{"id":37071,"date":"2024-02-21T09:08:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=37071"},"modified":"2024-02-21T10:05:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T15:05:18","slug":"cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Paul Dowen is a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP.
Courtesy of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Accounting firms country-wide are having as much trouble as other businesses finding enough people to hire, according to Paul Dowen, CPA, a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP. WDR is headquartered in Queensbury and provides accounting, advisory and tax services primarily for small businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the IRS can\u2019t find enough people to help resolve tax issues,\u201d said Dowen. \u201cYou can rarely get someone to answer the telephone.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reason for the shortage of qualified accountants may be the five years or 150 credit hours it takes to earn the degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege students weighing their options wonder if they really want to take on an extra year of schooling and the extra debt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For the last three years, the Covid years, Dowen and his associates have had to turn down income tax preparation for individuals, referring them and some smaller businesses who were not already clients \u201cto the big box companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to be selective, which we never had to do before,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would be forced to raise our fees to price out those smaller returns, even though we would like to help them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The client base at WDR is primarily businesses ranging from $250,000 to $2.5 million in gross receipts. Dowen said his firm wants to know each client well, \u201cnot just crank out tax returns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes down to the relationship,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to know who you are, what are your life goals. Do you want to get ready to retire, sell your business or turn it over to family members?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u201cI want the relationship for your lifetime, and I want to make sure you\u2019re making money,\u201d he said. \u201cNot all accountants take the time to build that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once a company tax return is filed Dowen said he can analyze why a client may not be making the profits they expect and \u201csee how we can get this fixed or increase improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if our practice is short on staff, these are the kinds of things I don\u2019t get to, and I don\u2019t like that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line on the advisory side of an accounting firm is to not only help a business grow but also reduce the taxes it pays, for which there are different acceptable methodologies and approaches the professional recommends. Expensing versus depreciation is one area where advisor and client may not be on the same page, Dowen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tell people, if you didn\u2019t owe money on your tax return, this means you didn\u2019t grow your business this year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Profits can be legally reduced or eliminated using Section 179 expensing or bonus depreciation on qualified equipment. Dowen said he may recommend depreciating those items over a period of time if the client believes the business is going to be making more money in future years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses pay typically 40 to 45 cents on the dollar between federal, state, social security and other taxes,\u201d he said. \u201cMaking\u00a0 <\/span>50 cents or more is still better than making nothing. But some want zero tax liability now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some businesses will purchase new equipment and write off the entire cost as a Section 179 expense for that purpose, which Dowen said \u201cmay not be the best move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to pay the least amount of tax that you can over time,\u201d he said. \u201cSo maybe we write off half of it now and the other half over five years, so that you\u2019re paying some tax but at a lower average rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowen said an additional $100,000 of profits the next year would be taxed at 22 percent or even 37 percent, whereas profits could have been reduced by using an applicable depreciation formula on that equipment, he said. Recommendations such as this help \u201csmooth out\u201d the company\u2019s tax liability but the decision is dependent on the business owner\u2019s view of future profit levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want our clients to cost themselves money in the long run by pushing themselves into higher tax brackets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Like a coach, Dowen encourages clients to ask themselves in the everyday course of their business if they are maximizing sales and minimizing the costs they can incur to order to make a profit, he said.<\/p>\n

That may mean looking at where products are purchased, if they are negotiating the best price, and whether their marketing maximizes where they can sell to, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not an expert in my clients\u2019 businesses. They are,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I can help them analyze the things that I see based on my other clients and what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowen used the example of a restaurant business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the ability to look at our restaurant clientele to see what their food and beverage costs are and see if this business is on the norm,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are also published industry standards to compare their average costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

If his client\u2019s costs are higher on a percentage basis, Dowen wants to know why.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to guide them, and that\u2019s what about 50 percent of my clients want,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of client we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

WDR conducted their annual tax seminar on Saturday January 28th, at which Dowen explained a new reporting requirement that affects nearly every business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Accounting firms country-wide are having as much trouble as other businesses finding enough people to hire, according to Paul Dowen, CPA, a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP. WDR is headquartered in Queensbury and provides accounting, advisory and tax services primarily for small businesses. \u201cEven the IRS can\u2019t find enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":37073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nCPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Accounting firms country-wide are having as much trouble as other businesses finding enough people to hire, according to Paul Dowen, CPA, a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP. WDR is headquartered in Queensbury and provides accounting, advisory and tax services primarily for small businesses. \u201cEven the IRS can\u2019t find enough […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-21T14:08:06+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-21T15:05:18+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2024\/02\/paul-dowen-fi.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"547\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/\",\"name\":\"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-21T14:08:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-21T15:05:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal","og_description":"By Susan Elise Campbell Accounting firms country-wide are having as much trouble as other businesses finding enough people to hire, according to Paul Dowen, CPA, a principal of Whittemore, Dowen & Ricciardelli, LLP. WDR is headquartered in Queensbury and provides accounting, advisory and tax services primarily for small businesses. \u201cEven the IRS can\u2019t find enough […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/","og_site_name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","article_published_time":"2024-02-21T14:08:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-21T15:05:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":547,"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2024\/02\/paul-dowen-fi.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/","name":"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses - Glens Falls Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-21T14:08:06+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-21T15:05:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2024\/02\/cpa-paul-dowen-works-to-ensure-his-clients-get-maximum-benefit-from-their-businesses\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CPA Paul Dowen Works To Ensure His Clients Get Maximum Benefit From Their Businesses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/","name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8083519989e12032abdd06a668982ef4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37071"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37071"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37120,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37071\/revisions\/37120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}