Sheppard, Jones & Associates Accounting and Tax Services

Providing financial information to our clients in a timely and accurate manner is a commitment that we feel cannot be compromised. Meaningful, well-organized financial records ensure that your business operations will run more efficiently on a daily basis. Our firm provides a full range of cost effective accounting services including the following:

• General ledger & financial statement preparation
• Bookkeeping (Monthly/Quarterly/Annual)
• Accounting system setup for new businesses
• Computerized payroll services
• Business tax return preparation (Sales & Use/Business Property)
• Personal financial statements
• Litigation support

Meaningful, well-organized financial records ensure that your business operations will run more efficiently on a daily basis and are the foundation of a successful business. Our qualified staff can assist you with the day-to-day tasks associated with bookkeeping.

A business can be profitable and still run into trouble due to cash flow issues. We can forecast and evaluate your company's financial condition, estimate financing requirements, and track cash-flow sources and uses.

We can assist you in the preparation of your financial statements in accordance with professional standards, but express no opinion or any other form of assurance on the underlying information included in them. The financial statements produced can be a useful tool for management for making financial decisions.

With the number of computerized accounting software packages available for small businesses and individuals growing every day, selecting one that is right for you has become increasingly difficult. As accounting professionals, we are exposed to most programs through trade journals and actual use. Our experienced staff can help you choose and implement the system that best fits your needs.

We gauge our worth by the personal and business successes of our clients. We can help your business identify areas negatively affecting profitability and growth and develop solutions that are practical and technically sound. In addition to acting as a sounding board for management, we provide comprehensive, flexible strategies that address the issues affecting your business.

Choosing the form of entity of your business (e.g. "S" corporation, sole proprietor, limited liability company…) is a crucial decision that can have longstanding tax implications, positive or negative. We can assist you in evaluating the pros and cons of each entity type to help you determine the most advantageous form of business for your company.

Effective coordination of the transition of your business to your successors is critical to ensure its continued success once you decide to remove yourself from the company's day to day operations. With a solid background in tax and other financial matters, we are fully qualified to address the complex issues of business continuation and can assist you in developing a strategically sound plan.

Whether you are thinking of buying a new business or in the midst of a difficult divorce, the amount attached to the value of your business is important. We can provide useful and objective analysis to assist you in the valuation of any business in which you have an interest.

Structuring the purchase or sale of a business properly is a critical step in the process of buying or selling a business. Our competent staff has experience to guide you through the acquisition/disposition process by addressing such issues as cash flow analysis and tax considerations.

Whether you are contemplating the addition of new computer hardware or overhauling your network, our experienced staff can assist you with many of the difficult decisions that must be made when designing your business' computer systems.

We gauge our worth by the personal and business successes of our clients. We can help your business identify areas negatively affecting profitability and growth and develop solutions that are practical and technically sound. In addition to acting as a sounding board for management, we provide comprehensive, flexible strategies that address the issues affecting your business. The following is just a few of the areas in which we provide consulting services:

• Accounting software selection and implementation
• Type of entity selection
• Business valuations
• Buying/selling a business
• Computer systems
• Financial & retirement decisions
• Estate, trust & gift planning

Effective estate planning facilitates the orderly transfer of assets to your beneficiaries, provides security for your surviving spouse, and can reduce or eliminate the tax due on the transfer of your business and other assets. For business owners, providing for business continuity and succession of ownership is essential. We can guide you through the complex process of getting your financial affairs in order.

A properly structured financial plan enables you to face any financial challenge that may present itself at each stage of your life. Through the financial planning process, we can help you assess your financial needs and develop strategies that will enable you to achieve your goals and strengthen your financial security.

As you develop your investment strategy, we will act as your sounding board. We can help you and your investment advisor build an investment portfolio that takes into consideration the impact of taxes and produces a favorable after-tax return.

Even the most qualified managers can benefit from competent, objective feedback. We can help your company's management team develop long-term objectives and specific strategies to facilitate your business' future growth and success.

Successful implementation and periodic review of your financial plan will ensure financial independence during your working years and through your retirement years.

Effective estate and gift planning facilitates the orderly transfer of assets to your beneficiaries, provides security for your surviving spouse, and can reduce or eliminate the tax due on the transfer of your business and other assets. For business owners, providing for business continuity and succession of ownership is essential. We can guide you through the complex process of getting your financial affairs in order.

During our years of experience dealing with many taxing authorities, we have achieved a level of competence that can ensure our clients they are being properly represented before the various federal and state tax agencies.

Our experience with the taxation of U.S residents working abroad and foreign citizens working in the U.S. has provided us with an extensive base of knowledge in the area of international taxation.

As a business grows, it must hire more employees, which can result in increased payroll administration. We can assist you in implementing the controls necessary to ensure a reliable, efficient, and effective payroll system. Our firm can also help you develop a payroll system and prepare all necessary payroll tax returns in a timely manner.

Many of our clients are responsible for collecting and submitting sales taxes in many different vicinities. We can assist your company in the compilation of information and preparation of sales tax returns in an efficient and timely manner.

Tax planning and preparation form a winning combination for our successful individual and business clients. Whether you are an individual or a multi-tiered partnership, our experienced staff can develop tax strategies that take advantage of new tax laws and legislation.

Tax planning is an essential element of the tax preparation process. By making tax planning part of your overall business strategy, you can use our experience and access to the most current new developments in the tax laws to minimize both your current and future tax liabilities.

Our significant investment in computerized tax preparation and research software enables us to accurately and efficiently prepare returns for various types of entities including individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts, estates, and not-for-profit organizations.

We prefer to take a proactive vs. reactive approach to tax services. By keeping current on new tax laws and legislation, we are in a position to identify key tax planning opportunities that minimize both your current and future tax liabilities. We provide our individual and business clients with the taxation expertise and knowledge that they deserve throughout the year. Tax services offered include but are not limited to:

• Tax planning & return preparation
  - Individuals
  - Corporations
  - Partnerships
  - LLCs/LLPs
  - Estates, trusts & gift
  - Not-for-profit organizations
• Taxing authority representation
• Divorce and support issues
• Tax effects of buying/selling a business

Asset protection, or wealth preservation, plan makes the enforcement of judgements against protected assets nearly impossible and allows the owner of protected assets to retain substantial control over these assets. Our firm can assist you with an asset protection plan that may include family limited partnerships, or offshore trusts.

Litigation support involves the quantification of economic damages pursuant to existing or pending litigation using accounting and auditing techniques. We have experienced competent staff who can compile information efficiently to assist in the calculation and documentation of any potential economic loss or damages.

Due to our diverse client base, we encounter a wide array of financial and tax issues. As a result, we have gained valuable experience over the years in numerous specialized areas, many of which are listed below. We feel our ability to provide such a variety of services reflects our versatility and competency, as well as our dedication to quality client service.

• Mergers & acquisitions
• Asset protection
• Investment review
• Bankruptcies
• Litigation support
• Cash flow forecasting
• Employee benefit plans
• Expert witness services
• Internet commerce