Posted by Evan Cassidy on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 @ 01:42 PM
Document retention is a topic is not always well understood and frequently makes its way to the back burner as growing firms channel their energies into more imminent demands. But keeping easily accessible records can save significant time and expense if and when their need arises. As business communications continue to trend from paper to electronic documents, it has become both easier to preserve information as well as inadvertently destroy it. It is therefore essential that small business owners have a good understanding of what information should be maintained and for how long. Beyond conforming to laws and regulations, there is a sound business upside to retaining records; maintaining an accessible financial history of your company can provide the foundation necessary to make informed prospective decisions.
In the wake of the malicious accounting cases of the last decade, several well-known regulations have been enacted such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which concerns large, publicly held firms. Several other less-known state and federal rules apply to all companies, regardless of size and complexity. In many cases a company is never too small to comply, and violations can be disastrous financially and otherwise. Depending on the nature of your business, certain additional agency regulations may apply beyond those concerning taxes – those governing employment, medical and financial instruments, for example. Once all applicable rules have been considered and a retention policy has been defined, it’s equally important that it be communicated to and understood by everyone in your firm.
A sound record retention policy also provides for the destruction of information that is no longer useful or required to be kept. If there is legitimate purpose behind the removal of unnecessary records, it is important that guidelines for doing so be codified as well.
We have attached a Record Retention Guide recently released by the MSCPA and hope it will be of assistance in planning your company’s retention policy. If ever you are unsure whether information must be retained or have a question about implementing best practices, please reach out to our team at Verge Advisors.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Sat, May 09, 2009 @ 03:08 PM
Tucker is a great movie for those of you that have big ideas. The true story centers around Preston Tucker a "dreamer, visionary and inventor" who tried to revolutionize the auto industry in the late 1940's. It also is a cautionary tale to remind those who evangelize disruptive technologies that they will probably feel the wrath of the powerful companies that they intend to overtake.
Hold That Tiger!
"Hold That Tiger!" This is the phrase that Preston Tucker exclaims when he has a eureka moment. You can just see the excitement as his mind siezes on an untapped opportunity. The beginning of the movie centers around this big idea...the Tucker, a revolutionary car boasting many technological advances. What is great for the entrepreneur of today is that the formula for a big idea in the 1940s is very much the same as it is today:
Have Big Idea > Try to Raise Funds > Get Rejected > Advertise > Demonstrate Demand > Get Credible Board Signed On > Get Funded > Hit the Ground Running
Early on it is almost all smoke and mirrors and very little reality. It is basically Tucker's drawing and charisma that gets things going...oh and a well place magazine ad that creates a groundswell of demand for the proposed automobile.
Preston is the typical entrepreneur...dynamic, hungry, and often frustrated by the inability to realize his ideas immediately.
A Loyal Group
Another thread that flows through the movie is how loyal a group Preston puts around him. He doesn't discriminate or pass judgment, if you have passion about the Tucker you gain entry into his inner circle. He also instills an incredible amount of loyalty in his team. You see them working ridiculously hard to make impossible deadlines with very little to work with. The plight should be familiar to those of you who have been part of a startup....not enough funding, not enough time, crazy hours but really gratifying. Whenever they fall short they are met by the frustration of Tucker, but also the knowledge that he is with them working just as hard to realize the dream.
At one point he stops everything and looks at the group and says: "Is there anyone in the room who can look me in the eye and tell me we can't do it?" Later, the man who orchestrated his financial backing, who admittedly began working with Tucker for the money states, I never thought that if I got too close to you that I would catch your dreams. They all bought into the vision.
Creating Buzz
Another great entrepreneurial trait that Preston Tucker had was the ability to create buzz. With the car, it started with the magazine advertisement which received 150,000 responses from around the country. It continues when he chooses the largest building in the country to be his factory for his cars. Probably the height of the buzz occurs at the unveiling of the Tucker. Preston kept everyone but his closest confidants in the dark about the car. The reasons were twofold: 1) create buzz, 2) he didn't want anyone to know that the car really was not ready and only resembled the advertised Tucker in appearance. However, despite the scramble to get everything ready, he went ahead with a huge launch, complete with a band and all sorts of fanfare. It was a harrowing experience, but in the end it was a huge success.
The Steadfast Belief of the Entrepreneur
The story turns much darker after the initial launch as the big automobile companies use their significant powers to smear and ultimately ruin Tucker's company. There is a messy trial where Preston Tucker is facing serious charges and possibly looking at significant jail time.
At the closing arguments of the trial Preston Tucker speaks on his own behalf and has this to say:
"We invented the free enterprise system where anybody, no matter who he was, where he came from, what class he belonged to, if he came up with a better idea about anything, there was no limit to how far he could go. I grew up a generation too late I guess because now the way the system works, the loner, the dreamer, the crackpot who comes up with some crazy idea that everybody laughs at that later turns out to revolutionize the world, he's squashed from above before he even gets his head out of the water because the bureaucrats, they'd rather kill a new idea than let it rock the boat... If big business closes the door on the little guy with the new idea, we're not only closing the door on progress but we're sabotaging everything we fought for, everything the country stands for."
After the trial, as he is outside looking at the 50 beautiful Tuckers fresh off the production line he says, "50 or 50 million, it's the idea that counts, the dream". An entrepreneur through and through.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Sun, Jan 13, 2008 @ 03:07 PM
As we grow the team, we are currently looking to bring on a dynamic CFO.
Since we are in hyper growth ourselves, this is an exciting role with significant growth potential. The person will be working closely with me and will be learning by real world on the job training.
Some of the things that the person will be doing right away are:
1) Working on financial models for companies seeking funding
2) Strategic planning sessions and identifying opportunities for growth
3) Developing and implementing monthly closing processes for business clients
4) Preparing custom financial management reports for executives
5) Preparing corporate, individual and trust tax returns
To be considered for the position the candidate must have the following attributes:
-Have the highest integrity
-Efficient user and learner of technology
-Strategic thinker
-Work hard to meet deadlines
-Able to work at 20,000 feet and in the weeds
-Not afraid to answer honestly
-Enjoy working as part of a team
Overall they must also have high energy and have a genuine passion for business.
If you or anyone you know are interested in applying for this position, please send the resume with a brief description my way at jiannacone@jlicpa.com .
Here is the link for the complete Craigslist ad posted:
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/acc/536931183.html
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Tue, Jan 01, 2008 @ 03:06 PM
Well it is resolution time. Here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2008:
1) Automate in 2008. There are many tasks that I/we do, that can be automated. I am going to ruthlessly look for ways to automate our existing tasks to free up more time for a higher level of service.
2) Email response within 24 hours. For many years now, I have only responded to urgent or easy to answer emails within 24 hours. The rest I would batch process at some point in future. Well I am changing all that and will attempt to answer all emails within 24 hours of receiving them.
3) 2 Week tax turnaround. For this year's tax season it is the goal to have all returns that are not waiting on additional information turned around from receipt to release within 2 weeks.
4) More time spent on training. This past year I did not do enough to make the time to train (myself, my colleagues, my clients). The result was predictable...frustration for all. This year I will invest more time in training myself and others.
5) No work on Sundays. A long time ago I made a promise that Sunday would be family day. For me that means going to church, having a big meal together and then doing some activity with the whole family. There has been a slow erosion of this rule over the past few years. In 2008 I vow to get my Sundays with my family back.
6) Increase my positive energy. I want to be known as a positive force by those that I come into contact with. I will try to eliminate or minimize my complaints, conflict, and most of all projection of stress.
For all you who read this and come into contact with me on a regular basis, help me to be accountable to these. If you have resolutions that you have, please let me know and I will do the same for you.
Hope everyone that reads this has a happy and healthy New Year!
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Wed, Dec 12, 2007 @ 03:04 PM
The advice I give to the hard-working and passionate entrepreneurs that I work with is this:
Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF OF THE GAS!
Running a successful startup is about achieving scale. And without the sale, there is no scale. There is a tendency among early stage companies to sprint and then relax. Whether after a big win, achieving a milestone or closing on funding, it is a natural inclination to sit down and take it all in. Resist this temptation.
Top line growth is the single greatest insulator against failure in a startup environment. It lowers burn, increases enterprise value and allows you to add more passionate people to deliver on the promise of the business.
So as the new year is almost upon us, get your ducks in a row now. Delegate the tasks that are on your plate that bog you down, suck your energy and really do not add all that much value. You know what they are and do not need me to tell you. Then before New Year's Day define an aggressive (reach) revenue goal for Q1 and also for the full year. Now, drive the company towards that goal.
Good things will happen I promise.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Mon, Nov 26, 2007 @ 03:02 PM
I just finished re-reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and wondered to myself if there is a way to "thin slice" successful business owners and executives. By this I mean, if you drown out all the noise and all the variables that could possibly be measured, are there a simple few things that determine success? With this headset I began to contemplate the characteristics of the most successful business owners and executives I know to look for a common thread. The age, experience and personalities are all quite different as are the size and industries of the organizations they excel in.
The commonality is in the way that they approach their work. Two habits pervade all that they do: Focus and Urgency.
Habit #1 Focus:
Everyone works hard (or at least most do), but most people work hard at the wrong things. They are inefficient or irrelevant. Those that are exceptionally successful know what to focus their efforts on. They know what their strengths are and they concentrate on those and get results. They are able to think strategically about what needs to get done and then identify the roadmap to get there. Lou Holtz calls this WIN-What's Important Now, David Allen calls it Getting Things Done. Whatever you call it, it boils down defining what needs to happen and then orchestrating it through action.
Habit #2 Urgency
Ever wonder how you manage to clear your desk before you leave for vacation or how a huge project or order for an important customer gets completed when it absolutely has to. Why, because of deadlines. Many people fail to set or fail to meet deadlines. They are late to meetings, late on project deadlines, do not follow through. The successful people approach their work with a sense of urgency. They have their own internal deadlines that are more stringent than the world around them. If something is due Friday it is finished on Tuesday. If a call or email message with an opportunity comes in, it is answered before the day is out. Something deep inside of them screams "Don't Let It Wait!" Because of this they are better prepared and more adaptable to changing conditions and opportunities.
For success, focus and treat your work with a self-imposed sense of urgency.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Sun, Nov 25, 2007 @ 03:01 PM
What can the movies tell us about business? More than you might think. There are many movies out there that offer rich case studies of what drives success and failure in business. I have chosen a few of my favorites which I go back to periodically for inspiration and entertainment.
Jerry Maguire is one of the few movies that really gives a first hand account of the unbelievable highs and lows you experience that first year as an entrepreneur. His story is of a successful sports agent that finds his conscience. We watch him as he goes from unfulfilled business success to the brink of total disaster and then finally emerges as the triumphant agent who really does care.
It starts with a mission
Jerry's journey starts when he makes the rash late night decision to write a mission statement and distribute it to everyone in his company at their annual conference. He describes it: "I had lost the ability to B.S., ... it was the me I had always wanted to be."
That is how many businesses begin, with the search and belief that there is something better to be created. An ideal. For anyone who is considering going into business, I strongly encourage you to write a mission statement as early as possible. For me, my first mission statement acts as a compass that represents the pure vision of what I hoped to create. Surely there are some things that change over time, but the values and enthusiasm should not.
Who's coming with me
After the release of his mission statement, Jerry is unceremoniously fired and loses all but one of his clients on the first day. As he packs his things to leave the office for the last time he fully expects his assistant to come with him. She does not. In a desperate attempt he implores the office, "if anybody else wants to come with me, this moment will be the ground floor of something real and fun and inspiring and true in this godforsaken business and we will do it together!" All decline except for one.
When you take the big leap, many clients, colleagues, friends and family you thought would be with you decline to come along for the ride. Starting something new is not for the faint of heart. Be sure in what you believe and start with the expectation that you will carry the vision alone because many times it will feel that way.
To the brink and back again
I also like how Jerry Maguire shows us how low the lows can get. He remarks, "Twenty four hours ago, man, I was hot! Now... I'm a cautionary tale. You see this jacket I'm wearing, you like it? Because I don't really need it. Because I'm cloaked in failure!" In exasperation he utters what I feel is the best representation of what it is like to be an entrepreneur in year one: "It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about."
Entrepreneur's remorse, which is a natural feeling as you navigate the quagmire that is a brutal learning curve. Part of you regrets the day you started, but for those that succeed the belief that you are fighting the good fight wins out.
Listen to your conscience
In the movie, Jerry constantly remembers truisms spoken by his mentor Dickie Fox. These ground him and act as his conscience as he does business. As we see Jerry finally succeed on his terms, you witness the well up of emotion and satisfaction that comes with building something you are proud of. Dickie Fox says, "I'm not saying I have all the answers. I have failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my life. I love my wife. And I wish you my kind of success."
Remember what you want to create, cling to it with all your might and enjoy the ride.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Fri, Nov 23, 2007 @ 02:57 PM
Over the years I have had the privilege of working with many different businesses of varying sizes and industries and I'll let you in on a little secret...they are not as different as you might think. Take away a few zeroes or some industry specific language, and the drivers for success are pretty much universal. So what I am about to tell you applies to all businesses and in particular start-up businesses.
The Numbers
I am a numbers guy, so I will begin with a few. Depending on what and where you read you will find the following statistics:
50% of businesses will fail in the first year
80% will fail in the first five
96% will never reach $1 million in revenue in a year.
Not very encouraging.
These businesses were started by passionate entrepreneurs who put in long hours and painstaking efforts. However, in the end, 80% will walk away from their dream and 96% will only be marginally successful. Why?
Reason #1, They forgot who was king.
Cash, greenbacks, clams, dough, dead presidents...whatever you call it, cash is king. The sad truth is that many businesses are doomed from the start because the business began without enough capital to survive.
The main mistake is that the business only has enough funding if everything goes perfectly. But everything never goes perfectly...businesses are cyclical, costs overruns are normal when starting out, and it takes time to get the word out. Before long, the owner is digging into personal funds earmarked for something else and well on the way to increased stress and decreased credit scores. The lack of capital starts to limit spending decisions. Key purchases, personnel hires and marketing spends are all passed on because there is not enough money to fund them. In the end, the business fails not because the business model was flawed but because there was not enough cash to execute the plan.
Reason #2, They need their vision checked
Most people that start businesses fall into two categories: worker bees or big idea machines.
The worker bee usually starts a business that resembles their previous job or perhaps is something that they like to do and are already good at. The problem with worker bees is that they are nearsighted. They started the business hoping for an idealized version of a job they like to do, but did not factor in the infrastructure necessary to make it grow. In the end, they create a job that was like their previous job with one important difference...it is much harder.
The big idea machine on the other hand sees the big picture with hundreds of employees, multiple offices, big national write ups and industry changing business practices. Their shortcoming is that they are farsighted. From day 1 they go to work on complex messaging, large partnerships and expensive initiatives. The employees of the business try valiantly to implement the ideas which are really suited for a mature company with thousands of customers. Before the business even has a chance to do any of these initiatives well, the big idea machine is already touting the next greatest idea. Ultimately, the company ends up doing nothing very well and frustration overtakes everyone involved.
Know your destination, what you want your business to eventually become and then define how you are going to take a meaningful step towards that goal in the next 90 days. Why do you think new Presidents get so much accomplished the first few months they are in office? I believe it is their 100 day plan, a plan that focuses on things that can be successfully completed. If only the President would continually implement 100 day plans over a 4 year term, imagine how much would get done!
Reason #3, They don't fail enough
This may seem counter-intuitive, but bear with me. Failure is part of every business, so it is best to embrace it from the start. Too many entrepreneurs are afraid to fail and as a result end up failing only once and then its over. They wait too long and bet too big. A business should be constantly learning about its customers, testing new things and pushing the envelope. Understand that small failures are inevitable, but total failure is not an option. As the saying goes: Fail Fast, Fail Often, Fail Cheap. Do not wait for perfection, get to market and start tinkering (messaging, pricing, offering, servicing).
Avoid these three pitfalls and you will be well on your way to creating a successful business.