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"We don't have data others would want." 

I hear that statement quite often from executives and business owners regardless of size or industry. It typically prompts several questions from me.

• How do you know?  
• What steps have you taken to understand your data? 
• What information is important to you or your competitors? 
• What information would be most damaging to your business if it became public? 
• How do you plan to stop someone from stealing your data?

While many of the reported stories of data breaches involve large, well-known companies such as Target, Barnes & Noble, Nortel, Nissan, and others, in the world of cyber-crime size doesn’t matter – only information does. Just because a breach isn’t splashed in the headlines doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Companies large and small across the country and our region deal with this every day and the reality is that your business could be next. One company’s Internet footprint looks the same as another to anyone interested in finding something of value, whether it’s credit information, personnel information, intellectual property such as engineering drawings or processes, technology or other industrial assets.

Cybersecurity has moved to a business imperative that is enabled by IT. No longer is this just an IT issue keeping your CIO up at night. Many boards are finely tuned in to what is going on around the world related to cybersecurity. Executive leadership is increasingly being held accountable for protecting the company’s information assets. Regulators have continued to up their cyber game and pay closer attention to how a company’s information security program could impact the going concern of a business.

A strong information security program can facilitate business growth, create market advantages, and build brand trust. Data privacy and trust have become critical business requirements as exponentially more consumer and business information is generated and shared with your partners. 

What can your company do now?

Your IT team may not have the cybersecurity expertise or the time it takes to monitor cybersecurity threats 24/7. Day to day, the IT team is often focused on supporting the business and projects that drive revenue.

Cybersecurity is everyone's business—including C-level executives, managers, administrative assistants, and even part-time office staff.  Unfortunately, any employee can be a potential cybersecurity attack vector, and cyber breaches don't always come from the outside. You can put all the right traditional cybersecurity measures in place, but all it takes is one employee clicking on a phishing email.

Understanding your organization's cybersecurity maturity, knowing where there may be gaps, and addressing those issues is imperative. Taking proactive steps to mitigate cybersecurity risk can mean the difference between a data breach or business as usual.

GJM’s customized cybersecurity assessment provides you with a high-level view of your organization’s cybersecurity maturity, determines your risk exposure, provides advice on potential process gaps, and helps guide you to realistic action plans.

Rapid Assessment includes:

• Best practices for cybersecurity controls, based on successful strategies from well-known security and compliance frameworks
• Identification of potentially critical security issues
• Actionable, quick-fix opportunities to improve security
• Outline of recommendations and roadmap for remediation
• Guidance for ongoing improvement of the organization’s security 

When it comes to your data, there is no single magic bullet that can protect you from every scenario. But you can improve your overall security posture by taking a closer look at your internal practices. Cybersecurity rapid assessments do more than analyze threats – they help you neutralize threats before they compromise your business. Today, it’s vital that every small to medium-sized business conduct a cybersecurity rapid assessment to ensure that its security is keeping its business, network, and data safe, preventing cyber threats, and meeting regulatory guidelines. If you are interested in learning more about GJM’s cyber risk services, please contact Matt Hoverman at mhoverman@gjmltd.com. 

Matt Hoverman, CISA contributed this article. Matt is a partner with Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD and leads the firm’s Risk Advisory practice. He has spent his entire career helping companies of all sizes understand the impact of technology on their business.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business & transaction advisory, healthcare management advisory, outsourced accounting, and risk advisory. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, nonprofit, private equity and utilities.

As you start to learn more about the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, we’re helping you understand how it will affect your business and your family. Called the Inflation Reduction Act because of its goal of reducing the deficit by taxing our country’s biggest corporations and lowering healthcare costs, experts say we can expect to see little impact on high prices in the short term.

Here’s a look at some of the changes the law will bring:

Taxes

The Inflation Reduction Act includes several tax provisions, including a 15% minimum tax on our country’s largest corporations: those with over a billion dollars in revenue. It also brings an $80 billion investment in the IRS, and a 1% excise tax on corporate share buybacks.

About half of the $80 billion will give the IRS funds to increase enforcement primarily through pursuing big corporations. The other half is expected to go toward improved customer service and modernizing some systems and operations.

Healthcare

The Inflation Reduction Act will bring down some healthcare costs for Americans, though you may not see the impact right away. It will give Medicare the power to negotiate the cost of drugs, but not until 2026. It will also extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies through 2025 and starting in 2025 will cap out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year for those receiving Medicare.

Climate

The climate elements of the Inflation Reduction Act could bring some new opportunities for businesses. They include almost $370 billion in incentives for renewable energy, tax credits for buying new or used electric vehicles (up to $7,500), and tax credits up to $40,000 for commercial electric vehicles that are over 14-thousand pounds. Homeowners will see tax credits for installing solar panels or buying other energy efficient products.

Watch for further information from GJM regarding the details of the Inflation Reduction Act in the upcoming weeks. 

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business & transaction advisory, healthcare management advisory, outsourced accounting, and risk advisory. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, nonprofit, private equity and utilities.

Retirement security is a fundamental part of the American Dream. For generations, workers have contributed to different types of retirement accounts with the expectation that these programs will be there for them when they retire. They're excellent tools for building retirement income, and you've probably been watching yours closely. But what does SECURE 2.0 - Congress' most discussed retirement agenda - have in store for you? And what are the potential reforms and other effects of it that you must prepare for?

Let us answer all your questions and draw up the best retirement for you.

What is Secure 2.0?

The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (affectionately referred to as SECURE 2.0 due to the fact that it builds upon the SECURE Act of 2019) is a set of legislative proposals to improve retirement security in the United States. Such improvements would be reflected in 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and retirement savings accounts.

However, there are two versions of SECURE 2.0 – the House version and the Senate version. The House version passed with overwhelming bipartisan support on March 29th of this year. In June, the Senate effectively did the same by voting unanimously to move related legislation forward in two of its committees. This is significant because if the SECURE Act 2.0 is to ever get the OK from Congress and be made law, the Senate and the House will be forced to iron out the differences between their two into one cohesive set of legislation.

What Are the SECURE Act 2.0 Retirement Reforms?

The related legislation the Senate Finance Committee has approved, thereby effectively floating SECURE 2.0 along with it, is a set of proposed reforms to the US retirement system. Here are the possible reforms you should know about:

• Increased credits for small businesses
• Automatic enrollment in plans
• Expanded saver's credit
• Generous catch-up limit
• Access to retirement plans for part-time workers
• Increased required minimum distribution age
• Enhanced 403(b)
• Student loan payments as elective deferrals

The highlight of these changes is raising catch-up contribution limits. The catch-up contribution provisions would increase from $6,500 to $10,000 for savers ages 62-64. The proposals also call for treating the catch-ups as post-tax. This means your catch-ups will no longer be pre-tax contributions.

How Will the Retirement Reforms Affect You?

The retirement reforms might have a significant impact on your retirement savings. Here’s some of what you need to know about the potential changes coming down the pipeline:

The proposed changes will make it easier for you to save for retirement by getting automatically enrolled in your employer's retirement plan. The automatic enrollment will help more workers save for retirement, especially those who are just starting their careers.

The retirement reforms will also expand the saver's credit, which is a tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers who contribute to retirement accounts.

The proposed changes will raise the required minimum distribution (RMD) age even further. The original SECURE Act in 2019 increased the age from 70.5 to 72 for RMDs. Due to changes made by the original SECURE Act in 2019, if your 70th birthday was July 1, 2019, or later, you do not have to take withdrawals until you reach age 72. The SECURE Act 2.0 proposes increasing the threshold to age 73 next year, and eventually to age 75. This means you can delay taking distributions from your retirement accounts and let your money grow for longer.

The retirement reforms will make it easier for part-time workers to save for retirement by allowing them to participate in their employer's retirement plan.

Knowing what to expect once the SECURE 2.0 retirement reforms become law is vital. These changes will significantly impact your retirement savings, and your retirement planning should account for these changes.

Now that you have a preview of what's coming, you can start preparing for the SECURE 2.0 retirement reforms. After all, retirement is something you're planning for your entire life. Your years of hard work deserve a secure and comfortable retirement, and SECURE 2.0 is designed to help get you there.

Watch for part two of this 2-part GJM blog series on SECURE 2.0, when we’ll take a closer look at the impact on businesses and their retirement plans.

GJM’s Molly Wolf contributed this article. Molly has over 15 years of experience specializing in employee benefit plans and is an affiliate member of the American Society of Pension professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA). She consults with clients on benefit plan design, compliance testing, payroll integration and reconciliation. She also serves as a third-party plan administrator.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business & transaction advisory, healthcare management advisory, outsourced accounting, and risk advisory. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, nonprofit, private equity and utilities.  

Do you have stacks of old tax returns, receipts, and documents that you think you might need some day, but aren’t sure? You can probably throw out more than you think. Here’s a refresher on what you need to know:

Income tax returns:

The general rule, according to the IRS, is to keep your tax return for three years from the date of filing (or two years from the date you paid your tax bill). The IRS says be sure to also keep the supporting documents, like your W-2s and 1099s. The reason for the three years: that’s how much time you have to amend that tax return and how much time the IRS has to impose further tax.

Exceptions:

Of course, there are always some exceptions:

• You need to keep personal tax records for six years if you’re not reporting income that you should be, and that income is over 25 percent of the gross income reported on your return.
• You need to keep records for seven years if you file a claim for a loss from worthless securities.
• You need to keep records indefinitely if you don’t file a tax return or if you file a fraudulent return  

What to pitch and what to keep:

It’s hard to know when you open that jam-packed filing cabinet at home what you can ditch and what you can’t. Just remember, not all documents are created equal. For example, any documents related to property. The IRS says you should hang onto records related to property until the period of limitations expires for the year you sell or dispose of the property.

Something else to keep in mind: 

Just because you don’t need supporting documents for tax purposes anymore doesn’t necessarily mean you can pitch them. Some insurance companies and creditors may ask that you hold onto them longer than the IRS. 

State returns:

Double check with your state department of taxation or your tax preparer regarding how long you should keep a copy of your state tax return. This will obviously vary from state to state. The Ohio Department of Taxation says to keep copies of your state tax returns for at least 4 years from the deadline or the date you filed.

A couple of other thoughts:

• Keep a copy. If you file your taxes online, you need to remember to always print out a copy of your return (and keep supporting documents) before you hit send to electronically submit your return. Don’t assume that there’s an online copy somewhere you’ll have access to. Be sure to print a copy for yourself if you file a paper return as well. 
• If you’re moving away from paper files at home to an electronic filing system, it goes without saying that you should finely shred the paper documents once the information is safely stored (and backed up) electronically.  

GJM Tax partner Kathi Iott contributed this blog. With over 20 years in public accounting, Kathy helps both individuals and businesses with tax strategy. She works across many industries, including construction and real estate.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business & transaction advisory, healthcare management advisory, outsourced accounting, and risk advisory. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, nonprofit, private equity and utilities.