Generally Accepted Accounting Podcast

013 - Nursing Home Star Ratings

GAAP Episode 013 – Nursing Home Star Ratings
Whether you manage a nursing home, work in one, or are considering one for a loved one, this episode is for you. Our resident nursing home experts, Charles Frizzell and Jackie Jermolenko, discuss the three main criteria for determining a nursing home’s star rating. There’s also the obligatory joke about PBJ not relating to a sandwich. And some bonus material about reimbursements for nursing homes increasing in South Dakota starting in July (it’s a good thing). You know the drill: Listen in to learn more.
History of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five-Star Rating System
Care Compare
South Dakota nursing home reimbursements get a boost
Grant money available to help alleviate S.D. nursing home staffing challenges

012 - Mental Health & the Future of Accounting

Today we're talking with our Firm Administrator, Vanessa Kaiser. Vanessa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, which means her background isn't in spreadsheets and numbers *gasp* but instead, she's worked with people and feelings! We talk about Vanessa's unique perspective as a non-traditional hire working for an accounting firm, mental health in the accounting industry, and what the future holds as younger generations advance in their careers. Listen in to learn more!
Show Notes:
Meet the Team | Vanessa Kaiser
The 4 Disciplines of Execution
Most accountants suffer burnout: study
Accountant Burnout is Way Up
Battling burnout
Hope Storm: Healing Coaching & Trauma Consulting
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
 
0:00 Intro
1:30 Vanessa as a non-traditional hire
7:54 Highlighting mental health in our industry
9:16 What is burnout?
15:04 How will the accounting industry address burnout?
18:54 New generations coming to accounting
21:15 Will automation help reduce burnout?
25:00 Deadline-driven industries
29:45 Outro and joke

011 - Healthcare Allocation Statistics

This week, we sit down with managing shareholder Mark Lyons to discuss the ins-and-outs of allocation statistics and how they can impact healthcare cost reports. Listen in to learn more!
0:00 Intro
1:45 What are cost reports?
2:24 What are allocation statistics?
3:23 How often do statistics and requirements change?
4:52 Equipment depreciation
8:00 Requesting changes in allocation
10:49 Affected facilities
11:45 Cost report averages and best practices
14:17 Responsibilities and communication
15:47 Worksheet B-1
19:55 Cafeteria costs
22:47 Typical tricky statistics
26:38 Maximizing reimbursements and patient care
29:04 Outro
30:00 Joke
Cost reports are an important piece of reimbursements for Medicare-certified healthcare facilities.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, those facilities have to submit an annual cost report to a Medicare Administrative Contractor. MACs work as a kind of intermediary between healthcare facilities and CMS.
Cost reports contain provider information such as:
Facility characteristics
Utilization data
Cost and charges by cost center
Medicare settlement data
Financial statement data
CMS maintains the cost report data in the Healthcare Provider Cost Reporting Information System.
Below are some high-level questions you can ask yourself when you’re gathering allocation statistics and filing out a cost report.
Questions when filing out Worksheet B-1:
Does housekeeping clean all the areas with a stat?
Are offsite locations (potential examples: Therapy, RHC, HHA, etc.) receiving an allocation from the cafeteria, housekeeping, or another supporting area they don’t use?
Are there better ways to allocate A&G costs (i.e., segmentation)?
Does central supply/purchasing order for all departments, or do some departments do their own ordering (e.g., lab, pharmacy, etc.)?
Does maintenance provide services to leased buildings?
Why are the non-reimbursable areas receiving allocations? Are those correct? If so, is there a way to limit the allocations?
Is there a way to deflect costs from non-cost based/nonallowable cost centers?
Can you direct cost certain costs for specific areas versus using allocation statistics?
When was the last time you updated your square-footage statistics? If it’s been more than a year, it’s a good idea to make sure the square-footage stats are up to date.

010 - Dashboards and Data Visualization

Our in-house data visualization experts, Mark Erickson, Neil Frizzell, and Devon Hochstetter, answer some helpful questions during this podcast. Questions like “data visual-what now?” What’s Jirav? Is that like a giraffe?” (It’s close!) “Is Power BI some kind of weight-lifting move?”
But seriously, you’ll get the lowdown on these and other tools that can help you grow and monitor your business. Listen in now!
Resources:
Microsoft Power BI
What is a KPI?
Data Analytics Podcast with Mark Erickson
0:00 Intro1:45 What are data visualization tools?7:45 Limitations of enterprise software10:06 Advantages of dynamic data visualization16:32 What value can this data provide for non-financial folks?22:42 What businesses can benefit from data visualization tools?28:26 Can data visualizations help with staffing issues?32:00 Where to start?35:40 Outro and joke

009 - Starting a New Business

If you’ve been thinking about starting your own business, our resident business expert and CPA Jennie Steinmetz is here to tell you everything you need to know. You’ll learn about regulations, registration, sales tax, payroll tax, R&D tax credits, B.A.I.L. (not the prison kind), and more. Listen in now!
 
0:00 Intro
 
2:18 What laws and regulations should you know about when starting a business?
3:05 What does an S-corp entail?
4:04 Where all do you need to register your new business?
5:10 What is an EIN?
5:41 What are some of the sales tax requirements?
9:34 Sales tax and location, location, location
12:45 What all do businesses pay sales tax on?
14:07 Payroll tax requirements
16:25 R&D tax credits
18:34 What’s your top tip for anyone starting a business?
21:53 What’s your favorite thing about organized clients?
23:08 Software and starting a business
How to choose the right entity for your business (ebook PDF)
Should your small business be an S Corp?
Does your business need an employer ID number?
How to decide on the best business structure to protect your assets
Should your e-commerce business be collecting sales tax?
How SALT deductions impact your taxes
R&D tax credit podcast
The IRS’s “Starting a Business” kit
South Dakota Secretary of State

008 - Your Business & Inflation

We sit down with CPA and managing shareholder Mark Lyons to discuss tips and techniques to help your business fight inflation. Stick around to learn more about profit margins, raising prices, employee productivity, expenses, automation and more!
https://caseypeterson.com/podcast
 

007 - Actively Managed Portfolios

Our Avantax friend, Kevin Dement, is back and we're talking about portfolios. Specifically, what makes an actively managed or asset allocation portfolio different from other portfolio types. What are the benefits, risks, and how do you find a partner that you can trust? Listen in to learn more!
 
0:00 Introduction
2:00 Types of Portfolios
4:48 Portfolio Fees
6:50 Actively Managed Portfolio Features
8:22 How Portfolio Changes are Made
11:57 Trust & Transparency
13:32 Investment Risks & Tolerances
 
Relevant terms:
Large-Cap - Greater than ten billion dollars in market cap
Mid-Cap - Between two billion and ten billion dollars in market cap
Small-Cap - Less than two billion dollars in market cap
 
To learn more about Avantax and the services they offer, please visit https://www.avantax.com/

006 - What Exactly is a Fiduciary?

You've heard the term before, and know it's vaguely financial in nature, but... what exactly is a fiduciary? This week, we talk with Kevin Dement from our wealth management partner, Avantax. We'll discuss fiduciary responsibilities, what it means to be a fiduciary, and how you should select a fiduciary. Listen to learn more!
0:00 Introduction
1:50 What is a Fiduciary?
3:58 Fiduciary Disclosures
5:17 How do Fiduciaries get Paid?
7:48 How to Choose a Fiduciary
10:24 Fiduciary Credentials
13:00 Why Choose a Fiduciary?
 
To learn more about Avantax and the services they offer, visit https://www.avantax.com/

005 - Audits for Schools and Governments

GAAP Episode 5 - Audits for Schools and Governments
 
We sit down with Casey Peterson income partner Devin Pfaff to discuss what's different for audits with government entities (such as schools and municipalities). Stick around to learn more about all audits, all the time!
 
Show Notes
1:50 Differences between nonprofit and government audits
2:17 Different types of funds
5:03 What is a modified accrual basis?
5:55 Federal funding for schools and municipalities
6:29 Audit requirements for schools and municipalities
7:45 The actual audit
11:00 The audit submission and reporting process
13:54 Where to find audit resources
15:58 If you could change ONE thing about single audits...
20:50 How do you deal with a fear of speed bumps?
 
Casey Peterson audit tools
South Dakota Department of Education resources
South Dakota Department of Legislative Audit

004 - Audit Tips for Nonprofits

GAAP Ep 004 – Audit Tips for Nonprofits – Show Notes
 
We sit down with Casey Peterson CPA and income partner Devin Pfaff to discuss audits for nonprofits and attempt to make sense of attestation, internal controls, compliance, cash vs accrual, and all kinds of other jargon! Plus we'll learn about preparing for audits, what to expect from the process, and what happens when audits are all done. Stick around to learn more!
 
2:24 Defining different service options
4:00 What is independence?
4:48 Do you really need an audit?
7:55 Cash vs. accrual
9:00 Internal controls
10:35 Compliance
11:35 Revenue recognition
14:58 Single audits
20:17 Regular audits
22:20 Preparing your nonprofit for an audit
27:33 Deliverables
30:13 What happens post-audit?
32:24 Why Devin loves audits
 
Which service is right for you? https://www.caseypeterson.com/blog/financial-statement-prep-compilation-review-or-audit-which-r
Casey Peterson audit tools: https://www.caseypeterson.com/resource-center/audit-tools
Why audits rarely find fraud: https://www.isaca.org/resources/news-and-trends/newsletters/atisaca/2019/volume-24/why-auditors-rarely-find-fraud