wallach - protecting clients from fraud, incompetence and scams (2010)

[...]... financial planners, and even accountants and attorneys I speak at numerous conventions, for both business owners and accountants 11 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams And after I speak, I am always approached by many people who have questions about tax reduction plans that they have heard about I have been an expert witness in many of these 419 and 412(i) lawsuits and I have not lost... survival may be at stake 7 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams Care must be taken, though, in assessing and choosing the right option Retirement Plans and the IRS A VEBA, 412(e)(3) plan or a 401(k) plan may be the proper fit for your business and investment strategy, but the IRS will be watching carefully how you form and operate your plan We discuss the pluses and minuses of these plans... Pension Protection Act standard in 2009 Standard & Poor’s 1500 Index of corporations reveals how dire the situation has become: The Index corporations moved from a $60 billion pension plan surplus at the end of 2007 to $409 billion deficit before the end of 2008 Defined benefit pensions (usually, where an employee payroll deduction is 3 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams matched by the... cost-pension plan obligations The Big Three automakers recently negotiated VEBA agreements with their union employees, transferring $56.5 5 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams billion to a United Auto Workers (UAW)–managed retiree health care VEBA, allowing the parent corporation to erase $88.7 billion in long-term pension obligations The math says there is an immediate $30 billion-plus... planner, investment advisor, life insurance agent, and property and casualty insurance broker all in the same room, working together on a comprehensive plan for 15 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams me?” The answer for most people is “Never!” As a matter of fact, for most people these professionals have never even spoken to each other, and most of the time, don’t even know each other’s... inventive” was the mantra It was an era where not paying attention yielded robust earnings 1 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams The Party’s Over The charlatans have now been revealed and returning to earth awash in lost assets has been a hard lesson learned for many business and personal investors Fear of any kind of strategy beyond the most basic principles of accounting math has... member on their team They are missing 17 Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams a family office administrator—a professional who is retained to take on the responsibility of organizing this annual comprehensive review The very wealthy usually have this professional on their staff But the “regular millionaire,” the physician, the entrepreneur, and business owner do not know where to turn... and the local attorney (who had no previous experience in such cases), which made matters worse, with a “big name” law firm being recommended and more than $30,000 in additional legal fees being billed in three months To make a long story short, the audit stretched on for more than two years to examine a two-year old pension with four participants and $178,000 in contributions 9 Protecting Clients from. .. together His contributions in terms of content were outstanding, and his editorial commentary improved the flow and delivery of information tremendously His expertise was invaluable Mr Boehm received his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from Cornell University School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Southern Methodist University He is a principal with... public employee, you need to know, and you need to know why If you’re a business owner, you also need to know how and why The key margin is the players between corporate and public entities That would be you—small- and mid-size business owner–investors As if you’re not burdened enough, no longer can you afford to let a rising stock market raise all boats— drownings, sharks, and icebergs have already been . Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Wallach, Lance. Protecting clients from fraud, incompetence, and scams / Lance Wallach. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 97 8-0 -4 7 0-5 397 4-3 (cloth) 1. Fraud–Prevention flast01.indd xiiflast01.indd xii 12/29/2009 3:30:45 PM12/29/2009 3:30:45 PM Protecting Clients from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams LANCE WALLACH John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ffirs.indd iffirs.indd i 12/29/2009. from Fraud, Incompetence, and Scams 2 The Party ’ s Over The charlatans have now been revealed and returning to earth awash in lost assets has been a hard lesson learned for many business and