If At First You Don’t Succeed…

How many accounting firms will take over where another firm gave up: researching, strategizing and working with the state to get their client a research & development credit from more than two years ago, worth upwards of $400,000?

That’s what happened with one of Smith & Howard’s clients. They came to us after having all but lost a state tax credit worth more than $400,000. We researched this business’ tax returns from the past three years and discovered the State of Georgia had disallowed the credit. Further research revealed that initially the client’s previous accounting firm fought the state’s decision; however, after a few months, they just threw in the towel. Smith & Howard rekindled the dispute with the state, determined the error in the original application and applied for a full credit on behalf of the client.

"When I began to look at the credit, I couldn’t understand why the state would disallow it", recalls Debbie Torrance, Partner of Smith & Howard. "We made the commitment to pursue it on behalf of the client and contacted the Georgia Department of Revenue. This was just too much money to leave on the table. If it were my money, I certainly wouldn’t let it go without trying everything possible. I see no reason not to do the same for my clients."

This kind of persistence and commitment are standard fare at Smith & Howard, and is why clients tend to stay with us for the long term.