Harding, Shymanski, & Company, P.S.C. is excited to welcome ten full-time employees.
From Top Left: Austin Barron, Audit Department; Lauren Branch, Audit Department; Nicole Dorion, Administration; Austin Graber, Tax Department; Jack Gutermuth, Audit Department; Regan Hedinger, Tax Department; Ina Nora, Tax Department; Nora Schindler, Tax Department; Madison Schuler, Tax Department; David Tribbett, Tax Department.
We will be closing our offices in celebration of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Our holiday schedule will be:
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!
Vice President Greg Elpers, CPA, has been named to lead the Accounting & Auditing Department for Harding, Shymanski & Company, PSC effective January 1, 2020. Elpers assumes responsibility for the department from Vice President Dave Papariella, CPA, as part of the firm’s internal succession plan.
“The A&A Department has an experienced, strong group of leaders that have and will continue to provide excellent service to our clients,” said Papariella. “They embrace the continuing changes in the landscape of the profession ranging from new accounting standards to ever-evolving technology. Greg has great relationships with his peers and brings a collaborative approach that will serve our clients and our team well. It has been a privilege to work with and lead this group for the past 12 years.”
A Vice President in our Accounting & Auditing Department, Elpers has been with the firm since 1996. He works closely with and provides accounting, auditing, and consulting services primarily for clients in the construction, manufacturing, and non-profit industries as well as in the firm’s employee benefit audit niche. Elpers also serves as co-leader of the firm’s Construction Team.
“I’m both honored and excited to have the opportunity to step into this new role and continue the high level of quality Dave has instilled throughout our department these past 12 years,” Elpers said. “We have a tremendous amount of talent and a strong group of leaders within our department. I look forward to working with our team as we position ourselves to meet the challenges that face our industry, continue to grow the department, and to provide excellent client service through our long-standing one-firm, one-team culture.”
Elpers is a graduate of the University of Evansville with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society and has obtained the Certified Construction Auditor (CCA) designation. He currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for The Salvation Army and is a past Chairman of the Advisory Board. In addition, he has previously served as a board member for the Evansville Redevelopment Commission and the Legal Aid Society. He has previously been a featured speaker and panelist at the national RSM construction accounting conference and has authored an article published by the national CFMA Building Profits construction magazine.
If your rental real estate is being treated as a trade or business, in order to receive the QBI deduction, be sure that Forms 1099 are filed for all required recipients.
The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced the new Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. This allows certain trades or businesses, subject to limitations, to deduct 20% of business income.
The final regulations offer unclear rules as to determining whether a rental real estate activity qualifies as a trade or business for QBI purposes. The regulations state that one factor in treating a rental activity as a trade or business for QBI purposes is whether the taxpayer complies with the requirements of information reporting. This requires the taxpayer to file Forms 1099 for all required recipients.
Form 1099-MISC would be required to be sent to any non-corporate service provider (lawn service, maintenance, repairs, etc.) that was paid at least $600 in 2019. 2019 Form 1099-MISC returns are due to the recipient AND IRS by January 31, 2020. Penalties apply for each failure to file a timely return and each failure to furnish the recipient’s taxpayer identification number. The penalties that can be levied for unreported or incorrectly reported information returns may exceed the benefit received from the QBI deduction.
We are currently seeking Sophomore and Freshman college students for Tax Clerical Internships in our Evansville Office. This internship is the perfect way to get your foot in the door and could potentially lead to a Tax Internship, and even full-time employment! Our office will close early December 6th, for the firm’s Christmas party. Our Evansville office will close at 3:30 p.m. and the Louisville offices will close at 2:00 p.m. local time today.
HSC offices will close at 4:00 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday, November 27th and will reopen on Monday, December 2nd in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
We are thankful for the opportunity to serve our clients and for our employees who work so hard throughout the year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
“For the first time in over 15 years, America’s workers will have an update to overtime regulations that will put overtime pay into the pockets of more than a million working Americans,” Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said. “This rule brings a commonsense approach that offers consistency and certainty for employers as well as clarity and prosperity for American workers.”
“Today’s rule is a thoughtful product informed by public comment, listening sessions, and long-standing calculations,” Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton remarked. “The Wage and Hour Division now turns to help employers comply and ensure that workers will be receiving their overtime pay.”
The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses (and commissions) towards meeting the salary level. The new thresholds account for growth in employee earnings since the currently enforced thresholds were set in 2004. In the final rule, the Department is:
The final rule will be effective on January 1, 2020.
For more information about the final rule, click here.
HSC is proud to announce the promotion of the following individuals.
From left: Mitchell Meurer, Senior Associate, Accounting and Auditing Department.
Madeline Smith, CPA, Senior Associate, Tax Department.
Mallory Schmitt, CPA, Senior Associate, Tax Department.
David Mills, Senior Associate, Advisory Services Department.
Jeff Marx, Benefits Specialist, Outsourcing Department.
Eden Flockhart, CPA, CIA, CGMA, Senior Associate, Advisory Services Department.
Sarah Wittenbraker, CPA, Client Accounting Consultant, Outsourcing Department.
Erin Stewart, Payroll Expert, Outsourcing Department.
Brandon Medcalf, Senior Associate, Accounting & Auditing Department.
HSC is proud to announce the promotion of the following employees to Senior Associate in the Louisville office.
New Senior Associates (from left): Natalie Kelly, Tax Department; Anna Pohlgeers, CPA, Accounting and Auditing Department; Nick Stephenson, MBA, Accounting and Auditing Department; Emily Lamb, MBA, Advisory Services Department.