AWSCPA's Financial Services Corporate Sponsor:

DID YOU KNOW?
By Erin J. Booth, Assistant Director-Americas People Team, Ernst and Young, LLP

Many of you are aware of the social network called LinkedIn.  I like to call it "Facebook for Grownups".  It is professional in nature and many people across the country utilize this to establish their professional networks or enhance them.  It is very much something the user can control and can also manage how they are communicated with and by whom.  One of features LinkedIn has is called "Groups" and many professional organizations like AWSCPA are on there and linked to their members in that way.  This would be a nice tool to enable our existing membership nationally to be networked and communicate more often if desired.

If you currently have a profile on LinkedIn yourself, please go to the "groups" option and search for AWSCPA.  You are able to request to join at that point, and if you are a current member of AWSCPA, you are pre-approved to join.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals. LinkedIn is free to join. We also offer paid accounts that give you more tools for finding and reaching the right people, whether or not they are in your network.

Through your network you can:

• Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
• Be found for business opportunities
• Search for great jobs
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings
• Find high-quality passive candidates
• Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know.

DID YOU KNOW?
By Bonnie Mackey, CPA, CSEP*, Levin, Silvey, Zelko & Mackey, PA

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DID YOU KNOW?  – Useful information when looking at your favorite charity
By Usha Murthy, AWSCPA 2008-2009 Vice President Publications

If your most liked charity happens to never have filed an annual information return in all these years, be informed that the IRS rules have changed. Following is an excerpt from the IRS website that smaller non-profits have to comply with in the form of filing an E-postcard.

Information You Will Need To File the e-Postcard

The e-Postcard is easy to complete. All you need is the following information about your organization. Click on any of the links below, if you need more information about the item.

• Employer identification number (EIN), also known as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)).
• Tax year
• Legal name and mailing address
• Any other names the organization uses
• Name and address of a principal officer
• Web site address if the organization has one
• Confirmation that the organization’s annual gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less
• If applicable, a statement that the organization has terminated or is terminating (going out of business)

Who Must File

Most small tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts that are normally $25,000 or less must file the e-Postcard. Exceptions to this requirement include:

• Organizations that are included in a group return, and
• Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.
• The following organizations cannot file the e-Postcard but must file different forms instead:
• Tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts that are normally greater than $25,000 must file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ;
• Private foundations must file Form 990-PF;
• Section 509(a)(3) supporting organizations that are required to file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.
• IRC section 527 (political) organizations required to file an annual exempt organization return must file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ;

Late Filing or Failure To File the e-Postcard

If you do not file your e-Postcard on time, the IRS will send you a reminder notice but you will not be assessed a penalty for late filing the e-Postcard. However, an organization that fails to file required e-Postcards (or information returns – Forms 990 or 990-EZ) for three consecutive years will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. The revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status will not take place until the filing due date of the third year.