March-April 2020 BUZZ

THE BUZZ

MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGING PARTNER

Hi All, We are excited to announce that Sax has entered into a joint venture agreement with Safari Solutions, a long-standing and strategic technology partner, effective April 27.

This partnership has resulted in S2 Technology Solutions, LLC. We've seen firsthand through this pandemic how vital technology is to the success of a company. By joining forces with Safari, we have enhanced our managed IT services for clients. Through our combined strengths, we will work to protect our clients while enhancing their business capabilities.

You can read the full press release on our joint venture here.

As an update to our situation under the COVID-19 pandemic, we have extended our current work from home policy. Sax offices will remain closed through May 18.

Through this time of chaos and uncertainty, we as a firm have risen to the occasion - whether it be by educating the masses with informative webinars, having reassuring discussions with clients as their #1 advisor, and getting a significant amount of work out the door during challenging times. I want to thank you for your hard work staying on top of all the new information and effectively serving our clients - all while adapting to our new normal.

As we continue to move ahead to 7/15, remember to work the hours now to “Save our Summer”. Let’s stay focused getting client information in today and avoid a crunch in July so we can have an undisturbed summer with our families, our friends and for our own well-deserved personal downtime. If you find yourself less busy at times, we strongly encourage you to utilize PTO as a reset and to spend undivided time on yourself and/or with your families.

As always, thank you for stepping up to what sometimes feels like neverending challenges. I’m always so impressed with how our team members step up when needed, and the whole Partner group wishes to thank you sincerely for your dedication to your work and our firm.

We will continue to evaluate and make changes to our approach as our situation evolves. Should you have any questions or concerns, always feel free to reach out to me. My Skype is always open.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and remember we are all in this together!

Joseph A. Damiano

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RECENT WINS - Feb. 29 - April 27

TOTAL WINS YTD

TOTAL RECURRING WINS YTD

$1,442,500

$1,086,500

NEW CLIENT WINS

ENGAGEMENT TEAM

1. Hudson Plastic Surgery LLC 2. The Marque Global, Inc. 3. Cosan Construction

Sue Reed Thomas Kopnicky & Frank Centrella Ermal Luzaj

4. Millett Family Dynasty Trust

Joseph Damiano & Larry Gradzki

5. Tenafly Animal Hospital PC

Jason Borofsky & Jennifer Moroz

6. Santa Hill Ranch, Inc 7. Future Kimono 8. GWG - Gamma USA 9. Redwood Real Estate Group 10. Datto 11. Wakefield v Wakefield 12. Moon Shadow Properties, LLC

Frank Centrella Chris Gaffney Michael Curry & Stephen Ehrenberg Jason Borofsky & John Murphy Kathleen Alexander Megan Sartor Kevin Hansen & David DePiero

HUMAN RESOURCES

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to the newest members of our Sax family.

Leslie Nash Gladys Lombos Igor Petrovic

CSA, Typist | Clifton | 3.11.20 ASG | Clifton | 3.2.20 A & A Manager | Clifton | 5.4.20

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

Nick Terentino

Tax Temp | Clifton | 3.30.20

Gabriella Triveno

Tax Intern | Clifton | 4.1.20

Nick Nuziale

Tax Intern | Clifton | 4.1.20

Hance Cruz

Tax Intern | Madison | 4.1.20

Stanley Jeanty Loretta Przybylski Raul Gutierrez Adam Carcione

Tax Intern | Empire | 4.1.20 CSA Temp SaxWA | Clifton | 4.3.20 A & A Associate | Clifton | 4.10.20 IT Intern | Clifton | 4.10.20

Mirella Arias

Tax Intern | Clifton | 4.10.20

Josh Karasik

Intern | Pennington | 4.10.20

Franklin Ortiz

Intern | Clifton | 4.13.20

Omar Nasif

Tax Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

Matthew Gardella

Tax Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

Natasha Appiah

Tax Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

Russell Peachman

A & A Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

Elizabeth Giovine

A & A Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

Edward Gonzalez

A & A Associate | Clifton | 4.15.20

COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER

Upcoming Webinars Sax Wealth Advisors Staying the Course Through COVID-19 View Invite

Wednesday, April 29 @ 4 PM Guest Speaker: Apollo Lupescu, DFA Moderator: Joe Piela & Jeremy Rhen Sax LLP Weekly Update: Loan Options & Forgiveness Strategies Every Thursday @ 10 AM Speakers: Joshua Chananie, Todd Polyniak & Stephen Ehrenberg

View All Recorded Webinars

View this week's Invite

Retirement Update: Schedule a time to discuss your 401(k) account 401(k) statements have been sent out to employees participating in the SAX LLP Savings and Investment Plan.

With significant fluctuations in the markets since the onset of COVID-19, you may have questions about how your 401(k) account has been impacted.

While we are not in our offices, the team at Sax Wealth Advisors are still available to support you.

As a participant in the plan, you can always contact us to discuss your retirement plan portfolio and the options available to you. We encourage you to reach out for an individual conversation about your account. While everyone’s situation is different, we can help you to better understand your portfolio and the important long-term questions to think about during this time and for the future.

To make reaching Sax Wealth Advisors about your retirement plan easier, we have created a new e-mail address: retirement@saxwa.com Please utilize this e-mail address for any questions you have or to schedule a one-on-one conversation. To reach out directly to the team for any retirement plan related items, please contact Joe Piela or Eric Seidman.

March Michael Doyle, CPA Michael began working for the firm as an intern in early 2018 and accepted his full time position in the A&A Department of November that same year. He recently passed his CPA exams, exemplifying his strong work ethic and determination. Michael has learned an extensive amount of tax knowledge while working at Sax and wants to continue his education to best serve his clients.

Tod Christianson, CPA Tod became a part of the Sax team when the firm merged with The Hunter Group in 2017 and has 28 years of experience in the field. He is a valuable Partner of the Accounting & Auditing Department and specializes in Employee Benefit Plan Audits. His main goal is to best serve his clients by helping them address any needs or challenges they may be facing.

Read more about Michael and Tod in our Q&As here

April Melissa Bollinger Melissa began working at the firm in November of 2017 and was recently promoted to Senior Associate in July of 2019. She has her hands in an array of industries, but has recently been working closely with the firm's Valuation, Forensic and Litigation (VFL) niche. Melissa's goals include earning her CPA license and becoming more familiar with the VFL niche.

Alan Isaacs, CPA Alan began his career at Sax in July of 1972 and is a Senior Manager in the firm's Accounting Services Group. He specializes in payroll services and on a day-to-day basis, Alan handles payroll and payroll tax issues and proofreads financial statements

Read more about Melissa and Alan in our Q&As here

Great Cards John Beckerle and Schoenstani Gil both deserve Great Cards for going above and beyond. They stepped up to preparing complex trust returns, putting in significantly more hours to get the work done. Even with no manager on this account this year, we were able to deliver ahead of schedule to the client. They worked great as a team to resolve any issues that came up and took complete ownership of the account.

Nick Kontos deserves a Great Card for being very helpful during this challenging time period. He is going above and beyond to help individuals with their remote access, and we thank him!

Ryan Alexander has been going above and beyond while remote working. He has had to go into the office several times to help individuals and the firm. He is on call and available to help individuals.

Victoria Hochman stepped up on RCCA who asked us to provide a tax summary of the new stimulus programs and details on a Medicare grant program (outside her wheelhouse). Without hesitation, Vicki pulled together the details and presented the information to the RCCA executive team. With her knowledge of the client, she was able to provide client specific examples and made great suggestions.

Her presentation was articulate and to the point.

ANNOUNCEMENTS | REMINDERS

Congratulations to Adam Holzberg and his wife on their new baby boy!

Brody Grayson Holzberg was born on March 26th at 10:16 PM.

Firm management and administration have been using Sax's SharePoint Intranet to communicate important issues and sharing of documents related to COVID-19 and 2020 Tax season events and presentations. These items currently reside on the Intranet homepage.

COMMUNICATING WITH CLIENTS THROUGH SAX'S TECHNOLOGY

As we all adjust to the current work situation, here is a quick reminder of the technology Sax utilizes to communicate with our clients:

Delivers returns securely to individuals allowing for e-sign of 8879s Delivers returns securely to businesses and allows for downloading, signing, and uploading e-file authorizations, and the convenient distribution of K-1s Utilizes personal identification and security links to access (no passwords to remember) Automatic reminders for voucher payments

Don’t forget! Send signed 8879s to efile@saxllp.com

APP ¡ Allows clients to send us information using just their cell phone. No need for scanners!

Employees have the ability to send and receive faxes using email.

Certain personnel have a link in their email signature giving clients an easy, secure way to send files to the firm ShareFile also offers the ability to securely send files back to client Great alternative for those who are challenged by the portal

CLIENT PORTAL Client Flow - Easiest way for the firm to send multiple documents directly from GFR to the client, especially helpful when a single signer has responsibility for multiple entities. These documents have no expiration.

File Exchange - A method for clients to send us information, and we can send back to them. These documents expire after 14 days.

As you can see, Sax is always looking for more efficient and effective client communication. If you would like more information or a refresher on any of these topics, please reach out to Virginia Dennerlein.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS

The Performance Evaluation Process will start on Monday, May 4th.

All Engagement Evaluations are due Friday, May 1st.

On May 4th you will receive an email from Halogen asking you to complete your selfreview form. Once you complete your self-review form, your Performance Manager will be notified and they will complete your annual performance evaluation.

ACCESS HALOGEN HERE

Upward Feedback: Multi-rater feedback is again part of the Evaluation Process to gain an understanding of a person’s overall performance. If you have been identified to give feedback you will receive an email from Halogen informing you that you have a Task To Complete.

Please log on to your Halogen Portal and you will see the evaluation for the manager, senior manager or director you need to complete.

The feedback you submit is confidential, and honest feedback is very important.

2020 Performance Evaluation Timeline:

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT EVALUATIONS

The engagement evaluation process is for client engagements which are 10 hours or more for the Tax team and 20 hours or more for the A&A team or warrant feedback.

Jennifer Tosi will enter the client engagements into the Halogen system weekly based on what she receives from scheduling. If you need an engagement evaluation set up in Halogen please let Jennifer know.

LOGIN TO HALOGEN HERE

When you enter the Halogen website, you will be asked to enter your username and password. Your username is the first initial of your first name and your entire last name with no spaces. Example: Name = Elvis Presley; Username = epresley If you wish to add documents to your current Halogen file, you can upload documents to be stored there.

Once the engagement evaluation is set up in Halogen you will receive an email from “Human Resources” “Appraisal Process - Task to Complete” in the subject line.

The engagement evaluation process has three steps: 1. Engagement Leader writes the appraisal (within 10 days of getting email) 2. The engagement leader meets with the employee and delivers the feedback 3. The employee reviews and signs off on the appraisal If you experience any trouble with creating an account or need assistance with Halogen, please contact Jennifer Tosi.

COMMUTER BENEFIT PLAN

GREAT NEWS! Commuter benefits are now available through Sax, effective June 1. Here are some things to know about the tax-advantaged commuter benefit program: The program is now available to both New York and New Jersey employees. In order to receive your June 2020 transit or parking benefit, you must enroll with HealthEquity WageWorks by Sunday, May 10, 2020. Changes for any month thereafter must be submitted by the 10th of the month to be effective the 1st of the following month.

How to Enroll: To enroll in the program, visit Health Equity Wage Works website or call (877) 9243967 24/7 for assistance.

On the website, click the “Log In/Register” link on the homepage, and then select “Employee Registration”. When asked for your ID Code in the self-identification process, please use the last four digits of your Social Security Number. Once you’ve completed your WageWorks profile, follow these steps to complete your enrollment: From the Dashboard page, click on “Enroll in Commuter” Step through the process to place your order An order confirmation email will be sent after the order is placed.

Please follow this link for more information regarding the plan to consider before making elections.

Please note the following: The plan is open to all benefit eligible employees Funds can be used for public transit and parking as part of your daily commute (does not include tolls).

Costs you are being reimbursed for by the firm are not covered.

Note: We recommend that you choose a WageWorks commuter card, rather than a transit pass due to the current situation with Covid-19. As long as you are employed with the firm, you will not lose the benefits on the card. However, if you choose to get a transit pass, these will eventually expire.

WORK FROM HOME GUIDELINES

As we all know, we are working in challenging and uncertain times. It is important to stay positive and optimistic. Here are some tips that will help put yourself in a position to make the most out of your time working while social distancing.

No two home offices are alike, so find what works for you to create your own quarantine normalcy.

Create a routine for your workday and stick to it.

Get dressed for your workday.

Communicate Be sure to connect daily with other team members, preferably through Skype with the camera on to maximize social interaction.

If you are stuck on a problem, speak immediately to your engagement team member to get it resolved quickly.

Reach out to your Performance Manager and/or Human Resources with any questions or concerns.

Attend any scheduled meetings virtually. If a Skype invite is not attached to the meeting,please contact the organizer and request one.

All remote associates are expected to be available and respond to requests or inquiries in a timely manner.

Enter your time daily.

All associates are expected to complete scheduled work. If this is not possible inform scheduling, your in charge, your manager or Human Resources.

If you cannot meet the minimum 7.5-hour workday use your PTO. Contact Human Resources to discuss alternate work arrangements. For example, if you need to reduce your work hours.Take Breaks Be sure to take a break at some point during the workday. Have lunch with your family or friends. If the weather permits, go out and take a walk or bike ride (while practicing social distancing). Taking a break is a great way to re-energize and finish the day strong.

Focus on results,setting goals and measuring performance.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

During this difficult time, it is important to remind everyone we have this hotline.

EAP provides guidance and resources to help you and your family find the right balance between your work and home life.

Services include help with child and elder care, alcohol and drug abuse, relationship difficulties, depression, financial and legal concerns, grief and loss, identity theft, fraud resolution and others.

Call 1-888-293-6948 to speak to a licensed counselor.

JOIN OUR WALKING CHALLENGE! You are invited to stay active, healthy and have a little fun along the way in a walking/activity challenge that officially kicked off. It's not too late to join!

Your goal is to walk 6,500 steps a day during the challenge from now until June 3rd.

You'll walk on the virtual map, "Global Cuisine� and will travel the world while learning recipes from across five continents. These recipes are designed to be healthy, easy-to-make and, above all, delicious! As you cross the world and try these dishes, share your results in blogs and photos.

We want to know what recipes you loved, hear your own recipe ideas and see who can be the first to try every recipe!

Here is a step by step guide on how to register on the WalkerTracker site.

This will be an individual challenge. A prize will be awarded to the person with the most steps at the end of the competition.

Go to Saxllp.walkertracker.com today to register!

Need Help?

If you have any issues with setting up devices or need assistance with the site please reach out to the support team at support.walkertracker.com.

There are help articles or you can click the "submit a request" link at the top right of the page and ask for additional assistance. The support team is highly responsive and will troubleshoot directly with you.

Have Fun!

Don't forget to join our

WEEKLY VIRTUAL HAPPY HOURS Led by Michael Rolls and Matt Goldstein EVERY FRIDAY AT 4:30 PM STAY TUNED FOR WEEKLY INVITES AND THEMES If you have a suggestion for future happy hour themes, email your idea to marketing@saxllp.com

ANYTHING TO ADD? Email marketing@saxllp.com