On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed a year-end spending package that included the long-awaited Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the “SECURE Act”), ushering in the most sweeping reform to retirement saving in the U.S. since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The SECURE Act became effective on January 1, 2020, and… Continue Reading
Accounting and Auditing
More Pandemic Assistance for Dairy Farmers, Biofuel Producers, and Livestock Producers
The USDA is continuing its rollout of aid to segments of the agriculture industry impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Since January, USDA has allocated $11 billion to producers, as well as food and ag businesses. The USDA is committed to providing financial assistance to producers and… Continue Reading
American Family Plan Child Tax Credit Monthly Payments
There have been important changes to the Child Tax Credit that will help many families this summer. The American Rescue Plan ACT of 2021 expands the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2021 only, the legislation not only temporarily increases the amount each parent will receive, from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children 6 and up, it also… Continue Reading
Financial Audit During a Global Pandemic
2020 has thrown us some major curveballs. Despite the many disruptions of this global pandemic, the team at Christianson wants you to remember that your annual financial statement audit must go on. It may look a little different than it has in the past, so we encourage you to consider the following as you prepare… Continue Reading
Mileage Rates Experience Significant Increase
A big change was announced by the IRS on Friday for the optional standard mileage rates for business use of a vehicle. This rate will increase significantly in 2019, after increasing only slightly last year. For business use of a car, van, pickup truck, or panel truck, the rate for 2019 will be 58 cents… Continue Reading
New Standard of Accounting for Leases
At Christianson, we track any and all changes that impact our clients and the way their accounting processes are done. In this case, accounting for leases, which always has been a complex area, is undergoing significant change with the release of new lease standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). On February 25, 2016,… Continue Reading







