December 2023 BUZZ

EXPECT MORE

THE BUZZ

Message from Joe Damiano

Sax Team, We’ve made some big announcements recently. As we close out the year, to recap, we announced our acquisitions of David Weiss CPA, PLLC, Steven R. Press, CPA, P.C., KMR LLP, and Schall & Ashenfarb, CPA – all NY based firms that reinforce our position in that market, and all great fits for our firm from a culture and service standpoint.

We welcomed our November class of new hires and would like to thank all those responsible for getting them set-up, trained, and acclimated to the firm.

We also officially announced our new Partners effective January 1.

Congratulations again to Michael Rolls, Lisa Mela and Adam Holzberg. This recognition is truly deserving, and we look forward to watching them excel in their new roles.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at the End of Year Celebration. It was so nice to see so many new faces, veteran faces, and many remote team members from across the country.

We now end quite a year for Sax. We surpassed the goals we set out to achieve, and greatly expanded our team, capabilities, and brand. I am looking forward to 2023 and our bright future ahead.

On behalf of the Sax Partner Group, we wish you and your loved ones happy and healthy holidays and extend our sincerest gratitude for all that you do for this firm and those we serve.

to our retiring partners sue reed Maria C. Plucinsky Kevin J. Hansen

to our new partners Michael Rolls Lisa Mela Adam Holzberg

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Real Estate team had a fun team outing, including a site visit to one of our client's new projects and axe throwing!

Some of our team members from the Parsippany office took a trip to the NYC office for the day!

Joseph Damiano was interviewed

by ROI-NJ discussing advice for accounting firms.

Read the full article here.

FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sax's first ever Manufacturing and Distribution day was held at our Headquarters on September 29th.

Along with networking and vendors, the presenters and event partners promoted a morning of industry insights.

Sax's Construction and Real Estate Practices held an informational industry update on November 17, addressing current industry trends and issues.

Sax's Healthcare Practice held a industry update labeled "Healthcare Disruptors" on December 1st, addressing several issues facing the industry.

FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to Ella Valdes and Igor Petrovic, for passing their CPA exams!

Candy Gordon-Geanoules is the recipient of the 2022 BANNJ Associate Continuing Service Award which will be presented to her at the Annual Installation & Awards Dinner on Thursday, January 26th.

NJ.com recently ran an article about the Child Life Department at St. Joe's Hospital and Sax's support from our annual 4Miler.

Read the full article here.

Please give a warm welcome to the newest members of our Sax family.

Steven Press Partner - Tax Parsippany | 11.03.22

Fun fact: Steven has visited a higher number of countries than the years old he is!

Great person to ask for recommendations!

Nicol Coxon Manager, Transaction Advisory Remote | 11.07.22

Quincy Rutherford A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Quincy is a former college athlete!

Yonathan Toribio A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Yonathan is a Red Sox Fan. Fun fact: Nicol went to the same High School as LeBron James

Jonathan Mackie Senior Manager, Transaction Advisory Remote | 11.07.22

Eliesa Odza A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Eliesa is a hair stylist and makeup artist on the weekends!

Paige Loughran A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Paige is a certified EMT

Misha Gill A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Misha moved to Morris Plains to save on the commute.

Brian Smith A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Brian is a big Dallas Cowboys fan!

Jordan Brownlee A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

John Wagner A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: John enjoys playing arcade crane games!

Bella Medina A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Bella has a daughter with special needs who is 2 years old.

Henry Alas A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Henry was born in El Salvador and enjoys spending his time with family and going to museums Paul Collins A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Paul has gone dog sledding in Alaska.

Zehnieta Turner A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Zehnieta can't ride a bike.

Janet Sabah A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Janet used to be a boxer!

Roger Seferian A & A Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: This is Roger's second career.

Leslie Ortiz A & A Associate NYC | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Leslie loves to collect nail polishes, and has a collection of over 200.

Sarah Lahori Tax Associate NYC | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Sarah has been learning French for over a year now!

Brendjeen Pierre Tax Associate NYC | 11.08.22

Fun fact: Brendjeen was President of a Modeling club in college!

Anthony Morreale Tax Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Sydney Hestevold Senior Tax Associate Parsippany | 11.14.22

Fun fact: Sydney's dog can open doors by herself!

Kennedy Spittler Senior Tax Associate Remote | 11.14.22

Fun fact: Kennedy was born in Nebraska, making her a die-hard Huskies fan.

Nandita Gajula Tax Associate Parsippany | 11.14.22

Fun fact: Anthony is a big time New York Giants fan.

Katarina Kolarski Tax Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Anusha Patil Tax Advanced Analyst India | 11.14.22

Fun fact: Katarina loves to travel and work out.

William Hodic Tax Associate Parsippany | 11.08.22

Fun fact: William enjoys watching the English Premier League. His favorite team is Arsenal.

Kevin Nagvekar Analyst India | 11.14.22

Fun fact: Kevin loves to do anchoring and play a drama act

Stanislav Frenk Senior A & A Associate Remote | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Stanislav can do a trick shot in bowling, throwing the ball between the legs

Leqi He A & A Associate Remote | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Leqi enjoys cooking and is always looking for new recipes to try!

Ali Shirazi Analyst India | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Ali was known as "An Unpredictable Guy" in College because he reduced his weight from 110 kgs to 73 kgs Arti Chawla Analyst India | 12.05.22

Pratik Darak Analyst India | 12.05.22

Fun fact: On his first day of kindergarten Pratik walked 3km to get home

Krish Jaiswal Tax Intern Pennington | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Krish knows 5 Languages!

Kristen Leto Advisory Assistant Remote | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Kristen broke her elbow in half playing duck duck goose as a kid

Taylor Stevens Accounting Service Assistant Parsippany | 12.05.22

Fun fact: Arti loves to binge watch Netflix!

Sakshi Vora Analyst India | 12.05.22

Paola Hernandez A & A Associate Remote | 12.12.22

Fun fact: Paola was born and raised in Puerto Rico.

Tyler Rigoli A & A Associate Parsippany | 12.12.22

Fun fact: Tyler is an avid trading card collector!

Nicholas Page Senior A & A Associate Remote | 12.12.22

Fun fact: Nick is left handed but shoots a basketball with his right hand (This phenomenon also applies to LeBron James) Maggie Pruyn Senior A & A Associate Remote | 12.12.22

Fun fact: Maggie studied abroad in Australia!

Renu Singh Senior Tax Associate India | 12.12.22

Rick Gatti Senior Tax Manager NYC | 12.19.22

The following employees are no longer with the firm. We wish them the best in their future endeavors.

Jonathan Gonzalez A & A Associate | Parsippany | 11.04.22 Avinash Tyagi Senior A&A Associate | Remote | 11.04.22 Matthew Warren Senior A & A Associate | Remote | 11.07.22 Edvin Givargis Partner | Remote | 11.31.22 Brandon Pasapane A & A Manager| Parsippany | 12.02.22 Jakub Cielemecki A & A Associate | Parsippany | 12.05.22 Evgeniya Molnar Senior Tax Associate | NYC | 12.09.22 Jefferson Zotamba A & A Manager | Parsippany | 12.14.22 Christopher J. Kaminski Senior A & A Associate | Parsippany | 12.19.22

Great Cards My Doan worked on two last minute clients with complex state issues and foreign reporting that required much attention to detail and a commitment to keep working up until the bitter end. My has shown a firm dedication to the Sax core values (Respect, Integrity, Commitment, and Excellence), and for that, I nominate her for a Sax Great Card.

Adam Carcione's involvement with SafeSend and returns being processed warrants a Great Card! His interactions with clients directly during these busiest of times…what a tremendous asset we have in him!!

Justine Elia has been going above and beyond helping the associate during a NFP audit, while also managing her time for her own work. She takes charge and initiative so we can count on her to keep the job going at a steady pace. Justine took charge of communicating with the client when needed and developed a really good relationship with that client now.

Barbra Pannullo is a very hard worker who consistently works overtime to ensure payroll goes off without a hitch every pay period. She always has a smile on her face, takes extreme pride in her work, and tackles all last minute ad hoc projects thrown her way. She is a pleasure to work with.

UPDATE ON NEW FIRM HOTEL POLICY

Updates to the Parsippany Skedda floor maps have been made.

Please note the following: If you currently have a dedicated space, please reserve your location for the days you are planning to be in the office through the end of the year.

If you are already a hoteling occupant and you reserved a space after 12/9/22, please re-reserve.

Instead of calling all the offices "Hotel", the exterior ones are now "Gallery" Offices, and the interiors are "Atrium" Offices.

Nameplates will be replaced the last week of December.

New nameplate holders are being ordered. Once they are installed Virginia will send an update.

Note that spaces on the West side that are for Sax Wealth Advisors use are shaded in turquoise.

Post-Jan. 1 Hotel Transition If you are not a dedicated occupant (5 days in-office) but have already decorated the workspace you’ve been using, you are encouraged to leave these items as long as they do not impede the work surface. We want the space to be warm and inviting for others who share it.

When you are finished using a space, please only remove what you brought, make sure the space is tidy, and the surfaces are cleaned with disinfectant wipes. The way you found the space is exactly how it should be left.

Hotel spaces are equipped with a universal docking station complete with monitors, keyboard and mouse. If any of these items are missing or not working properly, please notify the IT team.

Thank you in advance for all your help with this firm transition. Feel free to reach out to Virginia with any questions.

A SPOOKY SEASON CELEBRATION

Escape the Forest Thank you to everyone who was able to join our first firmwide Virtual Escape Room on October 27th! Teams of 8 were sent into a forest where they had to work together to escape in under an Hour!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Cocktail Hour and White Elephant!

Click here to view and download photos from the event.

Beer and Wine Raffle Results Basket #1

Basket #5 Made by: Alex Celentano Winner: Kathleen Rutch

Basket #2

Made by: Joe DeBarr Winner: Sue Reed

Basket #6 Made by: Jeff Mucha Winner: Joe DeBarr

Made by: Andrew Blahut Winner: Joe Shannon

Basket #3 Basket #7 Made by: Andrew Blahut Winner: Christine Grispart

Made by: Lisa DiNozzi Winner: Ryan Fidlow

Basket #4

Basket #8

Made by: Lisa DiNozzi Winner: Christine Grispart

Made by: Andrew Blahut Winner: Sadchit Desai

In total, we raised $3,800 - our best year yet!

Basket #9 Made by: Maria Plucinsky Winner: Albion Derguti

Basket #14 Made by: Jenn Moroz Winner: Michael Rolls

Basket #10 Basket #15 Made by: Maria Plucinsky Winner: Lisa DiNozzi

Made by: Jenn Moroz Winner: Alex Celentano

Basket #11 Made by: Breana Maher, Candace Deosingh, and Ella Valdes Winner: Elizabeth Riely

Basket #16

Made by: Jenn Moroz Winner: Kathleen Rutch

Basket #12

Made by: Marqus White Winner: Debbie Nappi

Basket #13

Basket #17 Made by: Jenn Moroz Winner: Jeff Mucha

Basket #18 Made by: Margaret Henn Winner: Jenn Moroz

Made by: Jenn Moroz Winner: Tod Christianson

Basket #19

Basket #24 Made by: Elena Klarberg and Candy GordonGeanoules Winner: Brandon Pasapane

Made by: Helena Lynch Winner: Julia Prager

Basket #20 Basket #25 Made by: Nicole Sinatra Winner: Margaret Henn

Made by: Jess Gutierrez Winner: Kathleen Carolan

Basket #21 Made by: Nicole Sinatra Winner: Jenn Moroz

Basket #26

Made by: Debbie Nappi Winner: Christine Grispart

Basket #22 Made by: Joe Shannon Winner: Joe Shannon

Basket #23 Made by: Helena Lynch Winner: Vicki Hochman

Basket #27 Made by: Debbie Nappi Winner: Tetiana Bevza

2021 401K MATCH AND PROFIT SHARING CONTRIBUTIONS

SAX is excited to announce that the 401(k) company match and profit sharing contributions for the 2021 plan year, totaling $1,045,132.52, were deposited into employee accounts on Tuesday September 13, 2022.

Employees can view their portion of these contributions in their account on the Principal website or mobile app.

Beginning January 2022 the firm raised its 401(k) matching contribution.

Eligible employees now have the opportunity to receive up to a 5.5% total company contribution to their 401(k) from Sax. This consists of a 3% discretionary profit sharing contribution and a maximum company match of 2.5%, subject to IRS limits and vesting.

To receive the full company match portion, employees should contribute at least 10% to their Retirement Plan Account. The match formula is 25% up to the first 10% of eligible compensation contributed. Additionally starting in 2022, the company match is now deposited into employee accounts each pay period to take advantage of dollar cost averaging, rather than once per year in a lump sum.

If you have any questions about your 401(k) account or need assistance with your retirement needs, please call Principal at 800-547-7754 and follow the prompts to speak to a retirement specialist. If you are seeking any additional assistance or guidance, please reach out to the SAXWA Retirement team at retirement@saxwa.com.

EXPECT MORE

ANYTHING TO ADD? Email marketing@saxllp.com