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Business Meeting Collaboration

Mentorship Topics

📚 Bookkeeping & Core Accounting:

The system of record — compliance depends on accuracy here

💰 Cash, Banking & Treasury:

Visibility here prevents insolvency and misstatements

👥 Payroll & Workforce Compliance:

One of the highest audit and penalty risk areas

🧾 Contractors & 1099 Compliance:

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Commonly ignored until January panic

🏛 Federal, State & Local Taxes:

Visibility prevents surprise assessments

📦 Revenue, Billing & Customer Compliance:

Errors here trigger tax and audit issues

🧮 Inventory, Costing & Operations:

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​High risk for misstatement if unmanaged

🏦 Debt & Financing:

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Often misclassified and poorly tracked

🔐 Systems, Controls & Risk Management:

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This is where things quietly break

📊 Reporting, Monitoring & Readiness:

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Visibility isn’t useful unless reviewed

  • Chart of accounts design

  • Accrual vs. cash method alignment

  • Month-end close cadence and checklist

  • Bank reconciliations

  • Credit card reconciliations

  • Other balance sheet reconciliations

  • Intercompany accounts

  • Owner distributions vs payroll

  • Journal entry support and audit trail

  • Suspense/clearing account monitoring

  • Documentation retention (receipts, invoices)

  • Transaction classification consistency

  • Balance sheet review processes

  • Accounting software access controls

  • Third-party app integrations accuracy

  • Historical data integrity

  • Year-end close readiness

  • Bank account structure (operating, payroll, tax, reserve)

  • Cash balance visibility (by account)

  • Restricted cash tracking

  • Cash flow forecasting

  • Timing of inflows vs obligations

  • Merchant processor balances

  • Payment processor reserves

  • Refund and chargeback tracking

  • Unclaimed property tracking and submissions

  • Fraud monitoring procedures

  • Wire and ACH approval workflows

  • Cash burn rate

  • Worker classification (W-2 vs 1099)

  • State employment registrations

  • Payroll tax filings (federal, state, local)

  • Payroll tax deposits timing

  • S-Corp owner payroll compliance

  • Fringe benefit treatment

  • Payroll journal entry accuracy

  • Accrued payroll liabilities

  • PTO accrual policies

  • Sick leave compliance (state-specific)

  • Workers’ comp coverage

  • Payroll provider configuration

  • Garnishments and deductions handling

  • Multi-state payroll compliance

  • Pay frequency compliance

  • Final paycheck rules

  • Benefits deductions accuracy

  • Retirement plan withholding

  • Payroll record retention

  • Quarterly payroll reconciliations

  • Year-end W-2/W-3 filings

  • Contractor classification review

  • W-9 collection and storage

  • 1099-NEC / 1099-MISC tracking

  • Backup withholding enforcement

  • Payment threshold monitoring

  • International contractor documentation (W-8)

  • Platform contractor reporting (Stripe, PayPal)

  • Contract storage and scope clarity

  • Year-end filing deadlines

  • Corrections and reissuance procedures

  • Gross receipts taxes

  • Sales tax nexus analysis

  • Sales tax registration status

  • Filing frequency compliance

  • Product taxability mapping

  • Marketplace facilitator rules

  • Exemption certificate management

  • Use tax tracking

  • Payroll tax reconciliation to GL

  • Tax notice handling process

  • Invoice accuracy and completeness

  • Sales tax applied correctly

  • Revenue recognition method

  • Deferred revenue tracking

  • Refund and credit memo controls

  • Customer contracts alignment

  • Subscription billing accuracy

  • Payment terms enforcement

  • AR aging visibility

  • Bad debt policies

  • Merchant processor reconciliation

  • Discounts and promos tracking

  • Chargeback documentation

  • Inventory valuation method

  • Inventory counts and adjustments

  • Shrinkage tracking

  • Cost of goods sold accuracy

  • Work-in-progress tracking

  • Consignment inventory

  • Loan agreements and covenants

  • Amortization schedules

  • Interest expense accuracy

  • Debt maturity tracking

  • Covenant compliance monitoring

  • User access controls

  • Segregation of duties

  • Approval workflows

  • Documentation standards

  • Audit trail completeness

  • Policy documentation

  • Monthly financial review cadence

  • KPI definitions and tracking

  • Budget vs actual reporting

  • Forecast accuracy

  • Variance explanations

  • Board or investor reporting

  • Year-end readiness checklist

  • Audit or diligence preparedness

  • Exit or funding readiness

    © 2025 by Jamie Skinner

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