The Wrap

Customers increasingly value (and support) businesses that share their own personal values regarding social and environmental issues. In turn, businesses that are transparent and accountable in their policies are often well rewarded. Enter: environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting—sometimes also known as sustainability reporting. 

What should businesses know about ESG reporting in order to set themselves up for success?

In this episode of The Wrap, Barry Melancon (President & CEO of the American Institute of CPAs and CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants) joins our hosts to explain the ins and outs of ESG. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll:

• Know what ESG is and why it should matter to businesses
• Understand why ESG is at peak popularity for both customers and businesses
• Know what to expect when it comes to the future of ESG
• Know how to determine what your company may need to be reporting on in this area based on frameworks

Resources for additional learning:

• Article: Understanding the Accounting and Tax Implications of Adopting ESG Strategies
• Article: Sustainability Risks to the Reputation of a Business [ESG Reporting Explained]

No business is immune to fraud, yet few businesses are proactive to examine their own risks. The trust in long-time employees, the convenience of automated payment systems and the simplicity of internal processes can all lull businesses into a false sense of security. And a false sense of security can quickly turn into financial hurt for your business due to fraud. 

So, what can businesses do practically to protect themselves from fraud?

In this episode of The Wrap, Tammy McGaughy, CPA/ABV, CFF, CFE, who specializes in helping businesses identify and correct fraud instances, joins our hosts to discuss fraud protection for businesses. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll be able to:

• Be aware of some of the most common types of fraud in businesses
• Grasp why there has been a recent uptick in business fraud cases and understand the causes of fraud
• See why having company credit cards can make your organization more vulnerable
• Implement immediate tactics that can help with fraud protection for businesses
• Know how to effectively monitor your organization’s fraud risk (without being in multiple locations at once)

In this episode of The Wrap, Jessica Juliano, CPA—a recruiter dedicated to identifying and placing talent in accounting, finance and administration fields—joins our hosts to discuss why staffing and recruiting is different today, how businesses can successfully onboard the right hires despite the competition and how to vet your head hunter so you actually get what you’re paying for.

After listening to this episode, you’ll know:

• How businesses can get the right candidates interested in their open roles
• How hunting for talent for your company is different today than it was a few years ago
• How to vet a recruiter or head-hunter so you know they’re a good match for your organization
• What staffing and recruiting resources you may need to acquire the right hires and how to use them efficiently
• How to distinguish your company from your competitors to attract the best hires

Additional resources:

• Blog: Find the Right IT Recruitment Agencies: 5 Questions to Ask Your Recruiter
• Blog: Evaluating Accounting Recruiters: 8 Questions to Vet Your Headhunter
• Blog: Engineering Recruitment: 5 Questions to Vet Your Engineering Recruiter
• Blog: Staffing and Recruiting: Why and How Today’s Market is Different
• Blog: How to Multiply the Efforts of Your Talent Acquisition Team
• Blog: Is Remote Work Here to Stay? (The Past, Present, Future and Benefits)
• Blog: Recruiting Solutions: Three Reasons Industry Expertise Counts
• Blog: Hiring in the Age of the Remote Worker: Three Ways to Be More Effective
• Blog: Three Ways a Talent Acquisition Specialist is Key to Your Company’s Recruitment
  
  

Even when federal tax laws change, do you know how the states your company has a presence in are responding? 

Your company’s state and local tax matters can get complicated fast depending on where your business is located, where your employees are located and where your customers are located. So what should savvy companies know in 2022 about state and local taxes?

In this episode of The Wrap, Colleen Aldridge, CPA and state and local tax expert, joins our hosts to discuss the tax landscape beyond federal tax changes and details the current landscape of state and local taxes for organizations.

After listening to this episode, you’ll know:

• How the most recent tax reform impacted the limitation on state deductions
• How pass-through entity taxes work and which companies are impacted
• What companies contemplating mergers or acquisitions should consider when it comes to state and local taxes
• The story of a real-life example of a company that made state and local tax changes after an acquisition
• What’s coming next in the world of state and local taxes 

Resources for additional learning:

• Blog: What You Need to Know about Sales Tax, Nexus and Wayfair [Answers to Real Questions from Real Companies]
• Blog: Do You Know Where Your Remote Employees Are? (and Why It Matters)
• Blog: Georgia and Alabama Adopt Elective Pass-Through Entity Tax

Employees are leaving their jobs in droves looking for something better. For workers, opportunities are seemingly endless. For companies, filling numerous empty positions while also attempting to retain the employees they still have is a challenge, to say the least. 

In this episode of The Wrap, David Salters (the leader of Warren Averett Staffing & Recruiting and talent acquisition expert) joins our hosts to discuss how to competitively recruit the talent your company needs—and how to maximize employee retention once they’ve been hired. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll know:

• How the staffing and recruiting market has changed even since the end of 2021
• The answer to the elusive and popular question, “Why are so many workers quitting their jobs?”
• How to more thoughtfully consider what your employees value so you can succeed in employee retention
• How to make your recruiting process more streamlined so it takes less time and is more attractive to candidates
• Why instituting psychological assessments in your recruiting may actually be hindering your efforts
• What’s next for today’s staffing and recruiting market and what your company can expect
• Why investing in middle managers is a key factor when it comes to employee retention

Resources for additional information:

• Blog: How to Multiply the Efforts of Your Talent Acquisition Team
• Blog: What Is Talent Acquisition? (And Why Is It More Important Today Than Ever?)
• Blog: Talent Acquisition vs. Recruitment: Which Does Your Company Need?
• Blog: Hiring in the Age of the Remote Worker: Three Ways to Be More Effective
• Blog: Are Time Delays Killing Your Recruiting Efforts? 

We can all agree that there’s no shortage of uncertainty when it comes to what 2022 may look like for businesses, and taxes are no exception. With IRS delays, potential legislative updates and a dynamic business environment, how should organizations respond?

In this episode of The Wrap, tax experts and business advisors Lisa Billings, CPA, and William Dow, CPA, join our hosts to discuss tax changes, IRS updates and what businesses should know to position themselves well for 2022. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll:

• Understand where legislative updates stand that may impact your company’s tax position
• Know what to expect in the short term for tax changes
• Understand how tax changes may influence your company’s M&A plans
• Be aware of what factors your business should consider when planning for the future in today’s environment

This episode reflects our views at the time it was recorded. 

Every large and successful business started somewhere—and we’re guessing it probably wasn’t with hundreds of employees and multiple locations. So how did they get there?

In this episode of The Wrap, our hosts welcome Doug Pace, CEO of Stonehill Innovation and David Capece, CEO of Sparxoo (authors of Level Up: Management Secrets to Create an Agile and Growing Services Organization), as well as Warren Averett’s own Richard Huckaby, CPA to discuss a framework for how small businesses can progress through the stages of scalable growth. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Stories about what is important to organizations at certain stages of their growth
• Examples of why mission, vision and values are important for organizations
• An overview of the stages of business growth, as well as the corresponding needs and priorities 
• Lessons learned from challenges with expanding a small business’s sales team
• Commentary about the importance of processes and structure to support scalable growth

Mentioned in this episode:

• Access “Level Up” by Doug Pace and David Capece

Six months from now, what will your business’s tax position be? (Talk about a literal million-dollar question!)

President Biden has proposed new federal tax plans affecting both businesses and individuals. And while the specifics remain up in the air, the time to start preparing your business to adapt is now. 

In this episode of The Wrap, Lisa Billings, CPA, and William Dow, CPA, join our hosts to discuss the possibilities of future tax changes under the Biden Administration and what implications they could have for businesses. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll be able to:

• Understand where the American Families Plan stands in the legislative life cycle
• Differentiate the Made in America Tax Plan from the American Families Plan
• Grasp what economic impact these plans may have and how it may influence decisions made by business owners and leaders
• Know what provisions have been proposed as part of these plans
• Understand what impact the federal tax plans may have on state taxes
• Consider how your business can start anticipating future tax changes now

This episode reflects our views at the time it was recorded. Information within should be used as reference only. We recommend that you talk to your Warren Averett advisor, or another business advisor, for the most current information or for guidance specific to your organization.

As companies continue to utilize the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), some are still applying for funds, some are navigating the forgiveness process and others are now facing a PPP audit. 

No matter where your company stands in the PPP process, it can be difficult to know what to do and what to expect. 

In this episode of the Wrap, Adam West, CPA (Warren Averett’s in-house PPP expert) and Mark Woods (Senior Vice President and SBA Executive Director at Southpoint Bank) join our hosts to discuss the current state of the PPP program, what the future may hold for PPP and what it all means for companies looking to take advantage of it. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll be able to:

• Grasp the current landscape of PPP lending and know if there are any remaining available PPP funds
• Move forward with tips for pursuing PPP loan forgiveness
• Gain a basic understanding of who is being audited and what is being considered in the PPP auditing process
• Understand how PPP and the Employee Retention Tax Credit relate to each other when it comes to eligible wages and loan forgiveness
• Know how Shuttered Venue Grants and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund interplay with PPP
• Gauge the longevity of the PPP program 

Resources for Continued Learning:

• Blog Post: Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) [What Companies Should Know]
• Blog Post: Frequently Asked Questions about Shuttered Venue Grants Answered
• Blog Post: Restaurant Revitalization Fund
• Podcast Episode: How Do I File for PPP Loan Forgiveness?
• Resource Page: Warren Averett’s COVID-19 Resource Page

This episode reflects our views at the time it was recorded. Information within should be used as reference only. We recommend that you talk to your Warren Averett advisor, or another business advisor, for the most current information or for guidance specific to your organization.

“You can have the best strategy in the world, but if the culture isn’t there – the talent won’t be either.” 

With a fully deployed workforce in the professional service sectors, many employers are concerned about how to recruit and retain talent in today’s job market. How can business owners, small and large, plan for this talent shortage and consider their compensation, culture and retention strategies to accept and embrace the new market? 

In this episode of The Wrap, Warren Averett’s own David Salters, CSP, TSC and special guest Tom Kosnik, President of Visus Group, join our hosts to discuss the truth of the current job market, management’s role in the talent strategy, and how to stay competitive with attracting and retaining talent in 2021. 

After listening to this episode, you’ll be able to:

• Uncover the truth of the current job market and combat misconceptions of talent availability and unemployment rates
• Learn about the best ways to communicate company culture 
• Manage a remote work future after COVID-19 and what that could mean for your employees.  
• Determine your “shiny apple” – what needs to be offered in terms of culture and compensation to attract the right candidates. 
• Plan an employee retention strategy, professional development training and financial modeling to set you apart from other companies 

Related Resources: 

• Visus Group (www.visusgroup.com)