Category Archives: Legal / Accounting

By Christine Graf

Of the approximately 675,000 CPA’s in the United States, less than one percent are certified to practice as forensic accountants. In addition to investigating financial crimes, forensic accountants work with companies to develop internal controls intended to prevent and detect these types of crimes. 

While many business owners believe that it is the job of internal or external auditors to detect financial crimes, that is not the case. The job of an auditor is to ensure that a company is adhering to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the default accounting standard used by companies based in the United States. 

The savings and loan scandal of the 1980s and 1990s was a driving force behind the creation of the field of forensic accounting, but it was Internal Revenue Service CPA Frank Wilson who is considered the father of forensic accounting. In 1930, after reviewing more than two million documents, Wilson found evidence that notorious mobster Al Capone has committed tax fraud. The following year, after being found guilty, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

During the past decade, the field has evolved, with firms specializing in forensic accounting opening their doors throughout the country. One of these firms, FAZ Forensics, is located at 268 Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

“We specialize in forensic accounting and valuation work mostly in a litigation environment,” said partner Stephen Ferraro. “We’ve all done traditional accounting and tax work, but now we focus 100 percent in this area.”

FAZ Forensics was founded seven years ago after two CPA firms that had merged decided to split. 

“When that happened, our forensic group went independent,” he said. “At the time, there were six of us who spun off and started FAZ, and we currently have 16 people.”

By Christine E. Taylor, Esq.

As of January 1, 2024, businesses across the United States are now burdened with an additional filing obligation due to the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This legislation mandates that businesses not subject to an exemption must file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report (BOIR) with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). 

     Understanding the Reporting Timeline; 

For businesses in existence before January 1, 2024, the clock is ticking as they must file their BOIR by January 1, 2025. Meanwhile, new entities created or registered in 2024 or later only have a 90-day window to submit the report to FinCEN. Businesses should not wait; there is an urgent need for businesses to familiarize themselves with the requirements imposed by the CTA and act promptly to ensure compliance.

       Applicability For Business Entities

The CTA casts its regulatory net wide, applying to both limited liability companies and corporations throughout the U.S. Regardless of size or industry, companies falling within these categories are obligated to adhere to the reporting requirements set forth by the legislation. The CTA provides 23 exemptions from reporting requirements. Companies meeting any of these exemptions are relieved from the obligation to submit a BOIR to the CTA, offering a degree of flexibility within the regulatory framework. Exempt entities include investment companies, banks, insurance companies, tax-exempt entities, large operating companies, and more. Large operating companies are classified based on three criteria: having over 20 full-time employees in the United States, maintaining a physical office in the U.S., and filing a federal income tax return or information return in the U.S. for the preceding year, showcasing gross receipts or sales exceeding $5 million, excluding those from sources outside the United States. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

Accounting firms country-wide are having as much trouble as other businesses finding enough people to hire, according to Paul Dowen, CPA, a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP. WDR is headquartered in Queensbury and provides accounting, advisory and tax services primarily for small businesses.

“Even the IRS can’t find enough people to help resolve tax issues,” said Dowen. “You can rarely get someone to answer the telephone.”

One reason for the shortage of qualified accountants may be the five years or 150 credit hours it takes to earn the degree.

“College students weighing their options wonder if they really want to take on an extra year of schooling and the extra debt,” he said.

For the last three years, the Covid years, Dowen and his associates have had to turn down income tax preparation for individuals, referring them and some smaller businesses who were not already clients “to the big box companies.”

“We’ve had to be selective, which we never had to do before,” he said. “We would be forced to raise our fees to price out those smaller returns, even though we would like to help them out.”

The client base at WDR is primarily businesses ranging from $250,000 to $2.5 million in gross receipts. Dowen said his firm wants to know each client well, “not just crank out tax returns.”

“It comes down to the relationship,” he said. “I want to know who you are, what are your life goals. Do you want to get ready to retire, sell your business or turn it over to family members?” 

“I want the relationship for your lifetime, and I want to make sure you’re making money,” he said. “Not all accountants take the time to build that relationship.”

By Christine Graf

Tax advisory CPA firm Bucknam & Conley has relocated its offices to a larger space at 18 Division St. in Saratoga Springs.

Founded 30 years ago by CPA Melinda Bucknam, the business has six employees. Co-managing partner Carissa Conley, CPA, joined the firm two years ago and formed a partnership with Bucknam in 2021.

“We focus on tax work,” said Conley. “We don’t do audit work, and we don’t work with non-profits or government. We don’t take on small returns because clients won’t get the benefit of our services. Our main focus is on business advisory and tax advisory for businesses across the country of varying sizes and different markets.”

Approximately 50 percent of the firm’s clients are local, and the rest are spread out throughout the United States. Many operate in multiple states and require multi-state returns.

Bucknam & Conley utilizes the latest technology and is 100 percent cloud based. For them, it remained business as usual when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered offices.

“We already had a half and half work schedule and people were working from home half the time and coming into the office half of the time,” said Conley. “When COVID hit, our work flow did not stop at all. It was tax season, and we were able to get everything done. Our clients didn’t even notice that anything had changed.”

Since the start of the pandemic, staff at Buckman & Conley have helped clients optimize their employee retention credits and apply for New York State grants as well as PPP and EIDL loans. Many of their clients are restaurants—including many in downtown Saratoga–and all were able to survive the pandemic.

By Christine Graf

Saratoga Springs attorney Steve Perkins has announced the opening of his new firm, Perkins Law PLLC. 

The Siena College and Albany Law School graduate handles cases in Saratoga, Albany, Warren, and Washington counties. Perkins, a native of Saratoga Springs, works from home in order to keep overhead costs low. He meets with clients at 524 Maple Ave., Suite 2, a space he leases from attorney Rita Young.

During law school, Perkins interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, litigation firm Wilson Elser, and Ayco, a Goldman Sachs Company. After graduating in 2016, he worked for McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum in Glens Falls. He started in the real estate department before moving into trusts and estates. 

Five years later, in the fall of 2021, Perkins made the decision to open his own firm. 

“I’m definitely still in the building phase,” he said. “My model is that I work from home but when I need to meet with clients, I use the conference space on Maple Avenue. I really like that model right now, and I think a lot of people are doing that. It’s really been working for me to help keep my costs down.”

Perkins specializes in real estate, trusts and estates, and estate planning. He also provides services related to business law and business formation and dissolution. 

“I’m advertised right now as general practice, but those are the areas that I emphasize and those are really where my skills are,” he said. “I have a friend who did this a couple of years ago who I have been able to bounce ideas off of, and he really focused his practice on one area of the law to set himself apart in that area. That is really my goal too.”

Since forming his LLC in October, business has increased steadily, he said. As his firm grows, Perkins plans to expand staff and lease a dedicated office space. He is currently focused on building his client base and investing in software and technology. He is also working with a marketing consultant.

By Susan Elise Campbell
As businesses adjust to the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic, so do the attorneys who advise them.
“There have been a whirlwind of legal issues that we never thought we would have to deal with,” said James T. Towne Jr. of The Towne Law Firm PC, with offices in Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls.
Unique issues about government relief, bankruptcy and foreclosures, contracts, COVID-19 fraud, cybersecurity and much more are on a daunting list of topics attorneys are being challenged to address this past year.
“During the first 120 days we were confronted with a variety of labor and employment inquiries,” said Towne.
Many of these were rooted in the logistics and liabilities of sending non-essential staff home to work and as a condition of employment, he said.
“Managers are accustomed to taking their laptops and working from home, but maybe not the support staff,” he said. “Matters come up about restrictions on the equipment taken offsite, using that equipment for personal matters, and businesses not enforcing obligations in connection with work performed at home.”

By Paul Zarecki
Small businesses are more likely to become the victims of fraud than larger businesses.
Small businesses are the most vulnerable to occupational fraud and abuse, according to the Association for Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). In its 2020 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, ACFE cites that the smallest organizations, 100 employees or less, suffered higher median losses than did the largest organizations (10,000 employees or more).
While the largest companies suffered losses of $140,000 on average, small businesses’ losses averaged $150,000, based on its survey.
Considering the potential losses and how much more of an impact $150,000 is to a smaller business than a larger business, it befits small-business owners to make the prevention of fraud a priority. Though no business owner wants to feel it employs unscrupulous people, sometimes temptation or personal financial pressures can push even the hardest working, most trusted employee into perpetrating fraud.
Here’s how you can prevent fraudulent activity in your workplace: