Local firm management news from around the web: Feb. 4 – 8, 2019

IRS activities following the shutdown
The IRS has reopened following the end of the government shutdown, and IRS employees are working hard to resume normal operations and help taxpayers as much as possible. As the IRS resumes operations, there are some important pieces of information for taxpayers and tax professionals to keep in mind.

What clients need to know about the Sec. 199A deduction
The IRS has released the final Section 199A regulations for the qualified business income deduction, and your clients are ready for answers. The insights outlined by planning and tax expert Bob Keebler, CPA/PFS in the AICPA’s latest Personal Financial Planning podcast episode will help. Access on iTunes or Pod-o-matic.

OH 2018 Pass-Through Entity Tax forms & instructions available now
The 2018 Pass-Through Entity Tax forms and the instruction(draft) booklets are now available on the Ohio Department of Taxation’s webpage at https://www.tax.ohio.gov/Forms.aspx.

Public distrusts tax system, but trusts accountants
A new report from a trio of international accounting organizations finds a high level of distrust by the public globally in politicians and nongovernmental organizations when it comes to their nations’ tax systems, but a comparatively high level of trust in professionals such as accountants and (gasp!) lawyers.

Is your firm merger-ready?
Whether you’re a firm looking to merge upstream or one that is currently shopping for a practice to “tuck” in, it’s critical to gauge whether you’re ready to merge and perhaps more importantly, know when not to.

Tech Corner - Common smarthome myths that just aren’t true
Smarthome technology has come a long way. It still isn’t for everyone, but some of the common myths people use to avoid smarthome tech aren’t true. Smarthomes don’t have to be expensive, and they aren’t always listening to you, for example.