September 1st, 2010 | Posted by Vanessa Payne
A joint proposal from the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to overhaul lease accounting would result in a consistent approach to lease accounting for both lessees and lessors—a ‘right-of-use’ approach. The proposals, if adopted, will greatly improve the financial reporting information available to investors about the financial effects of lease contracts. The proposals are set out in the exposure draft (ED) Leases, which is open for comment until December 15, 2010 and can be accessed via the ‘Comment on a Proposal’ section of www.ifrs.org or on www.fasb.org.
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Tags: AICPA, FASB, IASB, lease, right-of-use
Posted in General | 17 view(s)
Posted by Vanessa Payne
August 31st, 2010 | Posted by Jonathan Wachs
by Jonathan Wachs, Offit Kurman
Business owners spend a tremendous amount of time and resources developing their company’s reputation. A strong company brand reflects a solid and lasting reputation in the marketplace and serves to generate new employee candidates, referral sources and business opportunities. Successful companies place their trademarks and service marks among their most highly valued assets.
In an environment where most consumers look online to research various providers of goods and services before making their purchase decisions, it is critical to ensure that your business name is not being confused with another mark or is the subject of misappropriation or dilution. It is far easier, faster, less expensive and more effective to register and protect your company’s marks before an act of infringement occurs than after the damage has been done. Significant statutory remedies are available to those who register and routinely enforce their trademarks. Trademark registration and protection programs can be maintained on a variety of schedules and budgets, and many businesses incur substantial economic losses by failing to adequately protect their trademarks. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: brand, service mark, trademark
Posted in Business Development, General | 77 view(s)
Posted by Jonathan Wachs
August 30th, 2010 | Posted by Mark Ferrante
Government contractors charging travel expenses to their government contracts need to be aware that the General Services Administration (GSA) released the GFY 2011 per diem rates. The GFY 2011 per diem rates are effective October 1, 2010, and will govern reimbursement of contractor CONUS travel expenses performed on or after October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.
The nation’s economic downturn affected per diem lodging rates in many localities, and the majority of locations saw a decrease or no change in per diem lodging rates. Additionally the GSA’s annual study resulted in five new non-standard areas, which will apply separate rates than the CONUS standard. Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) have also changed for GFY 2011.
If you currently charge per diem to your government contracts, you should review those rates for the periods October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 for any applicable changes. Need assistance with your government contract rates? Contact Aronson & Company’s Government Contracts Solutions Group.
Tags: Government Travel, GSA, Per Diem Rates
Posted in GSA, General | 67 view(s)
Posted by Mark Ferrante
August 26th, 2010 | Posted by Thomas Marcinko
Please join Venable LLP, industry experts, and federal agency representatives for a two-day conference in Washington, DC entitled “Coping with Key Changes in Federal Procurement and Project Delivery.” The conference starts on Wednesday, September 15th and is being hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies, (ACEC). Confirmed speakers include Rob Burton and Paul Debolt of Venable and Tom Marcinko of Aronson & Company. A wide range of topics will be covered including federal business development and procurement trends, “green procurements”, performance-based acquisition, and cost and price considerations. For more information about this conference and to register please visit ACEC’s website.
Tags: ACEC, Brooks Act QBS Procedures, engineering services, FAR 37, federal procurement trends, green procurement, performance-based acquisition, Venable
Posted in Business Development, Events & Training, FAR Regulations, Federal Agency Spending | 40 view(s)
Posted by Thomas Marcinko
August 25th, 2010 | Posted by Thomas Marcinko
The U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) prohibits U.S. companies from providing ITAR-controlled defense articles to unauthorized non-U.S. companies. In addition, even non-U.S. companies that have been authorized to receive such items by the U.S. Department of State were prohibited from providing the items to certain Dual and Third Party National (DTCN) employees unless that DTCN employee had also received State Department authorization.
The State Department has issued a proposed rule that eliminates the requirement for State Department authorization of DTCNs. Under the proposed rule, authorized non-U.S. companies would be able to share the ITAR-controlled defense articles with DTCNs provided that the DTCN is a bona fide employee directly employed by the foreign business entity and the transfer takes place in the territory where the foreign business is located and is within the scope of the approved export license. The proposed rule does require certain safeguards to include a “technology security and control plan” and screening procedures. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through September 10th, 2010. For a more detailed explanation of the proposed rule please see this International Trade Alert issued by Venable LLP.
Tags: controlled defense articles, DTCN, Dual and Third Party National employee, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, ITAR, proposed rule, State Department
Posted in General | 36 view(s)
Posted by Thomas Marcinko
August 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Vanessa Payne
Pay.gov, GSA’s online payment processing system, is making some changes to the way it processes electronic debit payments from bank accounts. Pay.gov, has introduced a new routing number for Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) electronic payments: 041036046 (effective July 1, 2010). The new routing number is in addition to the current Pay.gov routing number: 042736141. You may be impacted by this change if you submit your IFF to GSA electronically (ePay) AND you utilize debit block services from your financial institution (if you unblock your accounts using Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) routing numbers). To determine whether this change will affect your future IFF payments, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you submit IFF payments through ePay Direct Debit from a bank or other financial institution account?
- Does your bank or financial institution account currently have debit blocks in place?
If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, you must provide the new routing transit number (041036046) to your financial institution so your IFF payments will continue to process successfully. If you previously unblocked your account for ACH debits with GSA’s ten-digit Company ID number instead of unblocking by routing number, you will not be affected by this change and will not need to provide the new routing number. For additional assistance, contact your assigned GSA Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO) (GSA ACO Locator) or see the 72A Quarterly Reporting System (72a.gov)
Tags: ePay, GSA, IFF, Industrial Funding Fee, pay.gov
Posted in GSA | 36 view(s)
Posted by Vanessa Payne
August 20th, 2010 | Posted by Marc Almstedt
The OSDBU at the Department of the Interior is hosting a vendor workshop for small business in the National Capital Area interested in doing business with DOI. The workshop will be held August 31, 2010 in the agency’s main auditorium. Small businesses interested in attending this event must register no later than August 20, 2010, by close of business. For more information visit: www.doi.gov/osdbu
Tags: OSDBU, Small Business, small disadvantaged, training
Posted in Events & Training, Recommended Vendors | 32 view(s)
Posted by Marc Almstedt
August 19th, 2010 | Posted by Thomas Marcinko
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on August 9th that it would phase-out its insourcing initiative because the expected cost savings have not materialized. DoD insourcing planned for 2010 will continue but, with the exception of critical functions such as acquisition, no more insourcing is planned.
Conversely, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Daniel Gordon told Government Executive magazine that civilian agencies are free to continue their insourcing efforts. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Department of Defense, inherently governmental, Insourcing, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Posted in General | 94 view(s)
Posted by Thomas Marcinko
August 18th, 2010 | Posted by Marc Almstedt
The Tech Council of Maryland (TCM) launched the redesign of its website to addess important issues impacting Maryland’s tech and biotech communities. New navigation tools make it easier to find information about TCM, as well as information about their events and community outreach programs. New features include a member login area that was established as a way for members to stay up-to-date on current TCM educational and networking events. The new Member Connect section permits members to reach out to each other by posting questions, includes member discounts for products and information about unique service offerings. Other new features of the web site include links to blogs concerning current interesting and important issues that face Maryland’s tech and biotech communities, easy to follow Social Networking Links, Event Highlights, and a Career Center.
Tags: Technology
Posted in Business Development, Events & Training, Recommended Vendors, Region - MD | 33 view(s)
Posted by Marc Almstedt
August 17th, 2010 | Posted by Marc Almstedt
The healthcare reform legislation that was enacted in two parts earlier this year impose on businesses a number of reporting requirements and potential tax penalties. The legislation will also impose significant new taxes on higher income individuals. The two most impacting tax provisions are the 0.9% High Income Tax and the 3.8% Unearned Income Medicare Contribution. The following is a summary of these two new taxes, which take effect in 2014. Note that high-income taxpayers may well be subject to BOTH new taxes. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: healthcare, Tax
Posted in Tax | 49 view(s)
Posted by Marc Almstedt
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