Category: Lisa Purichia

Sponsel Named Six-Time Best Place to Work

Sponsel CPA Group is once again honored to be recognized for the sixth year in a row as one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana, as part of the 19th edition of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce initiative.  With nearly half of this year’s honored companies being new businesses, Sponsel CPA Group is humbled to remain in the ranks. This year, Sponsel joins 87 organizations in the Small Company Group (less than 75 employees).

Lisa Purichia, a partner of the firm’s executive committee, offered this reflection: “Every local business that started from humble beginnings like ours aims to make a lasting impact. Making this list validates our efforts, and for that, we are grateful. In addition to our excellent team, we thank the Indiana Chamber of Commerce for continuing to encourage us, and we applaud our fellow honorees, especially those we’re also proud to know as clients and friends.”

The final company rankings will be unveiled on May 8 at the annual awards ceremony.

February 2024 Newsletter

This month’s newsletter is all about tax time — from outsourcing options for accounting to ways you can protect your information as you file.

Need Outside Help with Your In-House Accounting?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
Email Lisa  

With tax filing deadlines rearing their heads and more than a month of the new year’s business transactions behind you, now is a good time to step back and evaluate your accounting department’s performance. As the business owner, are you getting the accurate data you need on a timely, regular basis? Consistency of practice is crucial. Even daily “Flash Reports” of critical operating data are common in today’s business world.

Is your accounting department meeting these demands? Failure to manage cash flow or to take advantage of early pay discounts, paying invoices late and incurring late fees, or not delivering accurate, comprehensive reports can severely harm your company’s reputation and result in decreased credit worthiness, issues with your suppliers, etc. Lack of consistency, planning, transparency and oversight can also quickly lead to untimely financial reporting and poor management information systems. The risk of fraud is also increased in an undisciplined accounting environment.

When evaluating your accounting department, also consider the size of your business. Are you outgrowing your bookkeeper but not big enough to fund a full-time Controller/CFO position? Whether this or poor accounting performance is this case, you may want to consider outsourcing accounting functions to a firm like Sponsel CPA Group. Now would be a good time to make this change, as you continue to find your footing upon stepping into the new year.

Delegating accounting tasks to financial experts like us allows business owners to focus on sales, marketing and strategies for building your reputation and revenue. It relieves managers of the responsibility to supervise one more department and meet the deadlines within it. Outsourcing also cuts the costs of in-house hiring, training and infrastructure.

Here are some of the many ways in which our CPA firm can help:

  • Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual financial reporting
  • Controller-on-loan services to cover any gaps on a permanent or interim basis
  • Family Office Services (personal bill paying, personal financial reporting, and investment tracking)
  • Bookkeeping and payroll services
  • QuickBooks ProAdvisor installation, maintenance, training and support
  • Outsourcing solutions customized to meet your specific internal accounting needs
  • Human Resource services

If you’re experiencing accounting issues in your company, it’s time to step back and determine the source of the problem. Is it your people? Is it your systems or lack thereof? Or do you simply not know? If you need a fresh set of eyes on your accounting function, Sponsel CPA Group can help! Whether you’re seeking consultation or thinking about outsourcing your accounting and finance needs, we can offer support and counsel to make your business better!

If we can assist you further with your business or personal affairs, please call us at (317) 608-6699 or email Lisa.

Be Specific About Your New Year’s Goals

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

As the holidays approach and the year comes to a close, it’s easy to lose sight of the future. We tend to focus on wrapping up current projects and putting bows on presents.

Although it’s important to end 2023 on a high note, it’s also vital for you to plan and craft a clear vision for next year. You will need to review the data metrics and key performance indicators of 2023’s successes, knowing you and your team can always do better. Make measurable improvement one of your main goals for 2024!

Of course, practical planning methods such as budgeting and annual performance reviews are essential. But the more specific your vision, the better.

Some CEOs set a theme for the coming year. If you’re building a new website, for example, make it the main focus across all departments. Task your social media manager with promoting and linking to it as much as possible on all your platforms. Add QR codes to the business cards you hand out at conferences or trade shows. Make all your team members include the web address in their email signatures.

Your theme could revolve around any number of things — increasing sales by a particular amount, implementing regular training sessions throughout the year, launching a new product or service, etc. Of course, you don’t have to ignore other goals, but focusing on one to begin with will speed up the planning process and make the segue into next year much smoother.

As a leader, you’re responsible for creating the energy and enthusiasm around the vision for the company’s future. People like working toward a common goal, so make sure it’s crystal clear and attainable.

Establishing unrealistic initiatives and vague expectations is the worst way to enter a new year. That’s why New Year’s resolutions like “getting in shape” or “reading more” fall by the wayside — they’re not clear enough. Wouldn’t goals like that be more satisfying to chase if they were more specific? Think about running a mile in 7 minutes or finally reaching the last page of Stephen King’s It.

Starting the new year with a focused, clearly communicated vision will lay a foundation for a great 2024!

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business, please call us at (317) 608-6699. or email Lisa.

Accounting: Is It Time to Outsource?

Lisa Purichia on why companies should outsource CFO/accounting functionsBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
Email Lisa

This time of year is tough on businesses, as it requires a balance between finishing the year on a high note and setting yourself up for success come next quarter. You may have time for only one. If that’s the case … consider outsourcing!

Outsourcing CFO/accounting functions to firms like Sponsel CPA group is becoming a popular option for businesses of all sizes. It allows companies to focus on client growth and engagement while we lend a fresh set of eyes to their financial status and future. We’ve crunched the numbers for many businesses across a broad spectrum of industries, so we have a different perspective that could help you budget and allocate resources in new — and perhaps more effective — ways.

Don’t worry — outsourcing your accounting needs doesn’t mean losing control of your finances. You can be involved as much or as little as you like. Here are some outsourcing options:

  • As needed — Retain a CFO to assist on a regular basis (for a few days, a week, a month).
  • For a specific task
  • Staff augmentation — Require greater skills than what your in-house staff members possess.
  • Temporarily — Your controller quits, and you need help until you can secure a replacement.
  • Permanently — Outsourcing doesn’t have to be a Band-Aid solution; you can hand over all of your accounting and financial reporting responsibilities to an independent party.

Delegating accounting tasks to financial experts like us allows business owners to focus on sales, marketing and strategies for building your reputation and revenue. It relieves managers of the responsibility to supervise one more department and meet the deadlines within it. Outsourcing also cuts the costs of in-house hiring, training and infrastructure.

Here are some of the many other ways in which a CPA firm can help:

  • Developing annual budgets
  • Evaluating current results against the budget
  • Preparing financial projections
  • Identifying key performance indicators that measure your company’s progress
  • Providing access to databases with resources that show how your company is operating and performing financially compared to others
  • Coordinating audits

We’ve seen what works best for many different businesses, and we bring that knowledge and experience to the table when companies come to us for their accounting needs. Plus, our accountants are continually trained, using the latest technologies and means of reducing risks and streamlining operations.

If we can assist you with outsourcing some or all of your company’s accounting functions, please call us at (317) 608-6699 or email Lisa.

Revised Form I-9 Guidelines

What is the Revised Form I-9?

As of August 1, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services published a revised version of Form I-9 that employers should begin to use. The older version of Form I-9 may continue to be used through October 31, 2023, but after that date, employers will be subject to penalties.

Additionally, the new Form I-9 features a checkbox that employers enrolled in E-Verify can use to show they remotely examined identity and employment authorization documents under an alternative procedure authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to DHS, employers performing remote verification must be enrolled in E-Verify, conduct a live video interview with the employee, examine and retain copies of all documents presented throughout the I-9 process, and create E-Verify cases for new employees.

What’s New in Form I-9?

The revised Form I-9:

  • Reduces Sections 1 and 2 to a single-sided sheet.
  • Is designed to be a fillable form on both tablets and mobile devices.
  • Moves the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area to a separate, standalone supplement (Supplement A) that employers can provide to employees when necessary.
  • Moves Section 3 to a standalone supplement (Supplement B) that employers can print if or when rehiring occurs or reverification is required.
  • Revises the Lists of Acceptable Documents page to include some acceptable receipts, guidance and links to information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documents.
  • Reduces Form instructions from 15 pages to 8 pages.

How to Complete the Revised Form I-9

At the time of hire, Section 1 of Form I-9 collects information about the employee, and requires the employee to attest whether they are a U.S. citizen, noncitizen national, lawful permanent resident, or noncitizen authorized to work in the United States. The biggest change in Section 1 of the new Form I-9 was the removal of the phrase “alien authorized to work,” which was replaced with “noncitizen authorized to work.”

Within three days of hire, Section 2 collects information about the employee’s identity and authorization. Section 2 requires employees to present original documentation proving identity and authorization, which the employer must review.

Supplement A should be completed when new hires are assisted by a preparer or translator.

Supplement B should be completed prior to the date that the worker’s employment authorization expires when rehire occurs or reverification is required.

Employers must retain a person’s Form I-9 for as long as the employee works for the employer, and for the required retention period after the employee has been terminated. The retention period is either three years after the date of hire or one year after the date employment ended, whichever is later.

Employers must also make Form I-9s available for inspection upon the request by officers of the DHS, the U.S. Department of Labor, or the U.S. Department of Justice.

If we can assist you further with your business or personal affairs, please call us at (317) 608-6699.

Making Time for R&R A Priority

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
Email Lisa

Now that the weather is warming up and the traditional time to plan for vacations is upon us, you might want to make it a priority to plan for some well-deserved Rest & Relaxation (R&R)!

As HR specialists have told us again and again, one of the critical ways of improving personal productivity and providing for positive mental health is to make time for periods away from the daily hustle of work and everyday family life. A change in environment with the intent of doing something “different” is healthy for both you and your family. Removing the daily stress is important to preventing burnout, and in re-energizing yourself, you will find the same by-product benefit for your spouse and family.

It’s important for business owners and managers to encourage (maybe mandate) employees to get away from the office, leave their workload behind and disconnect. They need to shut off their computers, tune out the emails and turn on “out of office greetings” and voicemail. Studies show that reducing screen time decreases stress, improves sleep, leads to a less sedentary lifestyle and lowers the risk of depression.

Of course, limiting our engagement with communication devices can be difficult in this age of constant contact. Employees may hesitate and ask, “But what about our great client relationships based on 24/7 responsiveness?” Customers understand the need for vacations (they take them too!), especially when they involve time with loved ones. Plus, most businesses are built with a certain amount of redundancy to ensure that other team members can help customers when an employee is out of the office.

Engage in activities outside of your daily routines. Go someplace different, maybe even exotic. Take long walks on the beach. Get lost in a good book. You’ll be amazed at what just a week (or a long weekend) away from the workplace will do for your wellbeing. You don’t even have to leave the Hoosier state. Ever been to the Indy 500? Make this year your first race! Or take your younger loved ones to the Children’s Museum. French Lick resorts are great, and Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari can be great for the kids or grandkids! Maybe just cherish more quiet time relaxing at home. Take a nap on your hammock, or cook hot dogs over your firepit.

Many of you may feel guilty about taking a vacation and view it as some kind of “disruption” of work. But it’s actually a boon for your business side. The regeneration of energy and perspective that comes from vacation boosts employee morale, increases productivity and ensures a stronger, healthier workforce.

You deserve — nay, need — a vacation! The sun is out, so plan for one!

However, it only happens if you ACT to plan it now!

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email Lisa

When Orientation is Never Enough

By Lisa Blankman, CPA
Senior Manager, Audit & Assurance Services
Email Lisa

When your business is short-staffed, it’s understandable for you to want new employees to hit the ground running. You have a uniform orientation process (2-5 days) and then somewhat expect them to be “off and running”! Be careful not to short-change the onboarding process and turn it into a baptism by fire — you may cause a quick termination of a productive employee.

There are many benefits to devoting ample time to the onboarding process, including frequent and constructive feedback, and ongoing supervision and training, all within a supportive work environment and culture.

First, there’s only so much you can learn from the interview process, and it may be a limiting assessment. It’s good for gaining a surface-level impression of potential recruits and their skillsets, but the onboarding period is a chance to dig deeper and get a clearer idea of where they belong in your business. The onboarding process is a mutual assessment by both parties, as they are trying to determine if there is going to be a good “fit” long term.

Onboarding should be an ongoing, in-depth process. And it should include a buddy system or formal mentoring / shadowing program lasting anywhere from 90 to 180 days. This will help new employees feel like part of the team rather than outsiders. During this time, help them carve out their career path and visualize their growth potential. You should assess the new employee’s skillsets and determine where they best match your team’s needs — this should be the product of the onboarding process.

In addition to training and mentoring, you can get a sense of the behavioral aspects of new employees through tools like the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, which helps identify whether people are more introverted or extraverted, intuitive or rational, etc. There is also the DiSC Profile.

According to the DiSC Profile website:

  • People with D personalities tend to be confident and place an emphasis on accomplishing bottom-line results.
  • People with i personalities tend to be more open and place an emphasis on relationships and influencing or persuading others.
  • People with S personalities tend to be dependable and place the emphasis on cooperation and sincerity.
  • People with C personalities tend to place the emphasis on quality, accuracy, expertise and competency.

Such insights can be invaluable in understanding how the diversity of the team will breed success.

Younger professionals, especially those in Gen Z, appreciate employers who take a vested interest in their personalities and preferences. They want to feel valued as people, not just as employees. That’s what the onboarding process is all about — making sure new employees feel like they’re right where they belong, personally and professionally.  They want to understand the purpose of their assigned task and how they fit in within the team.

I am aware of experiences where a new hire was hired and struggled, but a patient mentor realized they were better suited for a different position within the company, and when re-assigned, they thrived in a match of skillsets and need.

Make them feel welcome with a company lunch outing or give them a sense of your community involvement with an invitation to an outreach activity.

The bottom line is that the onboarding process should give you and your new employees a fair amount of time to make the best impression possible. This is a big commitment for you both.  All businesses are seeking great talent, so you want your enterprise to rise above your competition for that talent. Best of luck!

If we can assist you further with your business or personal affairs, please call Lisa Blankman at (317) 613-7856 or email Lisa.

Empower and Diversify Your Team

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Given the hundreds of home runs he hit, you might not think legendary baseball player Babe Ruth would value teamwork. But he said: “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”

Listed below are some ways to strengthen your team and steer your business toward success.

Encourage transparency and listen closely! Encourage staff members to speak up, point out the company’s weaknesses and offer suggestions for improvement. Don’t let them think they’re going to hurt your feelings, face some type of retaliation or undermine your authority. Remind them that, while everyone has different duties across various departments, you’re all working toward the same goal of running a successful business. To that end, creating an open, honest and collaborative environment is vital. Reward their candid, constructive feedback.

The best way to inspire your employees is to make them feel like their goals within the company are part of your own vision for its future. Where do they hope to see themselves next month or next year? Raising these questions will let them know you have their best interests at heart and that they aren’t simply serving your needs. Encourage their independent thinking and empower them to act!

Promote and practice diversity. In the recruiting and hiring process, be cognizant of the benefits of increasing your team’s diversity in all its forms — gender, ethnicity, life backgrounds, talents and skills, etc. Diversity brings different perspectives on how to approach challenges to provide solutions and reach certain goals. As this Forbes article states: “A team that has a variety of worldview perspectives can educate employees and clients and reach untapped customer demographics. This opens the conversation to new, unexplored and different ideas. In fact, companies with greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture more markets.” Keep these statistics in mind and be sure to raise awareness of them within your talent management system. Maybe start including diversity presentations among your monthly meetings. Now would be a good time to start as we’re in the midst of Black History Month, and Women’s History Month is in March.

Invest in your people. Make sure they have all the necessary resources, including tools and training — not just in the beginning, but continuously throughout their time at the company. As more businesses are embracing a hybrid model of working remotely and in person, now is a great time to catch up on webinars, training programs, etc. The current workplace environment mandates continuous leaning and improvement, and your staff should evolve and advance in their respective fields. Coach your employees and motivate them to keep growing and thriving. But also be patient and give them the proper amount of autonomy and time to blossom. Focus on building upon each individual’s established strengths — don’t try and fit that square peg in a round hole!

Identify strengths and weaknesses. The most successful businesses have an effective talent management system for finding the perfect fits for each department. If competency gaps are opening up within your organization, perhaps you need to rethink recruitment campaigns, provide more training or delegate certain tasks to different employees. Many times you may find an employee who struggles and under-performs in one area, but they may thrive in another area of responsibility more suitable to their skills and behavior style.

Don’t try to carry the business on your shoulders. You don’t have to be the home run hitter. Running a business isn’t a one-person show — it’s an ensemble piece! A successful business owner will surround themselves with team members who have complementary skills that enhance the enterprise.

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business or personal affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

What Does Success Look Like?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

For the first time in history, there are five generations of talent in the workforce. Considering this unprecedented phenomenon along with the current labor shortage, the definition of a successful business is now more varied and malleable than ever before. Employees born in 1945 obviously have a vastly different vision of success than those from Generation Z (born in 2001).

As a leader, it’s in your hands to not only define success but effectively communicate that to your team members. Your communication must have clarity of purpose and include your mission, core values and connection to the community, among other things.

Be prepared to address what you might not expect when collaborating with team members on a mutual vision for success. For example, while you may focus more on revenue and profitability (yes, very important!), younger professionals might lean toward measuring the value of a business based on its community outreach and impact. To which local charities do you donate and for whom do you encourage employees to perform community service? How do you publicly encourage diversity in the workplace?

Outreach and diversity are two of the many metrics you can use to clearly define success. Other metrics that this multigenerational workforce emphasizes include net profit, corporate culture and team engagement. In regard to the latter, do you have a true TEAM or merely a group of employees? What can you do to form a stronger team?

If employee engagement and morale are down, maybe you can be more flexible with the work schedule and allow them more time to work remotely. Or maybe they’ll thrive with more time together in the office.

The faster you identify the metrics that most clearly define success, the faster you will know whether you’re making progress in your eyes and those of your team members. Above all, regardless of their generation, they look toward a confident leader with a clear vision.

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business or personal affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Assemble a GREAT Diversified Team

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Now that we’re more than halfway through the year, now is a good time to think about your team members and determine how you can strengthen your team.  You want to attract talent that is Humble, Hungry and Smart, as noted in author Pat Lencioni’s book, The Ideal Team Player. You need diversity of thought to discover your blind spots. It is also okay if team members are better than the “boss” in certain talents and skills.

Maybe you need to build upon your existing staff. Look for complementary people who bring diversity in all its forms, whether it’s gender, ethnicity, economic backgrounds, talents and skills, etc. Diversity brings different perspectives on how to approach challenges to provide solutions and reach certain goals.

As this recent Forbes article states: “A team that has a variety of worldview perspectives can educate employees and clients and reach untapped customer demographics. This opens the conversation to new, unexplored and different ideas. In fact, companies with greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture more markets.

Here are some tips to help you get started on the path toward strengthening your team and your company as a whole.

Surround Yourself with People Who Make You Better. Who shows strength in areas where you are typically weak? Which team members keep your ego in check and realistic with practical solutions?

Listen closely! Ask your staff members about their goals within the company. Where do they hope to see themselves next month or next year? What do they want to improve? Raising these questions will let them know you care, but make sure your actions mirror your narrative and accordingly you will motivate them to be team players.

Invest in your people. Make sure they have all the necessary resources, including tools and training — not just in the beginning but continuously throughout their time at the company. The current workplace environment mandates that your staff is continually enhancing their skills or learning new ones. Coach your employees and make them hungry to grow and thrive. But also be patient, give them the proper amount of runway and time to blossom. Focus on building the individual’s strengths — what they do well. Don’t try and fit that square peg in a round hole!

Identify strengths and weaknesses. The most successful businesses have an effective talent management system for finding the BEST candidates to meet the company’s wide variety of needs. If there are competency gaps within your organization, perhaps you need to rethink hiring strategies, provide more training or assign certain tasks to different employees. You should ultimately strive to create an eclectic team. The more your team members are Hungry, Humble and Smart, the BETTER your team will become!

If we can assist you with achieving success in your business through staff enhancement, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

If You’re an Executive, Consider a Personal Retreat — BY YOURSELF!

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

In Stephen Covey’s seminal business book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, there is a chapter about “sharpening your saw.” It tells of a lumberjack who is trying to cut down a large tree but not making much progress because of his saw’s dull blade. Someone suggests that he should stop and sharpen the blade to expedite his work, but he believes the time lost in the process will prevent him from completing the task in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, a lot of leaders in business reflect the beliefs of this short-sighted tradesman. They focus on working harder, not smarter. They’re too busy working in their business rather than on their business. They believe taking time for strategic thinking is a “luxury” that can be avoided, as there are too many “busy” things that must be done ASAP.

If you’re a business owner or executive, consider taking a personal retreat this summer (YES, all alone by yourself) so you can step back from your office and see it from a fresh, outside perspective. Go hiking in a state park for a couple of days or spend a weekend at a resort. As you’re hitting the trails or sunbathing by the pool, reflect on what you’re doing successfully as a business leader and what you could do differently. There may be blind spots in your leadership style that create barriers to greater success. Are there any departments in your organization which are growing dull like the lumberjack’s blade? It will probably be easier to assess yourself honestly while you’re relaxed, outside of your normal business environment and less distracted by all the “noise” of your business operations. Think of this time as a therapy session on a shrink’s couch — a chance to improve as a person, spouse or business owner and to find greater personal satisfaction.

If you look back over the past 12 months and cannot list at least five actions where you attempted a new approach, attended a class or broadened your insights into your company, are you any different than the frustrated subject in the initial paragraph?

In addition to a long vacation, consider this short personal retreat this summer — treat it like a business task but just not in the office. Don’t feel guilty. Quiet time alone is a necessity in this era of constant communication and 24/7 work. Trust us — taking some time away will improve your time at work, your focus for yourself and your personal happiness!

For further assistance with your personal or business matters, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Adjust Your Attitude For Success

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

In the business world — and life in general — attitude is everything. As renowned motivational speaker Denis Waitley said: “Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of success.”

When you start your day … what attitude do you bring in the door?

When it comes to attitude, you’ve probably heard all about “the power of positive thinking.” Well, it isn’t just a popular phrase among motivational speakers — there’s actual science behind it. Studies show a correlation between positive thinking and increased creativity, clearer thinking, enhanced problem-solving skills, etc.

In the movie Jaws, when the mechanical shark kept malfunctioning, did director Steven Spielberg give up? No, he took a less-is-more approach and created a classic. Can you imagine the opening scene being nearly as suspenseful if we saw the shark rather than just the frightened face of a woman as she’s tugged underwater? In another example, can you imagine what would’ve happened to Domino’s Pizza if its CEO got down in the dumps about customers’ criticisms and didn’t launch the Pizza Turnaround project?

Clearly, Spielberg and Domino’s CEO were operating with positive attitudes. And they were the ones calling the shots. Attitude trickles down from the top, so they had to rally their troops. Now think about yourself as a business owner. Do you need an attitude check? Think about how you interact with co-workers on a typical business day. Do you greet them in the morning with a smile? Do you ask how they’re doing? Do you emit an air of positivity?

A positive attitude not only helps you persevere through the pressures and challenges of the professional world, but it also attracts those who can help your company grow. Your passion and enthusiasm will likely rub off on fellow team members and persuade prospective clients to do business with you. It will also convince your current clients to stick with you for the long run. Business owners who treat people well and seem eager to join them on a road toward success are bound for bright futures.

Your attitude ultimately complements your brand image. A company with high morale will attract and retain employees and clients, which will ultimately help you build a rock-solid reputation in your community and beyond.

Amid business obstacles and economic ups and downs, it can be difficult to maintain a positive mood and optimistic outlook. Think of the bumps along your path not as bad signs but as steps on the road toward success!

For more advice on the importance of attitude or for assistance with achieving success in your business. please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Is Your Accounting Department Dysfunctional?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. That’s why the cornerstone of any company is an efficient accounting department and a financial reporting system that promptly measures and details the results of your operations. As the business owner, are you getting the data you need on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? Most business owners are very good in many aspects of their business, but many times finance and accounting is not one of them. They become very dependent on their bookkeeper or controller and not cognizant of whether their trusted employee is giving them all they need to manage their business.

Financial statements should be prepared on a regular, systemic basis, around the middle of the month. Timely, accurate information is essential to your management team. Even daily “Flash Reports” of critical operating data are not uncommon. Consistency of practice is crucial.

Is your accounting department meeting these demands? Failure to manage cash flow or to take advantage of early pay discounts, paying invoices late and incurring late fees, or not delivering accurate, comprehensive reports can severely harm your company’s reputation and result in decreased credit worthiness, issues with your suppliers, etc. Lack of consistency, planning, transparency and oversight can also quickly lead to untimely financial reporting and poor management information systems. The risk of fraud is also increased in an undisciplined accounting environment.

As a business owner, it’s vital that you determine the people, processes and discipline necessary to make your accounting function run as smoothly as possible. Your management team should be reviewing your financial statements and key performance metrics on a regular, MONTHLY basis!  Your accounting department should be reaching out to other operating departments within your enterprise to make sure they are receiving the financial data they need to manage their respective areas. Any business not following this practice is setting itself up for hardship, which could ultimately result in failure.

If you’re experiencing accounting issues in your company, it’s time to step back and determine the source of the problem. Is it your people? Is it your systems or lack thereof? Or do you simply not know? If you need a fresh set of eyes on your accounting function, Sponsel CPA Group can help! Whether you’re seeking consultation or thinking about outsourcing your accounting and finance needs, we can offer support and counsel TO MAKE YOUR OPERATIONS BETTER!

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Delegate to Be Great

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Every good manager knows that the key to improving productivity is to hire talented people with skillsets matching the needs of the workforce. But when a business faces challenging times like these, issues can arise when it comes to delegating responsibility.

Good delegation requires adequate orientation to the task or duty, timely follow-up, meeting deadlines and holding the delegate accountable for the quality of the project. Where managers become frustrated is when they do not see the results they wanted at the end of the process.

As any writer will tell you, writing is rewriting. For filmmakers, it’s all about editing. The same principle applies to any business project, especially now, as COVID continues to throw curveballs at us. You can’t expect your employees to knock it out of the park on the first swing.

If something doesn’t turn out as you expected, don’t just take it upon yourself to fix it. Work with your employees to reach the desired results. While completing the task yourself may seem like a quick solution, it only increases the burden on you, reducing your capacity to act in a supervisory mode. And it sends the message to the employee that they do not have your trust.

While it’s tempting to blame problems on a lack of drive on the part of the employee, in our experience, responsibility actually breeds motivation. The majority of workers — especially young professionals — want to do well in their endeavors, and they will bring their A-game to meet higher expectations.

The secret is that the delegation of authority must be performed in a way where the employee is held accountable to the level of expectations. When a project is turned in with sub-par results, the manager should clearly explain where their work is lacking and have them fix what’s wrong. Perhaps you could open the discussion with positive reinforcement to cushion the blow of the constructive criticism.

Good management is in many ways a teaching process, and that takes time and patience. By omitting the learning experience that comes with timely feedback and accountability, a supervisor is only setting the employee up for more failure.

If you really want to motivate your staff, you should delegate liberally, providing clearly defined expectations and giving employees the autonomy they need to complete a task. And let them know you’re holding them accountable to that prescribed high standard. But be encouraging as well and clearly demonstrate patience and confidence in their personal ability to deliver.

The only way to build a capable and qualified staff that will help your company grow is by investing your trust in them, so managers can feel comfortable delegating important duties and employees are properly motivated to deliver polished returns.

In the end, you’ll find you have a stronger team of employees, a less frustrated manager, and a culture of coaching that workers will pass on as they move up the chain.

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Cherish Life Outside of Work and Social Media

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Amid the hustle and bustle of our professional lives, many of us rely too heavily on social media to catch up on personal matters. Scrolling through the Facebook newsfeed and reading loved ones’ statuses just isn’t the same as connecting with them in person.

In many ways, COVID forced us to hit the pause button on life. Now that we’re moving forward, it’s time to live it to the fullest!

Prioritize what’s really important. If you can afford to duck out of the office early for an anniversary dinner with your significant other, you should do so! If your grandmother is celebrating her 100th birthday, you shouldn’t miss that! She has decades of life experience from which you could learn a lot. Sure, you could text or call her, but you’ll gain so much more from visiting. Sit by the fireplace and let her tell you what it was like watching the moon landing on TV.

Living in the moment and truly appreciating your time with loved ones outside of work will boost your spirits and productivity when you’re at your place of business. If you work on a computer and take breaks only to check on friends and family through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you’re just moving from one screen to another. You need to unplug and recharge.

One major reason to unplug is that living vicariously through people on social media can be frustrating. You may see pictures of them on the beach and think, “I wish I were there.” Well, put your phone away then and pack your bags! In fact, studies suggest that spending less time on social media can reduce risk of depression. An article from The Jakarta Post states: “Researchers suggest that spending too much time on social media might displace time that could be spent forming more important in-person relationships, achieving personal or professional goals, or just having valuable moments of personal reflection. They also highlight the fact that social media is skewed towards showing the positive aspects of people’s lives, and that this kind of social comparison can affect self-esteem.”

So, once you finish reading this article on your phone or laptop, go grab coffee with a colleague or family member. Celebrate a professional or personal milestone. Plan a vacation. Whatever you do outside of work, be sure to cherish it!

The personal connection will not only bring joy to a friend or family member, but you will again appreciate the importance of that human connection and how “random acts of kindness” can embellish life’s purpose!

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

You Need a Vacation

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Remember that scene in Terminator 2 when star Arnold Schwarzenegger rises from the rubble of a robot battle and sleepily says, “I need a vacation?” Many of you probably feel the same way now, in the wake of the incredibly stressful past 18 months. Over this time, we’ve been through a pandemic, quarantine, business setbacks and reinventions, nationwide protests, the presidential election, etc. And now we’re gradually returning to a sense of normalcy.

As HR specialists have told us again and again, one of the critical ways of relieving stress and easing back into professional life after a difficult period is to take a vacation.

Now more than ever, it’s important for business owners and managers to encourage employees to take a break, get away from the office and disconnect. They need to shut off their computers, tune out the emails and set up voicemail for business calls. Of course, that can be difficult in this age of constant contact. Employees may hesitate and ask, “But what about our great client relationships based on round-the-clock responsiveness?” Customers understand the need for vacations, especially when they involve time with family. Plus, most businesses are built with a certain amount of redundancy to ensure that other people can help customers when an employee is out of the office.

When you get out and about with your family and friends, you’ll realize what you’ve taken for granted in this peculiar period of social distancing. Engage in activities outside of your daily routines. Go someplace exotic. Take long walks on the beach. Get lost in a good book. You’ll be amazed at what just a week away from the workplace will do for your wellbeing.

Many of you may feel guilty about taking a vacation and view it as some kind of “disruption” of work. But it’s actually a boon for your business. The regeneration of energy and perspective that comes from vacation boosts employee morale, increases productivity and ensures a stronger, healthier workforce.

We’ve all been under an enormous amount of stress and pressure since 2020. Take a deep breath, call your travel agent or head over to Tripadvisor. You deserve — nay, need — a vacation!

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Don’t Get Left Behind

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Although COVID is continuing to leave its mark on all of us, you can’t let it push your business further behind. You have to get out in front of the issue. As the adage goes, “the only way out of the fire is through it.”

During the past year, it’s understandable for businesses to be more reactive than proactive. But with COVID cases declining and the promise of vaccines going into arms and supporting therapeutics, you must prepare for getting back to business in a proactive manner.

Now is the time to focus on growing rather than just adapting. Don’t lose sight of marketing and business development. Take a cue from Burger King, which recently revealed its first rebrand in 20 years. Among other things, the fast food company simplified its logo to make it look clearer and cleaner on the mobile devices with which more people are ordering food now, especially amid COVID.

Another example of a company embracing change and focusing on marketing efforts is Panera Bread, which went from conducting large on-set L.A. commercial productions with large crews to working with actors and editors remotely. For this ad, a Panera delivery driver filmed herself on a delivery route and delivered the footage to the director.

Nike has a great attitude about how it can change in ways not only appropriate for now but for the future as well. President of Consumer and Marketplace Heidi O’Neill said: “We’re thinking a lot about the reopening of stores and how we create safe environments. But we flipped it and we’re not saying, ‘Okay, here’s what we have to do.’ We’re asking, ‘What are ways that can make the consumer experience better now — that might be better forever?’”

B2B consumers are increasing their activity, so it’s time for you to follow suit! Spread the word about what you can offer them and implement measures that are not only safe and convenient during COVID but efficient for where you’ll be days, weeks, months or years down the road. Don’t let your proactive competition leave you in the dust. Get your business development engine ready, and start racing toward the future … NOW!

The one thing the COVID restrictions and disruptions taught most of us was that we are more adaptable than we originally thought, and we can adapt much quicker than we ever planned!

If we can assist you further with your business affairs, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Accounting: DIY vs. Outsourcing

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Right now, amid the economic upheaval of COVID, business owners should be focusing on streamlining their business. During times like these, bookkeeping and financial reporting probably take a backseat in favor of efforts to sustain and possibly grow the business.

Are worries about your accounting department looming over your head as you try to keep your business afloat? Now may be the time to take some weight off your back as you focus on the management tasks you do best and delegate the operational tasks at which you are less skilled.

Consider outsourcing!

Outsourcing accounting and/or bookkeeping functions is becoming a popular option for businesses of all sizes. You can outsource in multiple ways to meet your needs:

  • As needed — Retain a CFO to assist on a regular basis (for a few days, a week, a month).
  • For a specific task — Your relationship ends once the project is complete.
  • Staff augmentation — Require greater skills than what your in-house staff members possess.
  • Temporarily — Your controller quits, and you need help until you can secure a replacement.
  • Permanently — Outsourcing doesn’t have to be a Band-Aid solution; you can hand over all of your accounting and financial reporting responsibilities to an independent party.

Delegating accounting tasks to financial experts allows business owners to focus on sales, marketing and strategies for growth. It relieves managers of the responsibility to supervise one more department and meet the deadlines within it.

Here are some of the ways in which a CPA firm can help with your outsourcing need:

  • Developing annual budgets
  • Evaluating current results against the budget
  • Preparing financial projections
  • Identifying key performance indicators that measure your company’s progress
  • Providing access to databases with resources that show how your company is operating and performing financially compared to others in your industry

Outsourcing a department’s functions not only helps a business run more smoothly; it also provides peace of mind. Developing a customized approach to a problem with a tailored solution is the number one goal of outsourcing!

If we can assist you with exploring outsourcing for your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Your Attitude Sets the Course

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting Services & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Attitude is vital in leading your organization through the challenging times we have experienced this year. As the leader, your attitude and approach to problems will set the stage for what happens next. Without the appropriate response, your team will either rise to the challenge or fall into despair.

Amid COVID and the general upheaval in the world right now, it’s sometimes hard to put on a happy face. But as the leader of a company, you must maintain composure and keep your team motivated. Now more than ever, it’s important to pump up your efforts to boost employee morale. Your demonstration of a confident response to these many challenges in somewhat unchartered waters will solidify your team’s response.

Maybe at the start of every workday morning, you could post a positive story on your office’s newsfeed. You could also share fun family photos, pictures of pets and videos of weekend activities. Pull everyone out of the funk that this year is causing. Let your clients know that you’re still here for them 24/7! Remind them through weekly or monthly e-blasts about how you’re managing to safely stay open and offer the same great products and services. Most importantly, keep an optimistic outlook! Your reassurance will energize them.

Positive thinking not only helps you persevere — it also attracts people who can help your company grow. Positivity begets more positivity. Have a sense of gratitude; there are still things to be thankful for every day. Your enthusiasm during arduous times will likely rub off on prospective clients and persuade them to do business with you. It will also convince your current clients and employees to stick with you for the long run.

Your attitude ultimately complements your brand image, which will help you build a rock-solid reputation in your community and marketplace.

From a professional and personal standpoint, we’re on a rocky road right now. But if you keep on trucking with a smile and a heart full of hope, you’ll get over the hurdles. Just remember what the renowned motivational speaker Denis Waitley once said: “Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of success.”

For more advice on the importance of achieving success in your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or [email protected].

What Will Your Recovery Look Like?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

As you cope with the continuing impact of COVID-19, you’re probably struggling with day-to-day operations rather than planning for the long-term recovery of your business. But it’s vital to move toward a brighter future and proactively assert your plans for recovery.

You must understand that a lot has changed in a relatively short period of time. What did you learn about yourself and your team? What new processes and procedures make sense to implement after this mandated crisis is over? What innovations have you utilized during the crisis that will make you more cost-efficient going forward? Do not plan to automatically revert to your old ways without first contemplating if there is a better way. Again, what did you learn from this crisis? As a notable politician once quoted, “Never let a crisis go to waste!” The same — but with a whole different meaning — goes for your business. Take something positive from this experience; it will make your team stronger and more confident of future success.

What will your recovery look like? Will it be V-shaped, crashing to a sharp decline but quickly rising to a peak? Or will it be a U, gradually declining before moderately picking up momentum? Or will your business flatline and have to reinvent itself? Will you have to introduce new products and services? Innovation and perseverance will be the key to your future success.

Now is the time to develop, monitor and stress-test your recovery plan. In what areas can you cut costs? How can you expand your line of services to meet your customers’ current and post-COVID-19-related needs? During this time, also make sure to take advantage of the Small Business Administration loan programs, and consult your accountant, bankers, etc. about the best practices for moving forward and maintaining financial stability.

Always think about the long-term, especially when it comes to the relationships you’ve built. Many of your customers may not be able to pay you in full right now. Set up payment plans with those customers; they will reward your loyalty in the long term. The same goes for your vendors. Work with them on a proactive basis, and I am sure they will appreciate the respect you demonstrate for a long-term relationship. You’ll need these stakeholders’ support in the long run, so being more flexible now will strengthen your credibility with them and ensure steady business in the future.

Focus on the road ahead. You’ll hit some speedbumps, but if you keep a forward momentum, you will eventually find yourself back to business as usual. I like what one newscaster signs off nightly during this period: “We are one day closer to this being over!”

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Author’s Note: This is VERY IMPORTANT information for employers. Additional supporting regulations and guidelines are to be issued this week. This is effective April 1, 2020.

Our Federal Government is moving FAST with relief measures, and we are doing our best to keep you informed. We will update you when the additional guidance promised for this week is issued.

On March 18, 2020 the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This Act will extend additional assistance and protections to individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 crises. The Act requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide a certain amount of paid sick and paid leave (Leave) to employees affected by COVID-19 and provides affected employers with a corresponding employment tax credit. In addition, the FFCRA temporarily expands the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requirements to offer protected Leave related to the coronavirus. The FFCRA’s paid Leave provisions are effective on April 1, 2020 and apply to Leave taken between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

The Act contains three sections of significant interest for employers:

  • Emergency Paid Sick Leave
  • Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act
  • Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave

The Act provides that covered employers must provide to all employees:

  • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $511 per day) when the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a healthcare provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
  • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $200 per day) because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a healthcare provider), or care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or childcare provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

A covered employer must provide to employees who have been employed for at least 30 days:

  • Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee is unable to work due to a bona fide need for Leave to care for a child whose school or childcare provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

Covered Employers: applies to certain public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees under the provisions of the FFCRA. PLEASE NOTE: Employees on leave, temporary employees jointly employed by the employer and another employer, and day laborers supplied by a temp agency should be included in the 500 number.

Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide Leave due to school closings or childcare unavailability if the Leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern. More information and guidance on this factor is expected to be released in the next week.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave applies to employees who are unable to work (or telework – work remotely) and who meet any of the following conditions:

  • Is subject to a Federal, State or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
  • Has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
  • Is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
  • Is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or (2) above;
  • Is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
  • Is experiencing any other substantially similar condition as specified by Health and Human Services.

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act applies to employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days and are unable to work due to the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave is for covered employers for all qualifying wages paid under the FFCRA. Under guidance that is to be released this week, eligible employers who pay qualifying sick or childcare leave will be able to retain an amount of the payroll taxes equal to the amount of qualifying sick and childcare leave they paid, rather than deposit them with the IRS.

The payroll taxes that are available for retention include withheld federal income taxes, the employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes and the employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes with respect to all employees.

If there are not sufficient payroll taxes to cover the cost of qualified sick and childcare leave paid, employers will be able to file a request for a refund from the IRS or apply as an overpayment. The IRS expects to process these requests in two weeks or less. More details of this new process are to be announced this week.

Non-Enforcement Period

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will be issuing a temporary non-enforcement policy that provides a period of time for employers to come into compliance with the Act. Under this policy, DOL will not bring an enforcement action against any employer for violations of the Act so long as the employer has acted reasonably and in good faith to comply with the Act. The DOL will instead focus on compliance assistance during the 30-day period.

Employers Required to Display Information Poster

The U.S. Department of Labor released the required notification poster for the FFCRA that is to be posted in workplaces and distributed to remote workers. Here is the link: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

Additional Information and Guidance Forthcoming

Additional information is expected to come out on the tax credits this week. If we can assist you further with how these may affect you or your business, please call Lisa Purichia (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Talent Management: Start with a Great Onboarding!

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

As the adage goes, your first impression is the best impression. In this tight labor market, that impression is critically important in recruiting and retaining talent. Are you enabling your newly recruited staff with the information and tools to be successful hires?

The best way to leave a lasting impression on new team members is through an organized, comprehensive onboarding process. This should go far beyond a day or two of introductions and paperwork. It should be a deep dive into the company’s culture that opens their eyes to the broad depth and breadth of your business as well as the long-term vision for it. Make your expectations of new employees crystal-clear and easy to understand.

Employers often don’t invest enough time in developing this process and connecting with new employees. Younger professionals are particularly hungry for this kind of connection. They not only want to know how your company can benefit them and clients, but also how it contributes to the greater society. What are your social values? What are your community outreach efforts?

Of course, as you grow, the more difficult this process becomes, but stick with it! Again, this isn’t like college orientation day; it should be an ongoing, in-depth process. And it should include a buddy system or formal mentoring / shadowing program lasting anywhere from 90 to 180 days. This will help new employees feel like team members rather than outsiders. It will also allow the new team member to learn the unspoken do’s and don’t’s that are not formally documented anywhere. During this time, help them carve out their career path and see their growth potential. Ask them what level of the respective career ladder they ultimately want to reach, and let them know how you can help them achieve their goals.

All of these steps in the onboarding process will help you build a reputation as a business with a friendly, collaborative environment that attracts and retains talent. You will have an energized workforce that is engaged to deliver your desired results. You’ll be known as a business that immediately pops up in the minds of young professionals eager to enter the workforce. You’ll be an employer of choice!

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Do You Have a 20/20 Vision for the Coming Year?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

Do you have a crystal-clear vision for 2020, or are you losing sight of the coming year amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and end-of-year business activities?

Although it’s important to wrap up this decade in a timely and orderly fashion, it’s also vital for you to plan and craft a vision for next year. You will need to review the data metrics and key performance indicators of 2019’s successes, knowing you and your team can always do better. Make incremental improvement one of your main goals for 2020!

Of course, practical planning methods such as budgeting and annual performance reviews are essential. But the more specific your vision, the better. For example, some CEOs set a theme for the coming year. Themes can be effective in terms of rallying your team around clear goals and thus making the New Year seem less overwhelming and more manageable. Communication of expectations is critical.

Your theme could revolve around increasing sales, improving training and skills, the launch of a new product or service, etc. Of course, you don’t have to ignore other goals, but focusing on one to begin with will speed up the planning process and make the segue into next year much smoother.

As a leader, you’re responsible for creating the energy and enthusiasm around the vision for the company’s future. Make sure you have the right people, resources and procedures in place to get the momentum going toward turning that vision into a reality.

Starting the new year with a focused, communicated vision will lay a foundation for a great 2020!

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Employee Spotlight: Lisa Purichia

Lisa Purichia is a founding partner of Sponsel CPA Group. She joined Tom Sponsel and fellow founding partners in launching a new kind of accounting firm — focused on lending a personal relationship touch to helping businesses turn their vision of success into a reality.

Before becoming a member of the Sponsel CPA Group family, Lisa earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana State University and rose through the ranks at other public accounting firms. Her deep roots in the Central Indiana business community date back a quarter-century and spreads across a wide variety of industries.

As Partner and Director of Accounting Services and Retirement Plan Services at Sponsel CPA Group, Lisa provides executive-level consulting and advice, especially for new businesses. She assists individuals with succession planning and frequently acts as an outsourced CFO/Controller for small-to-medium businesses. She also oversees implementing and maintaining strategic human resources services, including recruiting and benefit plans. Thanks to her leadership, our team can design a corporate employee benefit plan that gives clients a significant edge over the competition when hiring, retaining and giving employees a wide variety of options.

Outside of Sponsel CPA Group, for the 2019-2020 operating year, Lisa serves as the President of the National Association of Women Business Owners – Indianapolis Chapter (NAWBO Indianapolis), the second largest chapter in the nation. She has been a board member since 2013, gradually working toward her current leadership role. As President, Lisa strives for diverse and inclusive membership, inviting entrepreneurs across Indiana to #ThinkNAWBOFirst as they consider partners who can support them and their business goals.

In addition to her involvement with NAWBO Indianapolis, Lisa is an active member of her church, St. Christopher Catholic, and she has volunteered in the past for a number of community and civic groups including the Greater Speedway Area Chamber of Commerce, Speedway Kiwanis Club, Indiana Sports Corp President’s Council, Governing Body of Athena Powerlink®, Mid-American Pancreatic Disease Foundation, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Indiana CPA Society.

With her decades of experience and inspiring, selfless leadership, Lisa serves as a role model for newer Sponsel CPA Group staff members as well as businesswomen all over Indiana.

When she’s not working, Lisa and her husband, Mark, enjoy traveling to regional Indy Car races throughout the year, in addition to attending every Indy 500 race, event and activity. They also love playing with their two Labrador Retrievers, Enzo and Timo. In addition to these furry members of their family, Lisa and Mark cherish time with their nieces, nephews and other relatives.

If You Don’t Know … ASK THE QUESTION!

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Accounting & Retirement Plan Services
[email protected]

An image of confidence seems crucial in the business world, and perhaps that’s why so many businesspeople hesitate to ask questions. They don’t want to appear as though they don’t know what they’re doing.

“Fake it until you make it” is a popular piece of advice, but it might not be the best to follow in the long run. Rising through the ranks of the business world is about curbing your ego, being vulnerable and admitting what you don’t know. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

In his book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, John C. Maxwell writes: “In life’s journey we face many doors. Hidden behind them are all kinds of possibilities leading to opportunities, experiences and people. Questions are the keys to opening these doors.” Once you walk through them, seek out the experts who can help you gain knowledge and climb the ladder to success. Soon you’ll find yourself speaking their language, fluently using industry-specific jargon and acronyms you couldn’t decipher at the start of your career path.

Asking questions early in your career is especially important, as it shows your leaders that you’re invested and eager to move up. Branching out of your comfort zone and asking for a challenge could land you a new position in your company. Asking customers what else they want from you could lead to the development of a new product or service. There’s no end to the possibilities.

While your colleagues may perceive you as an experienced journeyman, you should always seek additional knowledge and keep asking GREAT questions! You are demonstrating that you are serious and are seeking the additional lessons that your life experiences have not taught you …  YET! There is an old saying: the only question NOT asked is the “stupid one.” Seek continuous learning and your level of self-improvement will soar to new levels.

Remember, you don’t have to seem like you know everything about the business world. There are plenty of doors left to open and many colleagues willing to help you. You just have to ask for the keys.

If we can assist you further with achieving success in your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Making Your Staff Better than You

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services & Employee Benefit Services
[email protected]

A leader is only as strong as the team behind them. With just a few months before the end of the year, now is a good time to evaluate your staff and determine areas in need of improvement. Listed below are some tips to help you get started on the path toward strengthening your team and your company as a whole.

In the long run, taking these steps will enhance your ability to achieve desired results and make you a better leader as well. Most successful leaders surround themselves with a diverse, skilled group that in many cases encompasses individuals who have select skills that are better than the leader’s in certain tasks. But the group’s collective skills ultimately enhance the team’s ability to achieve success!

Listen closely! Ask your staff members about their goals within the company. Where do they hope to see themselves next month or next year? What do they want to improve? Raising these questions will let them know you care, but make sure your actions mirror your narrative and accordingly you will motivate them to be team players.

Invest in your people. Make sure they have all the necessary resources, including tools and training — not just in the beginning, but continuously throughout their time at the company. The current workplace environment mandates that your staff is continually enhancing their skills or learning new ones. Coach your employees and make them hungry to grow and thrive. But also be patient and give them the proper amount of runway and time to blossom. Focus on building upon the individual’s strengths and what they do well — don’t try and fit that square peg in a round hole!

Identify strengths and weaknesses. The most successful businesses have an effective talent management system for finding the BEST candidates to meet the company’s wide variety of needs. If there are competency gaps within your organization, perhaps you need to rethink hiring strategies, provide more training or assign certain tasks to different employees. You should ultimately strive to create an eclectic team. Diversity of thought and expertise breeds success.

If we can assist you with achieving success in your business through staff enhancement, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Do You Need an Attitude Check?

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services & Employee Benefit Services
[email protected]

In the business world, attitude is everything. And it trickles down from the top. A business owner or manager’s demeanor sets the mood for the entire workplace.

Do you need an attitude check? Think about how you interact with co-workers on a typical business day. Do you greet them in the morning with a smile? Do you ask how they’re doing? Do you emit an air of positivity?

Optimistic people tend to prosper. A positive attitude not only helps you persevere through the pressures and challenges of the professional world, but it also attracts those who can help your company grow. Your passion and enthusiasm will likely rub off on prospective clients and persuade them to do business with you. It will also convince your current clients to stick with you for the long run.

Business owners who treat people well and seem eager to join them on a road toward success are bound for bright futures. This is the power of positive thinking!

Your attitude ultimately complements your brand image. A company with high morale will attract and retain employees and clients, which will ultimately help you build a rock-solid reputation in your community and beyond.

Amid typical business obstacles and economic ups and downs, it can be difficult to maintain a positive mood and optimistic outlook. However, a persevering attitude can demonstrate a can-do experience that a leader must carry with her at all times! Just remember what the renowned motivational speaker Denis Waitley once said: “Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of success.”

For more advice on the importance of attitude or for assistance with achieving success in your business. please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Engage with Your Employees

By Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services & Employee Benefit Services
[email protected]

The job market in Indiana has been remarkably healthy. The state’s unemployment rate recently dropped to 3.2 percent and has remained below the national rate for more than four years. As a result, valued employees are very hard to attract and retain! We can honestly state that maintaining a capable workforce is the #1 problem for most of our clients. As more and more people enter the workforce, the demands of growth make it mandatory to focus in a very specific manner on how to keep employees committed for years to come.

Embrace the idea of engagement. There are several ways to keep your employees committed to your workplace in their specific assigned tasks and eager to help grow the company! One key way is to help them understand how their day-to-day tasks contribute to the company’s larger overall mission. Let them know they’re an important part of the big picture and how their specific task creates a more valuable product or service when coupled with the efforts of the whole team.

Always keep employees in the loop: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. Sharing the latest operating results, challenges met and overcome, new businesses signed, short-term goals, as well as the long-term vision for the company will make them feel like they are closely connected to the team and working toward a common purpose. Managers may have to sometimes bridge the understanding between the short-term efforts and how they are stepping stones to the BIGGER long-term goals and measures of success.

Ask employees about their own goals. Are they carving out a specific career path? Talk to them about their plans and how you can help them achieve personal success in their work life and in their personal affairs. Many may have never considered a “Career Path” or a “Personal Improvement Plan.” Taking an interest in their hopes and aspirations will keep them motivated to give their best. Encouragement is crucial — as is coaching and mentoring! You must make your employees feel like you’re always rooting for them to excel. You must be sincere and genuine in your efforts to help them achieve their goals.

The more they know you care about them, the more they will care about their tasks. Engagement occurs when the employees are in sync and working together in a seamless fashion to accomplish the goals of success! For more advice on how to engage your employees and grow your organization, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

What Does Growth Look Like?

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services

You’ve no doubt heard the old business adage, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” With the passage of tax reform, most experts say the outlook for improved growth is positive. When business leaders are more optimistic, they start making plans to grow their companies.

But what do we really mean when we say that? In other words, what does growth look like?

The most common meaning refers to growing revenue and profitability, or employees and locations. But positive growth doesn’t just mean expanding your bottom line or your roster. It can mean any number of ways to improve your organization’s processes and capabilities, as well as its reach.

For example, infiltrations into private data are now a constant threat. (For a good example, see the article below on the Meltdown vulnerability.) One form of growth would be to expand and improve your company’s technology and computer systems so it’s less prone to hacking.

Growth can also refer to increasing the skillset of your team, starting with the business leader. If you’re the owner or manager of a company, ask yourself if you have grown in your leadership skills. Have your coaching skills improved? Can you think of ways you can better apply technology to serve your customers? Do colleagues and employees viewing you as providing the right kind of leadership the organization needs?

Take a look at your interpersonal skills, and question if there is room for growth. Do you fully recognize your strength and weaknesses, and know how to best leverage those with employees, clients, stakeholders and everyone else important to the company’s success?

Another way to grow your organization is to look at the rules, regulations and best practices that pertain to your industry, to see if your business is up to competing in the marketplace. If the business environment has changed, do you need to bring your team up to speed? For example, the public accounting profession has largely moved away from paper records to digital ones.

If entering your office feels like walking back in time 20 years compared to your competitors, it’s time to grow your technological capability. Think about rotating in new computers, copiers and other equipment used on a daily basis. Is your workspace ergonomically suitable to attract and retain the best talent?

Are you making it as easy as possible for people to do business with you? For example, many companies use electronic signatures today instead of paper documents. If you’re making your customers physically mail in or fax their paperwork, your company is behind the curve. Look for growth in processes and procedures that can improve efficiency and make it simpler for clients to conduct business.

As you’re talking about what kind of growth your organization will pursue, include all your important stakeholders in the conversation – clients, vendors, employees, business partners, etc. People prefer to work with a company that is a growing, up-to-date enterprise. Top employees seek to work in such a place.

As you’re thinking about growing the company, make sure it is the type of growth that is responsive to the needs of those you serve. Sometimes bigger is better, but it’s also wise to grow your business’ capabilities. That can then lay the path forward toward a “better BIGGER!”

When you are experiencing the right kind of growth, your company will be one that people seek out to do business with, rather than one they run away from.

If you need advice on how to best grow your organization, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

 

Have You Recommended a Good Book Lately?

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services

Anyone who has or desires a leadership position within a business should have a strong motivation for self-improvement, both for the good of the organization and their own sense of personal ambition.

If you look at the traits of successful people, you will find several common themes: curiosity about things going on in the world and their immediate community; an attention to developments within their chosen industry/profession; a desire to improve themselves and their relationships. They’re also the type of personality that seeks out ways to further these goals, including reading self-improvement books and articles.

Think about your own reading habits: have your read – or recommended to someone else – a good book lately?

The “self-help” genre of nonfiction writing started as a venue for people to work on their interpersonal relationships, especially romance. But writers and readers quickly grasped the potential to assist businesspersons in how to envision, map out and reach their professional aspirations.

No matter what issues a person is dealing with – retirement, succession planning, investments, new ventures or products, communication, general leadership style – there are plenty of great books out there that can speak to them.

With the press of time, it can be a challenge to sit down and read a book, so look for little gaps in your schedule where you can consume self-improvement advice on your own schedule. Going to be spending a few hours on a plane? Have some downtime before that out-of-town business meeting? Going on vacation? Keep a good book handy for whenever you have time to spare, even if it’s a few minutes.

If you read a book you found personally helpful, it’s an excellent gesture to pass along a copy to a friend or colleague you think they could benefit from the information. Make sure to frame it as “this might help you” rather than “you have a problem,” and you will find most people are receptive to the gift of a book.

Between customer and client, peer to peer or boss to employee, recommending a book can be a form of knowledge-sharing that helps cement the relationship. It shows that you care enough about them to seek ways for them to become stronger and more successful in their current role, or even assist them in moving on to the next big thing in their life.

People can come to feel isolated by the myriad challenges of daily living. Often, we believe we’re the only one we know dealing with a particular problem. Offering someone a book that addresses that topic not only gives them possible answers to their questions, it can help enhance their relationship to the giver. You are actively demonstrating that you CARE!!!

So whether hardcover, paperback or electronic, pick up a good business book – and pass one along.

In that spirit, here are a few books I’d like to recommend:

  • “The New Retirementality” by Mitch Anthony – For those contemplating retirement.
  • “Thanks for the Feedback” by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen – On how to accept criticism/advice and put it to good use.
  • “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell – Insights on leadership from a 40-year veteran.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

 

Do I Need a Personal Coach?

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services

If you’re the owner of a business, you probably have experienced times where it felt like the people who work for you expect you to know everything about every single aspect of the operation. But everyone has gaps in their knowledge and experience. The best managers not only recognize their shortcomings, they take steps to address them and fill in those holes.

It doesn’t matter how you came into ownership of your company – whether it’s a family-owned enterprise where you watched previous generations run it, you bought into the business or started it yourself and watched it grow. And no matter what fancy title you wear – President, CEO, etc. – everyone has areas of leadership they need to work on.

Once you’ve acknowledged the need to improve and have identified the areas where you need to be more proficient, the question becomes one of how to go about attaining those skills. Some people consume books on leadership development, or even biographies of noted business leaders.

One method growing in popularity is to invest in a personal coach. This is an expert you contract with, generally on your own time and your own dime, who gives you confidential advice and counsel on how to improve yourself as a professional. They point you to educational opportunities and help you keep on track with timelines, goals and milestones.

In short, a personal coach can help you formulate a path to individual excellence.

This is a route that more and more people are taking, from partners at the biggest law firms to middle managers in smaller enterprises. They’re seeking out an individual professional resource to make themselves better, and in turn make their businesses more successful.

A personal coach, also known as an executive coach, is someone outside of the business who can offer a fresh perspective and assess your personal needs and resources. This can extend beyond purely company-related concerns to tangential areas like your personal and social life.

Though the choice of scope is yours, oftentimes a deficiency you’re experiencing – such as trouble communicating your needs — can bleed through all aspects of your life. An outsider’s perspective can help you see where imbalances lie in your personal and professional endeavors.

As a leader, it can be easy to become distracted and unable to see if we’re doing well or not, because we’re in the middle of a swamp known as the day-to-day operations of an organization. It may well be that you’re doing a great job, but feel overwhelmed and lacking the feeling of success. It can also be there are areas where you’re falling down on the job, and are failing to acknowledge them.

Most assessments by a personal coach will show that the executive is doing pretty well overall, but identify specific areas that need to improve. I know of several business colleagues who have utilized a personal coach, and they say it really helped them be more effective at what they want to do.

A personal coach may not be for everyone. But if you find yourself struggling to meet goals that you have set for yourself, or feel overcome by the daily grind of leadership, consider the services of a personal/executive coach to help yourself improve on an overall basis. The disciplined approach to a personal improvement plan, facilitated by a personal coach, may let you realize the passion and fulfillment you thought had disappeared!

Your team members may think you know it all, but any good business owner/manager realizes it isn’t so. It takes a humble person to admit their faults, and it takes dedication to develop a plan to improve your skillset. If you’re one of those people who strives for ways to improve themselves, a personal coach can be a wise investment in pursuit of your personal happiness.

 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

CEO, Where Is Your Time Best Spent? Part 2

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa M. Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services & Employee Benefit Plan Services

(Part 2 of 2)

In last month’s article, we talked about why it’s important for the leader of an organization to regularly set aside time to think about strategy, rather than getting caught in the weeds of the daily grind. Now let’s drill down a little deeper into how you can drive your business, rather than having your business drive you.

One of your primary goals as CEO (or whatever title you have) is to make sure the organization runs as smoothly as possible while laying down a firm foundation for success. Ideally you will have instituted processes and procedures to the point the company operates almost automatically, without the need for a lot of direct supervision and input from above.

The idea is that if a key position was suddenly vacant for any reason, a new person could walk in the door, pick up a binder or boot up a computer, and have things continue without serious turbulence.

This can be a challenge for small businesses, which often don’t have the time, resources, or personnel to document everything needed to run the show. But if you at least have adequate processes and procedures in place, the trains will run on time without a lot of workday oversight — time that can be better spent strategizing about how to grow or improve the business.

A leader must promote a culture of accountability in their organization that seeps down to the most junior level employee. This includes making sure commitments are met, that internal and external projects are completed on time, and that the outcome is what was anticipated when they were initiated. Individual Team members know they can depend on their colleagues to deliver as promised.

When this happens, employees know what the standards of operation are and hold their peers to account. Everyone should feel they have the initiative to say to anyone else in the organization, “This just isn’t good enough” or “That’s not how we do things around here.”

Another thing a CEO should spend time on is thinking specifically about a timeline for enhancement. Where do you want the company to be one, three, or five years hence? Is there a new product or service you want to debut? A key client you want to land? A form of accreditation you want to obtain for yourself or team members? Are you innovative enough?

Whatever your goals are, constantly ask yourself how well you are progressing along the path toward them. Make precise plans with benchmarks to achieve and a calendar for doing so. This will help you decide how to reallocate resources to best achieve those goals. Perhaps you need to invest more in research and development, or spend more time talking directly to your customers to determine what their anticipated needs might be and how you could meet them. Your customers must know you personally care about your company’s relationship with them.

Regularly assess your personnel to decide if people are placed in the right positions. Talk to them about their personal goals and aspirations, and try to maximize the value of each and every employee. Look for ways to upgrade their skillset and confidence, and you’ll find they are ready and willing to shoulder more responsibility.

No matter how well your business is doing right now, it can always be better. The best companies are constantly assessing their processes and procedures, and changing them to suit the constant evolution of the organization.

Try to avoid having your company become too bureaucratic, where the controls hinder your ability to be nimble, flexible and responsive to customers in an entrepreneurial manner. The emphasis should always be on having systems in place that allow you to deliver a product or service efficiently and effectively. Empower your staff with the autonomy to exceed your customer’s expectations.

If a CEO or other leader can regularly devote time to thinking in these terms, you will find yourself well on the way to becoming a better and more profitable company, where everyone enjoys great job satisfaction because they’re functioning as a cohesive team.

If you need advice on how to more effectively drive your business, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Employee Spotlight – Lisa Purichia

Lisa PurichiaLisa Purichia is an original founding member of Sponsel CPA Group, joining Tom Sponsel and (then) two other partners in launching a new kind of accounting firm focused on helping clients find and achieve their own definition of success. She has deep connections in the Central Indiana business community spanning a quarter-century and multiple industries.

As Partner and Director of Entrepreneurial Services, Lisa provides executive-level consulting and advice, especially for new businesses and consolidations. She assists individuals with succession planning and frequently acts as an outsourced CFO/Controller for small to medium businesses. She also oversees implementing and maintaining strategic human resources services, including recruiting and benefit plans.

Lisa earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana State University, and rose up the ranks at other area public accounting firms. She is an active member of her church, St. Christopher Catholic, and volunteers with a number of community and civic groups including the Speedway Area Chamber of Commerce, Speedway Kiwanis Club, the National Association of Women Business Owners, Athena Powerlink® and more.

Lisa and her husband, Mark, are avid Indy Car race fans and often travel to regional races throughout the year, in addition to attending every Indy 500 race, event and activity. They have two Labrador retrievers, Enzo and Timo. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with her nieces, nephews and other family, and getting some sun at the beach.

Client Profile: Prime Car Wash

It’s great to be in an expanding business, but growth brings its own set of challenges. For Prime Car Wash, that meant juggling associated companies for each of their locations, dealing with complex financial issues and adding health benefits for their growing work force.

When your company is on the move, you need a partner that moves as quickly as you do. So Chris Galloway and his two partners turned to Sponsel CPA Group for help.

Prime Car Wash opened their first Indianapolis location in August 2012 and have since added two more. Galloway, who is CFO along with co-owner, says they’re on track to open another two by next summer – and their ambitions go further. “We’re not just limiting ourselves to Indianapolis. If we find good spots, we’ll go after them,” he said.

A chiropractor by training who still practices, Galloway joined with his medical partner and a sales veteran to dream up a new kind of car wash. In addition to a high-end conveyor wash and bays, they offer “express details” in around 30 minutes that clean every nook and cranny of the car, even leather seat treatments and carpet shampoo. Customers can pass the time in their in-house café.

Prime has also spearheaded the use of memberships, with nearly half of their business coming through monthly fees in exchange for unlimited washes. “We didn’t invent the membership system, but we brought it to the forefront of the Indianapolis market,” Galloway said.

Referred to Sponsel CPA Group by a vendor, Galloway and the other owners met with Partner Lisa Purichia and her Entrepreneurial Services team. They were impressed with the way Sponsel put together a package of services custom-tailored to their needs. Their bookkeeping, payroll and other needs are taken care of quickly and accurately. Coming from a medical background, Galloway often finds himself having questions on a particular financial issue – and needing an answer right away.

“With Sponsel I never feel like I’m a burden. I can access them by phone or email anytime,” he said. “We’re able to pivot quickly, and with a company that’s growing like ours that is very important. They do a great job for us.”

What the New Overtime Rules Mean for You

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa M. Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services & Employee Benefit Plan Services

Last month President Obama announced changes in overtime pay rules that could see more than 4 million U.S. workers become eligible for “time-and-a-half” wages who currently aren’t. And that means business owners are scrambling to see how the sudden shift will affect their payroll and bottom line.

Currently anyone who makes more than $23,660 a year is exempt. The Obama administration’s change roughly doubles that threshold to $47,476. Bonus payments can count toward the total. The rule change is set to take effect Dec. 1 of this year.

Overtime rules date back to the 1930s, requiring employers to pay 1½ times a worker’s regular salary when they exceed 40 hours of work in a single week. Overtime rules are also regulated by individual State Regulations, which do vary. Since their inception the rules have been gradually relaxed to exclude management and most salaried employees. Roughly 62 percent of full-time U.S. workers qualified for overtime pay in 1975, compared to just 7 percent today.

Many industries are cyclical, requiring long hours during crunch time and a more regular schedule during the offseason. I can certainly assure you that during the tax filing season, there isn’t a CPA in the land working less than 40 hours!

The White House estimates the rule change will raise wages by $1.2 billion over the next decade – which obviously means companies will have to come up with a way to pay for the increase, or adjust their business model to compensate.

The most likely outcome is businesses will reduce employees’ hours to avoid paying overtime. There is also concern among small business owners they will be burdened with increased paperwork and scheduling issues because they’ll have to more closely track working time. Salaried workers may be converted to hourly ones.

Retail stores and restaurants appear to be the industries most immediately impacted by the change.

Expect this to be a difficult and emotional transition for many impacted employees. That’s why it’s important to start analyzing how the new rule will affect your company, and develop a communication strategy to tell your workers how you’re going to implement it.

Many employees perceive being paid a salary instead of having to track their time worked as a preferred status. Others who are now paid hourly will resent being moved to a salaried position above the new threshold, perceiving their pay as being “capped” with a limitless demand on the number of hours they’re expected to work.

If you choose to raise the salary of some employees above the $47,476 threshold, this may produce “compression” with other job positions and pay scales. For instance, a manager may find herself earning the same or little more than the people she supervises.

The first thing you should do is undertake an audit of your workforce and make a list of currently exempt salaried employees who fall under the cap. Ensure the job descriptions of these positions are up to date – it would be advisable to do this for the entire organization.

Communicate the rule change to your employees and let them know you’re developing a plan for implementation. It would also be wise to have your Human Resources team (or provider) evaluate your entire benefits package to ensure rewards programs are meeting their objectives.

If you need advice on preparing your organization for the changes in overtime rules, we recommend you seek legal counsel with an attorney who specializes in employment and labor law.

If you do not currently have a relationship with such a resource, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected] and we can refer you to names of attorneys who specialize in employment and labor law.

How Much ‘Parenting’ Do Your Employees Need?

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services

It’s not unusual for a manager or business owner to feel like a mom or dad to their employees. After all, they are generally younger than you, less experienced, and look to you for leadership and guidance. In turn, a good supervisor enjoys watching their workers grow professionally, build new skills, and acquire new capabilities and responsibilities.

So how much “parenting” should you provide to your employees when it comes to managing their own benefits and finances?

Many business owners feel justifiably proud of the benefits package they provide workers. Some feel that merely offering them should be the extent of their effort. But for younger employees, especially those just out of school, it might be wise to coach them to take better advantage of these benefits.

A surprising percentage of people in their 20s and even 30s do not participate in their company’s 401k program. They don’t fully grasp the idea of compounding interest or the automatic rate of return on an employer’s matching contribution — seeing any deduction on their paycheck as withering their ability to pay for their current “wants” after the living expenses, student loans, car payments, etc.

Not to mention their disposable income that can be applied to relaxing and partying. (C’mon, you remember your own 20s, right?)

When you first hire a new employee of any age, make sure to explain the benefits package and encourage them to participate. If you have current employees who have not yet signed up, sit them down for a friendly conversation.

Make them understand that any company match on a retirement plan is essentially “free money” that they’d be crazy to turn down. Tell them the sooner they start saving for their “someday,” the less they’ll have to contribute when they’re in their 40s and 50s.

It can be hard for someone who’s 23 to visualize being 53, so use personal experience and anecdotes (if you feel comfortable doing so) to illustrate potential missed opportunities for long term financial security.

Over time these employees will transition into homeowners, married couples and parents. If they make saving a habitual practice at a young age, they will have a larger degree of financial security in their personal lives. This will also translate into a more stable workforce with less stress on the home front related to financial responsibility.

You should also consider offering financial planning counseling to your employees – either through your own expertise or that of a vendor. Teach them the basics of making a household budget and living within it, the amount of savings (“Pay yourself FIRST”) they should be setting aside, contributions to a 401k or similar retirement plan. Lay out the benefits of a Health Savings Account (HSA) and encourage them to think like a consumer when securing healthcare services.

This can also extend to non-monetary benefits that your company may offer, such as wellness programs that help pay for gym memberships and such.

Of course, not every employee will heed your advice. And you don’t want to keep offering input if an individual worker has made it clear they’re not receptive. But you may find that young professionals who look to you for wisdom in business matters may be inclined to also listen to your word about personal financial affairs.

The benefit to you the business owner is that by fostering a culture in which people feel like the company is looking out for them in the long term, you will become an employer of choice. You’ll have a better record when it comes to retention and recruitment.

This is especially true of Millennials, who have consistently shown they want to work for businesses that view them as valued individuals.

By providing encouragement and stimulus, and helping employees take full advantage of the benefits package you offer, you will find yourself with a happier, motivated workforce that is much more inclined to stay with the company.

If you need any advice about guiding your employees’ benefits decisions, please call Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

ACA Reporting and Extended Due Dates

Lisa PurichiaBy Lisa Purichia
Partner, Director of Entrepreneurial Services

At the end of 2015, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department issued extensions on the due dates for Form 1095 reporting, which requires employers to furnish statements to employees on their healthcare plan coverage.

This is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, that goes into effect for the first time in 2016. Employers are required to provide the form to employees in written form by a date certain, and also file this form with the IRS, either electronically or hardcopy.

This applies to all employers with 50 or more full-time (or equivalent) employees during calendar year 2015, or are members of a controlled or affiliated service group that collectively has at least 50 full-time employees. It also applies to any size company that offers employer-sponsored self-insured coverage.

Because this is the first year they’re mandated to file, many businesses may not be aware of their reporting obligations, which are complex and may be confusing.

The deadline for providing form 1095-B or Form 1095-C to employees has been moved from Feb. 1 to March 31. For businesses filing electronically – either Form 1095-B, 1095-C, 1094-B or 1094-C — the deadline has been delayed from March 31 until June 30. For those businesses not filing electronically, the new deadline is May 31 (from Feb. 29).

The extended due dates could make it difficult for employees who may not receive the information in time to file their individual returns. The IRS is providing relief to these taxpayers by eliminating any requirement that they file amended returns, if they receive their Form 1095 after they have filed their own return. They should still retain the statement with their tax information.

As a result of these extensions for information returns, the normal provisions for requesting extended due dates for these forms will not apply. If an employer cannot meet the extended due dates, the IRS encourages them to file the returns anyway, and will take into account any reasonable attempts to comply — in determining whether to abate penalties.

Due to the complexity of these new requirements and the adjusted due dates, employers should be aware of their responsibilities under ACA so they are not subjected to any fines that could have easily been avoided. The IRS forms should only be prepared by someone knowledgeable with compliance and reporting aspects of the ACA requirements.

If your company would like help with filing Form 1095 or any other ACA compliance issue, please call Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected] and I will refer you to professional resources who will be able to assist you.

CFO Services a Good Fit for Growing Companies

Lisa_PurichiaIt’s good to be growing – something we know well here at Sponsel CPA Group. But growth also brings challenges to a company, particularly when it comes to managing finances and keeping the books properly.

That’s why we offer CFO Services; to help striving businesses keep their financial picture in clear focus. Essentially, they can outsource as much or as little of this function as they want so they can put their maximum effort toward keeping their business on a growth track.

Unlike some other accounting firms that offer only standard packages for financial management, Sponsel CPA Group custom tailors our CFO Services to fit each individual client. Some companies keep the bookkeeping function in-house but rely upon us for financial reporting and oversight. Others wish to outsource their entire accounting function.

Speaking broadly, though, clients who find a need for these services fall into three general growth stages.

The first is the startup company that is still establishing itself in the marketplace. In most cases, the lead entrepreneur was handling the books themselves. Now the cash is beginning to flow and they need an improved system for understanding their financial condition.

In this case, we would typically help establish a system for filing accounts payable and receivables, and put in a system of prudent financial management procedures. We can help set them up with QuickBooks or expand their knowledge of how to use QuickBooks, for everything from billing invoices to printing disbursement checks.

Next is the established company that needs more rigorous financial oversight, but doesn’t yet have the revenues to justify hiring a full-time controller. Our team can come in to assess the accounting function and the employees performing it. We would make suggestions for changes and could then effectively manage the client’s accounting department going forward.

Here we’re trying to enhance functionality and increase productivity. Typical things include using remote capture for incoming checks rather than physically running them over to the bank, paying employees via direct deposit, and streamlining financial reporting.

Finally there are small- to medium-sized businesses that need detailed analysis of their expenditures and revenue sources. Here we can provide a “CFO for hire” who physically comes to your workplace on a regular basis to oversee the accounting function and provide executive-level counsel to the business owner(s).

In this case, the business owner often has expertise in areas other than accounting – marketing, sales, technical – and prefers to hand off financial management to a trusted partner. We can provide all the benefits of a CFO without having to expand the “C-Suite” of executives.

Our team is quite experienced at handling outsourced CFO Services, and would be happy to provide a more detailed picture of how we could assist your growing company.

If you’d like to know more about how our CFO services can be customized to your organization, call Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

How to Recognize and Utilize Teaching Moments

Lisa_PurichiaIn the CPA profession, it’s well recognized that February through April is by far our busiest time of year as tax filing deadlines approach. But the lesson we try to impart from this challenge can transfer to any type of business: don’t let the press and stress of everyday business get in the way of teaching moments for your team. Make the time to enhance your staff’s performance.

Here at Sponsel CPA Group, we endeavor to hold one another accountable, from partners to the newest staff member. As a manager, you have to realize that the most stressful times are also those with the most opportunities for teachable moments.

Too often the only feedback an employee receives is negative. We try to focus on both positive and negative behaviors for teaching. Don’t miss a chance to praise a worker for a job well done, and help them understand how hitting their mark helps everyone around them.

The somewhat tongue-in-cheek shorthand we use is, “Catching an employee in the act of doing something right.” Especially with Millennial generation workers, that positive affirmation will go a long way in encouraging them to continue to improve.

It will also help them react more appropriately when mistakes do occur. Because the truth is blunders will always happen in any human endeavor. The key is to catch them before they’ve done real damage, and learn from them so they are not repeated.

In this scenario, sit down with the employee and discuss their mistake in the greater context of the company’s mission. For example, if a report is prepared improperly and others use that for their work product, everything down the line will be faulty, too. Focus on opportunities to enhance your quality of service and thus enhance relationships with clients.

There really are two kinds of mistakes: those that are caught internally, aka ones that don’t “get out the door,” and errors detected when the product or service has been delivered to the client. Though the latter is obviously more damaging, it also presents a chance to interface directly with a client and reinforce significant customer service.

In our experience, a client is more willing to forgive a mistake when you acknowledge it and present a timely plan to correct the problem. Be proactive, and set your automatic response to be leaving every client satisfied. Empower your staff with this autonomy and responsibility to do so.

Acknowledge to your client that you’re aware you didn’t meet expectations, and solicit their ideas for improvement. In most client discussions, you should do 80% of the listening and 20% of the talking. It can be as simple as asking, “How can we do better?” Open-ended questions require a narrative explanation.

When things are busy and the stakes are high, leaders should strive to function effectively under stress, and pass those lessons on to those they manage. Your employees will take their cue on the appropriate behavior from you, especially when mistakes occur, and how the firm’s culture defines the appropriate remedy.

Don’t be the “road rage” type of leader who flies off the handle when the chips are down. Keep a check on your emotions, and share your thinking and goals with those below you in the hierarchy. You’ll be rewarded with increased efficiency and loyalty. Your actions will always be more impactful than the spoken word — especially in stressful times.

Your staff wants to respect the leader who is knowledgeable in a crisis and decisive with an appropriate course of action.

If you need advice on getting the most out of your team, call Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected]

Leaders: How Sharp is Your Saw?

Lisa_PurichiaIn Steve Covey’s seminal book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” there is a chapter that refers to “sharpening your saw.” It tells of a lumberjack who is trying to cut a large tree, and not making much progress because the dull saw is not very effective. Someone tells him he should stop and sharpen the blade to expedite his task, but he believes the time lost stopping to sharpen the blade will prevent him from completing the task in a timely manner.

Unfortunately, a lot of leaders in business reflect the beliefs of the short-sighted lumberjack.

They spend too little time in their own professional development: learning new skills, new approaches, new technologies or analyzing the changing trends in their respective industry. They immerse themselves in their day-to-day operations, dealing with the same problems and challenges without ever stopping and evaluating the situation to investigate a possible improved process or procedure.

Remember the definition of insanity: utilizing the same failed process or procedure over and over, but expecting a different result!

As a leader of your enterprise or organization, how much personal improvement time (as in hours) do you budget for yourself and your top managers each year? How many dollars did you allocate to improve your personal skills or for your management team to attend outside educational resources?

As Indiana CPAs, we are required to attend a minimum of 120 hours of continuing professional education every three years in order to maintain our licenses. What do you require of yourself and staff to maintain their competence? Their skills? Their value to your business?

Our business environments exist in a sea of constant change, and that condition will only grow more turbulent in the future. We must endeavor to commit our organization to a strategy of continued learning and improvement, and imbed the concept of adapting to our changing industries as a critical requisite component to the success of our operations.

There is a cliché that states: If you are not growing … you are dying! As leaders, we must commit ourselves and our organizations to self-improvement, adapting to changing environments and, most importantly, enhancing our human capital – our most critical asset.

I would challenge you that if you look back over the past 12 months and you cannot list at least five actions where you attempted a new approach, attended a class or broadened your insights into your company – are you any different than the short-sighted lumberjack?

Growth is not always measured in revenue dollars, but rather growth in capabilities, growth in talent, growth in the frequency of trying new approaches, products or services. If you do those effectively, the growth in revenue dollars and growth in net income will result.

So, as a leader, whether that be your company, your department or your personal efforts – commit yourself to continue learning by budgeting for it and planning to make it happen. Do it now! Do not procrastinate.

As a leader, challenge yourself to set a higher standard. If you are successful in demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement, you will find your leadership infectious; and that is a positive attribute.

If you need advice on how to sharpen your company’s saw, call Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Purichia featured on RTV6

Partner and Director of Entrepreneurial Services Lisa Purichia was recently featured in a segment on RTV6 about her work with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). The group has launched the Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA), which Purichia chairs, to provide middle and high school students with the knowledge and skills to become entrepreneurs.

Click here to watch.

Outsourcing CFO Functions an Attractive Option

Lisa_PurichiaMany businesses today struggle with whether or not to hire a Chief Financial Officer and perform their accounting functions in-house. And it’s not just small companies – medium and even large businesses sometimes find that ensuring proper financial reporting, supported by prudent accounting systems, is just beyond their abilities.

A growing trend is to outsource CFO/accounting functions to a third party. In the past, this has commonly been done on an interim basis – such as when a company is looking for a new CFO, or the business hasn’t grown enough to support such a position. Essentially, it was seen as a Band-Aid approach.

But more and more, businesses are finding outsourced CFO functions to be a permanent solution to their accounting and financial reporting needs.

Outsourcing can come in many different forms. Some companies may keep their own CFO on staff but delegate the nuts-and-bolts bookkeeping work to a CPA firm. Others may have an accounting department, but look to someone else for management and oversight. And some prefer to have all their accounting and financial reporting responsibilities handled by an independent party.

Here are some common circumstances in which outsourcing is used:

  • The company lacks the ability to hire and retain a qualified CFO.
  • A business has outgrown its bookkeeper and needs controller-level oversight, but isn’t yet big enough to fund a full-time CFO position.
  • The previous CFO leaves employment, and while the search is ongoing for a permanent replacement, they need someone to stabilize their accounting functions for several months.
  • The business wants to outsource its entire accounting needs.

In the latter scenario, companies generally want turnkey solutions that take the entire accounting burden off the plate of the CEO or other senior management, so they can focus on things more warranted by current business demands — such as sales, production, marketing, etc.

As a resource many of our clients have turned to for this executive-level service, Sponsel CPA Group can put together a highly customizable package of services responsive to the needs of the company, including facilitating financial reporting requirements. In most cases, fees are billed on an hourly basis using a monthly retainer system based on an agreed-upon scope of services.

The benefits of this approach are obvious. Management is rid of the responsibility for meeting financial deadlines in favor of a third party, allowing them to concentrate onmore critical endeavors to build on their success. They know they can pick up the phone and hold one person accountable for all their bookkeeping and financial reporting needs. The working relationship with the outsourced accounting firm is strengthened, lending trust for any other types of engagements.

It should be noted that when a CPA firm is providing outsourced CFO functions for a client, ethics rules prohibit them from performing attest functions such as audits or reviews of financial statements, since these services must be executed by an independent CPA.

Once a stopgap solution, more and more companies of varying sizes are finding that outsourced CFO/accounting functions are a fruitful arrangement that fits their needs on a permanent basis.

If we can assist you with outsourcing some or all of your company’s accounting functions, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or email [email protected].

Compliance Reminder on Health Care Notices

Lisa_PurichiaSponsel CPA Group would like to remind all of its clients about the October 1, 2013 deadline to give notice to employees about healthcare coverage options under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). Even though the employer mandate has been delayed until 2015, most other provisions of healthcare reform will take effect as originally passed.

This notice requirement applies to all employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even if the employer does not offer a health insurance plan to its employees.

Does FLSA apply to my company?
The FLSA applies to any employer engaged in interstate commerce that employs one or more people and has sales greater than $500,000 per year. It also covers hospitals, institutions primarily engaged in healthcare, schools and government agencies. The Department of Labor offers an online assessment tool to help determine if FLSA applies to your business: www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/scope/screen24.asp

Who should receive the notice?
FLSA-covered employers must provide a notice of coverage options to all current employees (full- or part-time). Employers are not required to provide a separate notice to dependents or any other non-employees covered or eligible for the health plan.

The notice should include:
The notice must inform employees of their coverage options and should include information about the new Health Insurance Marketplace, commonly known as state exchanges. The notice should include:

  • Services provided by the exchanges
  • Information on how an employee may be eligible for a premium tax credit if they purchase coverage through the exchange
  • A statement that if an employee purchases a plan through the exchange, they could lose their employer contribution to any health benefits offered by the employer
  • Contact information for the exchanges

A sample notice can be found here for companies that currently offer plans: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/FLSAwithplans.pdf.

And go here for a sample notice for companies that do not offer plans: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/FLSAwithoutplans.pdf.

What is the deadline to provide the notice?
The employer must provide the notice to all current employees (full- or part-time) by October 1, 2013. Any new employee hired on or after October 1, 2013 should receive the notice no later than 14 days after their start date. The notice must be in writing and can be delivered to the employee in one of three ways:

  1. Hand delivered
  2. First-class U.S. Mail
  3. Electronic mail (but only if Department of Labor’s electronic disclosure safe harbor requirements are met (29 CFR 2520.104b-1(c))

If you need any assistance with healthcare compliance, please contact Lisa Purichia at (317) 608-6693 or [email protected].

Lisa Purichia tapped for NAWBO board

Lisa_PurichiaLisa Purichia, a Sponsel CPA Group Partner and Director of Entrepreneurial Services, has been selected to the Board of Directors for the Indianapolis chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Her term begins June 27.

Purichia has been an active member and volunteer for NAWBO, participating in various conferences and events in recent years. She is one of four founding partners at Sponsel CPA Group, where she leads the firm’s outreach to business innovators.

“This is such a tremendous honor, and I’m so humbled to join the board,” Purichia said. “More than 40 percent of privately-held businesses in the U.S. are now owned by women, thanks in no small part to the efforts of NAWBO. I pledge to help further their mission of promoting female entrepreneurship.”

Founded in 1975, NAWBO seeks to propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide by promoting economic development and creating effective change in business culture.

To succeed in the ‘women ‘s world,’ seek a mentor’s help… or become one

By Lisa Purichia

We all hold dreams of how our entrepreneurial endeavors will turn out, and every person paints their own individual portrait of what success should look like.

For some, that might be starting their own company from scratch and building it from the ground up. It might entail reaching a certain level of market share or monetary success. Sometimes it’s as simple as coming up with a unique, original idea and seeing it through to becoming a viable product in the marketplace.

These dreams can be helpful in providing that visionary zeal that helps drive us through the darker days of any challenging obstacles we might encounter.

But whether you’re a young garage start-up or a senior manager in a large corporation, one of the tools I’ve found most helpful in achieving business success is developing a mentoring relationship, especially with other women. In seeking the best mentor, you shouldn’t exclude any strong candidates just because they’re men; but in my experience some of the most fruitful relationships can be with other businesswomen.

Finding the right female mentor presented a challenge in the early days of women entering the workforce in large numbers during the 1960s and ‘70s. Even today, the number of women in senior management or CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies lags. The business community needs more women in leadership roles.

The promising fact is that female entrepreneurs are thriving. Women-owned businesses now constitute more than 40 percent of all privately-held firms in the U.S., according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. Between 1997 and 2006, businesses fully women-owned or majority-owned by women grew at almost twice the national rate (42.3 percent vs. 23.3 percent).

In searching for the right mentor, it might be best to consider one of these amazing women entrepreneurs. Business owners who have “been there, done that” are especially valuable as guides for younger or less experienced businesswomen.

Why recreate the wheel, or force yourself to smash up against the barriers to success if an experienced business owner can help you detour around those frustrations?

We are never too young or too old to ask for help. As entrepreneurs, we quickly discover that we must be constantly acquiring new skills and mastering existing ones in order to adapt to a challenging and ever-changing business climate.

In the same way, sometimes it can help for an older manager or company owner to reach across the generational divide to seek guidance from a person who is younger but nonetheless has experience or expertise in areas you do not. The mentor/mentee relationship is not always reflected as a sage old advisor tutoring an eager youth.

Sometimes, in fact, the very same mentoring relationship can flip around so the person who was giving the advice is now receiving it, and vice-versa!

An active mentor relationship should allow you access to an experienced business owner or manager on a regular basis, and should provide for regular face-to-face meetings – monthly or quarterly.

I would recommend you seek a mentor who has demonstrated the talent or skills you seek to enhance in yourself. Make it clear to them why you are seeking their help, and what you hope to gain out of the relationship. As a mentee, you should set personal goals to raise your performance to a higher level of effectiveness.

If you are good at financial matters but need to improve your business development skills, seek a respected business owner/manager who has a proven track record in creating and fostering new business and relationships.

Whatever your goals, seek a mentor who demonstrates excellence, so you can raise your own skill level.

When you are about to set off on a search for a mentor, be prepared for competition. In my experience, many successful women who are prime candidates for a mentoring relationship are very busy, and may already be mentoring other up-and-comers. Create a list of four to six candidates, analyze and rank them, and start at the top and go down.

In convincing someone to be your mentor, don’t just talk about how it will help you. Lois Zachary, mentoring expert and author of “The Mentor’s Guide,” tells those seeking advice to emphasize the benefits to the mentor. If both are part of the same organization, it could help the growth of the company. Mentoring could also help the mentor strengthen their own facilitation or management skills.

And the idea of “paying it forward” remains a strong appeal to community-minded individuals who see helping businesswomen develop their skills as a positive benefit to all, Zachary says.

This article originally appeared in Indiana Minority Business Magazine.

More Than Bookkeeping: Visibility Into Your Financial Statements

I spend a great majority of my time reviewing and advising clients on the importance of having and maintaining strong, solid financial statements. The more I thought about it, I realized that many executives and management teams can’t fix what they can’t see. Often times executives don’t have a clear, complete “view” of their financial statements and their books leaving them extremely vulnerable. The more you know, the better you and your management team will be in making strategic decisions and capitalizing on opportunities.

Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce to Feature Article on Good Accounting Practices

Many executives use a balance sheet to guide their strategic business decisions and capitalize on opportunities. However, they may be missing more opportunities than finding new ones.  As the director of the entrepreneurial services department, it is my responsibility to ensure clients understand and maximize the value of their balance sheet.

A balance sheet is merely a snapshot in time of assets and liabilities — it does not offer the level of detail or historic perspective necessary to gauge the business’ long-term financial health. By pairing a balance sheet with a strategically-developed chart of accounts and P&L statement, business leaders gain more visibility into the holistic performance and potential of the organization.

Watch for the complete article in the upcoming issue of Catalyst, published by the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.  I’ll be sure to post it here too so check back in early 2010.

Our Entrepreneurial Services are Ideal for Businesses of All Sizes

As partner and director of entrepreneurial services, I am honored to be a member of this exciting team. Myself, along with Mary Ferguson and Tina Kelly, bring significant financial experience and business leadership to Sponsel CPA Group.  In my role, I work directly with business owners and executives to provide consulting and entrepreneurial services. I partner with clients to develop and implement financial and business strategies, models and processes that enable them to become more scalable, efficient, productive and profitable.

To learn more about what the entrepreneurial services team can do to help you, schedule a consultation today.