investment Archives - Wiss & Company, LLP

The Frustrating (but Ethical) Truth: You Can’t Invest Your Investment

Written on October 6, 2022. Posted in Early Stage.

It’s a definite high point for any early-stage startup founder: You’ve successfully wrapped up your initial round of fundraising and are sitting on a stack of cash. Investors believe in you and your product. You feel on top of the world. If you’re like many of the business owners we support, you’re probably wondering what you should do with the freshly raised capital. Certainly, if you were to come into money in your personal life, the wise thing would be to invest the money so that...

How To Distribute Authorized Stock to Startup Stakeholders

Written on January 19, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, General Business.

It’s not often that you hear entrepreneurs tell the truth about what it takes to get a startup rolling, especially about the nitty-gritty details of how to authorize shares of stock. In this article, we’re taking away the mystery of share distribution. If you’ve already decided to set up a C corporation and learned about initial valuation, the next step is to figure out how to split shares of the company fairly amongst stakeholders — and wrestle with the math behind those decisions. Determining...

Potential 15% Increase in NJ Angel Investor Tax Credit Program

Written on March 20, 2018. Posted in Tax.

By Bill Beiermeister, CPA and Ryan Silva, CPA, CFE, CVA In January 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed legislation creating an angel investor tax credit program to spur job creation and growth in New Jersey’s current and next generation of high-skill, high-wage emerging technology industries. Under the current program New Jersey offers a 10% investor tax credit for an individual that invests in a New Jersey emerging technology company up to a maximum of $500,000 for the tax...

Valuing Your Company: What to Know Before Seeking Business Valuation

Written on June 20, 2017. Posted in General Business.

By Brittney Neal Updated 7/30/2019. Businesses change hands all the time, for a variety of reasons. Whether they’re sold, gifted, merged, passed on to next of kin, or divided among former partners, family members or divorcing spouses, ownership of even the most stable of businesses at some point will change. And when a business changes hands in whole or in part, the parties involved need to have an accurate picture of the value of the sum total of the company’s assets....

How to Minimize Your Fiduciary Liability

Written on February 14, 2017. Posted in Employee Benefit Plan Audits.

By Craig Erickson Updated 7/30/2019. Those with discretionary authority or administrative control over their organization’s retirement and 401(k) plan face significant risks. If fiduciaries make decisions that negatively affect plan participants or beneficiaries, they can be held personally liable for breaching their fiduciary duties, even if the action was unintentional. Although fiduciaries cannot entirely eliminate the risks associated with their role, there are several things...

Accounting and Finance: A Forbidden Love

Written on February 7, 2017. Posted in Tax Alerts.

By Connor Doyle Accounting, our Romeo, and Finance, our Juliet. Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair New York City, where we lay our scene, from ancient bond break to new maturity, where credit balance makes cash on hand burst seams. Accounting and finance, though both safely under the business umbrella, are divergent in ideology. Finance wants to spend and raise money for the future of a business while accounting wants to keep track of all that has happened in the past. But,...

What Type of 401(k) Plan Document Do I Have and When Do I Need to Update it?

Written on December 20, 2016. Posted in Employee Benefit Plan Audits.

By Craig Erickson When you establish your company’s 401(k) plan, you have to make a range of decisions, from the type of plan and investment tools you’ll offer to participation requirements and guidelines. Once you’ve done this, you need to put it in writing. This is your plan document, a mandatory part of your plan that details its provisions and clearly communicates them to participants. There are three levels of plan documents: Prototype. This off-the-shelf version of a plan...

3 Reasons Why It’s Important to Understand Your Cap Table

Written on November 1, 2016. Posted in Early Stage.

By Ryan S. Silva Very often some of the most promising early stage growth companies find themselves challenged when asked about their cap table. Simply put, the cap table should list all the securities of the company (i.e., stock options, warrants, convertible debt, SAFE, etc.) and who owns them. This isn’t difficult when it’s just a few people, but as the capital structure becomes more complex from financing transactions, the cap table usually does as well. This is generally because...

How the Permanent QSBS Capital Gains Exclusion Benefits Investors

Written on May 24, 2016. Posted in Tax.

By Kevin Kerrigan The relatively unknown Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) capital gains exclusion was permanently extended in December 2015, giving many investors and entrepreneurs much reason to celebrate. While the QSBS tax break has been around since early 2009, the 2015 permanent extension incentivizes small business investors to look more closely at the QSBS. Here are some of the advantages, conditions and drawbacks of QSBS. Overview of the QSBS The QSBS tax incentive was...

Top Earners Should Consider this Retirement Strategy

Written on December 1, 2015. Posted in General Business.

By Russ Faye If you are a high-income sole proprietor or the owner of a small business searching for a tax-advantaged retirement strategy, defined benefit pension plans could be the ideal tool for your needs. Here’s how to determine whether you should discuss this option with your trusted financial adviser. How it works A defined benefit pension plan is a qualified retirement plan to which you make an annual contribution, which fund a chosen level of retirement income you will receive...

A Startup’s Guide to Seeking Investments

Written on October 27, 2015. Posted in Early Stage.

By Matt Barbieri Updated 7/30/2019. With every investment deal comes risks and questions waiting to be answered. If you are seeking investments, it is important you are as prepared as possible when it comes time to present your case. The following recommendations will increase confidence, but more importantly, make sure you are prepared for anything investors throw at you. Be prepared to discuss the numbers To an investor, your story matters, but ultimately every investment boils...

Finding the Right IT Tool for Real Estate Management

Written on March 24, 2015. Posted in Real Estate.

By Alexander J. Narcise If you own a real estate investment or property management firm and are reluctant to take on the time-consuming hassle of running a financial report, it’s time to upgrade your accounting software system. Off-the-shelf accounting software systems don’t know your business. They don’t speak your language. They can’t respond to requests for construction project accounting or help you manage leases, issue tenant arrears reports or run a partner distribution schedule....

Tag: investment