Author: Service2Client

Canceling Government Funding and Expanding Protections for Veterans

3 min read

hr 4, hr 517, hr1316, s 423, hr1815, s 264, s201Rescissions Act of 2025 (HR 4) – A rescission bill cancels funding previously approved by Congress upon request by the president. Congress has 45 continuous legislative days to enact or reject the proposal, during which time the funds may be temporarily withheld. Introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) on June 6, the House passed this bill on June 12 and the Senate passed it on July 17. Signed into law on July 24, this bill cancels nearly $9 billion in funding for a variety of programs, including foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act (HR 517) – On July 24, the president signed into law this bill that allows taxpayers to postpone their filings if their state governor has declared a natural disaster, rather than waiting for the president to declare a federal disaster. The bill was introduced by Rep. David Kustoff on Jan. 16, passed in the House on March 31 and in the Senate on July 10.

Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act (HR 1316) – Introduced by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) on Feb. 13, this legislation is designed to crack down on U.S. adversaries acquiring cutting-edge technology. The bill mandates that the Secretary of Commerce submit an annual report to Congress detailing dual-use export license applications and other requests for authorization for the export, re-export, release and in-country transfer of controlled items to arms-embargoed countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The legislation was passed in the House on May 5, the Senate on May 22 and was signed into law on Aug. 19.

PRO Veterans Act of 2025 (S 423) – The purpose of this act is to prevent fraud and abuse via increased oversight of the Veterans Affairs Department, including critical skill bonuses paid out to senior executives. Moreover, the bill requires quarterly, in-person briefings to congressional veterans’ committees regarding VA departmental budget shortfalls. The legislation was introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on Feb. 5, passed in the Senate on April 8 and in the House on July 21. The bill was enacted on Aug. 19.

VA Home Loan Program Reform Act (HR 1815) – This bill was introduced on March 3 by Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), passed in the House on May 19, the Senate on July 15, and signed into law on July 30. The law reauthorizes the VA home loan partial claim and Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) programs. These programs are designed to help distressed veteran homeowners avoid foreclosure by enabling the VA to purchase a portion of indebtedness (25 percent to 30 percent of the unpaid principal balance) of a VA home loan secured by the primary residence of the borrower.

Improving Veterans’ Experience Act of 2025 (S 264) – This bill is meant to improve satisfaction with VA benefits and services by compiling feedback from veterans, families and caregivers. This legislation establishes a Veterans Experience Office (VEO) to manage customer experience initiatives, collect data and coordinate VA departments in order to prevent duplicate efforts and ensure consistent improvements across the board. The bill was introduced on Jan. 28 by Sen. Angus King (I-ME), passed in the Senate on April 8, the House on July 21 and was enacted on Aug. 14.

ACES Act of 2025 (S 201) – This act was introduced by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) on Jan. 23. It directs the secretary of the VA to study cancer and mortality rates among aviators and aircrews who served in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps; and to correlate incidents of cancer among this select group of military personnel. The legislation passed in the Senate on June 3, the House on July 21, and was signed by the president on Aug. 14.

Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Blueprint for AI Investment in 2025 and Beyond

4 min read

AI Investment in 2025Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most talked-about technologies today. It has taken a shift from the broad general-purpose tools to specialized innovations that promise real impact. AI is dominating headlines with investor pitches. There has also been a surge in startups promising AI-powered solutions. However, some businesses have already adopted and invested millions into AI projects with little return. As AI advances, business owners and investors need to stop chasing the latest headlines and consider how to best integrate AI to create lasting value.

Understanding the AI Investment Landscape in 2025

Since the AI breakout, it has advanced dramatically. There are three forces that are reshaping the investment and adoption of AI.

  1. Maturation of Foundation Models
    The large language models (LLMs) are now cheaper and faster. They are also customizable. This means that businesses no longer need to build from scratch and can just adapt existing models in their industry.
  2. Regulations and Accountability
    Governments are tightening frameworks around data privacy, transparency, and responsible AI. Compliance has become a key competitive differentiator.
  3. Sector-Specific Applications
    Advancements in AI have given way to specialized use cases. For example, fintech AI can track fraud, while manufacturing AI optimizes the supply chain.

The AI Hype Cycle

According to Gartner’s 2025 “Hype Cycle for Artificial Intelligence.” AI technologies move through predictable stages. These include the innovation trigger, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity. Between 2023 and 2024, generative AI dominated the headlines. It has now entered the trough of disillusionment as organizations confront their limitations, governance risks, and the difficulty of proving ROI. However, this is not to be seen as a setback, but rather a turning point as businesses shift focus from experimentation to scaling reasonably. Investment is now focused on foundational enablers such as ready data, ModelOps for lifecycle management, and AI agents. By 2025, businesses will be realizing that quick wins are harder than expected. On the bright side, businesses have an opportunity to build sustainable systems that offer measurable business value.

Lessons Learned from the First Wave of AI Adoption

The promises that came with AI led some businesses to invest heavily. This resulted in several mistakes:

  • Chasing innovation over value
    Many businesses rushed to invest in AI-powered projects like chatbots without linking them to actual business goals. For instance, customers have raised concerns about frustration with bank AI bots that confuse rather than help customers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
  • Falling for AI hype
    Some businesses invested in companies branding themselves as AI-driven, even when the solutions offered relied on basic automation.
  • Ignoring integration
    Failing to consider that AI is not a plug-and-play solution. This saw some early adopters underestimating the cultural, technical, and operational changes required to integrate AI into workflows.

A Strategic Blueprint for AI Investment

For businesses to invest wisely:

  1. Start with the problem, not the tool
    Instead of shopping for tools to adopt, a business should first ponder what problem it wants to solve. This means clearly defining the problem to solve, such as personalizing marketing campaigns or predicting supply shortages. Clarifying a problem ensures the AI investment is focused and not an experiment.
  2. Build a portfolio approach
    Borrowing from how investors diversify portfolios, a business should also diversify its AI initiatives. They can do this by balancing short-term projects, such as automating repetitive tasks, with long-term projects like predictive analytics. This is to ensure there is a steady return on investment.
  3. Prioritize responsible and compliant AI
    Reputation is crucial, and businesses should avoid mishandling customer data. To do this, companies must invest in compliance, transparency, and explainability as part of their AI strategy.
  4. Invest in people, not just technology
    AI does not replace talent. Companies should invest in training and upskilling their workforce. This prepares employees to work well with the new technology to ensure adoption is smooth and effective.
  5. Build scalable infrastructure
    Even with the most advanced AI model, failing to have the right foundation will result in unsuccessful implementation. The lesson? Companies must invest in flexible systems that can grow with them.

Conclusion

AI is no longer a futuristic concept. It is a business reality. Adopting AI alone is not enough, and businesses need to do it wisely. Businesses should refrain from jumping on the latest trends. Instead, make strategic choices that align with long-term goals. The focus should be on the problems to be solved and not the tools. 

Capitalizing Versus Expensing Research and Development

4 min read

Capitalizing Versus Expensing Research and DevelopmentBased on statistics from the World Bank, the United States government spent 3.59 percent of its 2022 gross domestic product on research and development. While private businesses spend on their own research and development costs, it’s important for businesses to treat these expenditures appropriately.

When it comes to research and development outlays, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) dictate that businesses must expense them during the identical fiscal year as they’re consumed. Accordingly, this creates difficulties for investors and business owners alike in two ways. The first is more uncertain profitability and loss projections. The second is a murkier ability to quantify their rates of return on assets and investments.  

If R&D capitalization is minimal or non-existent by a company, it can imply the business’ total assets (or its total invested capital) doesn’t accurately represent how much has been put into such assets. This will affect the business’ Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). This illustrates the importance in differences of how businesses treat their R&D expenses – using the balance sheet to capitalize and the income statement to expense.

Accounting Standards

Per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), research outlays are classified as expenses annually, like GAAP. However, development costs may be capitalized for businesses with assets under incubation for saleable purposes (in other words, the tech/IP is expected to be approved and produce revenue in the future).

One consideration with IFRS is that a portion of research and development costs may be capitalized or recorded as an asset on the business’ balance sheet, instead of classified as an expense on the Profit and Loss Statement. It’s important, though, to understand that judgment is in the eye of the classification as to how commercially viable a product or service will be in the future, potentially causing issues on the company’s financial statements. Since research and development is sporadic, it impacts a business’ profitability. It’s seen in certain sectors, such as consumer discretionary, healthcare, and technology, to highlight a few.

With revenue, cash flow, and profit expected from the long-term investment of research and development, for products or services with a realistic chance, it should be capitalized and not expensed. Investors need to be aware of the differences in how businesses capitalize or expense their research and development spending, since, without additional financial analysis, it’s important to factor in research and development equally. This is because companies that don’t capitalize experience more unstable earnings.

Exploring Capitalization Versus Expensing

To determine the value and to capitalize such assets, analysts must project the asset’s lifespan to produce benefits (over its economic life) and go with that projection for the amortization period.

Amortization life varies between assets and is based on the economic life of the particular asset. Ways to determine the economic life depend on both the asset’s patentability and/or salability. If there’s a pharmaceutical drug with a 20-year patent, it’ll likely have a much longer life than the next mobile device or graphic processing unit (GPU).

Assuming an asset has a life of six years, the business would amortize equally over the six-year time frame. There can be a multitude of amortization approaches, but the straight-line method is used for the capitalized research and development expenses. It assumes the following figures:

$200,000 spent on R&D

$40,000 residual value

Based on the difference of $160,000 and the six-year economic life, each year would result in approximately $26,666 in amortization expense. After six years, the resulting value would be $40,000 in residual value.

Conclusion

Understanding the importance of accounting for R&D outlays is helpful for businesses to maximize investments for competitiveness and financial compliance.

Cashless Charitable Contributions

5 min read

Cashless Charitable Contributions, form 8283

Not everyone can make large charitable contributions. But there are ways to be charitable without spending your discretionary income while at the same time lowering your tax bill. Even those who can make large donations benefit from the tax advantages of a cashless donation. The following are ideas for cashless contributions to causes you are passionate about.

Tax Rules

The main thing to remember is that charities are not required to pay taxes on donations (cashless or otherwise). This can make your donation more valuable to them than it would be to you. Note, too, that if your itemized deductions are below the Standard Deduction for your tax filing status, gifting a high-value asset can put you over that cap and provide substantial savings on your tax bill.

The IRS sets limits on deductions for non-cash donations. Contributions of appreciated long-term assets such as stocks or real estate are subject to a limit of 30 percent of adjusted gross income, while other types of non-cash property donations have a 50 percent limit. Cash donations, on the other hand, have a higher limit at 60 percent of AGI. Even so, if the value of the contribution is higher than your deduction limit, you may carry over the excess for up to five years, subject to those same AGI limitations.

Non-cash donations are particularly beneficial for donors in a year they receive a windfall or unexpectedly high income.

Securities

If you own highly appreciated stock, you can donate it to a 501(c)(3) charity and claim the fair market value as a tax deduction. You won’t have to pay taxes on the earnings because you gifted them, nor will the charity once the stock is liquidated for its needs. Consider gifting stock to a charity when you rebalance your portfolio to both reduce the potential tax bill on earnings and reposition the overall portfolio to your target allocation.

Equity Compensation

You may have received employer company stock as a bonus or through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Consider transferring one or more shares to a charity as a donation. Note that with ESPP shares, you need to have held them for more than two years from the grant date and one year from the purchase date to optimize your tax deduction.

Qualified Charitable Distribution

Traditional IRA owners are required to begin taking an annual minimum distribution (RMD) starting at a specific age. As of 2025, the rules are:

  • 72 if born before Jan. 1, 1951
  • 73 if born between Jan. 1, 1951, and Dec. 31, 1959
  • 75 if born on or after Jan. 1, 1960

However, some people may still be working or have a high income for which RMDs place them in a higher tax bracket. What they can do is make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) up to $100,000,so that all or a portion of their RMD is sent directly to the charity of their choice. While this tactic does not offer a tax deduction, it does satisfy the IRA owner’s RMD requirement, which essentially reduces their income tax burden.

Real Estate

If you purchased or inherited a piece of property, be it a residential home, undeveloped land, a commercial building or rental property, there are benefits to granting it as a cashless charitable donation. The strategy is best optimized if you’ve owned the property for more than one year, enabling you to avoid capital gains taxes and claim a fair market value charitable deduction for the tax year of the gift.

Automobile

Perhaps you have a spare car you never drive but continue to maintain and insure. Instead, consider donating it to a charity. First, ensure that the charity of your choice will accept a vehicle donation. In some cases, a charity may not even require that the car be in working condition, as it may sell or auction it to raise cash. While most charities will arrange to have the automobile picked up, you will need to remove the license plates and sign over the car title to the organization. You can determine the fair market value (to claim as a tax deduction) by researching pricing guides like Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds.

Collectibles/Art

Some folks collect or inherit items they don’t want anymore. Instead of selling them on Facebook, consider donating them to a charity. First, establish a value for the item(s); for items worth more than $5,000,you’ll need to get a qualified appraisal to determine your tax deduction. Also, make sure the charity of your choice will accept the collectible.

Life Insurance

For an individual who no longer needs their permanent life insurance policy, transferring policy ownership to a charity may be more advantageous than surrendering it and paying taxes on the policy’s appreciation. Donating the policy eliminates your tax liability and qualifies for a deduction. The deduction is the lesser of the policy’s cash value or the cost basis (i.e., premiums paid to date).

Another option is to simply change the beneficiary on your life policy to the charity you choose. You won’t receive a tax deduction until the policy pays out after your death, at which point your estate can claim it.

Time

Don’t forget that in many cases you can donate your time instead of money. Seek out charities that need volunteers, from specific skills and expertise to help with cleaning, delivering, and organizing events.

How Businesses Can Build Disinformation Resilience

4 min read

What is Disinformation ResilienceThe digital landscape has rapidly advanced, fueled by generative AI and other transformative technologies. Although this has come with great opportunities, it has also introduced new strategic threats. Among these is disinformation. The World Economic Forum classifies misinformation and disinformation as a top global threat alongside conflict and environment in its 2025 global risks report. With generative AI becoming more sophisticated, threat actors (like deepfakes, voice cloning, viral hoaxes and AI-driven scams) are increasing in frequency and precision. Therefore, business leaders need to act fast to build disinformation resilience.

Why Disinformation Matters for Business

Disinformation is the intentional spread of false or misleading information with malicious intent. This is unlike misinformation, which is unintentional and often shared by individuals who believe it’s true. However, both can have serious consequences for a business.

Historically, disinformation mainly targeted political processes or public institutions. Today, this threat has expanded to the corporate world to become a strategic business risk.

For example, a deepfake video of a CEO announcing mass layoffs will likely affect a company’s stock price. While fake reviews – positive or negative – can also sway consumer decisions. A viral tweet might spark public backlash and disrupt operations. In the United States, billions of dollars have already been lost from disinformation created by deepfakes, with the figures expected to rise in the coming years.

Impact of Disinformation on Business Operations

Disinformation impacts a business in various ways, such as:

  • Financial risk – false narratives can manipulate market behavior or stock prices.
  • Reputation and trust – fabricated information can erode customer trust and brand credibility.
  • Internal noise – false information can lead to confusion or the unintentional spread of incorrect content.
  • Operational disruption – false reports may trigger emergency protocols, overreactions or divert resources from core objectives.
  • Regulatory and legal exposure – new laws hold platforms and even companies accountable for hosting or spreading harmful fake content.

Building a Proactive Disinformation Resilience Strategy

To effectively counter disinformation, businesses need a comprehensive strategy that integrates technological solutions, human intelligence, and proactive communication.

  1. Awareness and Training
    Employees are a great asset and at the same time can be a potential vulnerability. Therefore, all employees from frontline staff to C-suite should be aware of how disinformation works, know red flags, and be empowered to verify suspicious content. They should frequently undergo comprehensive training programs that focus on digital literacy, critical thinking, and fact-checking techniques.
  2. Monitoring and Detection Tools
    Early detection is crucial. It requires advanced monitoring tools that deploy AI-powered social listening, threat intelligence platforms, and real-time deepfake detection systems that analyze image, video, and audio content. Combining these tools with automated alerts enables a swift response before a false narrative spreads.
  3. Robust Internal Protocols
    Develop and enforce clear escalation protocols for suspected disinformation. These should detail a chain of command, verification steps, and PR responses. Employees must know whom to alert and how to safeguard systems quickly.
  4. Platform and Partnership Engagement
    Collaborate with social platforms, fact checkers, and cybersecurity firms to detect and report false content. This will also help build relationships with journalists and analysis firms to enable faster content removal and more credible public debunking.
  5. Trust-First Content Strategies
    Deploy blue-check verified accounts, metadata authentication, digital signature,s and watermarking. A business also may consistently share authentic updates, reinforce company values, and build a track record of transparency to strengthen stakeholder trust.

Policy and Regulatory Landscape

Governments worldwide are recognizing the gravity of this threat. New laws are emerging globally to hold platforms accountable and to protect individuals and businesses.

One example is the Take It Down Act, signed into law on May 19, 2025, which mandates the removal of non-consensual deepfakes. This sets a legal precedent for holding platforms responsible for hosting synthetic media that harms individuals or businesses.

Other legal frameworks are evolving globally with a focus on developing fact-checking and AI-usage policies. Businesses must stay informed of the latest regulations and ensure their internal policies are compliant.

Future Proofing with AI and Collaboration

While generative AI can be used wrongly, it is also a powerful tool in real-time detection and content verification. Since the fight against disinformation is a continuous journey of adaptation and vigilance, businesses must:

  • Integrate advanced detection systems into their security stack
  • Standardize watermarking across distributed content
  • Engage in multi-stakeholder alliances across industries and governments to share insights and define best practices

Conclusion

In an era where false information spreads faster than the truth, disinformation is no longer just a public concern but also a serious business risk. The threat landscape is evolving fast with deepfake scams and coordinated smear campaigns; hence, corporate strategy must evolve, too. Businesses have to build disinformation resilience through proactive systems, employee awareness, trusted communication channels, and ongoing vigilance.