How We're Different Than Most CPA Firms

Our business plan is simple, we want to develop our relationship with you for the long-term.  The sole practitioner and knowledge base of ExactCPA is me Krishna L. Woods.   You're in good hands, I hold a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountancy from Notre Dame University, and a Master's of Accountancy, Concentration: Taxation from Notre Dame University.  My 16 year career  in accounting was founded on Big4 standards (Arthur Andersen) in Chicago, and I recently had a 6 year tenure working for Rockefeller & Co. (the standard bearer in the High Net Worth / Family Office space)  in serving the accounting needs of High Net Worth clients.  Yes I am a licensed Certified Public Accountant.  

After having 2 children and striving for the work/life balance the appeal of creating my own firm got the best of me and that's how ExactCPA was formed. My goal is to bring to everyone the highest level of accounting client service, nothing less  than the Rockefeller standard.

My husband Lance, spearheads our business development initiatives.  There is no staff which assures you personalized service from me.  We have no secretary and we don't have any pretentious  offices, cars, or lifestyles.  As a result, this allows us to keep our overhead extremely low but most importantly for you this allows us to invest in premier accounting "tools" (to serve you).  These "tools" are for example Drake Tax processing software and a robust suite of CCH & Bloomberg BNA research & tax planning software.   Productive and powerful software tools allow a well knowledged CPA to apply their skill in total effort to minimize your tax obligation and maximize your benefits - per your circumstances.    Hence our tax preparation and filing service is best appreciated viewed through the lens of  'value' as we offer simply the best tools, talent, and client service.
     If you visit our website with regularity you'll learn we publish more news & information on tax regulations, tax planning & strategies, (along with accounting solutions) for individuals and small business than anyone - anywhere.  We are strong advocates of Tax, Accounting, & Investment "Literacy" and that's reflected in our committment to offer everyone a single place to learn. Our search engine is a great tool, explore it with topics of interest to you!

It is precisely this, our knowledge base, that brings you tremendous value and keeps you ahead of the curve (in smart tax planning).

I have spent much of my career serving financial "insiders" (i.e., high net worth individuals and family offices) and understand the value of being ahead of the curve on what's coming down the pipeline in law and regulation.  I believe that all of my clients should be "insiders", and enjoy the same advantages in advice and counsel that comes with being ahead of the curve.

 We are not a “full service” firm, as many others claim to be. We specialize in two areas:

     -(1) Tax compliance, planning, and related matters for individuals & business

     -(2) Accounting solutions for individuals & business, mindful of busy lives and mobile world.

That’s what we do and we do it well. We prefer to concentrate our services in just these 2 areas in order to provide the highest quality service.   

WE PROVIDE VALUE AND SUPERIOR SERVICE.

VALUE

-We are able to charge reasonable rates because we keep our overhead so low.

- We listen to our clients, then provide them with the level of service that best suits their needs. A recurring comment that we hear from new clients is: ”We’re a small business, but our previous accountant treated us like we were a Fortune 500 company”.

-We ask questions. We dig for tax deductions. We don’t just fill out forms. Anyone can do that. We apply our education, experience, and knowledge to legally maximize your deductions while minimizing red flags.

-We ask business questions. We try to get to know the business of our clients so that we can provide them with valuable informed opinions.

SUPERIOR SERVICE

     -You will always deal with me, Krishna.  I will do all of your work from start to finish. Your work will be done by someone with years of experience, who will be in touch with everything involved. In this way we can build an informed, knowledgeable, one on one working relationship with our clients.

     -We are usually available, and we promptly return phone calls. We don’t have a secretary. But we do provide our cell phone numbers and encourage our clients to use them. You will also usually find us in the office on weekends and  after 5 pm. We are not a strict 9-5 office.

     -You will not get lost in the shuffle. Because we do not have staff accountants, and we do all of your work, we can only provide services to a limited number of clients. We don’t run our firm like a factory. We get to know our clients. We do our best to keep them happy.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is part of the building blocks of business accounting. We not only act as your CPA firm with tax advice – we can also help you with the day-to-day operations, including bookkeeping and effective financial advice. We will work with you on your bookkeeping system day-to-day, month-to-month and then use that bookkeeping system as the foundation for an effective business financial strategy, including retirement planning. Whether your business is a schedule “C,” incorporated as an “S” or a “C,” or even a Limited Liability Company.  Below is a general diagram of how it works.

Quickbooks Specialists

Quickbooks is the dominant platform for small business bookkeeping. Over 80% of the industry uses Quickbooks as the platform for its books and records. We help you find ways to streamline and automate. We check and double check. That’s our commitment. Our general ledger maintenance and reconciliation helps allow business owners and employees to focus on their core functions.

Bookkeeping Trial Balance – Financial Statement preparation with the flexibility for trial balance sheet preparation for the entire internal accounting and bookkeeping functions. 

Financial Statement Preparation – we can create personal financial statements, business financial statements, and consolidated or compiled financial statement preparation and analysis. We also create trial balances, profit and loss accounts documentation, balance sheets and cash flow documentation.

First, ExactCPA starts by understanding your business and how your business fits within your industry.    Second, we review your financial records to ensure you begin with clean, reliable numbers.   Third, we work with you to make your financial statements easy to comprehend and to establish best-in-class practices.   Fourth, we recommend and implement internal controls that work.   Fifth, we work with you to establish the level of service to provide and the frequency of our visits (if any at all!) as many of our clients prefer to work remotely.   Sixth and most important, once the financial statements are prepared, ExactCPA's reviews your financial information and identifies what is working and what is not. This way, we can assist you by helping you capitalize on your strengths and correct your weaknesses.

	Bookkeeping Services Process customer invoices Process cash receipts Enter vendor bills Write checks Record payroll File documents	Accounting Services Reconcile accounts Post journal entries Account analysis Control inventory Control costs Prepare budgets Train staff
	Financial Management Services Manage accounts receivable Manage accounts payable Analyze cash flow Conduct fiscal review & assessment Manage financial software Arrange, monitor bank financing If you need help getting your accounting records in order, give us a call!  We look forward to serving you!	Data Clean-Up Enter all multi-year data Reconcile accounts Record journal entries Establish accounting and record retention systems

Hurricane (Storm) Sandy Tax Implications & Resources

Tax Relief for Hurricane (Storm) Sandy Victims 

Federal Relief

Storm Sandy has had a severe impact on many individual and business taxpayers across the East Coast. The Internal Revenue Service, in response to the widespread and ongoing devastation, has announced relief for Affected Taxpayers with respect to the counties listed below. Victims of Hurricane Sandy whose primary home or business are located in federally declared disaster areas are considered Affected Taxpayers and may qualify for an automatic extension of time to file and pay certain types of taxes. In addition, taxpayers whose books, records or tax professionals are located in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy may also qualify for relief.

As of November 6, 2012 relief applies to the following counties:

New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex,

Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union

New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond,

Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester

Connecticut: Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and New London Counties

and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and

Mohegan Tribal Nation located within New London County

As the damage in remaining counties is assessed, the designated areas may be expanded as necessary.

Affected Taxpayers should consider taking advantage of the extensions that are available with respect to various tax payments and tax return filings with deadlines starting in late October, specifically October 26th for New Jersey counties and October 27th for New York and Connecticut counties. Affected Taxpayers have until February 1, 2013 to meet their Federal filing and certain payment obligations.  

Which taxpayers will benefit from relief? 

Unless otherwise stated below, the following taxpayers have until February 1, 2013 to file their tax returns or pay their tax liability: 

• All calendar year taxpayers that have a fourth quarter estimated tax payment due on December 15, 2012 or January 15, 2013 (or an estimated tax payment due sometime between the relief period of October 31, 2012 and January 31, 2013). This will include the fourth quarter estimated tax payment for most individuals and calendar year corporations.
• Taxpayers with third and fourth quarter excise and/or payroll tax returns and accompanying payments due on October 31, 2012 and January 31, 2013, respectively. However, relief for payroll or excise tax deposits normally due before the quarterly tax return is subject to a different rule as discussed below.
• Tax exempt organizations tax returns and payments with an original or extended deadline that falls within October 31, 2012 and January 31, 2013. This category includes calendar year tax exempt organizations which have obtained an extension of time to file their 2011 tax return until November 15, 2012.
• Any fiscal year taxpayer for which the original or extended income tax return due date falls between October 31, 2012 and January 31, 2013. For example, a corporation with a September 30th year end would ordinarily file its tax return or extension request by December 15, 2012.

An important exception relates to payroll and excise tax deposits due before November 26, 2012.

Payments due between the disaster start date and November 25, 2012 will be considered timely if deposited by November 26, 2012. Note that unlike the filing of the payroll or excise tax returns and accompanying payments which can be delayed until February 1, 2013, these deposits must be made by November 26, 2012.

  

More information on the Hurricane Sandy federal taxpayer relief opportunity can be found here:http://www.irs.gov/uac/Hurricane-Sandy-News-Releases  

State Relief 

The New Jersey Division of Taxation has announced an extension for filing tax returns and paying taxes which would have been due on October 30 or 31 to November 7, 2012. More information about New Jersey relief can be found here: http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/sandy-relief.shtml

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has announced similar relief for filing most tax returns and paying most tax obligations (other than payroll taxes) for the period beginning October 26, 2012 to before November 14, 2012 to November 14, 2012. More information about New York State relief can be found here: http://www.tax.ny.gov/bus/multi/sandy_relief.htm

The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has announced a one week extension for October 31, 2012 deadlines to file tax returns and pay tax to November 7, 2012. More information about Connecticut relief can be found here: http://www.ct.gov/DRS

  

ExactCPA Comment: The ability to delay tax payments can provide short term relief at times when the need for funds is greatest to assist with recovery. Taxpayers who use payroll services or pay estimated tax payments via pre-arranged bank transfers may need to make special arrangements to ensure the payment is made by the special later payment deadline. And of course, taxpayers who have lost records or who are otherwise subject to business or personal disruption may benefit from the extra time available to file their returns.

Look for future ExactCPA Alerts on additional tax and financial topics related to Hurricane Sandy in the coming weeks. For more information or for questions relating to your specific situation, please contact us.

Alert: Hurricane Sandy Information for

Condominiums, HOAs & Cooperatives

November 6, 2012

• While we understand that the first "lines of defense" for most Condos, HOAs and Co-ops (collectively "CIRAs") will be their property managers and insurance agents, we believe we can also be of assistance and have compiled a list of some of the financial aspects that we feel will be of assistance as the task of rebuilding and repairing takes place.
• Make sure that expenses and insurance reimbursements related to the hurricane are recorded separately in your books and records in a manner that these costs can be easily identified. This will facilitate the process of filing insurance claims and hopefully expedite reimbursements. Please feel free to contact us if you need assistance with translating any of your financial information with regard to the filing of your insurance claims.
• Flood vs. water damages may be covered under different policies and have vast financial consequences for the CIRA and its owners. In certain complex situations, the hiring of an insurance adjuster to work on your behalf is an option.
• Different CIRAs may have different options available to them to pay for expenditures not covered by insurance. Some may have working capital funds available, while others may have to borrow from other resources within the entity. For others there may be a requirement to special assess or borrow from a bank. Please review your legal documents, as well as, discuss these options with your legal professionals. Feel free to contact us if you need assistance relative to your particular needs.
• Some CIRAs that have outstanding bank loans are wondering what effect if any, hurricane damage may have on the status of their loans. We recommend that loan documents regarding this issue are reviewed or discussed with legal counsel.
• The following website might be useful to obtain information on government assistance from entities such as FEMA: http://www.disasterassistance.gov or http://www.fema.gov
• Consider reviewing your documents regarding authorization for emergency expenditures.
• Finally, combining repairs with a near term replacement might result in cost savings.

Tax Alert: Hurricane Emergency Sales Tax Exemption Program (HESTEP)

In response to the impact caused by Hurricane Sandy on New York City businesses,

the New York City Industrial Development Agency has established the

Hurricane Emergency Sales Tax Exemption Program ("HESTEP") to assist small businesses.

HESTEP is providing a sales tax exemption up to $100,000 for each applicable company for purchases of building, construction and renovation materials, machinery and equipment and other items of personal property and related services needed to rebuild after the storm.

The sales tax waiver will be limited to 250 applicants

and has a maximum $100,000 sales tax benefit.

All businesses with storm-related physical damages are eligible for the

exemption program, however, priority will be given to industrial businesses

located within Flood Zone A and the area of New York City impacted by an

extensive power outage as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

The scope of renovations may include: repairs, in-kind replacements and reconstruction of facilities damaged by the hurricane. Reconstruction efforts must begin within six months of the application and must fully utilize the sales tax benefit within one year of commencement. For more information on this program and to obtain the HESTEP application please visit http://www.nycedc.com/backtobusiness.

ExactCPA Comment: Note that the pool of applicants for this sales tax exemption is limited to 250. It is imperative for interested business applicants to act immediately for this assistance.

Updated Tax Alert:
Additional Tax Filing Extension for Businesses Affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey & Connecticut

The States of New Jersey and Connecticut have approved further relief from tax filing deadlines for businesses still reeling from the impact of Superstorm Sandy.

New Jersey

The State of New Jersey previously extended the due date for filing tax returns and paying certain taxes originally due on October 30 or 31 to November 7, 2012. However, based on recent events the state government felt that further relief was needed by those hit the hardest by the storm.

The new deadline for tax returns and taxes originally due on October 30 or 31 is now November 14, 2012. This extension applies to all counties in New Jersey. Taxpayers qualifying for this relief include businesses located in New Jersey, out-of-state businesses with operations in New Jersey, as well as taxpayers whose tax records and tax preparers are located in New Jersey. Non-resident taxpayers with tax filing obligations in New Jersey who are also located in states that suffered Superstorm Sandy damage are also eligible for the extended due date.
Read more: http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/pdf/Additional_Tax_Filing_Extension11-08-12.pdf

• More information on the Hurricane Sandy federal taxpayer relief opportunity can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Hurricane-Sandy-News-Releases
• The New Jersey Division of Taxation has announced an extension for filing tax returns and paying taxes which would have been due on October 30 or 31 to November 7, 2012. More information about New Jersey relief can be found here:http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/sandy-relief.shtml

Tax Preparation

We know one of your top priorities is paying less tax. This is best achieved through comprehensive tax planning. Whether you’re a business or an individual,  we will work with you throughout the year to develop a highly-personalized plan with tax saving strategies that are tailored to your situation.  We're at the forefront of "tax knowledge" and excel in tax planning and preparation for S-Corporation, C-Corporation, Partnership, and Individual tax returns. We understand how a heavy tax burden negatively impacts a business’s cash flow. Our goal is to reduce your tax liability, freeing capital to re-invest or take advantage of future opportunities.   Below is an illustration of the simple process.

While many accounting firms may be able to provide the “technically correct” answer to a given tax question, ExactCPA is committed to combining technical excellence with creative and proactive tax strategies, tax planning, and tax compliance services (preparation of tax returns). Our foremost objective is to reduce the tax liability of our clients. 

We are determined to minimize your tax obligations on both a business and personal level. We are experts in cost segregation studies, R&D tax credits, the Section 199 Manufacturing Deduction, Section 460 studies for contractors, international taxation of businesses and individuals, and local economic development programs offering tax credits and other incentives.