IN THE NEWS

Here we grow again!

Sponsel CPA Group has added more talent to an already outstanding team. Lisa Blankman has joined the firm as a staff accountant. She'll be working in both the Audit & Assurance and Tax Departments.

We are also pleased to announce the arrival of two terrific interns from Marian University: Tyler Kitchen and Jared Duncan.

Welcome Lisa, Tyler
and Jared!

A Proud Mother

Jo Ann Lewandowski of our administration department has many reasons to be proud of her son, Private First Class Tyler Turner of the U.S. Army 18th Engineer Brigade. Now she has one more: Turner has been awarded The Army Commendation Medal for his actions while serving with Operation Enduring Freedom forces in Afghanistan.

Among the reasons listed for the commendation was Turner's initiative in taking over his platoon command seat when their convoy was struck by an improved explosive device (IED).

Please join us in lauding Tyler's heroic service to our country.

Giving advice to TV viewers

Managing Partner Tom Sponsel is used to giving financial advice, but on New Year's Day he got to do so in a very high-profile spot: WTHR-TV!

Tom appeared on the Channel 13 broadcast to offer some tips for achieving financial fitness. Tom's advice included developing a plan of action, sticking to a budget and having an emergency fund.

If you'd like to watch the video, go to our homepage and click on the link in the upper-left corner.

Become an Activist for your Company in 2012!
Part of our Personal Leadership Series
By Thomas J. Sponsel, Managing Partner

As January comes and goes, so do New Year’s Resolutions. Such resolutions are often made to be broken, if procrastination hasn’t already postponed making a commitment. A 2007 study by the University of Bristol found that 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure.

Most of us do not achieve what we desire for the following reasons:

Lack of a Commitment to a Plan of ACTION
Lack of Support in collaborating with others
Poor Execution
Poor Attitude
Lack of Willingness to make short-term sacrifice
for Long Term Benefit

Resolve to make 2012 the year you become an activist for your company. This includes making your personal role in the company more fulfilling, making your company better with suggestions for improvement in both planning and execution, and finding a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in your personal life.

This may sound like a utopia, but most of us become frustrated because we do not commit to an active role in making all this happen.

You can enhance your value to your company and improve job satisfaction through the following steps:

Together with your supervisor, identify three to five areas you should improve on in 2012.
Seek your supervisor’s support in helping you achieve your goals; solicit feedback and request any necessary resources.
Clearly understand how your role interrelates with other team members in delivering products and services.
Understand your company’s corporate goals for 2012 and the action steps management has laid out to achieve them.
Offer suggestions for making your company better.
Be committed to life-long learning and continuous improvement.
Celebrate your successes and evaluate your failures; use both to establish your next challenges.
Execute your assigned role, and hold others accountable to their roles.
Read voraciously on a variety of topics to expand your knowledge and challenge the status quo.

Client Profile: B & W Plumbing, Heating
and Air Conditioning Co.

Beth Rovazzini’s father started his company in the family garage with the help of a neighbor in 1961. B & W Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Co. has grown and changed much from those humble beginnings long ago, but they continue to be known for putting quality service and customer relationships first.

Rovazzini, president of B & W, bought the company from her dad, Jerry Bratton, when he retired five years ago and brought in three new partners: Chris Ambrose, Dave Majean and Tim Corcoran. They currently employ 36 people and have 15 of their Big Black Trucks running, a familiar sight throughout the greater Indianapolis area.

Locally B & W pioneered the practice of combining a full-service plumbing business with the ability to meet every heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) need of their customers, both residential and commercial. Rovazzini said it was a logical move, since the customer base is the same and there is a great deal of technological overlap in plumbing and HVAC systems. Since then, many other local companies have followed their lead.

With the downturn in the real estate industry, Rovazzini and her partners made the strategic decision a few years ago to pull back from working on new construction projects. Instead, Rovazzini sees the company’s best growth potential in expanding the commercial side of their client base.

“Our immediate goal is to expand into locally-owned and operated restaurants, to service them with refrigeration, heating, ventilating, plumbing and drain needs,” she said. “We think we’re a good fit for that. And I owned a restaurant for five years, so I have some insight into the industry.”

The company’s connection with Sponsel CPA Group Managing Partner Tom Sponsel goes back more than a quarter-century. Rovazzini called it her single most important business relationship. She relies on Sponsel to provide constructive criticism and help with setting their strategic vision.

“Beyond our accounting needs, Tom is my most trusted advisor,” Rovazzini said. “In a family-owned business, there’s a whole lot of co-mingling of stuff. So it’s really important that you have someone you can trust to take care of all that.”

From the company’s 401k benefits, to actively interacting with B & W’s corporate legal counsel and identifying solutions, and even their family’s personal accounting needs, Rovazzini says she turns to Sponsel CPA Group first.

“There really isn’t an area of our business where Tom doesn’t get involved,” she said.