While the logo colors of Zinner & Co. are blue and silver 51 weeks of the year, purple was the weeklong preference from March 21- 26. Purple Day is an annual international celebration to create awareness and support for epilepsy and related seizure disorders. What began as a small initiative in 2008 by a young girl in Nova Scotia is now supported annually on March 26^th by people in countries around the world.

“We are thrilled to participate in this annual event. In addition to our deep-rooted spirit of philanthropy, we also work to help others outside the firm learn about and better understand this chronic disorder,” said Partner Sue Krantz, CPA. 

Epilepsy affects about 2.3 million adults and 467,000 children 0-17 years of age in the United States, more than Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy combined. Of the major chronic medical conditions, epilepsy is among the least understood even though 1 in 3 adults knows someone with the disorder.

“Employees have been very creative with their show of support.
In addition to the office adorned with purple flowers and decorations, many made a donation to wear purple clothing throughout the week; some went as far as having purple nail polish, purple glasses and purple tennis shoes,” Krantz added.

"Our Firm  brought in lunch from California Pizza Kitchen on the day where they donated a portion of their sales back to the Epilepsy Association." The week concluded with a purple-themed basket raffle and purple snacks and treats. 

As part of the continued crackdown on refund fraud and identity theft, the Internal Revenue Service today released the Top 10 Identity Theft Prosecutions for Fiscal Year 2015. These prosecutions are part of the wide-ranging strategy to combat refund fraud and assist taxpayers through detection, prevention and resolving identity theft cases in a timely manner.

If you are a family that has privately hired a household employee to provide childcare, senior care, etc., in your home,  there’s a relatively low chance that you'll know what aspects of household employment have changed from 2015 to 2016. The good news is that most of the changes are relatively minor, but here are five topics you should be aware of:

If you are a professional fundraiser or volunteer for an organization, this article is a must-read to help you better understand the difference between deferred and temporarily restricted revenue.

Many of our not-for-profit clients frequently ask me to explain when funding is considered deferred revenue and when is it considered temporarily restricted revenue.  This area can be confusing, as the reporting and accounting implications can vary greatly.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it is changing the website it uses to collect information from IRS Form 990-N filers. The Form 990-N is a very brief annual filing that smaller tax-exempt organizations are able to utilize in place of submitting the lengthier Form 990-EZ or Form 990. Many state, regional, and local affiliates and chapters of national nonprofit organizations qualify to submit the 990-N.

The Form 990-N submission website will change as of February 29, 2016. All nonprofit organizations submitting Form 990-N should consider filing by February 28, 2016 in order to use the old submission website. Starting February 29, 2016, in order to file the Form 990-N, all nonprofits will be required to complete a one-time registration and file Form 990-N submissions through the IRS’s website at www.irs.gov.

Who Must File the Form 990-N

The Form 990-N is a short, 8-question filing that must be filed by organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. An organization meets this criterion if it:

Published in OSCPA Takeaways, Mar. 10, 2016
By Jennifer Rieman, CAE, manager, public relations

Clients. Culture. Community. 
It's not about the work we do; it's about the people we serve. 

Beginning this week, we will kick off a series of FAFSA-related articles that will visit topics and scenarios related to financial aid, navigating the FAFSA process, how your income or your taxes play into the FAFSA and important dates for timely form filing.

From divorced parents, to income variances, to which college savings plan is right for your family, we’ll address these topics and much more. This series is a great resource for parents preparing to send their child to college or degree-seeking adults entering the education marketplace.

FAFSA: The Nitty and the Gritty
First in a series

We all have our favorite seasons – spring, summer, baseball, football. As a CPA, I have tax season, and, if you are parent of a college-bound student, you know all too well, it is FAFSA season. Why should an event that seems invasive, confusing, and stressful be given such a lofty ranking?  How about a chance at free money?