Q1 BUZZ 2024

THE BUZZ

The latest and greatest happenings at

SAX resources

CEO & MANAGING PARTNER

Joseph A. Damiano CPA

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Joshua Chananie CPA

Joseph A Damiano CPA

Shivani Jain CPA, MST

Ermal Luzaj CPA, MBA

Joseph Shannon CPA/ABV, CFE

Kyle Stawicki ChFC®

OFFICE LEADERS

Parsippany, NJ

Joseph A. Damiano CPA

Ewing, NJ

Jeremy Rhen CFP®

New York City, NY

Lisa Goldman CPA, M.TAX, TEP

Mumbai, India

Sudeep Sachindranath

RISK MANAGEMENT

W Michael Curry CPA, CCIFP

Frederick Delacruz

Virginia Dennerlein SHRM-CP

Christopher Gaffney CPA, MST

Trevor Hodges

Shivani Jain CPA, MST

Michael Rolls

Kyle Stawicki ChFC®

FIRM OPERATIONS

Chief Financial Officer

Nicholas Valentini

Chief Human Resources Officer

Sharon Bleibtreu PHR

Chief Information Officer

Robert Owen

Chief Marketing Officer/ Head of Business Development

Leon Grassi

Chief Operating Officer

Michael Rolls

Director of IT

Frederick Delacruz

Director of Learning & Development

Nick Romanowski

Director of M&A

Peyton Bowman, MBA

Director of Marketing

Margaret Henn

Director of Operations

Virginia Dennerlein SHRM-CP

Director of Operations - SWA

Trevor Hodges

Director of Quality Control

Akram Soliman CPA

CHARITABLE FOUNDATION BOARD

Joseph A. Damiano CPA

Lauren Frary MA, LRC

Candy Gordon-Geanoules CPA

Helena Lynch CPA, MST

Jennifer L Moroz CPA

Deborah Nappi CPA, MST

Michael Rolls

Peter J. Scalise

Marqus White CPA

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Accounting + Auditing

Albert Traverso CPA

P: (973) 472-6250

E: atraverso@saxllp.com

Cannabis

Todd W Polyniak CPA

P: (973) 554-6164

E: tpolyniak@saxllp.com

Construction

Ermal Luzaj CPA, MBA

P: (973) 554-6174

E: eluzaj@saxllp.com

Consumer Products

Joshua Chananie CPA

P: (973) 554-6160

E: jchananie@saxllp.com

Employee Benefit Plan Audits

Jennifer L. Moroz CPA

P: (973) 472-6250

E: jmoroz@saxllp.com

Fractional Finance

Eric Meisner

P: (212) 661-8640

E: emeisner@saxllp.com

Healthcare

Deborah Nappi CPA, MST

P: (973) 554-6191

E: dnappi@saxllp com

HR Consulting

Sharon Bleibtreu PHR

P: (973) 554-6170

E: sbleibtreu@saxllp.com

International Tax

Lisa Goldman CPA, M.TAX, TEP

P: (212) 661-8640

E: lgoldman@saxllp com

New Lease Accounting

Jason Borofsky CPA, MBA

P: (973) 554-6082

E: jborofsky@saxllp.com

Nonprofit (National)

David Ashenfarb CPA

P: (212) 268-2805

E: dashenfarb@saxllp com

SAX resources

Private Client Services

Joseph J. Bulger

P: (973) 554-6094

E: jbulger@saxllp.com

Professional Services

Jennifer L Moroz CPA

P: (973) 472-6250

E: jmoroz@saxllp.com

Real Estate

Joseph Shannon CPA/ABV, CFE

P: (973) 554-6100

E: jshannon@saxllp.com

S2 Technology Solutions

Carl Van Dusen

P: (201) 268-3488

E: info@s2solutions.tech

SAX Capital Advisors

Jerome Fusco

P: (203) 988-3473

E: jfusco@saxca.com

SAX Wealth Advisors

Kyle R Stawicki ChFC®

P: (973) 554-6006

E: kstawicki@saxwa.com

State and Local Tax

Richard Goldstein JD

P: (973) 472-6250

E: rgoldstein@saxllp.com

Strategic Business Transformation

Lauren Frary MA, LRC

P: (973) 472-6250

E: lfrary@saxllp.com

Tax

Shivani Jain CPA, MST

P: (973) 554-6161

E: sjain@saxllp.com

Tax Controversy

Julio M Jimenez JD, LLM

P: (857) 891-3114

E: jjimenez@saxllp.com

Transaction Strategy & Transformation

Eric Lewandowski

P: (401) 556-7940

E: elewandowski@saxllp.com

Trusts & Estates

Lisa M. Mela CPA, MST

P: (973) 554-6168

E: lmela@saxllp.com

Valuation, Forensic & Litigation

Megan Sartor CPA/ABV/CFF

P: (973) 554-6158

E: msartor@saxllp.com

program champion contact email address

Asana Leon Grassi lgrassi@saxllp.com

Axcess axcess@saxllp.com

BNA Tax Planner Michael Penberg mpenberg@saxllp.com

CaseWare caseware@saxllp com

CCH (Importing to) Kennedy Spittler kspittler@saxllp com

Client Data Changes clientInfo@saxllp.com

Client Leaving Firm nlac@saxllp.com

Confirmation.com

Dillon Chiuchiolo dchiuchiolo@saxllp.com

Fixed Assets Tyler Goodspeed tgoodspeed@saxllp com

SurePrep sureprep@saxllp com

GEMS Lisa Mela lmela@saxllp.com

GFR gfr@saxllp.com

HubSpot Leon Grassi lgrassi@saxllp.com

Portal clientportal@saxllp com

Practice Management finance@saxllp com

SafeSend Virginia Dennerlein vdennerlein@saxllp.com

Suralink Joe DeBarr jdebarr@saxllp.com

SAX resources

program

A&A Scheduling a&aschedule@saxllp.com

ASA asa@saxllp.com

CPE Q&A training@saxllp.com

E-file efile@saxllp.com

Engagement Letters signedltr@saxllp.com

Innovation Committee innovation@saxllp com

IT support@saxtechnology com

LCvista training@saxllp.com

LumiQ training@saxllp.com

Marketing marketing group@saxllp.com

P.O.W.E.R. Committee power@saxllp.com

Retirement Planning retirement@saxwa.com

RSM training@saxllp.com

Shared Services sharedservices@saxllp.com

Source Documents sourcedocs@saxllp com

Tax Documents taxdocrequest@saxwa com

Tax Scheduling taxschedule@saxllp.com

Transcripts transcripts@saxllp.com

firm announcements

read it here.

read it here.

The Founders' Award is a vehicle in which SAX can honor the values of our Founders by empowering and supporting organizations in ways that ensure their success.

The application window for SAX’s 6th annual Founders’ Award opens April 1.

All nonprofits are invited to submit for their chance to win $20,000 to support their mission.

2024 Theme: Empowerment

Application deadline is June 14, 2024.

read more here.

Vicki Henn

We're thrilled to announce the return of our Summer Fridays, with a 1PM dismissal starting the Friday of Memorial Day to the Friday of Labor Day*

This thoughtful initiative aims to provide our hardworking team with an opportunity to unwind a little earlier and savor the joys of summer. It's a chance to enjoy the warmer months, spend quality time with loved ones, or simply rejuvenate for the weekend ahead.

*To take advantage of the early dismissal, our 37.5 hours must be met throughout the week, and all work must be complete.

SAX LLP encourages you, your significant others and children to attend our annual

SUMMER Picnic

Come together for a mid-summer celebration with food, drinks, kids games, and more!

THEME : JERSEY BOARDWALK

Forest Lodge

11 Reinman Rd. Warren, NJ

Thursday July 18, 2024

Date: Time: 11:30am4:00pm

For over a decade, we've proudly hosted the SAX 4 MILER run/walk event. All proceeds from sponsorships, donations, and registrations directly support the Child Life Department at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ.

The SAX 4 MILER has emerged as the primary financial resource for the Child Life Department. This vital support enables them to offer comprehensive holistic therapies to pediatric patients, alleviating the burdens of hospitalization, illness, and treatment.

Each passing year marks another milestone in our mission to raise funds for the young patients at St. Joseph’s. However, this year holds particular significance as we approach the incredible milestone of $1 million raised in total!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 |

PARSIPPANY HQ

We hope that you join us on SAX’s journey toward our $1 MILLION goal. Together, let's make a lasting impact on the pediatric patients of St. Joseph's.

more details to come.

SAX Hosted Thought Leadership Events

Navigating Markets in an Election Year

Tuesday, April 16 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Nonprofit Industry Updates save the date!

Thursday, June 6 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM

The Westin New York Times Square

Q2 TAX WITH SAX

Tuesday, June 18 | 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Consumer & Industrial Products Conference

Friday, November 1 | 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM

American Dream, East Rutherford, NJ

Real Estate Industry Update

Wednesday, November 6 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, NJ

Construction Industry Update

Thursday, November 14 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, NJ

WEBINAR

Register Here

IN-PERSON

WEBINAR

IN-PERSON

IN-PERSON

IN-PERSON

All of our Industry Update events have sponsorship opportunities! If you know of a company that may be interested, email Marketing Group@saxllp.com for the information.

update from it

CaseWare Update

Recently, IT formed its own internal SAX CaseWare Help Desk!

Similar to our SAX Axcess Help Desk, the CaseWare Help Desk was formed to assist our fellow team members in using the CaseWare program effectively and properly.

If you are having trouble using the program, please contact them here: caseware@saxllp.com

The IT Help Desk will still be directly involved and assisting with all technical issues as they arise.

marketing

podcasts / vlogs

press room

Congratulations to Peter J. Scalise who was appointed to USO’s Global Advisory Council.

Eric Lewandowski was interviewed by Veterinary Practice News on the next generation of practice ownership.

Read the full article here.

Richard Goldstein was interviewed by ROINJ on Governor Murphy’s proposed Corporate Transit Fee.

Read the full article here.

Lisa Mela was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal discussing ways to mitigate the survivor trap when a spouse passes.

Read the full article here.

Family Law Symposium in the field

On January 27th, SAX joined hundreds of family law attorneys, judges, paralegals and other related professionals at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick at New Jersey’s premier family law event, the 2024 Family Law Symposium!

NYSSCPA NFP Conference

On January 25, SAX Nonprofit leadership took part in sponsoring the NYSSCPA NFP Conference at the Marriott in Times Square. While there, they positioned themselves as exceptional thought leaders through their engaging presentations!

event Recaps

Our Q1 420Cannect was held on February 28, with special guest speakers Giovanni and Sharquana Paul from the Noire Dispensary in Maplewood, NJ As always, Colby Piper and our very own Todd Polyniak facilitated great conversation between our guest speakers and the crowd!

In case you missed it, watch as SAX’s in-house tax experts provide valuable information on topics that include:

Latest developments and legislation

Updates on IRS enforcement actions

Current tax controversy issues

Updates on penalty litigation and other cases

Watch the webinar

In case you missed it, watch as SAX’s Nonprofit experts offer creative fundraising strategies to combat the “Giving Crisis,” review the current state of philanthropy, and discuss actionable steps nonprofit organizations can implement to improve financial results

Watch the webinar

Healthcare industry update event

On February 16, our Healthcare niche hosted their annual industry update event at the beautiful Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, NJ With over 100 clients and COIs in attendance, it was a morning full of networking and industry insights.

The event gave us a glimpse at the latest challenges, concerns, and industry trends happening in the healthcare space. It’s the kind of information healthcare leaders, decision-makers, and investors need to shape their strategies

Marketing Resources

We are excited to announce the launch of our updated powerpoint deck that carries our brand refresh. Please find access to that below.

SAX slide deck template

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact Marketing at marketing group@saxllp com

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the cross sell corner

hr consulting

Provides companies with HR support to help make strategic long-term and dayto-day business decisions, while ensuring a business understands the changing landscape of regulatory and industry standards. Learn more here.

investment banking

SAX Capital Advisors is armed with a wealth of expertise to assist in finding the perfect partner when selling or acquiring a business, preparing a business for sale, raising capital, restructuring a company, and more Learn more here

fractional finance

Whether it’s a temporary engagement or a CFO level resource part time – SAX Fractional Finance is here to support a business’ needs. We can step in at any time and provide strategic thinking to maximize opportunities by leveraging years of experience in a variety of industries. Learn more here.

private client

We are experienced professionals offering tailored solutions to managing wealth, preserving legacy and ensuring financial security for high-net-worth individuals and families. Learn more here.

strategic business transformation

We provide nonprofits with 360 consulting spanning from start-up to succession planning, aimed at providing strategic and innovative solutions to propel an organization’s mission forward. Learn more here.

technology

We provide businesses with critical technology services like cloud migrations and operations, disaster recovery, managed services, business continuity, cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, technology strategy development, project management, and much more Learn more here

transaction advisory & corporate restructuring

From integration to transformation to separation strategy, we are results focused M&A leaders who work to ensure businesses are strategically positioned, identifying and realizing value during the due diligence process and throughout the entirety of the transaction Learn more here

valuation , forensics and litigation

Whether a client is engaged in litigation, investigating potential fraud, Alternative Dispute Resolution or just trying to find a solution to a complex financial situation, the VFL team can provide expert guidance Learn more here

wealth management

With over $2 billion in collective assets, SAX Wealth Advisors is an independent registered investment advisor offering strategic financial planning, tax planning, investment management, individual and employer retirement plans, and more. Learn more here

human resources

the sax family

new sax llp leadership

Meet Rob Owen: SAX’s Chief Information Officer

Rob Owen is an accomplished IT professional with nearly 25 years of experience and joins SAX as Chief Information Officer and Practice Leader of SAX Technology Advisors. In his role, Rob will spearhead the strategic direction and oversight of the firm's technology infrastructure and play a pivotal role in aligning technology initiatives with the firm's business objectives.

Hear from Rob on what he hopes to accomplish here at SAX

the sax family

new sax wealth advisors leadership

Jennifer Leong CFP® CIMA®

SAXWA’s Partner, Wealth Advisor

Jennifer brings nearly 20 years of wealth management experience to the SAX Wealth team, where she is committed to help clients make a meaningful impact through their investments and legacy plans. Her areas of expertise include financial planning, retirement planning, and investment strategies.

William Connor CFA, CFP®

SAXWA’s Partner, Wealth Advisor

Bill brings over two decades of investment management and financial planning experience. Bill has a diversified skill set that focuses on risk management, investment analysis, and portfolio management. Bill also has experience with alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, and managed futures.

the sax family welcome to sax!

Daniel DeFilippo Sr Resource Manager, A&AFlorida 2/5/2024

Kathy Alvare SaxWA Consultant - Florida 2/12/2024

Miranda Aoyagi Controller - Remote 2/29/2024

Teri Lewallen, CPA A & A Manager - CA 3/18/2024

Trevor Debelak, CPA Senior A & A Manager, NFP - IL 3/25/2024

Pooja Sadanand Bangera Finance - Senior - Mumbai 2/1/2024

Pranita Tapan Panigrahi Tax Analyst - Mumbai 3/4/2024

Jasmin Marrero Intern - VFL - Parsippany 3/25/2024

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

Jessica Dagnenica Senior Tax Manager 2/2/2024

Geoffrey Sargeant Wealth Advisor, SaxWA 2/5/2024

Claudia Frankel Tax Manager 3/7/2024

Nina Bahazhevska Partner 3/29/2024

Ilya Bashlyk A & A Senior Associate 3/29/2024

Anuj Singh Analyst - India 3/31/2024

SAX travel system

We are happy to announce we are partnering with LXR Travel, a concierge level travel management company.

LXR Travel will assist you with making your work-related travel arrangements for air, car, car service, hotel, and train. By partnering with LXR for your travel arrangements, it will allow for many benefits. LXR is not “travel police” but rather offers a service that will be there for our travelers from door to door; whether you need to cancel a trip, extend your trip, or your flight is delayed, and you will miss a connecting flight, LXR will be there to help.

They are not a call center, so you will get to know the agents and will be able to call/email your favorite agent directly to form a relationship. They have an online traveler portal that allows for management of your traveler profile and reward #s, so that your miles/rewards will be part of every booking made through LXR, and will also keep track of your unused tickets that are available for future use. view the instructions on setting up your account here.

Health and wellness

See the full schedule for the upcoming Health and Wellness webinars below:

INDIA

In February, our Mumbai office completed its first year of operations. As we reflect on the past 12 months, it is with great pride and gratitude that we acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and collaborative efforts that have led to this remarkable milestone.

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to every team member who has been part of this incredible journey. Your support and contributions have played a pivotal role in shaping our Mumbai office into a thriving hub of innovation and excellence.

Below is a photo commemorating this celebratory day with the entire team.

Great cards

Sydney Hestevold

Sydney did a great job on business returns and the 1040s for a client. She went above and beyond and stepped up to help prepare and file years’ worth of amended tax returns for numerous entities and individuals Sydney’s organizational skills and reconciliations made this project easy to tackle and complete. Sydney’s eagerness to learn and ability to think outside the box really shined through. She is a true team player great work!

Rukiatu F. Lawal

Rukiatu played a crucial role on a client and worked extremely hard to move a difficult engagement toward completion

Jennifer Tosi

Jennifer played a significant role in the launch of our new learning management system. She was pivotal in ensuring a timely, accurate, and complete migration of CPE data from Micron to LCvista. On several occasions, she volunteered to take on ad hoc deliverables within a tight turnaround while balancing her day-to-day responsibilities Overall, her consistent contributions and insights steered us towards a successful launch of the platform

Sadchit Desai

Sadchit stepped up and ramped up client service for a client. He dedicated numerous unplanned hours to help the client “revamp” their accounting structure for 40+ rental properties. He contributed to numerous lengthy client meetings, both in-person and virtual, and Sadchit made himself available around the clock His QuickBooks knowledge made the entire team feel comfortable with the major transitions

Natalie Alvarez

Natalie has tirelessly onboarded some difficult clients for a new advisor at SAX.

Alex Hoff

Alex worked with a new client of mine to analyze their current 401(k) plan, educate them on it, and explain how Sax WA can help them in an advisory role. She also explained the benefits of adding a cash balance plan, brought great value to the table, and helped further our relationship with them as trusted advisors, not just vendors.

Louis Calamunci

Lou was my right-hand man and willing to travel far distances for two audit reconsiderations that were a real uphill battle with the IRS. The Service had previously conducted examinations, but the taxpayers provided no information, and the Service disallowed expense categories at 100% It was then up to us to undo that damage, and Lou was crucial in both audit reconsiderations He was physically present at both in-person proceedings to back me up and help sway the agents on some of the greyer issues.

Daniel Davidson

Dan was a key player in getting us prepared for both in-person meetings mentioned above. Both audits required immediate action, and Dan rose to the challenge and helped put us in good shape for our meetings. He also did some great work on another audit which required detailed basis schedule reconstruction going back to earlier years Dan is becoming a pivotal part of the tax controversy group and showing tremendous capabilities.

Anthony Morreale

Anthony worked quickly to put together the support packages for clients. We were given very tight deadlines, and without Anthony’s involvement in the process, it would have been extremely difficult for us to be properly prepared for the meetings.

Ryan Lange

Ryan deserves a Great Card for his hard work, always being available, and going above and beyond

Janet Sabah

Janet got thrown into an audit late in the game She did a great job getting up to speed, understanding the issues, and reverse engineering the auditor’s report, which was cryptic and didn’t lay out what was allowed vs. disallowed and why. She went through the report and the expense schedules with a finetooth comb to help us identify and focus on the important disallowances to tackle She also had to separately list out lump entry transactions on the client’s General Ledger to help properly identify which vendors were associated with the disallowed expenses Janet’s work was crucial, and we’re getting tremendous results with the auditor because of it.

Chris Gass

Chris did a fantastic job on a lights-out audit He communicated his questions timely to keep the audit moving forward Chris also put in the extra late hours I asked of him without complaint. He was professional with the client and team. The best part was that he communicated the status of his work and asked before logging off if there was anything else to be done. He is a really great team player!

Deirdre O’ Brien

Deirdre went above and beyond sending reports and reconciling clients' outstanding balances, which saved time and got the firm paid.

jersey day

Throughout the week of February 5 - 9, SAX members not only rocked their favorite sports gear, but also raised a total of $673 for the SAX Charitable Foundation. Way to go team!

Marketing team bonding

On February 29, marketing took a team bonding trip to volunteer at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Successfully, almost 250 bags of pasta were sorted for families in need.

new additions to the sax Family

Matt Bernocchi welcomed Brooks Matthew Bernocchi on March 9.

Jonathan Yassa welcomed Benjamin Yassa on March 13

Zehnieta Turner welcomed Zy'mir Anthony Turner on March 23.

SAX P.O.W.E.R.

Professional Organization of Women for Empowerment & Results

The Group’s primary purpose is to empower the women of SAX through education and professional development, support and community outreach.

All are welcome to join the following P.O.W.E.R. sponsored events & initiatives upcoming this year:

March was Women’s History Month!

March was not just another month; it was a time of celebration, reflection, and recognition of the invaluable contributions women have made throughout history.

Women's History Month, observed annually in March, serves as a poignant reminder of the struggles, achievements, and resilience of women across the globe.

This year’s theme for Women’s History Month was “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”.

Read more here