02 2020 CPAmerica Advantage newsletter

CPAmerica Advantage News From Your Accounting Association

CPAmerica's Surveys Are Designed to Help Improve Your Firm CPAmerica’s surveys are tools that are available exclusively to our members. They are used to collect information that can help improve employee engagement, highlight areas where a firm can make improvements, and can help partners and managers find out their firm’s overall climate in order to make the changes needed to make it a more desirable place to work.

We offer several options, such as the Employee Engagement Survey and the Upward Evaluation Survey, each designed to give your employees a confidential way to provide honest feedback about your organization and its supervisors. These thorough and customizable tools can help you better understand the way your staff and management work together and provide a way to benchmark your yearto-year progress.

The Employee Engagement Survey identifies key indicators and drivers of employee engagement to help your organization develop an action plan for its continued success. This roughly 20-minute survey solicits information about firm culture, work

February 2020 New Member Firm Spotlight P. 2 Member News P. 3

environment, employee engagement, President's Corner - Alan Deichler P. 4 and overall job satisfaction. For $750, you will receive complete raw data, a two-page summary report that provides a quick glance of overall results, and a full survey report, which includes analyzed findings for each question. The final report arrives marketed to your firm and ready to 2020 Marketing Roundtable, share with employees.

Philadelphia

Lea S. Rasmussen, CPA and partner with member firm LLP, spoke about her firm’s experience with the Employee Engagement Survey. She said, “Mitchell Wiggins recently conducted a firmwide Employee Engagement Survey. Our firm was looking for employee feedback but wanted a third-party to conduct the survey.

CPAmerica was the perfect solution for us.

They provided a template with topics and questions that applies to most CPA firms so we had a strong starting point. The general topics included culture, hiring and training, client service, management, communication,

What better place for marketing pros to come together for networking and member sharing than Philadelphia, AKA “The City of Brotherly Love.”

The Marketing Roundtable is meeting this May 4-5 at the stylish Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

Take advantage of early bird registration by April 13 and save $50!

For more info, go to https:// tinyurl.com/u5erbda

See Surveys, continued on page 2

New Member Snapshot: Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP 39159 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Suite 315 Fremont, California 94538 Tel: (510) 797-8661 | Fax: (510) 797-1791 www.groco.com

Headquarters: Fremont, California

Alan L. Olsen | Managing Partner | aolsen@groco.com Morey Greenstein | Contact Partner for Membership Matters | mgreenstein@groco.com Steve Singer | Partner | ssinger@groco.com Ron Cohen | Partner | rcohen@groco.com Beth Rasler | Partner | brasler@groco.com Hal Friedman | Partner | hfriedman@groco.com Alan L. Olsen | Firm Administrator | aolsen@groco.com Peggy Butler | HR Director | pbutler@groco.com Chuck Roberts | Marketing Director | croberts@groco.com Albert Olsen | IT Network Administrator | alg@groco.com

Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP (GROCO) offers services in three main areas: Family Office & Legacy - GROCO provides comprehensive financial management for businesses, not-for-profits, high-net-worth individuals and their families.

Lifestyle & Financial Counseling Services Providing expert management of lifestyle, financial, tax strategy and planning with fees blended between a retainer and convenient monthly payments.

Wealth & Tax Analysis - GROCO is a full service provider of tax services and offers solutions to clients in the corporate; estate and trust; individual; limited liability company; not for profit; tax exempt partnership; and S corporation income tax areas.

New Member Snapshot: Huberty & Associates SC Huberty & Associates SC 145 S. Marr St., Suite 2 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935 Tel: (920) 923-8400 | Fax: (920) 452-2405 www.hubertycpas.com

Headquarters: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

We operate both locally in southeastern Wisconsin and virtually using collaborative, online technology.

Nathan Volkomener | Managing Partner | nvolkomener@hubertycpas.com Carla Hameister | Contact Partner for Membership Matters | cbiwan@hubertycpas.com Eric Gurholt | Partner | egurholt@hubertycpas.com Greg Feucht | Partner | gfeucht@hubertycpas.com Jackie Jacak | Firm Administrator | jjacak@hubertycpas.com

Eric Gurholt | Marketing Director | egurholt@hubertycpas.com Carla Hameister | IT Network Administrator | cbiwan@hubertycpas.com

work-life integration and career path. We were able to fully customize the questions and comments for our unique needs.

For instance, our firm recently rolled out a new Vision statement (MW Vision 2022) so we wanted feedback on the Vision and the direction of the firm.

CPAmerica sent out a link to the survey and collected all the data for us. CPAmerica pa raph rased t he comments so all the information was kept c on fid e n t i a l a nd protected the identity of the employee. The survey results also came back with charts and graphs including generational statistics. We cannot thank CPAmerica enough for this valueadded member service. When the partner group is making key operational decision, we are able to review the survey results and keep employee feedback in mind. We plan to repeat the survey again in three years.”

The Upward Evaluation Survey focuses less on overall firm environment and asks a series of questions about each partner and/or manager to evaluate key aspects of his or her performance.

This assessment is intended to help motivate supervisors to achieve their highest potential by reviewing employee responses about their communication, motivation and feedback, training practices, and leadership. When you purchase this survey for $250, you receive the raw data and a brief summary report for each supervisor that we evaluate. Because this survey is in such high demand, we have recently created a premium report that offers an in-depth look at each supervisor’s results and compares their scores to the firm’s overall averages for an additional fee of $750.

In addition to these valuable internal assessments, CPAmerica also offers a Client Satisfaction Survey designed to determine overall client satisfaction, identify potential niche services,

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Huberty’s mission is to be the most sought-after firm in our core service areas: Accounting, Analysis, Strategy, and Planning – The first choice for providing an experience that is focused on a better future.

We intend to continuously improve our capabilities to further help the organizations and people we serve. We will embrace technology to become better at scale, but our passion for helping others, our human element, will not waiver.

Jackie Jacak | HR Director | jjacak@hubertycpas.com

Surveys, continued from front page

Huberty is a CPA-led, professional service firm where an inspired team places clients first.

improve client communication, discover client loyalty drivers, and clarify areas of strength and weakness within your firm. For $750, your firm receives raw survey data and a full report that is ready to share with employees.

Our questionnaires are customizable and we are more than happy to work with your firm to ensure that you receive the feedback that you are looking for. Please contact Colleen Gaddy at cgaddy@cpamerica.org or (352) 727-4142 for more information on any of CPAmerica’s custom surveys.

2020 A&A Webinar Series* May 28:

Topic 842: Countdown to New Leasing Standard Effective Date | 2-4 p.m. ET

Jun. 25:

AICPA Update: Implementing the New SASs in Your 2020 Audits | 2-4 p.m. ET

Jul. 9:

2-4 p.m. ET

Aug. 20: Being Tech Savvy: Employing New Technology on Your Audits | 2-4 p.m. ET Nov. 5:

Assuring Audit Quality: Learning From Peer Review Results | 2-4 p.m. ET

Dec. 10:

Best Practices in Preventing & Detecting Financial Statement Fraud | 2-4 p.m. ET

*The 2020 Tax Webinar Series schedule will be posted soon on the CPAmerica website. To register or for more info, go to: www.cpamerica.org > CPE & Training > Webinars or email Colleen Gaddy at: cgaddy@cpamerica.org

Member News

VonLehman names Carlson and Kraft as shareholders , announced that Keith Carlson and Dan Kraft were named shareholders at the firm.

Prior to founding VonLehman’s M&A Advisory practice in 2017, Carlson spent over a decade in principal investing, corporate development and investment banking roles focused on a wide array of companies throughout numerous industries. In total, Carlson has participated in over 125 successfully closed transactions and has amassed significant capital markets, advisory, principal investment and corporate finance/strategy experience. He is highly skilled in the areas of structuring, company positioning, negotiations, diligence, and financial modeling.

Kraft joined VonLehman in 2008.

He is experienced in a broad range of industries but specializes in construction and real estate entities. Kraft teams with business owners to understand their goals and objectives to create a tax-efficient business structure amidst an everchanging tax environment. He specializes in the taxation of flow-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies and the tax impact on the shareholders, partners and members.

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. welcomes Jenkins to Audit and Accounting Department headquartered in Holyoke, Mass., announced the hiring of Corey E. Jenkins, CPA, as senior associate in the Audit and Accounting Department.

Jenkins received her master’s in accounting from the University of Albany.

She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.

RTBH add new senior accountant, supervisor The partners of

, announced that they continue to grow with the addition of Allison Snelling to their team as a senior accountant. Snelling earned her degree in finance and a master’s in accounting from the University of Alabama. Along with her CPA, she has also built a skillset, including GAAP financial accounting, taxation research, and strategic planning, as well as audit and assurance engagement leadership.

RTBH also welcomed Patricia Powe to their team as a supervisor. She graduated from the University of Alabama with her bachelor's and master's in accountancy, after which she earned her CPA. With nearly 15 years of experience in public

accounting, financial management, and higher education administration across the state, Powe brings a wealth of knowledge to the firm and their clients.

Michigan firm DGN announces recent promotions

, headquartered in northern Michigan, shared the following team promotions.

Jon Benjamin, CPA, was promoted to tax manager. He joined DGN in 2014.

He graduated from Central Michigan University with his bachelor's in accounting. Jake Schierbeek, CPA, was promoted to audit manager. He joined DGN in 2018 and graduated from Northwood University with his bachelor's in accounting. Jenifer Carmody, CPA, was promoted to tax supervisor. She joined DGN in 2012 and graduated from Ferris State University with her accounting degree and previously graduated from University of Minnesota with a master's in genetics & cell biology and a bachelor's in biology from Michigan Technological University. Luke Fogarty, CPA, has been promoted to audit supervisor. He joined DGN in 2017 and graduated from Central Michigan University with his bachelor's in business administration, accounting & information systems. Alex MacKenzie, CPA, MSA, has been promoted to tax supervisor. MacKenzie joined DGN in 2018 and graduated with a bachelor's and master's, both in accounting from Michigan State University. Randy Woodcock has been promoted to senior accountant. He joined DGN in 2016 and graduated from Ferris State University with a bachelor's in accounting. Brittany McLellan, MBA, has been promoted to senior accountant. She joined DGN in 2018 and completed her bachelor's in accounting from Grand Valley State University and her master's in business administration with a concentration in finance from Davenport University.

Taylor Zeilenga, MSA, has been promoted to senior accountant. He joined DGN in 2019 and completed of his bachelor's in business administration and master's in accounting, both from Grand Valley State University.

Wegner CPAs announce the addition of new talent acquisition specialist Headquartered in Madison, Wis., positions for continued growth by engaging strategies to recruit top talent to serve its clients. Kyle Carr, in the newly created position of talent acquisition specialist, has been brought on board to do just that. Carr has a bachelor's in business administration, marketing with a professional sales emphasis. Carr has experience in the job placement field and will be driving the initiative to take Wegner CPAs’ recruiting efforts to the next level.

DMJ tax partner earns AICPA cybersecurity certificate

DMJ & Co., PLLC (DMJ), a North Carolina based CPA and accounting firm, announced that Milton Howell, CPA, CSEP, completed and earned the Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Finance and Accounting Professionals Certificate, a program by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

The course is a comprehensive learning program geared to help professionals demonstrate cybersecurity risk management within their organizations and/or clients and to distinguish between the different types of cyber attacks, data breaches, and cybersecurity frameworks.

As a firm, DMJ provides cybersecurity and technology consulting services for privately-held businesses and their leadership teams.

Albin, Randall & Bennett promotes new principals

Portland, Maine-based, , a comprehensive, full-service public accounting, tax, and advisory firm for New England businesses and families, announced the promotions of Laura T. Everett, CPA, and Matthew J. Pore, CPA, to principals of the firm.

Both professionals have made substantial contributions to the firm and ARB is very excited to see what they accomplish in their new roles.

Everett joined the ARB team in 2006 after gaining valuable automotive accounting experience at a Maine-based auto dealership group. Everett is a leader in the firm’s Automotive Dealership and Credit Union Service Groups providing accounting, attest, and business advisory services. She leads the firm’s recruiting program and is credited with establishing Experience ARB, a two-day externship program allowing accounting majors to explore the public accounting sector and the culture of ARB. Everett is a Certified Public Accountant and received her bachelor's in accounting from the University of Southern Maine.

Matthew J. Pore, CPA, joined ARB in 2018 as a tax director. During his 16-year career, Pore has developed an acute understanding of tax and business advisory with an emphasis in tax M&A transactions and corporate restructuring.

Pore is a leader in the Private Client Services Group and also works to serve niche clients in the areas of automotive dealerships, closely-held businesses and craft beverage. He has continued the firm’s longstanding commitment to provide excellent service and build high levels of trust with clients. Pore is a Certified Public Accountant who received his master's in accounting from the University of Southern Maine and his bachelor's in accounting from Alfred University.

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President's Corner: He Who Hesitates Is Lost Years ago, my father taught me to drive. I was probably like most teenagers, a bit tentative behind the wheel. It was uncomfortable. There were many decisions to be made, sometimes with very little time to act. I Alan Deichler remember very clearly President my father telling me, “He who hesitates is lost.” Of course, he meant that I needed to just make a decision and go through with it rather than sit in traffic, wondering. I could always make corrections later.

new opportunities from technology. While the opportunities seem to be enormous, the process needed to achieve these benefits is not so obvious. Often, because of costs, complexity of approach, and other demands on our time, the result is to wait.

I’ve written of the tipping point of innovative technology. That critical point is still some ways in the future, but we need to make decisions now that will prepare us for that day. Part of what is delaying us is that firms of our members’ size are finding it difficult to invest in innovative technology. The initial cost to develop or acquire applications can be high, including investing in people to learn the new technology. CPAmerica is looking at how we might be able to use our overall The accounting profession, like many other influence to provide our firms reasonably aspects of our world, is being challenged with priced opportunities. If we are successful, I

*Accepting applications now through February 15, 2020.

CPAmerica has partnered with preferred provider, Surgent, to offer a scholarship for Surgent’s CPA Review Course. Surgent’s Premier Pass course was named a Top New Professional Education Product by Accounting Today. We will be giving away three scholarships in 2020 for the Surgent’s CPA Review (valued at $2,899). Two runner-ups will receive Surgent’s diagnostic testing at no cost (valued at $99). Current CPAmerica members who are planning to sit for the CPA exam are encouraged to apply.

My father’s direction has sprung back in my mind many times over the years and sometimes in my business dealings. We

We are being coached on some aspects of innovative technology to do just that, wait. A number of organizations are working on new audit platforms that use machine learning.

It may be best to watch and wait for these new platforms to develop. On the other hand, applications such as predictive analytics, advanced OCR, identification of anomalies, and use of machine reading capabilities are here and ready today.

That philosophy was reinforced in my days at IBM, where one of the management’s mantras was “make the decision and if it’s wrong, we’ll fix it.” Obviously, if we were running a nuclear power plant or flying an airplane, we wouldn’t want to make reckless decisions - these have to be right. However, for the most part, everyday decisions are faulty not because they were made incorrectly but because they were not made at all.

CPAmerica-Surgent CPA Review Course Scholarship

encourage each of our firms to have a person that is innovative technology literate and enthusiastic to participate in our approach.

are all faced with decisions that need facts and background information to be made properly, but sometimes we find decisions that seem just too difficult to address and that drag on and on.

I’m not big on resolutions as we start a new year, but in this case, the phrase, he who hesitates is lost, might be a good thought for our approach to innovative technology in 2020.

Before beginning this application, please be sure you have the following: • A single-page (PDF) document telling us about your most rewarding experience in important to earn your CPA • A signed single-page (PDF) recommendation letter from a manager, supervisor, or partner

Contact us at: 7555 W. University Ave. Gainesville, FL 32607 (352) 727-4070 www.cpamerica.org

Please submit your online application by February 15, 2020.

For more info and to apply on the CPAmerica website, visit and sign in at: https://tinyurl.com/swebo7q Send feedback and advantage@cpamerica.org

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