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Governmental Services

Local governmental organizations operate in a highly regulated and heavily scrutinized environment. Partnering with an audit, accounting, and advisory firm with the specialized knowledge and experience necessary to help navigate the challenges of this industry is essential. LB Carlson’s governmental services team offers a full menu of expert services to assist our clients in meeting and exceeding reporting and compliance requirements, maximizing efficiencies, and maintaining the public trust.

Assurance and Attestation Services

In the public sector, nothing is more important to the credibility of local governmental organizations than exhibiting sound financial management and regulatory compliance over the use of the public funds with which they are entrusted. LB Carlson annually provides assurance and attestation services to approximately 100 such organizations, including: cities and townships, school districts and cooperatives, charter schools, police and fire relief (pension) associations, and numerous other joint ventures and commissions. Our assurance and attest services include:

  • Audit and attest services in accordance with U.S. GAAP and governmental auditing standards
  • Single Audits of federal awards expenditures, including compliance with the Uniform Guidance
  • Audits of compliance with Minnesota laws and regulations
  • Examinations of forecasts and other agreed-upon procedures engagements
  • Management reports that provide concise summaries of audit results, insightful observations and recommendations for internal control or operational efficiency improvements, and contextual analysis of operating results for management and governance.
  • Effective presentations of audit results at public meetings

Advisory services

We offer a wide range of customized advisory services specifically tailored to meet the needs of our governmental clients, including:

  • Revenue projections
  • Budget development and review
  • Implementation of governmental accounting pronouncements
  • Grant compliance and reporting
  • Internal control evaluations
  • State regulatory reporting and statutory compliance requirements
  • Debt service funding plans
  • Investigations of fraud or misuse of public funds
  • Construction project analysis
  • Special legislation consulting and support

Tax Services

  • Preparation of federal tax returns, including federal Forms 990, 5500, 1096, and 1099
  • Assistance with payroll and benefit tax requirements

These are only some of the services we offer. Please contact LB Carlson’s governmental services team to see what we can do for you!

Blog Posts

A segmented income statement can be a powerful management tool for manufacturers

A companywide income statement may be sufficient for lenders or other outsiders to evaluate your manufacturing company’s financial performance. But from management’s perspective, a “segmented” income statement can provide valuable insight into key performance drivers and possible improvement strategies.

Manufacturers: Is your buy-sell agreement up to date?

A buy-sell agreement is a critical tool for owners of closely held manufacturing companies. It ensures an orderly ownership and management transition when an owner dies, becomes disabled, or otherwise leaves the company. And it creates a market for departing owners’ shares, providing owners and their families with liquidity and ensuring that the business stays in the family or other tight-knit ownership group.

Manufacturers need to act soon to take advantage of 100% first-year bonus depreciation

First-year bonus depreciation typically creates a powerful tax incentive for eligible manufacturers to purchase qualified property needed for business reasons. These tax write-offs can benefit a manufacturer’s cash flow, but claiming them isn’t always the best decision. However, if your manufacturing company wants to take full advantage of the bonus depreciation, this is the year to do so.

5 ways to control your business insurance costs

Common sense dictates that every company, no matter how small, should carry various forms of business insurance. But that doesn’t mean you should pay unnecessarily high premiums just to retain the coverage you need. Here are five ways to better control your insurance costs without sacrificing the quality of your policies:

The IRS again eases Schedules K-2 and K-3 filing requirements for 2021

The IRS has announced additional relief for pass-through entities required to file Schedules K-2 and K-3 for the 2021 tax year. Certain domestic partnerships and S corporations won’t be required to file the schedules, which are intended to make it easier for partners and shareholders to find information related to “items of international tax relevance” that they need to file their own returns.

Maintaining a healthy cash flow is critical for manufacturers

Managing and improving cash flow can help manufacturers survive tough times and prosper during better times. Every manufacturer is different, so the right cash flow strategies depend on your situation. Let’s take a look at several strategies that might be right for your manufacturing company.