Question 1

How about some forms and business-related info?

Accepted Answer

Payroll
Form W4 
Form I9 Employment Eligibility Verification 
Form I9 Instructions 
Direct Deposit Authorization  PDF 
Publication 15 - Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide
Publication 15B - Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits Publication 15 - Circular E, Employers Tax Guide
Work Opportunity Tax Credit 
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a federal tax credit available to employers who invest in American job seekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment.  Employers may meet their business needs and claim a tax credit if they hire an individual who is in a WOTC targeted group.

Other Small Business Resources
Form W9 
Alaska Entity Search (Corporations, Business and Professional Licenses) 
Retirement Plans for Small Entities and Self-Employed

Subcontractors
Be sure that you distinguish between a subcontractor and an employee.  The state provides strict penalties for employers who claim to utilize subcontractors but treat them as though they are employees.  Here are the key features of subcontractors that keep you out of trouble:
They are in charge of their own schedule
They may decline work
They have more than one client

When paying a subcontractor you will need:
Proof of a business license
A completed Form W-9 
Proof of Worker's Comp Insurance (Certificate of Insurance)

Question 2

What about personal tax stuff?

Accepted Answer

Need a copy of your tax return? 
Please email admin@fenikscpa.com or call 907-474-1631 to request a copy. We will need to know:
Who the return is for.  If it is for a third party, we will need a signed release form.
What format you would like (PDF, hardcopy, etc.).
When you need it.

Resources you may find helpful:
360 degrees of financial literacy, free resources provided by CPAs for helping Americans understand their personal finances and taxes:  
https://www.360financialliteracy.org/Topics/Taxes
 
The 529 Network, dedicated to improving 529 Plans at state and federal levels, part of the National Association of State Treasurers:  
https://www.529network.org/
 
A scholarship and financial aid search engine:  
Scholarships.com

“The Largest Scholarship Database on the Web”:  
StudentScholarships.org
 
IRS guidance on tax scams and fraud, including identity theft:  
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

Question 3

What about Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Accepted Answer

Many people believe AI is actually intelligent and applies its intelligence akin to human thought.  This is inaccurate, and it is important to understand how the algorithm derives its answer.  It is really the same old computing process but at a highly accelerated level involving a whole lot more data along diverse avenues of acquisition.  It is just massive, lightning-fast computing applied to the totality of information accessible via the internet and via personal data mining conducted by AI providers.  The ability to retrieve and process a whole lot more data in a whole lot less time than was possible in the past gives it the practical appearance of intelligence.  It passes the Turing Test.  But the same rule applies to AI today as it did to early computing:  What you get back is determined by what you put in.  The question of machine intelligence contra human intelligence is in many ways inappropriate, since human intelligence involves the whole human capacity, not just cognitive data processing.AI will typically try to tell you what you want to hear, even if what it tells you is not quite right according to experts in the field of inquiry.  It seeks to satisfy your query using the language and vocabulary it finds associated with the language and vocabulary of your query, typically pulling on statistical consensus across internet usage samples.  If you ask a general question of an AI bot, you will get a general answer.  If you ask a specific, highly detailed question, you will get a general answer framed in those specific, highly detailed terms, which might then be parsed into specific, detailed answers.  You might find this useful, and then again you might find yourself getting into the weeds of jargon with no better perspective than before you waded in.  You might even find yourself making erroneous or harmful decisions based on your reading.  If you do not know the jargon already, then you will not know how to properly read it.  Therefore, it is best to treat AI as a powerful tool to help you save time doing things you already know how to do, or to go deeper into topics of which you are already well versed.Truth and accuracy are not part of an AI algorithm, nor are care and compassion.  Massive information processing is what it is about, and it assumes you will be able to discern the truth and error in the presentation.  It is basically just saving you the trouble of going to the library and researching hundreds or thousands  or hundreds of thousands of sources, but it still falls on you to read the summary properly.  It also treats criminal, unethical, illegal, cruel, evil, and otherwise dubious "guidance" as of equal value to the best of human thought, unless somehow coded by the AI provider to do otherwise.Generally, AI bots are most useful when you already understand the language in the context.  So if you are using AI to do tax research, for example, but you are not a CPA or trained tax accountant, then you will not likely to be able to discern and digest the information properly.  An AI bot is a tool, not a professional CPA.  Treating ChapGPT as a tax consultant is a little like treating a "smart" multicooker as a professional chef, or setting the cruise control in your motor home on the highway and then getting up to go use the lavatory.Perhaps a good definition of intelligence to contrast machine and human intelligence should involve the concept of listening.  AI is not capable of listening to your story with human understanding, sympathy, and compassion.  AI is not capable of looking you in the eye, seeing and feeling with you the gravity of your situation, and responding with inspired intelligence.

Question 4

What about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?

Accepted Answer

The following definitions are from Merriam Webster's Dictionary online(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary):Diversity1a: the quality or condition of having or being composed of differing elements (such as forms, types, or ideas) :     	linguistic diversity     	an island with great diversity in plant life     	There's a diversity of opinion on the matter.b: a group or collection of differing elements :	She has a diversity of interests.	saw a diversity of shorebirds at the parkEquity1a: fairness or justice in the way people are treated often, specifically : freedom from disparities in the way people of different races, genders, etc. are treated     	Her office trains school leaders in racial equity …	—Arika Herron    	In the run-up to the Olympics, the women did score a major victory in pay equity.		—Macaela MacKenzie	The fact that more money is spent on white Americans than those who identify as Black, 			Asian or Hispanic shouldn't come as a shock given a growing body of research around 		health equity.	—Katie JenningsInclusion1: the act of including : the state of being included_______________________________________________The logical opposite of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" is "Uniformity, Injustice/Unfairness, or Exclusion/Segregation."  Therefore, we find any policy which opposes DEI repugnant to human value and antithetical to a democratic society which cherishes personal freedom.

Feniks & Company, LLC

Accounting as a Healing Art

Resources and useful links

How about some forms and business-related info?

What about personal tax stuff?

What about Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

What about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?

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