Bookkeeping Services

AL-TAX Studio is a full service FiscalOffice located in Tirana. We provide a range of business services from bookkeeping to controllership services.
Our Fiscal Services are designed to ensure you have the information you require to run a successful business. We offer the flexibility of full or part-time services on a temporary or long-term basis.
Why Outsource Fiscal Services?
Depth of Outsource Services

  • Our personnel have direct access to accounting & tax professionals.
  • We provide financial support at all levels.
  • We have people who can help fill your data entry needs and others with a skill set to handle your most sophisticatedmerger and acquisition transactions. The key is to employ the individual with the right skill set for the task at hand.
  • We support you as you grow.
  • We provide you with a higher skilled person on a part time basis until you have the resources to fill a full time position.

Immediate Availability
If you don't have a current need for our services, please keep us in mind if a crisis occurs. We are structured so that we can respond to immediate needs when unexpected events occur.

Are Accounting Services Right For Me?
The answer is YES if:

  • You don't feel you can rely on your current financial reports to help you run your business.
  • You have no one to fill in for your financial person if that person were unable to come to work tomorrow.
  • You don't feel that you communicate effectively with your accounting levels.
  • You have the funds for one full-time person but the needs for varying levels of accounting abilities.
  • You find that your vendors call you instead of your accounting staff to inquire about payment status.
  • You are spending your day fighting financial fires.

RIGHT PERSON - RIGHT POSITION

Do you have the right person in the right position?

Are you spending too much time supervising your accounting functions?

What level of accounting do you need? Do you know?

Do you need a bridge until cash flow permits hiring the next level?
Bookkeeper/Data Entry
Recording cash receipts and checks written
Sales orders
Purchase orders
Accountant/Accounting Manager
Reconcile checkbook activity
Provide monthly financial statements
Accounts receivable collections
Accounts payable/disbursement decisions
Supervise bookkeeping & data entry functions
Controller
Design accounting procedures and system reports
Supervise the department
Handle communications and current reporting requirements with the bank
Manage your short-term and long-term cash flow needs
Provide vendor management
Oversee customer management/credit policies
Prepare the annual operating plan
Communicate financial results to owners
Chief Financial Officer
Design and work to provide the proper bank financing
Communicate key performance indicators and trends
Handle merger & acquisition opportunities
Evaluate equity transactions and owner equity protection
Long-term strategic planning and owner exit strategies
Help increase shareholder value
Evaluate equity and non-bank financing options

PROJECT SERVICES
AL-TAX Studio offers the following services designed to provide you additional financial expertise on a project basis.
Vendor Management: We understand that good vendor relations are vital to an organization and communication is the key.
Financial Reports: We work with the users and providers of financial information to develop custom financial reports that will be useful in managing your organization. Financial information typically consists of a balance sheet and an income statement. While this is useful information, you may require additional operating information for decision-making.
Budget (Annual Operating Plan) Preparation: We will lead you through the budget preparation process and assist you in using your budget as a business decision-making tool. A budget should provide the roadmap for the current year. Monthly operating reviews will keep your management team accountable to their budgets.
Cash Management: We work with the decision makers in your organization to structure a cash flow report to assist with operational, investing and financing decisions. Our goal is to monitor your cash flow on a periodic basis to ensure you achieve your business objectives.
Long-Range Planning: We work with the owners to focus on the future of their business and identify operational and financial changes that need to take place to accomplish their long-term goals. If you are a start-up company, in a growth mode, or plan a change in your business operations, we can help you develop your strategic plan.
Financial Personnel Development: We work with business owners to help develop higher skill levels within their existing financial team. Development from within the Company is less costly than recruiting the higher skill level.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Completing a merger or acquisition requires you to make many strategic decisions. The importance of developing a thorough strategy cannot be overstated. Failure to conduct detailed due diligence and a methodical risk assessment can lead to bad business decisions. Sometimes it is better to walk away from a deal rather than bet your company on a transaction that has only a small chance of success.
AL-TAX Studiohas the experience to support companies through every aspect of a merger and acquisition including:

  • Due diligence analysis.
  • Conducting audits and evaluating assets of acquired companies
  • Performing other due diligence in connection with acquisitions
  • Advising on proper accounting methods & adjustments
  • Reviewing and advising on acquisition agreements
  • Creating pro forma financial statements for combined entities
  • Coordinating the complex nature of combining accounting and administrative support
  • Advising on tax planning opportunities
  • Consulting on business valuation and purchase price
  • Working with attorneys, bankers and venture capitalists
  • The due diligence process should be comprehensive. It is in both the buyer's and seller's best interest to complete due diligence in order to avoid disputes later.
  • If you are thinking of acquiring a private company, make sure your decision is based on thorough due diligence, realistic financial projections, focused post-acquisition business and integration plans and sound valuation analyses.

Our approach to due diligence is designed to provide you with the right information before the deal, and avoid surprises after the deal. We are committed to providing you with financial advice throughout the transaction that will improve your odds for success. Our experience and approach will save time and money in these types of high-risk transactions.
NEGOTIATIONS AND TAX ASPECTS OF BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS
AL-TAX Studiooffers a comprehensive analysis of the business and tax aspects of buying and selling a business. We will give you a practical guide to help understand structuring techniques.
Major topics include:

  • Spreadsheet analysis to develop an offer price using the discounted cash flow and alternate valuation methods
  • Understanding confidentiality agreements, memorandums of understanding, and asset purchase agreements
  • Recognizing the need for due diligence in acquisitions -- checklists of important points
  • Deemed asset sales appropriate?
  • The impact of the amortizable intangibles regulations on the acquisition and disposition of a business - the final regulations
  • How to allocate purchase price for tax advantage
  • Liquidations as alternatives to sales of a business
  • Planning to avoid double taxation under repeal of the General Utilities doctrine
  • Special problems when an S corporation is the buyer or seller
  • Installment sale and interest issues
  • Avoiding tax pitfalls and discussion of tax planning opportunities
  • Bootstrap acquisitions
  • State tax issue

Audit and Accounting Services

AL-TAX Studio is a fiscaloffice in Tirana. Not only do we provide traditional accounting and tax services, but AL-TAX Studio has the knowledge and resources to address the complex and important issues that arise in operating your business. Our professionals have significant industry expertise in various types of businesses, including manufacturing, construction, high technology, natural resources, non-profit organizations, professional service firms. We work very closely with our clients on a variety of matters. Our team approach and industry expertise provides our clients with access to an experienced team that is truly committed to the success of your organization.
Our audit and accounting practice provides traditional accounting services such as compilations, reviews, and audits of financial statements; however, our team of experienced professionals also provide much more. Our people are eager to learn more about your business and are only satisfied when they have truly helped improve your business. We take a business person's approach to providing services.
Our professionals provide a variety of services:

  • Advising of changes in financial reporting requirements, and more importantly, providing a thorough understanding of the impact of new accounting and reporting requirements on financial statements.
  • Providing meaningful and practical recommendations for improvements on internal control procedures and policies.
  • Tailoring specific attestation engagements (e.g., performance of agreed-upon procedures) to specific situations and transactions that need close monitoring.
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of existing computer systems and accounting software.
  • Reviewfinancing alternatives including lines of credit, term loans, private placements, etc.
  • Conducting financial statement audits for pension and profit sharing plans.
  • Analyzing financial statements and making comparisons to other organizations within the same industry.

Our audit services and accounting services include:

  • Cost-effective audits and high-value recommendations
  • Reviews and compilations of financial statements
  • Cash flow projections
  • Internal control evaluation
  • Profit planning and budgeting
  • Preparation of information to comply with regulatory agencies
  • Assistance with establishing and maintaining banking relationships
  • Coordination of personal and business financial affairs
  • Year-end planning

Tax Services

AL-TAX Studioprovides income tax and corporate tax preparation services. We will be available for tax planning services so that we can work with you to identify the most important income tax and business tax topics during the current year. Any recent tax legislation will be reviewed in detail for its effect on your tax return.
Income Tax and Business Tax topics to review include:

  • Individual tax planning in light of new tax-law changes
  • Investment tax strategies
  • New college planning strategies
  • New tax-planning strategies for depreciation deductions
  • New pension and social securities planning
  • Retirement distribution strategies
  • Compensation tax planning
  • Stock options and other equity-based compensation
  • Late-breaking tax legislation

Albanian Jobs Creation Act:

  • Manufacturer’s deduction: The tax cut that has major implications for most businesses. What is manufacturing? Plus, allocation-of-expenses issues.
  • VAT: Is your state pro-choice?
  • News in general for the VAT.
  • Corporation reform: Is it still a "small" business?
  • Partnerships: It only gets more complicated.
  • Real estate: Faster write-offs for lessees and restaurant owners.
  • Charitable contributions: Why it's harder to give away the car.
  • Tax shelters: New penalties affect return preparation.

TAX PLANNING FOR INDIVIDUALS
Key tax planning steps:

  • New tax-planning strategies for depreciation
  • How to minimize the estimated tax payments
  • Maximize depreciation on your real estate investments
  • Aggressive strategies for the small business owner
  • Strategies to leverage and maximize the principal residence exclusion
  • New tactics for self-employed and owners
  • Year-end tax planning ideas
  • Planning techniques for dealing with the Small business and Local Tax Law
  • Investment strategies in light of proposed tax legislation, if enacted

BUSINESS TAX UPDATE AND PLANNING IDEAS FOR INDUSTRY
AL-TAX Studiowill work to update your business on the most important tax issues and latest developments. Your business tax plan will be designed to cover, in a clear and concise manner; the practical issues that every industry professional needs to know to keep abreast of the ever-changing tax environment.
Key tax planning steps:

  • New tax-planning strategies for depreciation deductions
  • Key cases and rulings involving shareholder losses and bad debts, reasonable compensation, constructive dividends, and tax accounting methods
  • Current issues on depreciation, amortization, and deductible expenses
  • The latest update issues affecting: nondiscrimination, excess contributions and aggregate contributions, simplified recovery, plan loans, and lek limitations applicable in the current year
  • Fringe benefits: inflation-adjusted amounts for mileage rates, safe-harbor meal and lodging, reimbursed expenses, high-low communities, etc.
  • What's new in personal income taxes: cases and rulings relating to worker classification and responsible-person liability
  • Recent developments in mergers and acquisitions
  • Late-breaking changes in the tax law, including new expensing and dividend exclusions, if enacted

TAX PLANNING FOR CORPORATIONS AND NON CORPORATIONS
AL-TAX Studiowill apply key tax planning steps before and during the preparation of your corporate business taxes:
Key tax planning steps:

  • Top new planning ideas in light of tax reform
  • New tax-planning strategies for depreciation deductions
  • Use of single-member LLC
  • How low can you go on Corp salaries?
  • Partnership options - a wave of the future
  • Intangibles planning - new rules and strategies
  • Techniques for squeezing more deductions from your inventories
  • Which corporate shelters work
  • Accounting methods - avoiding capitalization
  • Structuring goodwill outside the entity
  • Tactics to take advantage of proposed legislation, if enacted

TAX ISSUES FOR LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES, LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS, AND LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS

AL-TAX Studiowill provide an in-depth discussion issues affecting LLC, AC, CC and LLP.
Key tax planning steps:

  • The great tax nothing: Single-member limited liability companies
  • How the IRS views members or partners for Social Security purposes
  • Debt issues and problems in structuring LLC, AC, CC and LLP, including loan guarantee issues, recourse and no recourse debt, and the at-risk basis rules
  • Death or retirement of a member or partner
  • Step-up in basis issues -- How to make the computations and elections
  • Property transactions between the LLC, AC, CC and LLP and its members or partners -- Inbound and outbound transactions
  • Compensation planning -- Use of guaranteed payments, distributive shares and Keogh plans
  • Sales of an Interest

Construction Accounting
Taking your construction business to the next level
Accounting is the backbone of a well managed construction business.
To efficiently manage your business you need to know how much each project has cost down to the last cent; what your overheads were for the month; how accurate the estimate was compared to the actual project cost.
Construction accounting and taxation help for dealing with the complex accounting, tax, and financial issues of the construction industry. AL-TAX Studiowill cover several areas, including job-costing, risk assessment, dispute resolution, financial reporting, and benchmarking contractor performance.

Learn how to increase efficiency, control costs, and improve profitability with:

  • Succession planning
  • Change order management
  • Contractor internal control
  • Benchmarking and risk analysis
  • Lost productivity claims
  • Construction arbitration
  • Cash flow strategies
  • Cost segregation
  • Bonding

Contractors rely on AL-TAX Studioto provide support for detailed job costing, client tracking, and budgeting functions. Businesses can benefit from the organization and efficiency of integrated project management.

AL-TAX Studiooffers comprehensive support:

Estimating / Inventory
Client Tracking / Production
Proposals / Budgets
Estimating / Job Cost
Accounting / Scheduling
General Ledger / Purchase Order
Accounts Receivable / Sub Contracts
Billing / Change Orders
Accounts Payable / Analysis
Personal Income tax / Financial Review
Service Receivable / Job Cost Analysis

Not for Profit Services
Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
As a leader of a non profit organization, you face the tremendous challenge of meeting the goals of your organization and satisfying the requirements of your governing board, contributors, grantors, and lenders. The professionals at AL-TAX Studiounderstand the trials and tribulations affecting you. Our professionals have worked with wide range of organizations and have helped them maximize their assets and expand their efforts. We provide accounting and management assistance that is in tune with your specific needs. We specialize in accurately and thoroughly communicating your organization's financial condition while offering suggestions to help you reach your next level of success.

Income Tax and VAT For Foundations
If you are like most foundation workers, we know your schedule is a busy one. So, we would encourage you to take advantage of our special service of doing your tax return by mail.
Whether you choose to have your return prepared in the office or by mail, it is beneficial to check with us first to see what you need to furnish us for accurate preparation.
Foundations Reviews
Regardless of the size of your foundations or associations, the same tax laws and regulations apply. We'll take the time to review your organization recordkeeping to make sure that you are complying with the law and that you are not paying extra taxes unnecessarily.

We take the "pulse" of your organization and report to you the findings in a written format.

Productivity Improvement

AL-TAX Studioprovides assistance to healthy organizations using critique. Increasingly, successful companies are employing accountants to examine and analyze their businesses. Then they take advantage of highly evolved and effective techniques to attain significant improvement in procedures, finances, and practices leading to accelerated growth and improvement.
Ensuring The Growth and Vitality Of Your Organization
Planning Your Future through goal setting, long-range planning, and feasibility studies for expansion.
Building Your Organization through fund raising support and finance assistance.
Saving You Money through creative tax planning services and real estate cost segregation studies.
Organizing Your Business through operational streamlining and financial system design, setup, and computerization.
Increasing Your Bottom Line through revenue enhancement programs, performance benchmarking, and fraud detection and prevention.
Ensuring Compliance through written compliance plans, compliance audits and accurate, easy-to-read reports and financial information.
Ensuring Your Growth through cash flow analysis and budget planning and human resources consulting.
PROJECT SERVICES
AL-TAX Studiooffers the following services designed to provide you financial expertise.