Questions for Residents of Atlanta, GA : Income Tax Preparation Essentials

Choose an Atlanta Certified
Public Accountant for your
Income Tax needs.

Obviously, if you are seeking help on your taxes, you want to be sure that the person who is helping you knows what they are doing. First of all, you are paying them and probably a decent fee. Secondly, you want the peace of mind that comes from knowing your taxes have been prepared correctly.

Yes, for residents of Atlanta, GA, income tax preparation help may be available in abundance, but these are the questions you can arm yourself with to ensure that will get the help you need. 

Here are 6 topics to discuss before you chose your preparer.

• Tax ID Number – A real tax preparer will have one and will not be offended that you asked. It shows you are in the know, since all tax preparers who charge for their services must have such a number.
• Training/Experience – What makes this particular preparer well qualified to take care of your taxes? There are exams on both the state and federal level for tax preparers. Make sure yours has passed them and is up to date. You should also look for someone with a good amount of experience, including experience in many types of tax situations and issues that could arise. Is the preparer continuing to seek out education to stay up to date on the ever changing tax laws?
• E-Filing – You are trying to make the process of filing your taxes as painless as possible. Using a preparer who can file your taxes electronically takes yet one more step out of the process and reduces the chance of mistakes. If you are getting a refund, this will expedite that process.
• Estimate – How much is this going to cost you? There may be some things that come up in the preparation process that were not discussed beforehand, but in general the preparer should have a pretty good idea of what the final price will be based off of what you tell them about your taxes. If you are expecting a big refund, don't let the preparer convince you to let them have a cut. Make them set a fee.
• What if you get audited? - If your paid preparer is a CPA or an EA then they should be able to help you in case the IRS decides to audit you. You won't get the same service from a tax preparation chain. They can give you advice that may be of assistance, but they cannot represent you. So if you get your taxes done at a chain and then get audited, you will have to hire someone else to help you anyway.

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• GBC Tax Income Atlanta Office
• Commonly Used Tax Forms
• Contact GBC Income Tax Services Today! 
• GBC Management Team

Income Tax Preparation Should Be Left to the Pros - Atlanta Payroll Services by GBC Services

Let GBC Services, Inc.
File Your Taxes Electronically

If you find filling out your income taxes is a daunting task, you are by no means alone.

There are plenty of local places in Atlanta, GA income tax preparation can be performed at. You just need to find the one that works for you--call GBC. 

This is the bane of many a worker's year. But it doesn't have to be a miserable experience. Having the right people to help you can make a world of difference when it comes to taxes.


Make sure they can file your taxes electronically, so there is little for you to do. Also, check on the abilities of the paid preparers that are hired at the company. Can they handle difficult scenarios? Where did they learn to prepare taxes?

How much can you expect to pay to have your taxes handled? Several factors can affect the price. First of all, the degree of experience that the preparer has may affect their base fee. Often what you pay for is what you get, so better to shell out a little bit more for good service and peace of mind. Another factor is the size of the business that you operate. If it is just you and some expense receipts, you will obviously pay less than if you have several employees and operate multiple companies.

You usually have 4 levels of tax preparer to choose from.

• CPA – This will be the most expensive option since they have the most training. Being a CPA, however, does not make someone a good tax preparer automatically, so be sure to ask if this particular certified public accountant can supply you with what you need.
• EA – An enrolled agent is someone who is trained to prepare taxes. They differ from a CPA by not having the same variety of training. The only way to become an EA is to either pass several tests or to have actually worked with the IRS for a period of years. This makes them very qualified to help you.
• Tax Preparation Chain – These places will usually be able to prepare your taxes cheaper, but may not be able to help as much if you have a lot of questions or some tricky things to deal with. Watch out for hidden fees if your taxes are not very straightforward. A little something will be tacked on for everything they have to do in addition to just standard tax paperwork.
• Free – How can you get your tax preparation done for free? If you didn't have very much income or are a senior, you may be able to get some free help with your taxes. Check around to see if you qualify.

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• GBC Tax Income Atlanta Office
• Commonly Used Tax Forms
• Contact GBC Income Tax Services Today! 
• GBC Management Team

Experienced Representation = Success in Tax Court

Don't be intimidated
by the IRS

It can be very intimidating to have to go to court with the Internal Revenue Service regardless of who initiates the proceedings. You know that losing this sort of case can have disastrous financial effects on you for many years to come. Failure to prove your innocence can result in things like seizure of assets, liens, and various other collection actions. You will want every advantage you can get in the courtroom to make sure that doesn't happen.

To prevent these actions, you will need to convince a judge that the collection attempts are unjustified. You may be able to get much better results by pursuing your day in court with the proper representation rather than by trying to go it alone. What may cause you to want to go to tax court? Here are a few potential reasons for contesting taxes:

• The IRS attempts asset seizure
• An attempt to claim an unreceived refund
• An offer of compromise is denied
• Claim to be an innocent spouse is denied
• A desire to reassess the taxes you are liable for

In any of these various cases, a great number of tax laws apply. Trying to navigate such case on your own can be difficult if not virtually impossible. Why try to do something that is so important without the proper support in your corner?

The right Atlanta tax representation may be able to help you clear up your tax issue for good and avoid penalties and other undesirable outcomes, so get the help that you need. It will be well worth it.

Very often when an issue arises, you have a limited amount of time to try and resolve the issue. This would include filing for any necessary court proceedings. Even if you feel too much time has passed, an experienced professional may be able to help you get matters taken care of, so don't give up hope. Get a consult on your situation with no obligation, and start working on getting your peace of mind back today. You can have a successful day in tax court.
Get the right representation from an experienced individual.
Look for someone with the right reputation.
Make sure they know your situation well and have experience with the particular circumstances you are dealing with. This will ensure that you have the best chance of getting the desired result in court.

Call GBC Income Tax Services today at 678-366-9232 for all your tax and IRS needs!
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• Essential Financial Services
• Tax Requirements By State
• Visit the Internal Revenue Service's Website

Checklist to Prepare for an External Audit

An external audit will protect your
investment and keep your business.

Following is a step-by-step set of instructions intended to aid in the preparation for an external audit.

The guide can also be used for internal audits. Outlined are the planning stage, the entrance interview, fieldwork, the exit interview, and the final audit report phase.

Planning & Preparation:

• Designate an audit liaison person within your organization who will act as the auditors’ main contact. This should be an experienced person with strong project management and communication skills.
• Send a general communication to faculty and staff stating that if the auditors contact them directly, they should notify the liaison.
• Have the liaison develop a list of contacts who must be kept informed of the audit progress.
• Have the liaison develop a list of people who can provide support on technical issues and gathering documentation.
• If necessary, schedule and conduct a general training session with individuals who may be asked to participate in the audit either to produce documents, be interviewed by the auditors or participate in findings discussions.
• Contact auditors and set up entrance conference. Clarify the purpose of the audit and ask that audit requirements be in writing.
• Alert the internal audit department of the upcoming audit.
• Make necessary arrangements for the audit team – meeting rooms, preliminary interview schedule, entrance conference specifics including attendees.

Entrance Conference:

• Develop a list of questions to discuss in the meeting including the purpose, objectives and scope of the audit; the awards to be included and sampling techniques; timelines including beginning and end of fieldwork and expected report date; and communication process.
• Consider giving the auditor(s) a tour.
• Determine staffing and space requirements, including whether the auditor will need internet access during fieldwork; arrange for auditor on site space; modify meeting room needs as necessary.

Fieldwork:

• Obtain the list of requested records and develop an approach for pulling the information on a timely basis. Give a target date for providing records to the auditors.
• Review the records prior to submission to the auditor. Consider if the records provide the necessary support. Anticipate what questions the records may provoke.
• Maintain a list of all records provided to the auditor.
• Meet with auditors at least weekly to learn of the status of the audit and potential issues that are identified.
• Verify the facts on which issues are based; perform re-calculations and review source documents, if necessary.
• Communicate at least weekly with those within the organization who need status updates.
• Liaison should attend meetings between faculty/non-financial staff and external auditors unless the auditor or faculty insist otherwise.
• Set up exit interview.

Exit Interview:

• Ask for a copy of each finding or draft report prior to the interview.
• Based on the nature of the issues, ask representatives from other groups to participate, e.g. general counsel, internal audit, office of sponsored programs, controllers office, etc.
• Agree on valid findings; negotiate those findings where the facts are not representative of the control weakness.
• Discuss with the auditor the disposition of the audit issue, i.e. verbal comment, report item, management letter.
• Escalate any disputed issues to supervisors.

Audit Report:

• Ask for the final draft report for review.
• Draft management responses and circulate to management for approval.
• Understand the follow-up process.
• Perform a post-audit evaluation to determine weaknesses in the process and potential changes to approach in the future.

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READ MORE>> rmas.fad.Harvard.edu: Preparing for an External Audit

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•     GBC Audit Services Website
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Grow Your Company Simply by Outsourcing Payroll Services

The #1 way to grow your business
is to be more efficient

Your business is either growing or dying, regardless of what payroll services you are using. The facts are in the pudding too, that one of the number one ways to grow your business is by becoming more efficient. One of the most efficient things you can do is simply outsourcing your payroll services completely.

Depending on the size of your company, it will probably be far cheaper in the long run outsourcing payroll services than bringing it in house. I mean, think about that for a second. If you brought the payroll services in house, you now have an employee completely dedicated to this service costing you some hefty wages. Then again, if you divide an employee's time between profit producing activities and payroll services, now you are just throwing mud in your water. Distracting someone from profit producing activities is the #1 thing you do not want to do.

Which is what makes outsourcing your payroll services such a fantastic idea.

Here are some of things that an outsourced payroll service can do:

• Handle direct deposit
• Check printing
• Withholding, time and attendance

Not to mention, outsourced payroll services are well versed in all related laws – local, state and federal tax laws and regulations. Even if you have the time and the resources to hire a full time staffer to do this job, you may still be better off outsourcing your payroll services. Since IRS penalties can be extremely strict and prohibitive of growing your business's revenues if you get dinged, this is in short just an easy (super cheap) way of covering your assets.

Call GBC Income Tax Services at 678-366-9232
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On the Effectiveness of the External Audit Process

Make the most of your annual audit.

It is important that the audit committee has an independent point of view on audit quality; assessing the effectiveness is a natural extension of the audit committee's activities.

That said, what is an effective audit?

Whilst the auditor is in large part responsible for the effectiveness of the audit process, management and the audit committee have an important influence. Their contributions should also be considered in the overall assessment of effectiveness. An effective audit truly challenges and tests the contents of the financial statements in order to form an opinion on whether they present a true and fair view. An audit must, of course, comply with all relevant auditing and ethical standards. Fundamentally, an effective audit must deliver the right audit opinion, in which shareholders have confidence. Other characteristics of an effective audit include:

• Communications and reports to those charged with governance that reflect the audit team’s thought processes and rationale for conclusions. These should discuss management’s approach, alternatives considered, relevant comparators and a clear articulation of the final conclusion. 
• Effective interaction with management and the audit committee throughout its performance — everyone must understand what the ‘audit issues’ are, why they are ‘issues’ and how they will be resolved.

Assessing the effectiveness of the audit process is broader than assessing the auditor. Management have a role too and their contribution should also be included in the overall assessment. With this in mind, let us explore ways to assess the effectiveness of the external audit:

*On TEAM-STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP demonstrated by external auditor:

• Does the partner demonstrate leadership of the team and provide effective ownership and oversight of the audit? 
• Do the partner(s) and manager(s) commit an appropriate amount of time to undertake the audit, to supervise staff and to meet directly with management and the audit committee? 
• Do you agree with the audit team’s assessment of significant risk areas? 
• Are appropriate specialists (e.g., tax, pensions, valuations etc.) involved in the audit commensurate with the complexity of issues?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Feedback from management on whether the partner and key team members are available and responsive, based on interactions throughout the audit. 
• Feedback from members of executive management most involved in the audit process, on whether the lead audit partner is actively engaged in the audit process and audit decisions and is not over-reliant on his/her team. 
• Evidence that changes are made to the audit team in response to changing business needs as well as performance issues e.g., team strengthened to deal with a major corporate transaction. 
• Direct experience of the audit committee and the board based on interactions with the auditor. 
• Information from the auditor on the proportion of senior to junior time and the absolute amount of hours budgeted to be spent on the audit by senior team members. 
• Information from the auditor on the proportion of audit effort spent addressing risk areas. 
• Feedback and insights received by the audit committee and executive management from the involvement of specialists.

*On HOW WELL THE EXTERNAL AUDIT IS TAILORED TO THE BUSINESS:

• Is the audit team’s understanding of the business and its structure, the sector and the regulatory environment appropriately reflected in the audit approach? 
• Is the audit approach responsive to changes in the business over time? 
• Has the approach been challenged in the current year and if so, what has changed? 
• Have business risks been properly considered when assessing audit risks?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Evidence that senior audit team members demonstrate a good understanding of the group’s business and industry sector (e.g., from their discussions with executive and non-executive management). 
• Communication of planning matters by the auditor to the audit committee shows scope changes that are responsive to changes in the size, risk and nature of the business. 
• Communication of planning matters by the auditor to the audit committee shows clear understanding of the business and the risks that matter most. 
• Audit committee’s consideration as to whether the external audit scope makes sense in the context of the areas of the business that it is concerned about. 
• Audit approach is clearly modified year on year as appropriate. 
• Commerciality, flexibility and innovation are apparent from the discussions with the audit team.

*On PROFESSIONAL SKEPTICISM in execution of external audit:

• To what extent does the team demonstrate professional integrity and objectivity? Would the audit partner say ‘no’ when needed and stand by their view? 
• Is there an appropriate degree of challenge throughout the audit? 
• In areas of significant accounting and audit judgement, does the audit team demonstrate the robustness of their approach including the evidence considered and the rationale for the conclusions reached?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Feedback from management and the audit committee on whether senior audit team members were robust when dealing with key judgments, errors, etc., whether they had conviction, were able to clearly articulate the rationale behind their position and did not unduly rely on management representations. 
• The auditor’s communications about their independence clearly articulate the safeguards considered and applied to maintain independence and objectivity. 
• Results of external quality reviews. 
• Evidence from audit committee and other meetings that the audit partner challenges executive management’s view and does not just accept explanations received without corroboration. 
• Quality and clarity of the articulation of the key audit and accounting issues. The basis for the auditor’s view is clearly explained and the audit committee understands the auditor’s thinking.

*On TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE in execution of external audit:

• Is technical excellence visible within the team and is this appropriately demonstrated alongside commercial application? 
• Are management and the audit committee provided with accounting, corporate governance and other technical and regulatory insights to allow them to operate effectively in a changing environment? 
• Do the partner(s) take ownership of technical judgments and are they able to clearly articulate their point of view and reasoning behind them? 
• To what extent are specialist technical resources used and effectively deployed in order to address difficult or unusual technical issues?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Quality of analysis in communication and reports from the auditor. 
• Feedback from members of executive management who are best placed to assess technical competence. 
• Experience from audit committee briefings and formal meetings. 
• Results of external quality reviews. 
• No late surprises coming through communications. 
• Feedback and insights received from the specialists where involved. 
• Number of restatements and prior year adjustments.

*On COMMUNICATION AND REPORTING by the external auditor:

• Are communications from the auditor clear and concise and does the auditor communicate a point of view where relevant? 
• Are the communications and reports from the auditor timely so as to allow appropriate action to be taken to prevent as well as detect material misstatements in financial reporting? 
• Are communications from the auditor specific and relevant to your company and its circumstances?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Clarity and timing of reports to management and the audit committee and whether they provide insight into broader governance matters, the company’s financial reporting process and control environment rather than just accounting technical matters. 
• Use of interim and ‘early warning’ reports in addition to communication of planning matters and findings from the audit. Feedback from management regarding communications throughout the year. 
• No late surprises coming through communications.

*On THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT in the external audit process:

• Are key personnel available and accessible to the auditor when needed? 
• Is information requested by the auditor prepared on a timely basis, complete and accurate? 
• Are management’s papers to the auditor and audit committee on key judgments, estimates and uncertainties well researched and written i.e., articulate the issue, approach used by management and rationale, alternatives considered and a clear final conclusion and recommendation? 
• Where possible, is management proactive in seeking early input from the auditor e.g., on complex, unusual or sensitive transactions? 
• Does the audit timetable allow sufficient time for robust quality control and review processes to be applied by both management and the auditor? 
• Do management act on feedback provided by the auditor on financial reporting processes, and controls?

*Possible sources of evidence; Indicators:

• Delays in the audit process beyond the control of the auditor. 
• Feedback from the auditor on availability and flexibility of key management personnel and timeliness and quality of information received. 
• Feedback from the auditor and audit committee on quality of management’s papers on judgments, estimates and uncertainties and timeliness of involving the auditor. 
• Number of audit adjustments as a result of errors in information provided. 
• Auditor’s feedback on whether management implemented agreed upon actions from prior year management letters, assessments of the audit process or post audit debrief meetings.

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READ MORE>> www.EY.com: Assessing the Effectiveness of the External Audit Process

Call GBC Income Tax Services today at 678-366-9232 for all your tax and IRS needs!
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• GBC Tax Offers Atlanta Experienced IRS Representation
• Essential Financial Services
• Tax Requirements By State
• Visit the Internal Revenue Service's Website
• GBC Audit Services