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#risk-management

Risk Management

Strategies for identifying and mitigating business risks including insurance

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Hiring a Public Adjuster After Property Damage: Fees, License Checks, and Booking the Settlement

Public adjusters work for the policyholder, not the insurer, and typically charge 5%–15% of the settlement, with many states capping standard claims near 15%–20% and declared-disaster claims near 10%. This guide covers verifying a license and surety bond, which fee structures to question before signing, and how to book proceeds — claim receivable, gain or loss against net book value, and business-interruption income recognized at settlement.

mike

insurancesmall-businessrisk-management

Keeping Millions Fully FDIC-Insured at One Bank: How ICS and CDARS Reciprocal Deposits Work

FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category — so an $800,000 business account leaves $550,000 uninsured. Reciprocal deposit networks like IntraFi's ICS and CDARS split a large balance into under-limit chunks across thousands of member banks while you keep one relationship and one statement. Here are the mechanics, the costs, ICS vs. CDARS, the overlap trap that quietly leaves money uninsured, and the bookkeeping that proves your coverage.

mike

bankingbusiness-bankingtreasury-management

Illinois Signed America's Toughest AI Safety Law: Your Startup's Compliance Playbook for 2027–2028

Illinois's Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, signed July 6, 2026, requires frontier AI developers with over $500M revenue to publish catastrophic-risk frameworks, pass annual independent audits, and report safety incidents within 72 hours starting January 1, 2028. This guide breaks down the five obligations, audit costs of $25,000–$150,000+, and a 16-month preparation timeline for startups.

mike

aicompliancestartup

Your Nonstick Pans, Stain-Resistant Rugs, and Waterproof Jackets May Now Be Illegal to Sell in Six States

On January 1, 2026, at least six states — Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington — began enforcing bans or reporting rules on products with intentionally added PFAS, and the laws reach anyone who sells or distributes covered goods, not just manufacturers. A state-by-state guide for retailers covering affected categories, supplier certifications, ship-to-state segmentation, and the bookkeeping for compliance costs and inventory write-downs.

mike

complianceinventorysmall-business

Failing Your Cyber Insurance Assessment? The MFA, EDR, and Backup Controls Insurers Demand in 2026

Cyber underwriters in 2026 condition or decline coverage on five control families — MFA on all email, remote and admin access, EDR on roughly 95% or more of endpoints, immutable backups with dated restore tests, patching and privileged-access hygiene, and an incident response plan exercised within 12 months. This guide lists the evidence each control needs, four methods for sizing limits against revenue, records, regulators and contracts, typical small-business premiums, and seven mistakes that fail assessments.

mike

business-insuranceinsurancesecurity

California's AI Transparency Act Is Now Live: What SB 942 Means for Your Generative AI Startup

California's AI Transparency Act (SB 942) became operative on August 2, 2026 after AB 853 pushed back its January start. Generative AI providers with more than one million monthly California visitors or users must offer a free detection tool with upload, URL and API intake, an optional visible label, and a mandatory latent watermark, revoke licenses within 96 hours of discovering tampering, and face $5,000 per violation per day. This guide covers who is a covered provider, the 2027 platform and 2028 capture-device phase-ins, a compliance checklist, and how to budget and book the program.

mike

aicomplianceregulatory

When Your Payroll Provider Fails to Deposit Your Taxes: Why the IRS Still Comes After You

If a payroll company withdraws your tax money and never deposits it, the employer still owes the full tax plus penalties. A payroll service provider or reporting agent assumes no liability, a Section 3504 agent shares it, and only an IRS-certified CPEO is solely liable for its work-site employees. This guide covers the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty that reaches owners personally, seven warning signs of a failing provider, and the monthly EFTPS verification habit that catches a missed deposit at a 2% penalty instead of 10%.

mike

payrolltax-compliancewithholding

Washington's Homeowner Recovery Program Is Live: How Contractors Should Reserve for Judgment Claims That No Longer Go Away

Since July 1, 2026, Washington homeowners can collect up to $25,000 of an unpaid contractor judgment from the state's Homeowner Recovery Program, after which L&I can pursue the contractor for reimbursement with interest on payment plans of up to 36 months. This guide explains the eligibility rules, the post-2024 bond levels of $30,000 general and $15,000 specialty, and how a residential contractor should log disputes, accrue probable losses under ASC 450, fund a separate cash reserve, and amortize a state repayment plan in a plain-text ledger.

mike

constructionsmall-businessrisk-management

Regulation S-P in 2026: The Incident-Response, Customer-Notice, and Recordkeeping Checklist for Small RIAs and Broker-Dealers

The SEC's amended Regulation S-P has applied to smaller covered institutions since June 3, 2026, requiring a written incident-response program, customer notice within 30 days of awareness, and 72-hour service-provider breach escalation. A practical checklist for small RIAs, broker-dealers, and transfer agents covering the notice decision, vendor oversight, disposal rules, and the records that prove each step.

mike

compliancesecurityincident-response

Three-Way Matching for Small Businesses: The Purchase Order, Receipt, and Invoice Control That Stops Duplicate Payments

A three-way match compares the purchase order, receiving record, and supplier invoice before any payment is released, catching duplicate bills, unapproved price increases, and short shipments. This guide shows small businesses how to implement the control with clear ownership, line-level matching, written tolerances, and a practical exception workflow — plus when a two-way match is the better fit.

mike

accounts-payablesmall-businessfraud-prevention
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