STEVENPALMIERI
Your finances as the ownerYour finances as the companyPersonal credityour score and report, what a lender sees firstPersonal taxesfilings and anything open with the IRSPersonal financeswhat you own, what you owe, what you take homeYouguarantorcreditormanagerBookstrue books, kept current every monthBills and payrollbills, invoices and payroll posted inside your fileControllernumbers checked, filings out on time, the month closedCFOcash, plan, tax planning and the funding file
BooksYour finances as the company
STEVENPALMIERI

GAAP is the language of public companies and big audits.

Most owners who still sign the loan themselves need clean tax-basis books, not a second GAAP set.

Steven Palmieri keeps tax-basis books that close every month. Federal law does not make a private company keep GAAP books. A lender, an investor, or a buyer might. Until they do, keep the books that match how you file. That is what a small lender reads.

If you own twenty percent or more of the company, an SBA lender will ask you to guarantee the loan in your own name. That is the SBA line that binds you. It is not a revenue cutoff.

GAAP is what public companies use. Tax-basis is what matches the return you file. We keep that set clean every month. We do not issue a signed report on it.

The law that requires GAAP is for companies that file with the SEC. A private company has no federal duty to keep GAAP books. A lender, a buyer, or an investor might ask. That is a contract habit, not a tax-code duty.

A small lender reads you first. They want your personal financial statement, your tax returns, and company books that match those returns. That file is not an audit. It is not a GAAP package.

If tax law lets you use the cash method, we keep you on that method. For 2026 the IRS small-business receipts test is a thirty-two million dollar three-year average. That is about three times our client-fit line.

When a loan rule, an investor, or a sale requires a signed report, we will tell you. Then you hire a CPA firm for that work. We keep the monthly books they will start from.

Keep GAAP for the day a loan rule or a buyer demands it. Until then, pay to keep tax-basis books clean every month. That is the set of finances you live on.

Clean numbers. Clear picture.

Sources

All accessed 2026-09-14.

1. SBA personal guarantee rule. law.cornell.edu

2. AICPA note on tax-basis books. aicpa-cima.com

3. Federal securities filing rule. law.cornell.edu

4. What a private company audit is. aicpa-cima.com

5. SBA Form 413. sba.gov

6. IRS receipts test for 2026. irs.gov

7. Texas title and report rules. texas.gov

GAAP is the language of public companies and big audits.
GAAP / the audit-grade firm
Tax-basis books kept clean monthly
What they sold you
Knowledge of the GAAP rules, sold as a rare skill.
AI made that knowledge free. We see your tax-basis books and the owner side as one picture, and we show it.
Who the law actually requires
Public companies that file with the SEC. Their annual reports must be certified, and filings that are not GAAP are presumed misleading.
Private companies have no federal GAAP filing duty. We keep the books the owner and the tax file need.
What a small lender reads first
Reviewed or audited GAAP statements when a loan covenant or a buyer says so.
Your personal financial statement (SBA Form 413), your tax returns, and company books that match those returns.
Inventory and the cash method
GAAP still wants inventory and accruals even when tax law lets a small company skip them.
If you meet the IRS small-business receipts test, tax law lets many owners use cash and skip the extra inventory-cost rules. For 2026 that test is a thirty-two million dollar three-year average. We keep you on the method the Code allows.
Who may sign a report on the statements
An audit, a review, or a compilation is a signed report that gives assurance. In Texas only a licensed CPA firm may issue it.
We prepare books and tax-basis statements. We do not issue audit, review, or compilation reports. Texas law lets a person without a license prepare statements without a report.
Your name on the loan
GAAP statements do not take your personal guarantee off the note.
You still sign. We fix the personal file a lender reads with the company file. Your credit, your taxes, and the Form 413 picture.
When you do need a CPA firm
When a loan covenant, an investor, or a sale requires reviewed or audited statements, usually on GAAP.
We tell you when that day has arrived. Then you hire a CPA firm for the attest work. We keep the monthly books they will start from.
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