Affordable Housing Gurus

2010 Year-End Audit and Tax Planning Tips for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Partnerships

As the holiday season approaches, we know that audit and tax season for calendar year-end entities is not far behind.  Being proactive in preparation for financial statement audits and tax return preparation is important in achieving a seamless and efficient audit process.   There are many things that can be done for an efficient audit and tax season that we can be thinking about as we’re approaching the year end.

The following is a list of items that owners and managers of low-income housing tax credit projects can look into now to help ensure reporting deadlines are met and to minimize the disruption to your day to day operations. 

Practical IT Security - 10 Tips for Success

Information technology most likely plays a large role in the day to day operations of your property. There are several steps you and your employees can take to safeguard the electronic information of your properties.

A great article was recently written by David Hammarberg, our Director of IT. Dave’s article was recently published on our McKonomics blog, but here is a repost of the entire article.

The world of information technology has a great many facets. There are a variety of considerations relative to security, software, applications, operating systems, and other areas. However, regardless of the technology you're using, there are foundational areas that must be considered for any computing environment. These are the basics of security; these are the 10 tips for success.

1. Passwords

Passwords are vital to securing any access. A password is like a key or combination lock, the more complex the combination, the better a lock will be. Each password should be unique to the device, website, or asset you want to protect. What could happen if someone knew your password?  What-if scenarios will help you to decide how strong you want to make your password.

2. Antivirus and Malware

You do not want to have to have these on your computer. Period. What could go wrong if your computer was infected? How much time would you lose? When it comes to malware, prevention is far better than dealing with the problem after the fact. Install trusted antivirus software, run periodic scans, and train employees on web surfing and e-mail habits so you can help to prevent this problem from happening.

Giving Tenant Information to Census Takers

As a follow up to our post from June 6, 2010 about providing census takers with tenant information, we received information from John Johnson of A.J. Johnson Consulting Services, Inc. John cites Federal law (13 USC 223) stating that owners/managers of multfamily housing properties must provide names of proprery residents when requested by a census taker. For additional information provided by John Johnson, click here.

Are You Giving Tenant Information to Census Takers?

We have heard that census takers are asking project managers for information on tenants who have not completed their census forms. Some management companies have expressed concern about the legality of providing this type of tenant information without the tenant's permission. Does anyone have any experience with this?

IRS Newsletter Offers Record Retention Guidance to LIHTC Property Owners

The December issue of the Low-Income Housing Credit Newsletter offers guidance on information that will be requested by the IRS in the event of an audit of a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit property owner. The newsletter is a great reference tool for determining record retention for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit property owners.

For additional information or assistance with developing a record retention checklist, contact affordablehousing@macpas.com.

Introducing...the McKonly & Asbury Portal!

  “Efficiency is doing better what is already being done.”
-Peter F. Drucker

Efficiency is a constant goal here at McKonly & Asbury (M&A). We strive to make communication with our affordable housing clients as streamlined as possible. The more time we can save you, the more time you can put back into your business. So, to make this a reality, M&A has released a Client Portal to house important documents. Not only is this portal personalized according to client, but documents can be stored on our secure server, ensuring the safety of confidential information. Another advantage is that communication with your accountant to retrieve important tax and other documents is not a necessity. You can simply log onto the internet and view your documents (of course, we’re always here to assist you in any way we can!).

The Portal itself
Think of the portal as a huge warehouse. You can have us store prior year financial statements, tax returns, or various agreements here. It’s also easy for you to use. As the client, you can feel free to upload documents such as requested work papers or schedules, or new HUD or correspondence from your housing finance agency (HFA).

Getting started
As a client of M&A, you can contact our M&A staff or the Portal directly at portal@macpas.com  to request usernames and passwords. We will then send you a user guide with instructions on how to log on to the portal. At the initial set up, you can tell us which documents you would like to “publish” to your secure location on the portal. And, if you have any questions about the process in general, always feel free to e-mail support at portal@macpas.com. This is a service offered exclusively to M&A clients.

Better than e-mail?
Because of the Portal’s authentication process, housing documents on the portal is more secure than sending documents through e-mail. Also, security is maintained to ensure access is granted only to intended parties. As a convenient source of your information, the portal will reduce your e-mail usage. Since pertinent information would already be uploaded on the portal, you can simply access it by the click of a finger.

Is the Portal for me?
Yes!  The portal is available for all M&A affordable housing clients (and any client of M&A for that matter).

Cost
The portal is absolutely free. This is just a more efficient way we can better serve you!

Signing up
Hopefully you are ready to sign up now!  If so, please e-mail us at portal@macpas.com and we can get you started.

2009 Year-End Audit and Tax Planning Tips for LIHTC Partnerships

As the holiday season approaches, we know that audit and tax season for calendar year-end entities is not far behind.  Being proactive in preparation for financial statement audits and tax return preparation is important in achieving a seamless and efficient audit process.   There are many things that can be done for an efficient audit and tax season that we can be thinking about as we’re approaching the year end.

The following is a list of items that owners and managers of low-income housing tax credit projects can look into now to help ensure reporting deadlines are met and to minimize the disruption to your day to day operations.