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On May 23, 2019 the House voted 417-3 to pass legislation intended to help individuals save for retirement, encourage them to participate in retirement plans, and make it easier for small businesses to offer tax-qualified plans to their employees. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) passed the Senate December 19th and was signed by President Trump on Dec. 20. It is the largest piece of legislation affecting retirement plan rules since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Many of the act’s provisions become effective on Jan. 1, 2020 and all retirement plans must adopt the law by 2022. As with any new law, not all of the details are clear yet, but below is a high-level summary of what you should know:

Sweeney Conrad is honored to have recently received ClearlyRated's 2019 Best of Accounting™ Award for providing superior service. Best of Accounting Award winners have proven themselves as industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients.

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By: Howard Coleman, Chief Investment Officer and General Counsel Coldstream wealth management

The economy is in a constant cycle. With ebbs and flows, highs and lows, we can be sure that things are always in motion. This month, we caught up with Howard Coleman, Chief Investment Officer and General Counsel for Coldstream Wealth Management in Bellevue, to get his take on where we are in the economic cycle, and where things are headed.

Tax Reform 2.0 was unveiled Monday evening, Sept 10th, and includes three bills which build upon and make permanent changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The first bill, the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018 makes TCJA tax rates permanent, along with key deductions and the new Sec. 199A 20% Pass-Through Deduction.

Recruiting season has started up again, and here at Sweeney Conrad it’s one of our favorite times of the year because we get to share with students what it’s like to be part of one of the best accounting firms to work for in the nation!

While many changes created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have grabbed the media limelight, not much attention has been given to a new tax benefit: Qualified Opportunity Funds. Beginning in 2018, a taxpayer can elect to reinvest proceeds from the sale of “any property” into a Qualified Opportunity Fund and defer the gain.

One of our employees recently received an e-mail from our president requesting that she process a wire transfer immediately. The strange part? It wasn’t our current president. In fact it wasn’t even our previous president, and it certainly wasn’t his e-mail address. This was a scam appropriately named “The Fake President Fraud.”

Thursday, July 19th marked Sweeney Conrad’s second annual Summer Summit! The Summit is our leadership program in which students join our ranks for the day. This year 23 students attended and were able to get a look at a day in the life of an accountant here at Sweeney Conrad.