Moneylines: News briefs for businesses

High gas prices inspire IRS to raise mileage rates

If you and your employees are logging business-related driving time in the second half of this year, you may be in line for some tax relief. To counter rising gas prices, the IRS has increased the optional standard mileage rate from 51 cents per mile to 55.5 cents per mile for business use of an automobile July 1 through Dec. 31, 2011. (The rate for use of an automobile as a medical or moving expense also has gone up for this period, from 19 cents to 23.5 cents.)

Fraud study findings: It’s not what they take, it’s what they cause

You may assume the worst part of a fraud incident would be the money stolen. But a recent study by Javelin Strategy & Research of small business owners and self-employed persons found that, of the $8 billion in fraud losses that occurred in 2010, $5.43 billion wasn’t directly from theft. Rather, it was from the out-of-pocket costs caused by the crime, such as insurance payouts, legal expenses and lost customers. Read more about three common forms of employee fraud.

What’s your company afraid of?

The top four concerns of retailers, according to the 2011 BDO RiskFactor Report for Retail Businesses compiled by BDO USA LLP, are: 1) U.S. economic conditions, 2) supplier/vendor concerns, 3) competition/consolidation, and 4) increased regulation at federal, state and local levels. Even if you’re not a retail company, you might use these results as a launching point to consider your own top challenges. For instance, is the economy still a significant risk? Or is it time to come out of a defensive stance and more aggressively compete for customers?

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