The accounting and advisory landscape looks very different than it did a few years ago. Firms are combining at a rapid pace, outside investment is influencing strategy, and many organizations are pursuing growth measured by scale and speed.
Amid these changes, maintaining a strong, reliable client relationship has never been more important. In our Wilmington, Delaware office (which formed as a result of our merger with Cover & Rossiter), that means reading beyond the surface, asking difficult questions, and staying engaged long after the immediate issue is addressed.
The following examples show what that commitment looks like in practice.
Identifying Opportunity in Ambiguity
When the CARES Act was passed in 2020, most of the attention focused on PPP loans and immediate relief provisions. But as we read through the legislation, we noticed a lesser-known opportunity: the temporary reinstatement of five-year Net Operating Loss carrybacks for 2019 and 2020.
Carrybacks had been eliminated under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The CARES Act briefly brought them back. What caught our attention was how this might apply to nonprofit organizations with Unrelated Business Income (UBI).
One of our larger nonprofit clients had substantial UBI losses passed through on K-1s in 2019. The law did not explicitly state that the carryback provision applied to nonprofit UBI, but it also did not say that it didn’t.
Rather than dismiss the ambiguity, we researched it. We presented the opportunity, explained the risks, and, with the client’s approval, pursued the claim. We prepared and submitted the carryback application, knowing it was uncommon and likely to draw scrutiny.
And it did. The IRS asked numerous follow-up questions and conducted a desk audit of our documentation. Eighteen months later, the claim was approved and paid.
Because the loss was generated in a 21% tax year and carried back into a 35% tax year, the rate differential alone produced roughly $87,000 of additional value on a $250,000 carryback.
It wasn’t a routine filing. It required judgment, persistence, and a willingness to explore an area few others were pursuing. But that is what thoughtful advisory looks like in practice.
Managing Risk in a Changing Regulatory Environment
When late-2020 amendments to the CARES Act allowed organizations that received PPP funding to also apply for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), the rules were complex and evolving.
At one organization, an eager internal team member worked with their payroll provider to submit ERTC claims without fully understanding the qualification criteria. Applications were filed for two quarters for which the organization was clearly ineligible, and a third where eligibility was uncertain.
By the time we became involved, funds had already been received.
Our first step was diagnostic. We needed to understand what had been filed, where the errors were, and what the exposure could be. We laid out a corrective plan, and the client trusted us to see it through.
We recalculated eligibility properly, guided the return of funds for ineligible quarters, and prepared accurate filings for three quarters where the organization legitimately qualified.
Then, as the IRS introduced a limited-time voluntary disclosure program allowing recipients to return 80% of improperly claimed credits and retain 20%, we moved quickly. After researching the program and confirming eligibility, we helped the client retain $90,000 from one of the originally erroneous filings.
Today, the organization has received substantial credits, legitimately and defensibly, under the CARES Act and related IRS guidance.
In fast-moving regulatory environments, the difference between risk and opportunity often comes down to careful interpretation and steady guidance.
Persistence Beyond the Headlines
Some advisory relationships are defined not by months or even years, but by decades. Six months before the Madoff fraud became public, a private foundation client invested $1 million in a Madoff feeder fund. When the fraud was uncovered, recovery prospects for feeder fund investors were far more limited than for direct investors covered by SIPC protections.
We immediately worked to register the organization as a victim and began monitoring recovery efforts.
Direct investors benefited from aggressive clawback actions and SIPC-backed proceedings. Feeder fund investors faced a more complicated and uncertain path. We filed claims in multiple class-action lawsuits against service providers, resulting in modest early recoveries of roughly 5%.
Then we identified a separate fund created from forfeited assets. We registered the client, qualified their status, and pursued recovery through that channel as well.
Seventeen years later, we are still tracking developments and pursuing opportunities. To date, the client has recovered nearly 80% of its original loss, with the potential for additional recovery.
That kind of long-term persistence does not show up in a quarterly report. But it defines the advisory relationship.
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Across these situations, the common thread is more than a single tax strategy or technical solution. It is a commitment to stay engaged.
In a changing accounting landscape, clients benefit from advisors who combine technical depth with continuity. Advisors who read beyond the headlines, are willing to raise opportunities others overlook, and those who remain present long after the immediate crisis or opportunity arises.
That is how we approach client service in Delaware and across the firm, with deep expertise, steady leadership, and relationships built for the long term.
Interested in partnering with a firm that prioritizes stability, continuity, and a client-first approach? Connect with TBG to learn how our long-term perspective can support your business.
Legal Line: This material has been prepared for general, informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Should you require any such advice, please contact us directly. The information contained herein does not create, and your review or use of the information does not constitute, an accountant-client relationship.
