This blog was last updated on October 15, 2020
Tuesday, October 6
CEO Keynote: Our Journey to Solve Tax for Good | Andy Hovancik, President & CEO, Sovos
GCS Intelligent Reporting kicked off with our Sovos CEO, Andy Hovancik, sharing more on what attendees can expect to get from this year’s event and helping attendees better understand Sovos’ mission to “Solve Tax For Good.”
Tax Information Reporting – Year in Review | Debbie Pflieger, Ernst & Young
Debbie joined us to share some pertinent updates with Forms 1098, W-4P, 1042-S, 1099-MISC, & 1099-NEC while also providing insight to [backup] withholding compliance and avoiding penalty exposure.
Requirements and Leading Practices for Form 1042-S Reporting | Kelli Wooten, KPMG
After featuring in our Speaker Spotlight blog series, we were lucky to learn even more from Kelli on how to manage the increased risk exposure presented by the complexity of Form 1042 & 1042-S. In this extended session, she shared some key updates to the form, common errors when reporting, and even some helpful tools that can be utilized to combat the headache of this convoluted form validation.
IRS Withholding Readiness and Enforcement: Backup and 1042-S | Iris Goldman & Lani Chou, Comply Exchange
With some parallels to the above session, we heard from our partners at Comply Exchange who provided an in-depth look at the responsibility of withholding remittance, 1042-S complexity, and how to be prepared for what is to come.
Unclaimed Property: Owner Outreach & Due Diligence | Danielle Herring, Sovos
Danielle’s session covered everything you need to know about due diligence & how to appropriately follow up, including:
- methods & timelines to deliver letters
- managing the claims process
- and some important policies & procedures to keep in mind while maintaining outreach
Red Flags of W-8 Invalidity | Erin Fennimore & Jill Dymtrow, Moss Adams
Erin & Jill not only provided a few “red flags” when determining validity of Form W-8, but also shared their knowledge on filing & reviewing Forms W-8 & W-9 (for US & non-US residents).
Best Practices in B-Notice Processing | Cheryl Riedlinger, The Tax Reporting Group
B-Notices (CP2100) are a complex topic that bring about many compounded questions, but luckily we were able to welcome Cheryl to GCS again, this year to provide a simplified, yet thorough explanation of these IRS Notices. She helped educate our event attendees with:
- more details on the types of backup withholding,
- what & how to process B-Notices,
- and some imperative tips for payers, brokers, & payees alike
Additional speakers from Tuesday’s sessions: Karen Hsu of Blockchain Intel, Michael Chittenden of Covington, Michael Lloyd of Covington, and many members of Sovos – Paul Banker, Kyle Clark, & Wendy Walker.
Wednesday, October 7
What’s New in State Reporting | Jenny Chapman & Gerry Nelligan, Sovos
Two of Sovos’ finest, Jenny & Gerry, gave us an intro to the many new items in Direct State Reporting that have arisen over the past year. In their session, we learned about:
- state-specific updates to note for 2020 reporting,
- Form 1099-NEC and the impact on organizations due to Publication 1220s latest news,
- and what to prepare for as we near the season & more regulations are released
Implications of Reporting Cost Basis for Cryptocurrency Transactions on Form 1099-B (Individuals & Businesses) | David Kemmerer, Cryptotrader.tax & Matt Metras, MDM Financial Services
David and Matt discussed how cryptocurrency is reported today & some of the challenges that go along with it, the history of Form 1099-B, and some past IRS guidance.
Keynote: Moving Toward Greater Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion | Jacqueline Cranford, Cranford Advisory Services
Ms. Cranford’s session on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion brought a refreshing & crucial topic into this Intelligent Reporting Summit. Here are a few of the key takeaways from Jackie’s session:
- Recognize that we all have implicit bias, and gets in the way of moving our teams and organizations toward greater diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Our implicit biases manifest in the form of microinequities/microaggressions and can impact who we think is intelligent, worthy, etc.
- To combat implicit biases, we must first uncover them, and we can do so by taking and exploring several Implicit Association Tests and considering our personal identities and lenses.
Navigating the New Form 1099-NEC | Jill Dymtrow & Erin Fennimore, Moss Adams
Jill and Erin discussed all things 1099-NEC—they covered the form’s history, what has changed, the purpose of the form, and some reporting exclusions. They also gave some tips and pointers when it comes time to prepare and file the 1099-NEC this tax season.
CARES/HEALS Impacts to Information Reporting | Gerry Nelligan, Sovos; Ron Askew, The Standard; & Serena Alfonso, Empower Retirement
Gerry, Ron, and Serena shared some relevant and timely information regarding the CARES Act including its purpose and some of the impacts on reporting this year & into next year (W-2. 1099-R, 5498, 1099-C, etc).
Additional speakers from Wednesday’s sessions: Laurie Martel of Capital One, Mike Asher & Chad Osler of Nationwide Insurance, Roger Brown of Lukka, Amy Davine Kim of Chamber of Digital Commerce, Jamison Sites of RSM, and many members of Sovos – John Kreger, Ray Littlefield, Ryan Falk, Wendy Walker, Tyler Delwiche, Alia Abboud, Rose Paulson, and Paul Ogawa.
Thursday, October 8
Panel Discussion: A Proactive Approach to Tax Compliance | Joe Oddi, Mass Mutual; Lyle Lang, Equinti; and Kelly Conner & Jenny Chapman, Sovos
For the 2nd panel discussion of GCS Intelligent Reporting 2020, you all presented Jenny, Joe, Lyle, and Kelly with some fabulous questions that stimulated healthy conversation. A few of the most fruitful topics discussed were:
- how to most effectively keep track of filing deadlines,
- how to best stay ahead of the frequent & inevitable state reporting updates that exist in this shifting tax landscape of 2020,
- and some tips, tricks, & steps to ensure your organization is prepared to report on the 1099-NEC
Forms 1098, 1099-A, 1099-C: Reporting for Lending Transactions | Cheryl Riedlinger, The Tax Reporting Group
Cheryl discussed the ins and outs of Forms 1098, 1099-A and 1099-C. She covered the most pertinent reporting rules, what needs to be reported, and the when & how to report each of these forms.
How the GAO Report Could Impact Form 1099-K (and MISC) Reporting | Caroline Bruckner, American University’s Kogod Tax Policy Center; Jessica Nierenberg, Government Accountability Office; & Wendy Walker, Sovos
These special guests, Caroline & Jessica, joined us to discuss some important implications of the GAO Report on Forms 1099-K & 1099-MISC. One of the biggest takeaways from this session was the note that “amending the ‘tie breaker’ rule means Third Party Settlement Organizations (TPSO) would report Form 1099-MISC and not Form 1099-K.” This change could dramatically affect many of these TPSOs processes, who have historically reported following the higher thresholds using that Form 1099-K.
Best Practices in 1099-LS & SB Reporting | Deborah Pflieger, Ernst & Young
Debbie shared another hour of her time with us today to educate our attendees further on Forms 1099-LS & 1099-SB – forms used for Life Settlement Transactions. This detailed session covered the what & how of reporting on these two forms, changes to form 1099-R, and some important operational considerations when reporting this season.
Solving the “New” Puzzle of 1099-MISC Reporting | Jill Dymtrow & Erin Fennimore, Moss Adams
Given the re-introduction of Form 1099-NEC, Form 1099-MISC will not go unscathed – and Erin & Jill have fielded a significant amount of questions around these 2 forms. In this session, they shared the most pertinent updates to 1099-MISC for TY2020, some important questions to ask yourself as you report, as well as a detailed line-by-line overview (with tips!) of this form.
Additional speakers from Thursday’s sessions: Shehan Chandrasekera of Cointracker.io, Tiffany Mucci of Ohio National Financial Services, Susie Jensen of Zions Bancorporation, Ron Askew of The Standard Insurance, and many members of Sovos – Jenny Chapman, Gerry Nelligan, Ray Littlefield, Anna Kolden, and Marissa Beste.
Friday, October 9
Panel Discussion: Top 5 Challenges for 2020 Reporting and Ways to Manage It | Mike Asher, Nationwide Insurance; Scott Wilkens, Lincoln Financial Group; Wendy Walker, Sovos
For this final panel discussion of GCS Intelligent Reporting 2020, Mike, Scott, and Wendy shared some of the top challenges to prepare for this upcoming tax season. The challenges that are most concerning for organizations this year are:
- Managing tax season remotely,
- Day-to-day management of paper mail,
- Remote printing of sensitive information,
- Inevitable delays in receiving CP2100 notices & 972CG penalties,
- And assisting your teams to avoid burnout from the work-from-home reporting landscape
How to Manage 1099 Reporting During a Disaster | Jenny Chapman & John Kreger, Sovos
Jenny and John discussed the things to consider when it comes to people, processes, and technologies for managing 1099 reporting during a disaster – something we, unfortunately, will be all too familiar with in this upcoming tax season.
Information Reporting on Digital and Cloud Transactions | Michael Chittenden & Michael Lloyd, Covington
Mike & Mike offered another detailed session for their session attendees on properly classifying transactions (digital content vs. cloud computing) as well as simplifying the very complex IRS requirements and explaining why each of the rules presented are important to pay attention to when reporting.
Unclaimed Property – Important Considerations for Your Compliance Program | Dave Glad, Grant Thornton
Dave helped us to understand some things to take into consideration when developing or continuing your Unclaimed Property compliance program – walking us through:
- a basic review of unclaimed property & how to report on it across the US & foreign jurisdictions,
- some of the compliance issues that arise in unclaimed property processes,
- and the special considerations to take into account when reporting on foreign property, financial statements, & others items
Best Practices in State Reporting | Paul Ogawa & Rose Paulson, Sovos
After multiple sessions informing us on the changes on the state-level for reporting, Rose & Paul presented us with a helpful diagram of a Year in Tax, helped us to understand how to be proactive with state reporting responsibilities (including some tools to utilize for a seamless season), and offered a plethora of tried & true tips to consider when filing to the states during season & how to follow up after season.
Additional speakers from Friday’s sessions: Jill Dymtrow & Erin Fennimore, Moss Adams and Paul Banker of Sovos
