At Merck & Shumen CPAs, the careful management of your finances is our top priority. We pride ourselves on giving you personalized and thorough service that meets your business or individual needs.

We provide a full range of tax and accounting services for our clients and offer consulting services for special needs.

Tax Services

At Merck & Shumen CPAs, we assist our tax clients through efficient compliance and effective planning to help them realize substantial savings.  We use a team approach and focus on timely communication to provide our clients with excellent service. Tax partner and specialist involvement ensure that our clients receive the most experienced technical expertise we have to offer.

We offer the following tax services:

Federal, State and International Business Tax Services

Tax Return Compliance

Preparation of federal, state and international tax returns is the core of our tax services. High-levels of technical and industry specific expertise allow our tax professionals to ensure our clients’ tax returns are prepared efficiently and timely.

Transactional Structuring

We help businesses structure economic transactions in ways that minimize the tax impact by advising them on acquisitions, sales and mergers.

Accounting Method Reviews

We review businesses’ tax accounting methodologies for proper accounting and accounting method strategies to maximize income tax benefits.

Transfer Pricing Studies

Our transfer pricing specialists can provide your business with consultations and studies to assist you with determining appropriate "arms'-length" pricing among related companies.

Research Credit Calculations

We can help your business determine if it is eligible to claim certain federal and state research credits, assist with the documentation requirements and quantify the amount of the tax credit.

Real Estate Cost Segregation Studies

At Merck & Shumen CPAs, we have proven cost segregation strategies that can be used to accelerate real estate tax depreciation deductions for businesses.  This results in a deferral of taxes which in turn increases cash flow.

Cost segregation works by separating the costs of property from the building, land acquisition or construction costs.  This benefits your business because the property has a shorter useful life for depreciation purposes when it stands on its own than when it is combined with the longer lived building or land.

There are certain limitations surrounding cost segregation.  It can only be performed on buildings constructed, acquired, enhanced or expanded in 1986 or later.  Additionally, certain industries tend to have buildings with the most potential for tax deferral and improved cash flows.  These industries include but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• Auto dealerships
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Industrial facilities
• Manufacturing facilities
• Office buildings
• Retail stores and shopping centers
• Apartment or condominium complexes
• Supermarkets and restaurants

Audit & Appeal Representation

We possess the expertise and experience to represent taxpayers before tax authorities.  Our tax professionals understand the dispute resolution and appeals process and work diligently to obtain you the most favorable results.

International Tax Assistance

Business is becoming increasingly international.  More companies than ever deal with foreign tax issues at some level and this will only increase with continued globalization.  At Merck & Shumen CPAs, we can help you navigate the complexities of a variety of international tax planning issues including the following:

• Choosing the most advantageous type of entity and corporate structure
• Subpart F income determinations
• Foreign tax credit utilization
• Using IC-DISC for tax reduction
• Transfer pricing
• Foreign earnings repatriation
• Foreign withholding and reporting obligations
• Treaty interpretation

State and Local Tax Specific Services

Nexus Consulting and State Tax Liability Analysis

We can help you understand and navigate where your business is required to file and pay state and local taxes based on multistate activities.  Additionally, we will make recommendations of where to file and quantify potential tax liabilities associated with various state and local jurisdictions.

Sales and Use Tax Determination

We can assist you understand the sales and use tax consequences of specific transactions and ensure you meet any filing requirement.

Tax Planning Services

Federal Income Tax Planning

We aid businesses with all aspects of federal income tax planning.  This includes implementing federal income tax strategies that maximize savings, increase profits and manage cash flows. 

State and Local Tax Planning

Our team understands the structural and transactional underpinnings of state and local regulations in ways that allow us to create solutions that mitigate tax liabilities. We provide state and local tax planning in the following areas:

• Income tax
• Franchise tax
• Sales and use tax
• Property tax
• Other miscellaneous taxes

Business Succession Tax Planning

You spent your life building your business and now you want to pass it on to the next generation or sell the value you built.  We advise businesses on the proper succession planning to preserve your family and business legacy while also looking out for potential tax consequences that may result.

Other Tax Services

Accounting for Income Taxes

Financial accounting for income taxes can be complex.  Our professionals have the technical skills and experience to help our clients navigate through these complex requirements and create efficient income tax accounting and reporting.  We also help companies stay up-to-date with regulatory guidance and disclosure requirements. The services we offer allow our clients to minimize year-end surprises and reduce risk related to reporting.  These services include:

• Calculation of tax provisions
• Account for uncertain tax positions
• Analyze current and deferred taxes
• Prepare financial statement footnote disclosures

Tax Updates

We keep our clients up-to-date on the latest federal, state and international tax issues through webinars, newsletters, website postings and face-face to meetings.   By staying ahead of tax issues and we can communicate how they will impact you operations quickly and address them in a timely manner. 

Individual Tax Services

When it comes to individual taxes, change provides opportunity.  We keep on top of these changes to provide you with the best advice and strategies, especially through planning opportunities.  You can depend on us for objective guidance and personal attention.  We believe in focusing on your long-term financial goals and steering your current needs in a direction to meet them.

Estate and Trust Tax Services

If you have not considered what will happen to your hard earned assets as you age and eventually pass on you should.  Without an estate plan, the wealth you worked your entire life to build will be distributed according to state law and not according to your wishes. Estate planning is crucial if you want to minimize taxes and distribute as much as possible to your preferred beneficiaries.

We will work with you to design an estate plan customized to your particular needs by utilizing a variety of planning vehicles such as family limited partnerships, trusts and charitable entities. Our team can assist you by performing the following:

• Review wills and trust instruments.
• Estimate estate taxes and strategize alternatives that may provide tax savings.
• Review business issues including valuation and the transfer and/or disposition of business interests.
• Identify potential liquidity problems caused by federal and state estate taxes for the continued operation of the family business, probate, administration costs, etc.
• Develop a lifetime gifting program using vehicles such as family limited partnerships, charitable trusts and qualified personal residence trusts
• Prepare estate, gift, fiduciary and non-profit tax returns
• Advise you on the possible use of various trusts structures; including charitable remainder trusts, grantor annuity trusts, personal residence trusts, family partnerships, credit shelter trusts, marital deduction trusts and revocable lifetime trusts.

Looking for a little information right now? View the latest Tax and Financial News article in our Newsletter.

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Accounting And Auditing Services

Compilations

Compilations provide the lowest level of assurance of the financial statements services.  They are often required by outside third parties as well internally by companies.

In a compilation we assist management in presenting their financial information as financial statements in the proper form.  Compilations also require us to acquire an understanding of the client’s industry and to obtain specific knowledge about the client.  Additionally, we read the financial statements and ensure they are free from obvious material errors.  They provide no expression of an opinion on the financial statements.

Bookkeeping Services

Good financial information provided in a timely and accurate manner is essential to good management. Let us perform your bookkeeping and save yourself time, money and distractions. This will allow you to focus on what you do best – running your business. Our firm provides a full range of bookkeeping services including the following:

• General ledger & financial statement preparation
• Adjusting journal entries
• Book keeping on an Monthly, Quarterly or Annual basis
• Accounting system setup for new businesses

Payroll Services

We offer customized electronic payroll systems to meet the specific needs and demands of your business. Letting us handle your payroll means you never have to worry about keeping up with tax law or reporting requirements again.

Our payroll system provides a wide array of options including direct deposit, compliance reporting, tax filing and more. We can set-up automatic reports to allow you to review you payroll as efficiently as possible.

Our payroll system includes the following capabilities:

• Withholdings calculations for Federal and all 50 states
• Multiple payroll schedules and types including retroactive, tips, and reimbursements
• Direct Deposit
• Wide array of standard deductions and an unlimited number of custom deductions
• Tracking and accrual of vacation, personal, and sick time
• Electronic payment of federal and state payroll taxes
• Filing of quarterly and annual federal and state payroll forms
• Complete W-2 and W-3 reporting
• Full range of compliance reports
• Our professional advice and guidance on payroll matters

Visit our set of Financial Calculators for quick answers on topics such as your IRA, investments, your child's college tuition, and your mortgage or credit card calculations.

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Consulting Services

At Merck CPAs & Consultants, our business is to know and understand your financial situation.  We offer services beyond compliance and combine our experience, expertise and knowledge to add value as a trusted advisor to your financial situation.

We offer the following consulting services:

Financial Processes

Every organization can benefit from being introspective, skeptical and analytical regarding their finances.  We work with organizations to develop the predictive capabilities necessary to adapt to rapid changes and outperform their peers.  Specifically, we can help you with:

• Driving growth from new markets and opportunities.
• Enhance cash management through working capital optimization and better capital allocation.
• Improve finance operations by focusing on operational effectiveness, financial analytics as well as budgeting and forecasting.
• Enable efficient regulatory compliance.
• Effectively manage risk by identifying sources and improvements to mitigate high risk areas.

Financial Reporting

• Purchase price allocation
• Asset impairment testing
• Intellectual property valuations

Business Planning

• Buy and sell agreements
• Purchases or sale of a business
• General business planning

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Services

Merck CPAs & Consultants, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Group provides financial advisory services to Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees, debtors, unsecured creditors and estate fiduciaries. We can aid you in include formal insolvency proceedings, out of court corporate wind-downs, reorganizations and liquidations.  Details of the various services our bankruptcy and insolvency group offers are detailed below:

Estate Fiduciaries

• Assist with the sale of hard assets.
• Assist with negotiating private sales of intangibles.
• Develop causes of action to recover assets.
• Distribute estate assets to creditors on the basis of priority ranking.

Check out our Newsletter for the latest article on Financial Planning.

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