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With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017, more family businesses are examining their corporate structure and considering the tax implications. Specifically, companies that are currently structured as “pass-through” entities (e.g., an S corporation, partnership, or LLC taxed as an S corporation or partnership) are examining the new-found benefits of converting to a C-Corp.

The ability to attract, retain, and reward a superior workforce is fundamental to every organization’s long-term growth. One way to achieve it is to offer stock options to employees, giving them a stake in the company’s value as part of their compensation package. In general, there are two forms of stock options: nonqualified stock options and incentive stock options.

There is great responsibility when serving the ultra-high net worth clients, especially those who are concerned about preserving a family legacy and the successful transfer of their wealth and/or business. In this issue of Family Wealth Advisors Insights, three areas of concerns are addressed for the advisors and their families: maximizing their foundation endowment funds for social impact; what business owners need to know about their 2018 taxes; and the rise of self-made female billionaires and what it means for the future of philanthropy in the U.S.

Both New York State and New York City have recently passed a series of laws that significantly increased the protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. These laws outline additional and specific requirements—including the adoption of anti-sexual harassment policies and training—that employers must comply with over the next year.

In order to sustain their businesses for the long term, successful business owners tend to be thoughtful in their investments. They act like chess masters, deciding their next five moves in order to maintain a competitive edge and stay in the game. Yet throughout this business cycle, the RSM US Middle Market Business Index has shown that middle market leaders have been slow to increase capital expenditures, despite incentives provided in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This is concerning in light of today’s rapid pace of business transformation.

As the office of the controller becomes ever more strategic—creating higher levels of financial visibility to help drive growth and profitability—the financial organization’s relationship to the controller role must evolve as well.

A flexible operating model drives innovation and responsiveness to market changes.

Wealth may be structured to either protect assets or make them harder to reach by creditors. While fraudulent conveyance with respect to existing claims is an unavoidable risk, steps should be taken sooner rather than later. Understanding the various asset protection techniques that are typically used and the “fraudulent transfer” rules that may undermine any asset protection structure is critical to examining what level of asset protection is best suited for you.

Transactions for the purchase and sale of businesses are rarely all cash deals. No matter the transaction structure, the use of financing to consummate the purchase creates a new dimension and layers of complexity requiring additional scrutiny and analysis by a discerning seller (or its principals). When financing the purchase of your business, there are five things the deal team should consider.

Employers are facing workplace retention challenges with increasing regularity. Whether this is the result of a shift in generational norms or a strong economy, employees seem to be more mobile than ever before. Looking at costs alone, recent studies have shown that the cost of recruiting a new employee can be as high as 200% of the former employee’s salary. What can employers do in response to increase higher retention rates?