#compliance
Compliance
Navigate regulatory compliance and maintain audit-ready financial records
The $2.25 Million Lesson: What the RentGrow FTC Settlement Means If Your Business Runs Background Checks
RentGrow paid a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle FTC allegations of FCRA violations: duplicated eviction and criminal records, an undisclosed data source, and mishandled consumer disputes. Here is what the consent order requires, and the separate FCRA obligations — permissible purpose, written consent, adverse action notices — that any business using screening reports must still meet.
The 7(a) Program Risk Oversight Act: What SBA Lender Transparency Means for Borrowers
The 7(a) Program Risk Oversight Act would require the SBA to publish loan performance data by loan size, seasoning, borrower age, and lender type — and post it publicly within seven days of reporting to Congress. Here's what lender-level risk data means for the 70,000+ businesses borrowing $31 billion a year through the program, and how to keep your records audit-ready.
The SEC's Key Tronic Settlement: What Fake WIP Entries and Out-of-Period Adjustments Teach Small Manufacturers
The SEC found Key Tronic's Oakdale plant inflated pre-tax income by ~$981,000 with fake "Monster Job" WIP entries — cutting one quarter's income 47% when corrected. Here's how the scheme exploited absorption costing, why the company paid no penalty, and the inventory controls small manufacturers should copy.
SECURE 2.0's Paper Benefit Statement Rule: What the DOL's Temporary Relief Means for 401(k) Plan Sponsors
SECURE 2.0 requires 401(k) and other defined contribution plans to mail at least one paper benefit statement per year starting with plan years after December 31, 2025. With Q1 2026 statements due around May 15 and the DOL's implementing rule still a proposal, Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-02 pauses enforcement for plan sponsors who comply in good faith — here's what small businesses must still do.
Sign Language Interpreter Agency Bookkeeping: Why a Two-Hour Minimum and a No-Show Fee Can Make or Break Your Margin
How interpreting agencies and freelance ASL interpreters should book VRI versus in-person revenue ($35–$100/hr versus $50–$145/hr with two-hour minimums), cancellation fees, deferred retainers, and 1099-vs-W-2 classification risk — plus revenue per bookable hour, the KPI that actually predicts margin.
USTR's Forced-Labor Section 301 Tariffs: What 10–12.5% Duties on 60 Economies Mean for Small Importers
In June 2026, USTR concluded 60 simultaneous Section 301 investigations and proposed additional tariffs of 10% (economies with an unenforced forced-labor import ban, including Canada, Mexico, and the EU) or 12.5% (the 54 economies with no ban, including China, India, and Vietnam) — duties that stack on top of existing Section 232, IEEPA, and China 301 rates. Here is who is on each list, how the surcharge compounds landed cost, and five steps small importers should take before the final rate publishes.
Vermont's H.211 Data Broker Law: Is Your Small Business a 'Data Broker' Now?
Vermont's H.211 (Act 138), signed June 16, 2026, raises the data broker registration fee from $100 to $900, adds a $20,000 surety bond, and imposes penalties up to $200/day for failing to register by January 1, 2027. Its narrower "direct relationship" test can classify loyalty programs, payment facilitators, SaaS platforms, and affiliate marketers as data brokers.
Virginia's HB 402: Cottage Food Producers Can Now Sell Online and Ship Statewide
Virginia's House Bill 402, effective July 1, 2026, lets cottage food producers accept online orders and electronic payments, sell from any location in the Commonwealth, ship via third-party carriers within the state, and list a PO box on product labels. Production limits stay in place — home kitchens only, no potentially hazardous foods, no wholesale, no interstate shipping, and the $9,000 acidified-food sales cap — and localities can still impose their own zoning or permit requirements.
Bookkeeping for Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers: Fund Accounting When You Can't Charge for Care
Most states bar wildlife rehab centers from charging for care, so every dollar is a donation—and raising one raccoon still costs about $500. How fund accounting under ASU 2016-14, per-animal cost tracking, and permit-mandated intake logs fit together for donation-only nonprofits.
Who's Liable When Your AI Agent Makes a Bad Call?
Starting January 2026, ISO endorsements CG 40 47 and CG 40 48 let U.S. carriers exclude generative AI claims from general liability policies — and over 80 percent of carrier requests for AI exclusions have been approved, while roughly 74 percent of small businesses use AI tools. Here's what falls into the coverage gap and five steps to take before your next renewal.
AI Chatbot Disclosure Laws by State: What Small Businesses Must Know in 2026
By mid-2026, roughly a dozen states — including Colorado, California, New York, Oregon, and Washington — regulate AI chatbots, with penalties from $1,000 per occurrence under Colorado's HB 26-1263 to $10,000 under California's proposed AB 1609. Here is which laws cover ordinary business support bots, which target companion apps only, and the low-cost disclosure steps that satisfy most of them.
Bookkeeping for Assistance Dog Training Nonprofits: Tracking a $25,000 Dog Across a Two-Year Pipeline
Producing one service dog costs $25,000–$60,000 over an 18–24-month cycle. How assistance dog nonprofits should structure per-dog cost centers, record breeding-cooperative puppy exchanges at fair value, apply GAAP (ASC 958-605) to puppy-raiser volunteer time, and release restricted sponsorships on the same timeline as expenses.