In this issue of Raising the Bar, Cristal Brun explores how the shift from volume-based incentive bonus plans (primarily focused on sales) to targeted incentive-based bonus plans (focused on a wider array of criteria) can impact competitive position, profitability and the customer experience.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) modified Section 162(m) in several significant respects. While the TCJA provided some transition relief for the amendments to Section 162(m), it also introduced a "grandfather rule" that has been the subject of much debate. Notice 2018-68 answers many questions surrounding this grandfather rule and brings some certainty to this area of the tax law. This article will address a few of these issues at length.

Back office spending made in the past is now becoming irrelevant, such as call centers built offshore or in cheaper locations at home, as well as huge data centers. Now companies can buy all the server capacity they need from Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services more cheaply, and telephone services can be provided by robots responding to voice commands.

In this article, we discuss the new IRC Section 199A Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction and key definitions and terminology contained in the proposed regulations.

Few people have heard of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), an agency of the Commerce Department. The BEA provides the U.S. government with statistical information regarding the U.S. economy. To aid in this endeavor, it does periodic surveys of cross-border investments (U.S. investments abroad and foreign investments in the U.S.).

Mexico’s Fintech industry is poised for growth, leveraging recent regulations, a growing middle class population and increasing capital allocation.

he MiFID II approach to Product Governance has created a benchmark for investment services and products, but the same principles can be applied across all activities and services.

On August 3, 2018, the IRS released proposed regulations (REG 104397-18) on the modifications made to additional first-year depreciation deductions as provided by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The proposed regulations contain several significant provisions for partnerships and real estate businesses.

Like most capital projects, transmission lines also face challenges during construction. The usual challenges in the construction phase of transmission lines include change in layout, land management, contractors, interfaces, financing and contract disputes.

Several Alvarez & Marsal Disputes and Investigations professionals have been recognized in the 2018 edition of Who’s Who Legal’s Consulting Experts guide.

The package of proposed regulations includes six separate regulations, and the IRS also released a contemporaneous Notice 2018-64 that provides additional guidance on methods for calculating W-2 wages for purposes of §199A.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today announced the withdrawal of a decision filed July 24, 2018, in the Altera Corp. v. Commissioner case concerning the validity of the U.S. Treasury regulations with respect to employee stock compensation and cost-sharing arrangements "to allow time for the reconstituted panel to confer on this appeal." In this article, we review the background of the case, this week's reversal of the decision and what this could mean going forward.

These recent articles examine how successful companies are adapting to change, and how some organizations are responding under scrutiny.

The growing influence of technology across every industry is forcing PE firms to review approaches to investment.

Becoming data-driven is a mind-set change, not a one‑time project. It needs visible and tangible commitment to becoming a learning organisation that innovates fast, learns from its successes and failures, and leverages those learnings across the business – in every business unit and every market.