Harvey G. Beringer, CPA

Small Business Owner’s Characteristics
Small-business owners are different from their counter-part in the large corporate world.  They tend to be hard-working, highly focused, smart and tenacious.  They have to be since businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 9 percent chance of surviving a decade.  Some are successful despite themselves, but fail when it [...]

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An internal control warning letter should make businesses aware of certain safeguards.  They should be warned against assigning related duties to the same person.  It is recommended that the bank statements should be scrutinized every month, with particular attention given to the reconciling items.  The check signer should look at proof of all purchases by [...]

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When gauging the financial health of your business, you should use ratios rather than absolute numbers.  Profitability, liquidity, operating and solvency ratios should be considered.  These ratios could alert you to trends which would require immediate action.
Profitability Ratios
The Gross Profit Margin measures your profit at the most basic level.   Is your sales price reasonable based [...]

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You’re at a fork in the road.  This is no ordinary fork with two choices.  This one has five choices.  Sole proprietor, a C Corporation, an S corporation, an LLC (limited liability corporation), or an LLP (limited liability partnership) are the choices.
Tax issues and personal liability are the key issues in determining the best format [...]

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You may be the owner of a small/medium size business and ask yourself, What does SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) have to do with my business? Since SOX was designed to protect investors and creditors of public companies, that does not mean that some provisions of the act cannot help your business. Section 404, specifically, [...]

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