ask your clients:

Are they planning to sell an asset that would be subject to a capital gains tax? These are taxes that a client could pay on profits made from the sales of an asset like real estate or stock. If your client owned an asset for less than a year, they may owe a short-term capital gains tax depending on their tax rate. If this is the case, you can recommend that they hold onto the asset for longer to reduce their tax burden. On the other hand, if they owned something for more than a year, they may owe a long-term capital gains tax. You might consider investigating tax-loss harvesting opportunities.
Are they invested in their employer’s health savings account or flexible spending account? These accounts set aside money from a client’s paycheck prior to taxes, which will lower their taxable income.
Are there opportunities to defer a payment or a payout from a sale of an asset, collection of severance or other incoming money? If your client was laid off and is collecting a severance or sold a large asset of value (real estate, stocks, etc.), that income amount might push them into a higher tax bracket. It would be beneficial to decide now if they should split those payments between two years if it would lower the overall tax burden.
Do they expect to have income from investments? If so, they might be liable for a 3.8% net investment income tax on the lesser of their net investment income. Net investment income includes, but is not limited to interest, dividends, capital gains, rental and royalty income, and non-qualified annuities.

Consider opportunities to give back

This is a great time of year to discuss with clients causes that are important to them and if they want to provide a monetary contribution — whether financial, stocks, or a high-value item for donation. Open conversations about donations can uncover opportunities that may be eligible for a federal tax deduction. If your client is interested in donating directly to a charity of their choice in a donor-advised fund, it will only be deductible if they itemize and exceed the standard deduction.

If your client is interested in donating directly to a charity, they may consider a qualified charitable distribution. This is a tax-free transfer of money from an IRA to a charity. Normally, a traditional IRA distribution is taxable; however, a QCD is tax-free as long as it is transferred directly to a charity. This option is available for individuals over 70½ years of age or older. The maximum amount that can be transferred through a QCD is $100,000. A QCD can provide several tax benefits. QCD can count toward required minimum distributions of a client’s IRA, therefore, reducing their taxable income.

A donor-advised fund is a charitable investment account focused on supporting charitable organizations your clients care about. If your client contributes either cash or other assets to a DAF, they could take an immediate tax deduction. Keep in mind that some clients may want to start their own charitable fund, or support a 501(c)(3) organization’s DAF. In addition, as they decide on what organizations to support, those funds can grow tax-free and benefit the charitable organizations in the future.

Start conversations about the TCJA sunset

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act instituted significant Tax Code changes that reduced taxes for many individual investors; however, these tax cuts are only temporary. The TCJA is set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress decides to take action.

Your clients may have seen tax cuts due to the TCJA and if they have, it will behoove you to have transparent conversations with them about how to navigate the TCJA expiring in 2025 and the potential tax increases they could see.

The most significant tax cuts in the TCJA included:

Federal individual income tax rates generally decreased;
Many itemized deductions were capped or disallowed;
The standard deduction doubled;
Changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax rules decreased the number of individual taxpayers subject to the AMT;
The gift and estate tax exemption doubled; and,
The qualified business income deduction was introduced.

Although how Congress will address the TCJA sunsetting in 2025 is unknown, it is critical for you to understand how the TCJA impacted your clients to help them determine how they will or will not be affected. As you have conversations with clients during year-end planning, here are areas to consider:

Income tax planning: Take a look at your clients’ federal income tax rates now compared to 2017 and see if they were higher. Then review the AMT and check to see if your clients may qualify for that under pre-TCJA rules. Understanding if your clients will have a higher income tax or be subject to the AMT under pre-TCJA rules is important for them to know ahead of time and discuss potential income deferral strategies — especially for retirees who are navigating distributions or Roth conversions.
Standard deduction: If your clients currently claim the standard deduction under TCJA, but they used to itemize, you may start flagging for them that they should consider itemizing for 2026 and the best ways to do that.
Gift and estate planning: Currently, the enhanced gift and estate tax exemption is $13.61 million, but this will be cut in half after 2025 if the TCJA expires. You should have open discussions with your high-net-worth clients if they are considering making large gifts and if they want to use this exemption. Keep in mind, many wealth transfer strategies like the creation of trusts or real estate transfers require time to fully implement. If you have these conversations with clients now, they’ll be able to stay in front of potential changes and hopefully avoid any delays.

Help your clients keep more of what they earn

Having transparent and open year-end financial planning conversations now with your clients will help them get a head start on the coming year, identify goals, and determine the right strategies for their unique situation. It will also give you more opportunities to collaborate with financial advisors, estate attorneys, and other professionals to navigate the more complicated issues.

Accounting

Continuous Auditing Transforms Corporate ERPs

Published

4 days ago

July 21, 2026

Business Finance News

continuous auditing transforms corporate erps

As corporate accounting departments cross the threshold into late July 2026, the adoption of continuous, automated auditing systems has reached a definitive turning point. Driven by advances in artificial intelligence and deep integration with modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, leading finance organizations are moving away from traditional, periodic post-hoc audits in favor of real-time, 100% transactional verification. This technological transition is redefining internal control environments, reducing compliance costs, and eliminating the structural delays inherent in legacy quarterly closing processes.

Unlike traditional auditing frameworks that rely on statistical sampling—a process that inevitably leaves operational blind spots—continuous auditing software monitors operational data feeds continuously. Every purchase order, electronic invoice, payroll disbursement, and cross-border wire transfer is automatically cross-referenced against established corporate governance parameters, regulatory tax schedules, and anti-fraud algorithms in real time. Anomalies or unauthorized ledger entries are flagged instantly, allowing internal audit teams to investigate and remediate compliance gaps immediately rather than months after the close of a financial period.

The implications for executive financial management are far-reaching. By embedding continuous verification directly into daily transaction workflows, chief financial officers gain uninterrupted visibility into the organization’s true financial standing. Real-time balance sheet auditing eliminates the severe operational bottlenecks associated with month-end and quarter-end financial reconciliations, freeing accounting professionals to focus on strategic financial modeling, tax planning, and capital allocation rather than manual data entry and spreadsheet consolidation.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting leadership to invest heavily in data governance and technical upskilling. Internal audit teams must evolve from manual ledger reviewers into system architects capable of auditing complex algorithms and validating automated data pipelines. Accounting firms and corporate controllers that master continuous auditing will establish a resilient compliance framework capable of meeting stringent international regulatory standards with total transparency.

Accounting

U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

Published

5 days ago

July 20, 2026

Business Finance News

U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

WASHINGTON — In a major escalation of cross-border trade friction, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders imposing new 50% tariffs on a wide selection of Canadian exports, citing discriminatory practices by Ottawa targeting American auto, dairy, and beverage industries.

The new duties, announced Monday, will take effect in 30 days. They target a broad spectrum of consumer and industrial goods—ranging from wine, liquor, and milk products to commercial cement, furniture, clothing, and hockey equipment.

Untested Legal Mechanism

To enact the sweeping measures, the administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930—a rarely used legal provision allowing the executive branch to levy additional tariffs of up to 50% on foreign nations deemed to discriminate against U.S. commerce.

White House officials noted that Section 338 addresses trade discrimination rather than national security or economic emergencies. The move comes months after prior global emergency tariffs faced legal challenges in domestic courts, signaling Washington’s pivot toward alternate statutory authorities to maintain import duties.

Senior administration officials briefed reporters that the measure directly responds to Canadian provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, restrictions on American vehicle exports, and import quota disparities affecting U.S. dairy and cheese producers relative to third-party trading partners.

“While the administration continues to secure reciprocal trade agreements globally, Canada retaliated against efforts to protect domestic industry,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated.

USMCA Impact and Carve-Outs

Significantly, the newly ordered 50% duties will apply to designated items even if they otherwise comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

However, the administration confirmed key targeted exemptions:

Energy products (including oil and natural gas)
Potash and critical minerals
Fish and seafood
Goods already governed by sector-specific duties (such as existing steel and aluminum tariffs)

Administration representatives emphasized that the tariffs do not stem from recent disputes concerning drifting Canadian wildfire smoke, noting that policy options regarding environmental spillover remain under separate review.

Canadian Response and Market Reaction

Following the White House announcement, the Canadian dollar experienced a sharp decline against the U.S. dollar, falling approximately 0.4% during evening trading.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement emphasizing that Canada’s earlier counter-duties had merely matched previous U.S. trade actions. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens,” Carney stated, pointing to detailed proposals Ottawa submitted to modernize the USMCA framework.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a firmer stance, urging a “dollar-for-dollar” reciprocal response if the measures go into effect on August 19.

With a 30-day implementation window before the duties officially lock in, industry associations and trade groups on both sides of the border are calling for urgent bilateral negotiations to avert further supply chain disruption across North America.

Accounting

Automated Continuous Auditing: Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

Published

5 days ago

July 20, 2026

Business Finance News

Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

The traditional accounting paradigm—defined by periodic monthly closures and post-hoc annual audits—is rapidly giving way to continuous, automated financial oversight. As of July 2026, forward-thinking accounting practices and multinational corporate finance departments are leveraging continuous auditing systems powered by advanced machine learning models. These systems monitor operational transactions in real time, shifting audit methodologies from sample-based post-analysis to absolute, 100% transaction-level verification.

The operational advantages of continuous auditing are transformative. Standard auditing procedures historically relied on statistical sampling, which, despite rigorous methodology, inherently left gaps where anomalies or fraudulent transactions could go undetected for months. Modern continuous auditing platforms integrate directly with enterprise resource planning (ERP) databases, instantly cross-referencing purchase orders, invoices, bank feeds, and tax records. Any deviation from established control parameters or unusual transaction behavior triggers immediate flags for internal audit teams, dramatically reducing detection lag from quarters to seconds.

Beyond fraud prevention, continuous auditing fundamentally alters internal reporting and decision-making. Executive leadership no longer has to wait weeks after the close of a quarter to evaluate precise financial standing; real-time verified ledger data provides an uninterrupted view of operating margins, tax liabilities, and cash flow dynamics. This real-time visibility enables corporate controllers to adjust capital allocation strategies dynamically, mitigating liquidity constraints and capitalizing on emerging commercial opportunities far more efficiently than competitors bound to legacy reporting cycles.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting professionals to acquire new analytical capabilities. The role of the auditor is evolving from manual data reconciliation toward system validation, algorithmic model governance, and strategic risk interpretation. Accounting firms and corporate finance departments must invest in continuous technical education, ensuring that audit staff possess the data engineering skills necessary to design, maintain, and evaluate complex automated compliance systems.