The FKCo08 Report
 


Accounting, Tax, and Firm News

December 2009
In this issue
Alan Educates
Follow FKCo on Twitter
Social Networking
Show Me The Money
S Is For Savings
Client; Shawn Patterson
Don's 'Whine' of the Month
Alan's Guitar of the Month
Upcoming Events
Greetings!

Welcome to the latest installment of our firm's e-newsletter, "The FKCo Report."  Here you will find updates on important or newsworthy items within our firm, our clients and the world of accounting and taxation. This allows us to reach out to you, stay in touch and welcome you again to the FKCo Community.  We encourage your comments and responses. We look forward to hearing from you!

Respectfully,

Alan, Don & everyone here at FKCo

What does Alan actually teach?

Many of our clients know Alan travels and speaks to industry trade groups many times throughout the year.  Those of you in the music industry might have seen Alan speak at a NAMM Trade Show or teach the Yamaha "Financial Advantage" course.  If you have seen him conduct an educational session, you know how passionate he is about the music industry.  As a firm, however, our passion does not begin and end there.  We are all dedicated to helping you improve your bottom line no matter what business you might find yourself in.  With this in mind, we thought you might like to "watch" Alan teach a few financial topics. 

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Click the image of Alan.  This will take you to a page on the NAMM website where you can select from a menu of various financial topics and watch Alan explain each one.  While much of this content is geared towards the music industry, the subject matter is relevant to all businesses.  So check these out and get some cool tips from these free online lessons!
TwitterFollow FKCo On Twitter!

FKCo is now on Twitter.  Click on the logo to follow FKCo.  With this feature, we will be able to give you timely updates and reminders on a variety of important accounting, tax, marketing and other topics.  We love sending out the newsletters, but there is nothing like a little friendly tweet to make sure you have the latest "heads up" and the info you need.

Social Networking

Jen Lowe, our Director of Client Relations and "go to" person for our firm's marketing, is often asked to speak on the topic of Social Networking (a concept we embrace).  Networking of any kind is often the cornerstone of building and maintaining a solid business model.  Take two minutes and thirty seconds to hear what Seth Godin (Jen's marketing hero) has to say about Social Networking.  Click on the photo of Seth.

money bagShow Me The Money!

The IRS is eager to find taxpayers entitled to undeliverable refund checks.  The IRS is in possession of almost 108,000 refund checks totaling $123.5 million that were returned to the agency by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors. The undeliverable refund checks average $1,148 and some taxpayers are due more than one check. According to IRS, taxpayers can generally update their addresses by using the, "Where's My Refund?" tool on the agency Web site. This tool will provide the status of tax refunds, and in some cases will offer information on resolving delivery problems. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of "Where's My Refund?" by calling (800) 829-1954.

 
house
Tax Topix

Many of you have been asking about the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and Roth IRA Conversions.  We have posted new content on our website called Tax Topix  for specific questions like these.  Click below for more information on these two topics.

First time Home Buyer
Roth IRA Conversion

 
Letter S
"S" Is For Savings

If you own 2% or more of an S Corporation....
 
You may be able to deduct the health insurance premiums paid by an S corporation on your behalf on page 1 of your Federal Form 1040.  If the health insurance policy is in the S corporation's name, these amounts should be reported on your Form W-2 as wages to be included in your gross income.  If the policy is in your name and you pay the premiums yourself, the S corporation must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Form W-2 as wages to be included in your gross income. 

Shawn Pattersno
Shawn Patterson, Music for Toons

Shawn Patterson has been a long-time client of FKCo.  Over the years we have watched him grow and accomplish great musical feats.  In the last few years he has been a rising star in media animation, composing music for many well known media companies like Disney, Warner Brothers and others.  Please take a look at the recent featured interview on Shawn by clicking on his image.
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Don's 'Whine' of the Month

Don's Pick for December is... 
 
Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006
 
No, this isn't the "Wine of the Year" as selected by Wine Spectator in its December 2009 edition.  That distinction belongs to the 2005 vintage (which is nearly impossible to find).  The 2006 vintage is no slouch though.  Easily one of the better Cab's that I've had this year.  
 
This Cab is refreshingly balanced in its tannins and flavors.  It is a surprise and great find for $27.  I would have expected to pay much more for a wine this tasty.
 
Region:  Columbia Valley, Washington
 
 
Best with: A few friends in front of a warm fire.   
 
Enjoy! 

 
Alan's Guitar of The Month
 
THE MTD535 5-STRING BASS GUITAR

mtd
 
My pick for "Guitar of the Month" is very special for three reasons: 
 
  1. It's the first bass guitar I've ever picked. 
  2. In terms of craftsmanship, sound, playability, style and aesthetics, it's one of the finest bass guitars being built these days.
  3. It's built by one of the most respected luthiers, Mike Tobias.

Accordingly, my guitar of the month is the MTD 5-string bass, Model #MTD535. Here's a little history on MTD and its owner Michael Tobias.

Mike's first company, Tobias Guitars, was started in Orlando, Florida in 1977 under the shop name "The Guitar Shop."  He sold that business in 1980, moved to San Francisco to start Sierra Guitars and later opened a guitar repair shop in Costa Mesa, California.  A few months later he moved to Hollywood and started Tobias Guitars, and by June 1988 he had an 18-month backorder for product.
 
After several attempts to move the business to larger, better equipped facilities, Mike decided to sell Tobias Guitars to the Gibson Guitar Company in 1990. In late 1992, Gibson moved Mike to Nashville to meet the growing demand for Tobias basses. Unfortunately, no one from the original Tobias Guitars team moved to Nashville, and in late 1992 Mike left Gibson's employment but remained a consultant to them.  After his consulting agreement with Gibson ended, Mike moved to the Catskills in upstate NY, set up a small custom shop and started designing and building new basses under the MTD company name and trademark.
 
MTD currently builds about 10 electric basses per month, along with acoustic bass guitars and a few electric guitars. One of his crew, Chris Hofschneider, has built custom basses before and has been a guitar tech for Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Skid Row and White Snake.  Mike also designs and does development work for other guitar companies like Lakland, Modulus, Alvarez and others.  We're proud to have Mike and MTD as one of our clients and encourage all bass players to check out the MTD website at MTD Basses

Upcoming Events

  • Alan, Daniel and Jen will all be speaking at the 2010 Winter NAMM Show, January 14-17.  To see the scheduled presentations, please click on the photo below.
  • Alan will be presenting the Yamaha "Financial Advantage" course to a select group of Yamaha  dealers in New Orleans the first week of February 2010.  If you are a Yamaha dealer and would like to attend this "all expense paid" program, contact your Yamaha rep for more information.
  • 1040 Organizers will be mailed at the end of December 2009
  • W-2/1099 forms are required to be mailed to employees/independent contractors by the end of January, 2010.  If we have prepared these forms for you in the past, you will receive pre-filled input sheets in late December.  Please contact us if we have not prepared these forms for you in the past but you would like us to prepare them now.
  • 1040 Appointments: It's not too early to schedule your individual tax appointment.  Please contact us at your earliest convenience.

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Thanks for being a part of our FKCo family .  It's our pleasure to provide you with the accounting, tax and financial services you need.  As always, we're here to help and look forward to hearing from you.
 
With Warm Regards,
 
Alan, Don and Everyone here at  FKCo
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