If you are on the fence about attending our November seminar this year, take a look at this short video explaining why the 2010 Asset Protection, Tax Reduction and Business Growth Strategies Seminar is definitely worth your time.

Click to view this short 2-minute video!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm7jaiLRdKM

Many past seminar attendees like Sharon Corbett-Parry can attest that Scott Burnett is a knowledgeable and engaging speaker. “I loved Burnett’s style. He made sure we understood the point before moving on to the next topic,” Corbett-Parry said. Burnett, an attorney with more than ten years assisting business owners on the value of incorporating their companies, will be presenting the “How to Use a Corporation or Limited Liability Company Workshop” throughout the year. Registration is free!

See dates and locations for Laughlin’s upcoming seminars at www.corpworkshop.com.

Participants will gain knowledge on how to protect their personal assets against the threat of a lawsuit, protect their earnings and the value of tax reduction. Those who will benefit most from this workshop are closely-held corporate and limited liability owners who need to know what their legal requirements are, the benefits available to them and how to separate out the legal liability of owning a business.

Attendees will also have the unique ability to talk with experts one-on-one and get insight into their unique concerns.  For registration information please visit www.corpworkshop.com.

Our company does a lot of live seminars. In fact, in 2009 we did more than 100 live presentations and that number could easily go higher in 2010. When I took over as CEO back in 2001, Laughlin Associates did just four 3-day workshops per year. These programs were more focused on selling than educating. They sometimes included pitches something like this, “If you buy right now you will get (fill in the blank) for free.” It was clear that this kind of tactic could create excitement or cynicism depending on your perspective. The seminars were successful selling machines but there were challenges that followed behind. The problem with selling based significantly on excitement and emotion is that buyers will often experience buyer’s remorse. Thus, after some seminars there might follow a significant refunding of money or other company-client squabbles. This was not good and it was clear that we could improve our product.

CEO Aaron Young also maintains his own blog at smallbusiness411.wordpress.com

Today, if you examine one of our seminar fliers you will find a very different agenda. Our programs feature highly trained Laughlin staff, expert lawyers and CPAs each with a unique specialty. We cover topics ranging from choosing an entity that is right for your business, how to manage your corporate record book, lectures on the latest tax deductions for business owners, bullet proof asset protection, and how to organize your business so that it you can sell it or pass it down to your heirs. There is no doubt that we want people to become clients, but the tactics are different.

Our goal is to teach you everything you need to know in order to take care of all of these issues yourself. However, it is our experience that business owners tend to want to understand the big picture and then want somebody else to deal with the details. Thankfully, they hire us to handle those details more often than not.

There is a general consensus among the legal and accounting firms that we work with that the vast majority (maybe 95% plus) of businesses that are being conducted through a corporation or LLC are NOT getting the protections that the owners believe that are getting. The devil is in the details and that is what most owners ignore and what Laughlin has been taking care of for almost 40 years.

I would like to hear any stories that you have about having the corporate veil pierced or audit challenges that you have experienced or heard about. We hear horror stories everyday as owners engage our company. I bet you have some scary ones to share. They may not be pretty, but sharing them will help others avoid some or your pitfalls.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the March Seminar

• Where can you get instruction on procedures to upkeep corporate books? Any office supply store will have books or cd’s on recordkeeping.
• If you realize you are out of compliance with the record keeping requirements; what is the proper procedure to get in compliance before a law suit? You will need to go back and reconstruct all meeting minutes you have missed, and you will need to document all the major decisions. This is critical to protecting your corporate veil..
• I’d like to better understand the requirements of keeping actual paper records vs. electronic copies for Corp records? All state statutes require records for the corporation or LLC’s to be kept in written form and signed by the appropriate party inside the record book. These rules are also found in your companies Bylaws and Operating Agreement.
• As a C-Corporation how can the corporation pay for the President’s health insurance and not offer the same benefit to employees? The general rule is that a company may not discriminate in the awarding of fringe benefits. However, the eligibility criteria for fringe benefits may not allow certain employees to be eligible. For example, a part time employee or an employee under 25 could be excluded. Also an employee who has only been with the company a short time who has not met the eligibility requirement could be excluded.
• Are LLC’s required to have & document Member meetings and Manager meetings? State record-keeping requirements vary, however as a matter of best practices you should hold meetings and keep documentation in a record book along with the Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement. Look to your Operating Agreement for the meeting requirements for your specific company.
• Can distributions/dividends be defined on a limit (up to) at the beginning of the year? (same with loan repayments to shareholders) Yes. However, make sure this is properly documented and approved by the Shareholders and the Board of Directors.
• Is there a state agency that will assist you in knowing the corporate laws? Can they? Though state agencies have information on their websites, they will direct you to hire a professional since they are not allowed to give legal advice. For a specific state agency that governs corporate law you should look to the Secretary of States website.
• One CPA told me I need to elect S’ Corp status no later than when I file my first Corp Fed Tax return. Another said it’s supposed to be filed earlier. Which is it? You should file for S’ election no later than 2 months & 15 days of the date of Incorporation for the election to be effective your first year in business. If you miss this deadline, you will need to file form 2553 as an attachment to form 1120s when filing your annual taxes with a statement of reason for late filing.
• We’ve been in business for 1 1/2, do we start record keeping now or try to reconstruct? You will need to go back and reconstruct all meeting minutes you have missed and document all the major decisions. Better to reconstruct than to form a new company.
• How often does the board of directors meet? You need to have a board of directors meeting at least annually and any additional meetings as needed to document any major or extraordinary decisions the board needs to make on behalf of the corporation.
• I have a C’ Corp, I want to suspend my wages to prevent going in the red. What is the best procedure? Resolution? IRS issues? The rule here is that an owner operator must pay themselves a “reasonable compensation” for their efforts. But if the company is not making enough money to pay its bills you are not required to force your company into bankruptcy through wages. But if you do continue to take money out of the company through dividends, then the reasonable compensation rules would apply. This discussion should be with your CPA to discuss the appropriate ratio for you and your business.
• When you do a resolution and there are two people on the Board, does this mean a formal meeting (attendance, notice, etc.)? If there are multiple directors for the company, then each director has a right to vote. The notification can be formal or informal. The key here is that you need to document what you did and how the meeting was conducted.
• If I take a business trip (for the Corp) is it sufficient to submit an expense claim & have it approved? Yes, but you should make sure to keep all receipts for business travel and attach them to the report for reimbursement.
• A Corporation must have a director? BOD is not enough? If you have a single director or multiple directors, that will constitute your board. You cannot have a board of directors unless you have a director.
• Is documentation necessary to document loans to company and gifts/bonus to employees? Yes. This is called a resolution. If it is a loan then there is a resolution to loan or borrow. This resolution should also accompany a promissory note.