In 2020, there were over 650,00 actively licensed CPAs (Chartered Professional Accountants) in the United States. If you are looking for one, that leaves you with a lot of options for CPAs. You’ll need to consider a few factors in order to make the best decision.

Let’s take a look at the biggest factors when choosing a CPA.

Offered Services

Tax assistance is a common service, but a CPA could be helpful in other situations. It’s important to figure out if you are looking for additional services.

Additional traditional compliance-related services may include financial statement preparation and audits. Accountants for businesses may also offer business planning and consulting such as financing and retirement planning, and valuation services.

Certifications and Training

CPAs are a special type of accountant. They have additional training and certifications that set them apart. This extra training may lead you to a better experience. You can learn more about CPA to see if this is the best choice for you.

In the financial services industry, some services do require additional licenses that even an average CPA may not have. If you are looking for these types of services, make sure to ask your CPA if they have the applicable licenses.

Industry Experience or Geographic Specification

An extensive experience with accounting is something to look for in your accountant. When you are working with financials, having a CPA with experience working with other businesses in that industry can be helpful. They will be able to create industry comparisons. 

Other times, serving many industries within your geographic area can be useful. Some businesses don’t require industry-specific work. A CPA with a network in the local area could help connect you with professional contacts.

Reviews and Recommendations

Online customer reviews can be a huge help in choosing a CPA. They can give you insight into how their service is. Be sure to look for reviews that mention services similar to what you are looking for – this will be more helpful.

Getting recommendations from your network is a good way to find reputable accountants that you can count on. If an acquaintance has had a good experience, you can rest assured that your experience is more likely to be pleasant as well.

Fee Comparison

When you start looking for a CPA, you should set a budget for how much you can afford to pay. This may help narrow down your choices. 

While comparing CPA fees, you should ask how the firm sets its fees. Some CPAs charge hourly, others by project, or on a retainer. The timing of payments and what you get for it is important to consider. 

It is important to balance price with their offered services and experience. You may need to pay more in order to get an accountant that offers the services you want, who has specific experience if needed, or if you want them on retainer.

Remember These Factors for Choosing a CPA

It’s important to consider a CPA’s experience, services, and reputation when choosing a CPA. You should also compare their training and fees to make the best decision for your situation.

If you found this article helpful, check out our other finance articles too.

Navigating through the healthcare system requires time and an understanding of what each policy contains. If you’re choosing from an employer-issued benefits plan, your options are limited. For individuals utilizing the Affordable Healthcare options, the availability of plans is more extensive.

Regardless of which route you are taking, selecting health insurance plans requires a clear understanding of what you need vs. what’s available.

Are you in the market for health insurance? Keep reading to learn the top five factors to consider when comparing insurance costs and buying health insurance.

1. Selecting Health Insurance Plans to Fit Your Needs

It’s easy to select the health insurance plan that is most cost-effective for your budget. This can become a costly mistake for someone with a pre-existing health condition.

When looking for health coverage, you must consider all pre-existing health conditions you and your family member have received a diagnosis by a medical professional.

You’ll want to compare your annual medical expenses and out-of-pocket cost using multiple plans. 

2. Consider Annual Deductibles

Today, more health insurance providers are offering high deductible policies to reduce costs for employers and employees. Although you’ll spend less on monthly premiums, you’re going to spend more out-of-pocket if you have medical expenses.

Deductibles are the amount of money the insured will need to pay for medical services such as blood work, tests, and emergency room visits.  Some plan deductibles for the least expensive plans can reach $5000 or more annually. 

If you have a high deductible plan in Canada, be sure to replace health card coverage when you relocate.

3. Do You Have Pre-existing Conditions?

A pre-existing condition used to play a big role when buying health insurance. It was important to understand the insurance terms and conditions to ensure your prescriptions and treatments were covered. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer deny someone coverage for pre-existing conditions. Companies also cannot charge more if someone has a prior diagnosis.  

4. What are the Co-Payments and Coinsurance Costs?

Every insurance plan has some form of co-payment and co-insurance structure. Co-pays are the amount you pay to the doctor or healthcare provider at the time of service. For example, an office visit to your primary care physician may cost $20 for each visit.

Coinsurance is your portion of healthcare cost, or the amount not covered by the insurance provider. 

5. Does it Have Good Prescription Coverage?

Prescription costs are rising, so you want a plan that has good coverage. This is crucial for those with ongoing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. 

Look into mail order prescription fulfillment to cut costs.  

Select a Policy Best for You and Your Family

It’s easy to select the least expensive policy when selecting health insurance plans. In addition to the tips above, consider future health expenses such as having a baby. A change in medical expenses can leave a massive dent in your finances. Is your overall health important to you? Continue to browse our health section for more valuable tips and the latest trends.

Americans send billions of dollars abroad every year. Many of us have family or friends in other countries who need financial assistance from time to time for bills and other essentials.

If you want to know how to send money internationally, our guide is here to help you. There are many ways to send money internationally, but they weren’t created equal: some charge massive fees, which you want to avoid if at all possible.

Are you ready to learn more about sending money internationally without breaking the bank? Then read on and start saving money!

1. Bank Transfers

Banks will offer international transfers as part of their services, and this is the first stop for most of us. The problem is this approach often comes with serious fees.

Bank transfers will charge a flat fee per transaction, and will also take a percentage of the money that you send.

While the fees will vary from bank to bank, the recipient will always lose out. Banks are the traditional way to send money abroad, but you should avoid them if possible.

2. Mailing a Check

If you want to go very old-school, you can still send someone a check in the mail. While this approach has its obvious downsides, such as slow speed, it is an affordable choice as you will only need to pay postage.

Checks from US banks are typically accepted abroad, but it may take longer to cash a check than normal, as the recipient’s bank may need to verify the transaction with your bank.

The recipient will also normally need to pay a fee to cash the check, as well as converting the money to the local currency.

3. Remitters

Western Union and other remitters are another popular way to send money abroad. However, when you wire money abroad with these companies, you’ll still need to pay fees, which can add up.

While they may be a better option than banks, there are still better options out there.

4. PayPal

For many people, PayPal is the easiest way to send money abroad. All you need is the other person’s email address: no bank details or other information is required. You can log onto PayPal in seconds and have the money sent in just a few more.

However, while PayPal is very easy to use and doesn’t require much technical know-how, the recipient will still need to pay a fee if they want to withdraw their cash. 

5. Fintech Startups

If you want to avoid fees, you should try using fintech startups such as WireSmartly. These companies do still charge fees on transactions, but they tend to be a very low fee. What’s more, these startups will usually deposit the money directly into the recipient’s bank account within seconds or minutes.

These companies are the best option for sending money abroad for most people.

How to Send Money Internationally: Answered

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this guide on how to send money internationally. You’ve got a lot of options in the modern forex marketplace, but if you want the best service and the lowest fees, you should give startups a try!

For more informative articles like this, check out the rest of our blog.

There are more than 1.1 million firefighters working across the United States at the moment. These play an essential role in keeping American citizens safe at work, on the road, and in their homes. 

However, for firefighters to stay safe while at work they need proper firefighting PPE (or personal protection equipment). So what do firefighters wear? Read on to find out everything you need to know about firefighter protective gear.

Basic Firefighting PPE

Basic firefighting equipment involves all the standard firefighting clothing. This includes: 

• A fire helmet 
• Turnout pants and jackets
• Gloves 
• Boots

All fire helmets and clothing have to be made of extremely durable, heatproof equipment. Pants and jackets generally have two layers of fabric to keep heat and moisture out.

All clothing and helmets feature bright colors and reflective strips. This makes it easier to see them in dark or smoke-filled rooms.

The color of a firefighter’s helmet can also tell you something about their rank. Rank-and-file fire fighters usually wear yellow helmets, while captains wear red or orange ones. White helmets are exclusively worn by fire chiefs.

You can read more on bkfireradios.com to find out about the attributes of effective PPE.

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

Firefighter gear doesn’t just have to protect a person’s exterior. A lot of firefighting environments can contain materials or gases that could cause internal damage if inhaled. In fact, this is the most common cause of death in house fires across the country.

Because of this, self-contained breathing apparatus is also a standard part of all firefighting PPE. This can protect against smoke and toxic gas inhalation. 

Breathing apparatus includes a face mask that connects to an oxygen tank. This tank is usually worn on the back when entering a housefire. It should provide at least 30 minutes worth of safe, breathable air.

This makes it easier and safer for firefighters to search for victims in smoke-filled environments.

Personal Alert Safety Systems

Just because firefighters have brilliant training, this doesn’t mean that they’re invincible. In fact, they are regularly exposed to life-threatening environments. So it is very important to keep their personal safety in mind. 

This is why every firefighter should have a Personal Alert Safety System (also known as PASS) as part of their PPE. This is a wearable device that monitors the position of each firefighter. This allows other safety officials to track a firefighter’s location from a distance. 

A PASS also contains a transmitter that a firefighter can activate if they get into difficulty. This device automatically activates if the PASS doesn’t detect movement for a certain period of time. The alert makes it easier for firefighters in the surrounding area to locate their colleague in trouble.

Firefighter PPE Saves Lives

Firefighting PPE keeps firefighters safe across a whole range of duties. So having high-quality and up-to-date equipment is absolutely essential.

For more great life inspiration and advice, keep scrolling now!

In a country like Australia, one gets quite used to seeing things going ablaze. After the recent forest fires, it has many people thinking about what would happen if the fire were to reach their homes at some point in time? What could they do to protect their family from being engulfed in flames? How would they even fight or at the minimum slow the fire down? Now, they have come across a lot of fire retardant tools with the most important tool being fire rated doors.

What is a fire rated door?

Fire rated doors or fire retardant doors are those that are specifically produced to slow down or stop the fire from spreading inwards to the home. It has been designed to make sure that within a particular time frame it will not combust or let any smoke enter the room. This has been made to ensure that the structure of the room and its occupants remain unharmed as most of the harm from the fire and most of the lives lost come from the poor structural framework. While the ratings of the average fire door keep changing, the most common period for a fire-rated door ranges between 20 – 60 – 90 minutes.

Where can they be used?

The fire-rated door can and should be installed everywhere in residential buildings, offices, schools, factories and dormitories. These doors however are not designed to be fireproof. They are made of wood and combustible materials although they will resist the penetration of heat, smoke and fire for a particular period before they combust into flames. Fires can be extremely dangerous because it just takes one spark to burn everything that a person has spent their life building to the ground in a matter of minutes. Smoke is equally dangerous, especially in a situation where the person is trapped, smoke will displace the precious air that they require.

Benefits of a fire rated door

Fire doors not only play a part in stopping the dire from approaching and taking the lives of their family, but they also play a mental role. They help the family get better sleep and give them peace knowing that if an unfortunate incident like that were to take place, the fire-rated door would be there to keep them safe and keep the heat and flames out for long enough for them to save themselves.

The average cost of a fire rated door is on the higher end of the

Located on the southeastern coast, the Port of Chennai is one of the most important ports in the Indian maritime route and a famous shipping lane for the world. It has been serving the country’s commerce for nearly a century and with this fact, it is named among the third oldest ports in India. Keep reading further to know more about the port of Chennai and its importance!

Port of Chennai – General Overview 

The Port of Chennai is the first-ever dedicated container terminal which was opened back in 1983 and is currently operated by the Chennai Container Terminal Private Limited (CCTPL). Among the 13 largest ports, it is the third oldest port in the country. Although maritime trade started much earlier in 1639 before its official establishment, the Port became much more popular once it was fully developed. 

Formerly known as Madras Port, the Port of Chennai is an all-weather port that was once an important travel port before independence. After 1947, it became the major container port which now plays a key role in Indian commerce. At present, it is a primary factor leading to the thriving growth of Tamil Nadu and especially the manufacturing industry of the South. The Port of Chennai is the primary reason why Chennai is known as the Gateway of South India. [Learn more here: https://www.cogoport.com/ports/chennai-inmaa] 

The Importance of The Port of Chennai 

The Port of Chennai is a major hub for port containers, cargo and cars on the east coast of the country. From handling a restricted volume of cargo at the beginning of its existence to handling massive volumes of oil and automobile imports, the Port has begun handling over and about 60 million tonnes of cargo in recent times. 

Back in 2018, the container traffic of the port crossed 1 million TEUs, which is phenomenal. Further, in 2011, it was ranked as the 86th largest container port on the globe and there were plans for extending its capacity by 140 million tonnes per year, which is hopefully under execution. 

The port plays a major role in connecting India’s economy with the world. Note that, it connects India to around 50 major ports in the world. As far as its operations are considered, it operates 24 hours and 365 days regardless of season and weather, making it a continuous working hub. Another reason that makes the port of Chennai a very important part of India is its high efficiency. 

It boasts berthing on arrival, less than an hour of pre-berthing detention and an average turnover of merely two days, which accounts for its higher efficiency. It is worth noting that this Port has also established the first-ever Marine Pollution Management system in the country with an aim to protect and conserve marine life. Further, it is also working on extra land area by dredging and filling. This additional land work has resulted in 7.8 hectares of land behind the East Quay and will add around 60 hectares on the Gate 1 during its second stage. 

The significance of the Port of Chennai can be learned from the fact that during the 2010-11 shipping seasons, it handled more than 61.5 million tonnes of cargo single-handedly. Not just that, it handles nearly 20 million tons of iron ore and coal out of which 8 million tons is coal and the rest is iron ore.  During this period, the port also handled its first container terminal of over 1.5 million TEUs and a second terminal with more than thirty thousand TEUs. 

Today, the Port of Chennai is the sole reason behind the smooth functioning of the country’s manufacturing, textile and automobile sector. It not only contributes to India’s growing economy but also connects it globally.