Three practice lines, one standard: workpapers your auditors and examiners can follow.
Flagship service Income Tax Accounting Corporate tax accounting (ASC 740 / FAS 109) for mid-sized and large U.S. domestic and international corporations. See the practice →The deep end of the corporate tax code — the work generalist firms hand off.
The binder Inside the Workpapers Pick a provision component and see the question on the table — and the workproduct we build for it. Open the binder →
Three people read every inquiry themselves.
Contact UsDrop us a line, call the office, or go straight to the person you need.
Primary door Message the firm Name, email, and whatever you need us to see — attachments welcome. Open the contact form →We are a boutique of former Big 4 corporate tax professionals in Morris Plains, New Jersey. We prepare and review ASC 740 provisions, document FIN 48 positions, run Section 382 studies, and carry corporate tax compliance for mid-sized and large U.S. and international companies — quarter after quarter, since 2006.
ASC 740FIN 48Section 382Exam Support
Specializing in Income Tax Accounting (FAS 109 / ASC 740), Corporate Tax Compliance, and Comprehensive Tax Consulting — for organizations whose tax function has outgrown generalists.
Our team of seasoned corporate tax consultants, all former Big 4 professionals, specializes in corporate tax accounting (ASC 740 / FAS 109) for mid-sized and large U.S. domestic and international corporations — provisions prepared and reviewed to be defended, not just filed.
See it in the binder →We are dedicated to ensuring your organization remains fully compliant with all corporate tax requirements. Our team manages even the most complex tax matters — corporate and partnership returns at the federal, state, and local levels — acting as your organization’s trusted tax department.
Put us on your calendar →Corporate tax strategy — planning and implementation — plus tax research, M&A and restructuring counsel, and examination support when the IRS or a state comes asking. Strategy built on the same file as your provision, so the advice and the numbers agree.
Meet the consultants →Tax issues can be overwhelming. We are committed to delivering prompt, professional service to every client — your tax matters handled with the utmost care and efficiency.
A tax provision is not a number — it is a binder of judgments that auditors and examiners will open later. Pick a tab and see how we build each one. The questions are illustrative examples of what auditors and examiners ask; the workproducts are the services themselves. No figures, no advice — just the shape of the work.
“Show us the path from book income to the provision. Where does every temporary difference live — and does each deferred balance tie back to a filed position?”
Illustrative example — a typical auditor / examiner askCurrent and deferred taxes under ASC 740 (FAS 109), computed from your records and tied to the positions you actually filed — the computation, the support for every material difference, and a package your auditors can follow without a scavenger hunt.
Income Tax Accounting · Tax Provision Preparation & Review“What evidence supports the valuation allowance conclusion — and where is the negative evidence weighed, not just the positive?”
Illustrative example — a typical auditor / examiner askThe realizability analysis for your deferred tax assets is assembled and documented as part of the ASC 740 provision itself — the evidence on both sides, weighed in the open, so the conclusion reads as a judgment that was made, not a number that appeared.
Income Tax Accounting (ASC 740 / FAS 109) · Provision Preparation & Review“For each uncertain position: what is the unit of account, what is the measurement — and where is the file that defends it?”
Illustrative example — a typical auditor / examiner askEvery material uncertain tax position identified, analyzed, and documented under FIN 48 — written to be read by an auditor this quarter and an examiner three years from now, in the same condition.
FIN 48 Uncertain-Tax-Position Analyses & Documentation“Your effective rate moved. Which drivers are permanent, which are one-time — and can you prove the bridge?”
Illustrative example — a typical auditor / examiner askThe reconciliation is built inside the same provision file as the computation — every driver tied to its support, no orphan numbers, no unexplained plugs between the statutory rate and your effective rate.
Income Tax Accounting (ASC 740 / FAS 109) · Provision Preparation & Review“You had an ownership change. What is the annual limitation on your tax attributes — and where is the study?”
Illustrative example — a typical auditor / examiner askThe testing-period analysis and the limitation computation, documented as a standalone study — so the attributes on your balance sheet are attributes with a file behind them, with examination support if the study is ever challenged.
Section 382 Ownership-Change & Attribute-Limitation Studies · Examination SupportYour provision is already a file — the only question is whether it reads like one.
Bring Us Your ProvisionWhen you call, you reach the person doing your work — at their own extension.
Managing Member · Founder
Neil founded the firm in 2006 — originally as SmarTax — with a vision to assist SEC registrants in achieving their income tax accounting objectives. A Big Four auditor by background, with additional experience in the banking industry and at a regional accounting firm. B.S. Accounting and Master’s in Taxation, Rutgers University.
Senior Tax Manager
Margaret brings over 30 years of experience in public and private accounting — including as a Tax Manager at KPMG — and leads the firm’s staffing practice, supervising and training new hires. B.S. Accounting and Master’s in Taxation, Seton Hall University.
Tax Accountant · Since 2020
Karen joined the firm in 2020 from the industry side of international tax — Manager of International Taxation at Johnson & Johnson, with earlier roles in the federal and international tax departments at Bristol Myers Squibb and Ernst & Young. B.S. Accounting, Villanova University; Master’s in Taxation, Seton Hall University.
“The technical rigor of a large firm, with the personal attention of a boutique practice.”
That is the trade every growing company is offered: a department too big to know your file, or a generalist too small for your provision. We are the third option — a senior team that treats your tax function as its own.
Start the ConversationNeil D. Bass founded the practice in 2006 as SmarTax — leveraging his background as a Big Four auditor, he developed a concept that has evolved into the trusted Bass Tax Group. Since 2006, the firm has been proudly owned and led by former Big 4 corporate tax professionals, dedicated to delivering excellence every day.
Twenty years on, the model has not changed: a small, senior team, collaborating with your people year after year, quarter after quarter — so the provision, the positions, and the filings are one continuous file, not four disconnected events.
We collaborate seamlessly with your team, year after year, quarter after quarter. Your file is known — not re-learned every season.
We’re here for you whenever you need us — the same senior professionals who built your workpapers are the ones who answer for them.
“It is going to be a decent amount of work in the first year of implementation.”
Neil Bass, CPA, on the FASB’s income-tax disclosure rules (Topic 740) — quoted in CFO Dive.
Neil Bass joined the Wealth Actually podcast as a guest — a managing member’s read on the tax questions behind the headlines.
Navigating SEC tax compliance and building a client-centric accounting firm — Neil Bass in conversation on XRaised.
Our running commentary on the tax developments that move corporate provisions — published on our site and LinkedIn. Analysis is not advice; it is how we stay sharp between your quarters.
Corporate tax, end to end. We specialize in income tax accounting (ASC 740 / FAS 109) — provision preparation and review — along with FIN 48 uncertain-tax-position analyses and documentation, Section 382 ownership-change studies, corporate and partnership tax compliance at the federal, state, and local levels, and comprehensive tax consulting. In short: we act as your organization’s trusted tax department.
Mid-sized and large U.S. domestic and international businesses — from emerging growth companies to large SEC registrants, including U.S. multinational corporations, inbound U.S. groups, and middle-market companies. Our industry experience runs across consumer products, healthcare, high-tech, banking, and manufacturing.
The three people on this page. Bass Tax Group is owned and led by former Big 4 corporate tax professionals: Neil D. Bass, CPA, our Managing Member; Margaret D. Otash, CPA, Senior Tax Manager; and Karen Zappetti, Tax Accountant. Between them: two CPAs and three master’s degrees in taxation. There is no handoff to an anonymous queue — the person you meet is the person who does the work.
Yes. Examination support is part of the practice: tax examination representation, audit defense, and help managing correspondence when a notice or dispute arrives. Our professionals step in to represent your organization and handle the exchange — the same team that built your provision file is the team that defends it.
Drop us a line through the contact form, call (973) 240-7400, or email [email protected]. Tell us where the tax function stands — an upcoming provision, an uncertain position, an ownership change, an exam — and we will tell you plainly how we can help and what an engagement would look like. Every engagement is scoped directly with the firm before any work begins.
Tell us where your tax function stands — an upcoming provision, an uncertain position, an ownership change, an examination letter — and we will tell you plainly how we can help.
Name, email, and whatever you need us to see — attachments welcome.
Open the Contact Form (973) 240-7400
Neil D. Bass, CPA — ext. 500
Margaret D. Otash, CPA — ext. 502
Karen Zappetti — ext. 503
Fax: 973-240-7399
[email protected]
2740 State Route 10
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
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