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 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 Sat, Nov 24, 2007 @ 02:59 PM
If you've scheduled an appointment with us over the past few weeks you might have noticed that parking has been quite scarce in Back Bay lately. This is because there are no less than three major movies filming in our neighborhood with more set to film in the next few months. You might ask yourself, has Boston suddenly become the "it" place to be? Why here, why now? I can tell you the simple answer...Tax Credits.
According to an October 12th Boston Business Journal article "A Trickle-Down Story from Hollywood", major movies have spent $154 million in Massachusetts since a new Tax Credit came into effect in 2006. This compares to $67 million spent over the 7 years before the legislation. I would say the credit has been pretty effective so far, wouldn't you?
If you can look past the inconvenience of that large production trailer sitting in your preferred parking spot, you will arrive at a fundamental truth: the Tax Code might be the single most effective tool the government has to influence behavior. Think 401ks, home ownership and sales tax holidays. Using the Tax Code works and it helps to supercharge economic activity.
These movies need actors, extras, costumes, makeup artists, storage facilities and movers. This is in addition to places to eat, sleep and shop. Translation: jobs. So the next time you see Kate Hudson walking down Newbury Street, be sure to thank her for doing her part to help the Massachusetts economy keep on rolling.
All the recent movie activity has given me an itch to write about what you can learn about business at the movies. In the next few weeks, I will pick a few favorites that I feel teach the most about successful business practices. Get your popcorn ready!