inheriting a piece of the american entrepreneurial dream through employee ownership How much do you know about Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)? Well today on episode 49 of unsuitable on Rea Radio, you are bound to learn more about this option as Jeff Brindley, president and CEO of Roush Honda, one of the Midwest’s largest volume Honda dealerships, joins Mark to share his insights about managing a successful ESOP. Since the dealership began serving central Ohio since 1965, the company has been met with much success. And, according to Jeff, much of that can be attributed to the company’s business model. Listen to this week’s podcast, “Inheriting a Piece of the American Entrepreneurial Dream through Employee Ownership,” for additional insight and gain a first-hand glimpse into the specific impacts and challenges of this particular qualified defined contribution employee benefit. On this week’s episode, listeners will: • Learn how operating as an ESOP can facilitate an effective exit strategy for business owners. • Discover how ESOPS facilitate greater engagement among employees and an enhanced commitment to secure the company’s ongoing growth – as the company’s value increases, so does the individual employees’ personal account balance. • Find out how this particular business model can make other company leaders feel more secure in their roles throughout the lifespan of the company. • Lean how to navigate challenges generally associated with operating as an ESOP. Specifically with regard to how the business makes decisions and that “stock ownership” doesn’t necessarily mean that employees will always be consulted on every dealership decision. • Find out how “the ESOP effect” can help the business attract top talent – especially among business owners operating throughout the automotive industry. • Discover how ESOPs help to develop a culture of total accountability in all aspects of their careers. • Find out why annual ESOP meetings are critical when it comes to managing the company’s overall performance while providing an optimal platform upon which critical participant information can be dispersed. Business owners who decide to take on the ESOP business model will certainly have their fair share of compliance and management issues; but, as Jeff explains, there are many great reasons to give it a try. In his experience, Jeff says operating as an ESOP has helped Roush Honda maintain a “family organization feeling.” And that alone has been worth his ESOP experience. Want to learn more about ESOPs and business structure in general? We’ve set up a resources page for this episode featuring several great articles, slideshows and past episodes: http://www.reacpa.com/episode-49-inheriting-a-piece-of-the-american-entrepreneurial-dream-through-employee-ownership/ You can also listen to past episodes of unsuitable on Rea Radio and access past resources pages at http://www.reacpa.com. If you liked this episode, let us know! You can like it, share it or comment on it! We’re not picky 

Even though 401(k) plans have proven to be advantageous, so many Americans aren’t using this powerful tool to its fullest capacity. This week on unsuitable on Rea Radio, Angie Isakson, a qualified 401(k) administrator and manager on the benefit plan services team at Rea & Associates, joins Mark Van Benschoten to talk about “The Secrets to Readying Your Employees For Retirement.” Over the next 20 minutes, listeners will become familiar with the differences between defined contribution plans and defined benefit plan and how employee contributions and actuarial formulas can result in retirement planning success. So, what does success look like? Reflecting on her years of expertise, Angie defines a successful retirement plan as one in which the majority of participants are on track to retire at the time they had planned. Unfortunately, based on these standards, less than 25 percent of those at retirement age are actually ready to do so. According to Angie, 401(k) plans were never intended to weigh so heavily as a large contributing percentage of Americans’ retirement incomes. Rather, she argues, defined benefit plans were designed to fill this role. But even today defined contribution plans have fallen behind in readying the American workforce for retirement. The retirement industry, along with financial and business advisors, have a responsibility to educate plan sponsors and participants on how they can improve participation, perhaps by identifying and using better benchmarks and tracking the number of participants and how much those participants are referring towards their retirement. Listen to this episode to: • Learn Angie’s recommended participation rate, contribution rate and matching employer contribution. • Discover some of the key advantages to offering a robust retirement plan, including tax deductions, benefits generated by income deferrals and a top-notch workforce capable of driving improved productivity and ongoing innovation. • Find out why continuous education of employees and ongoing assessment of your company’s retirement plan is key to ensuring ongoing plan success. • Learn how to demonstrate the impact compounding has on a retirement savings account. Want to learn more about retirement planning and the various tools and strategies you could be taking advantage of? We’ve set up a resources page for this episode at http://www.reacpa.com/episode-48-the-secrets-to-readying-your-employees-for-retirement/ for some great articles, videos and past podcast episodes. You can also listen to past episodes of unsuitable on Rea Radio and access past resources pages at http://www.reacpa.com. If you liked this episode, let us know! You can like it, share it or comment on it! We’re not picky 

Mike Stull, chief marketing officer of Employers Health and board chair for the Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus, joins Mark on episode 47 of unsuitable on Rea Radio, “healing healthcare’s highs & lows for business owners,” to guide listeners through the intricacies of America’s healthcare delivery system. Specifically, Mike tackles the question about why, even under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare costs are on the rise while cost-shifting from employers to patients, which takes the form of consumer directed health plans, also continues to increase. And while there may be much to criticize with regard to the ACA, Mike points out some positive changes some providers are making by proving and producing value within the healthcare system. Specifically, Mike calls out PCORI, which was born from the ACA and was established to specifically fund comparative effectiveness research to help patients choose healthcare options best suited to their unique needs. He notes the emergence of a number of demonstration projects being funded by the Affordable Care Act and run through Medicare and Medicaid, such as the multi-stakeholder approach of the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative, which helps move provider behavior toward medical effectiveness and consumer value. Initiatives such as these bring back the relevancy of primary care and its relationship with the patient in delivery healthcare and maintaining ongoing healthcare effectiveness. Episode 47 highlights how these healthcare changes effect employers. Specifically, the fact that innovative initiatives are being used to flush out “improper” or “bad” care to buy down the cost of America’s “ineffectual” healthcare. In turn, patients are more likely to receive the proper, recommended care by changing the ways providers and doctors are reimbursed based on their ability to deliver on these required fundamentals of care. Now, according to Mike, when they shop for healthcare, employers don’t just ask about administrative costs and deductibles. Rather, they inquire on how insurance companies are working with their network providers to improve the quality of care; a combination of patient outcome and experience divided by cost. This is a healthcare paradigm shift for employers and providers in the U.S. During the podcast Mike also discusses many new regulations regarding the fully insured (those paying the insurance carrier a direct monthly premium), which are pushing health insurance carriers to be more efficient, and thus more apt to embrace healthcare reforms. Mike also notes a shift from fully insured to a self-funded strategy, meaning that the plan is responsible for paying the claims and managing the risk of its population. In a good year where an employer has fewer claims, the employer can then save the difference between what they actually paid and what they would have paid in premiums and never gotten back. Additionally, Mike points out that the employer can buy re-insurance or “stop-loss” coverage and set it at a limit that the company is comfortable with – hence mitigating further their risk, and not leaving themselves as the employer, totally exposed. Get more healthcare insight at http://www.reacpa.com/podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to unsuitable on Rea Radio on iTunes or on Soundcloud and never miss great tips and insight to help you find additional business success. Thanks for listening!

Do you take the time to nurture your organization’s brand on social media? What about your professional brand as a business leader? Well today, on episode 46 of unsuitable on Rea Radio, Mark is joined by Rebecca Weiand, practice growth specialist with Rea & Associates and social media expert, to discuss the importance of social media and the role it plays on your company’s brand. She will also share content strategies, curation tactics and activation triggers. Rebecca makes it clear that while nearly every business should have a presence on social media, every business doesn’t have to be a master of every social media channel. Are you wondering what you can do to start nurturing your social media game? Rebecca says you should start by researching which platforms your prospects, targets and even your competition are on. You want to be where they are. In fact, she says, if you’re not there and your prospects are in need of a particular service, you are going to talk to the people who are readily available – your competition. Rebecca cites once study that found that 72 percent of consumers make their purchase decisions through social media and online research. Hence, even if your company is offering services as opposed to a tangible product, an online presence is essential. Since google is today’s “digital gateway” whenever anyone wants to know everything about anything, having a social media presence, in its most simplistic form, can actually help your search engine optimization, domain authority and overall web habitat. To further her argument, Rebecca relates the evolution of social media from its early personal, one-to-one platforms with Myspace and Facebook, to today’s plethora of advanced tools from Twitter to LinkedIn and beyond; connecting and converting “followers,” “re-tweets,” “likes,” and “listens” into trust and even business purchase decisions. Most advantageously, she points out these social tools are usually free (from profiles to postings) and allow you a true platform to manage and monitor your brand. This is only the tip of the social media iceberg. To find out how you can engage and be engaging online and how it can help drive new business while maintaining existing relationships, listen to this episode, “little blue checkmarks & swiping right: is your brand social enough?” Then, if you like what you hear, show us some love on social media! You can like our podcast, comment on our episodes and share to your networks on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc … You can also find other great resources to help you take your company’s social media endeavors to the next level at http://www.reacpa.com. Happy Listening!

In its simplest form, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps organizations automate their existing business development, sales and marketing processes. And on episode 45: “don’t automate bad” of unsuitable on Rea Radio, Brian Harr, president of Three30 Group, explains the benefits of CRM and how this tool can help facilitate strong business relationships while multiplying revenue. When used properly and regularly, CRM is a powerful tool that helps businesses and organizations manage critical client and prospect data while tracking historical interactions. However, sound relationship management processes must already be in place before a CRM is added. Oftentimes, prior to CRM implementation, some organizations are encouraged to review their sales training protocols, create standard goals and objectives and define the key drivers and metrics by which to measure success. Brian explains that CRM’s greatest advantage is its capability to bring all prospect documentation together and allowing organizations to gain a clear picture concerning bottlenecks and opportunities. It’s also important for businesses to position CRM technologies to its employees the right way – as a sales enhancement and productivity tool, not a tracking device. CRM done right, Brian argues, leads to improved productivity, administrative savings, sales optimization, and greater profits. Collecting the right, relevant data, and customer interactions across all touchpoints (marketing, sales, customer service, and operations) is essential in unearthing business development insights, leading to enhanced rapport building and additional sales. To be successful, your CRM must be easy to implement and accessible to all users. To this end, cloud-based annotation, dictation, scalability, and mobility, are helping to make CRM user input, easier. Beware of built-in CRM packages. Most programs found within ERP systems are usually not much more than a “glorified contact management classification.” Learn more about the importance of relationships and get tips to help you grow your relationships at http://www.reacpa.com. Don't forget to subscribe to unsuitable on Rea Radio on iTunes or on Soundcloud. Thanks for listening!

On episode 44, we are joined by Kealey Moore, a recent graduate from the University of Akron, and now a staff accountant at Rea & Associates. During this podcast Kealey shares her unique perspective, both as a financially aware student and now as an astute emerging young professional within the accounting industry. She states that knowing and planning for particular purchases, especially larger ones, that one may make in the future, is a helpful first step for upcoming or recent college graduates. Kealey also talks about the importance of her generation becoming more self-aware regarding paying off student loan debts, now the largest in U.S. history. During the podcast she shares that her generation is a bit blind to debt and oblivious to the importance of financial planning; myopically thinking things will “pay for themselves.” The session warns that even a new job with a $40,000 annual salary will not properly service a college debt of $100,000 to $200,000, coupled with other “basic” living requirements, such as food and shelter, a car; and eventually starting a family. Kealey shares her keen attitude on finances regarding her student debt loans, whereby her strategy is to pay more than her required minimum payments in order to drive down the interest faster, and retire the loan earlier. Additionally, Kealey communicates that she had a credit card throughout college, not to spend on frivolous wants, but to help establish credit early. She warns that all young professionals should invest in understanding their own debt, as student loans do not go away, even if one was forced to declare bankruptcy. During the session she advises graduating job seekers to look for employers who uniquely offer benefits for hitting pre-determined employment benchmarks, in order to help their new employees payback student loans. Kealey and Mark openly examine the national debt issue regarding student loans, and how this might negatively affect the U.S. economy – inhibiting consumer confidence and hindering commerce. Kealey discusses how she was inspired by her grandparents’ entrepreneurial spirit to “fall in love” with accounting and numbers, “watching her ‘nanna’ work her magic on the 10 key,” balancing the family company’s books. When home from college on visits, her grandfather would even sit her down regularly, giving her financial guidance, emphasizing the importance of debt management, paying as much of her loans, as fast as possible. In hindsight Kealey stresses the importance of her generation understanding the disciplined value of saving. Lastly, the podcast argues that it is important for employer’s to be empathetic to young professionals by helping educate them on financial literacy and solvency. Like what you heard? Check out recent posts about this topic to learn more.

A better tax strategy begins with a solid plan and on this episode of unsuitable on Rea Radio, we are rejoined by Melane Howell, a tax manager at Rea & Associates, to find out how to plan an prepare for the 2017 tax season – regardless of the time of year. First and foremost, Melane raises awareness of changes that were made to some of the most critical 2017 tax form deadlines. She reminds all listeners that, in order to take advantage of key credits and deductions, business owners must be aware of any changes far in advance. She also made us aware of another change that could result in some major issues for those who may have exaggerated their income and/or expenses by more than 25 percent. Before, the IRS had three years to audit taxpayers suspected of this behavior. As of 2017, the government agency will have 6 years to investigate. Once current on all the critical deadline changes that could impact your business or organization, it’s time to meet with your tax planner and prepare your upcoming tax strategy. For example, you may want to consider deferring bonuses until January of next year to minimize your tax bill. Or, consider placing any additional income into your 401(k) plan to help grow your retirement nest egg. Another option that could benefit your bank account is accelerating expenses by harvesting some tax loses netted against any gains. This strategy could give you the benefit of time as the year-end deadline looms. If you are currently balancing a house payment you might find some relief by paying your January mortgage expense in December and taking advantage of the extra interest already paid into that year. Another common strategy that can help homeowners is the bunching method. When you “bunch” your expenses, and pay taxes in advance of the year they are due, you can deduct your expense in the year you paid. Don’t forget about the other tax incentives you could consider using with proper planning. These could include charitable giving and college tuition incentives designed to help keep your tax bill low. You can also consider paying your state estimated taxes early in an attempt to claim the deduction for the year it was paid. Finally, be sure that you secured minimum health coverage every month to avoid ACA penalties. One of the best ways to determine which tax strategies you should be taking advantage of is to have a tax projection prepared every fall. This will help you identify what issues you could be dealing with when April comes along, which will give you the time you need to overcome any potential surprises. Are you looking for more tax prep resources for businesses and individuals? Check out our website at www.reacpa.com/podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast here on SoundCloud or on iTunes. And, if you have any questions about tax strategy, be sure to ask them in the comment section below! Like what you heard? Check out recent posts about this topic to learn more.

When someone like Jeff Lacy says that the single most important aspect a business owner should remember when it comes to creating, and then sustaining, business value is to start with the end in mind, you listen – and for good reason. As a former business owner with “more than 30 years in business development, building and leading sales and operations teams and identifying the most critical gaps slowing sales growth and implementing the strategies,” Jeff now serves as an area president for FocusCFO, an Ohio-based professional CFO services practice. These days he works to help others grow and sustain their businesses. This week on episode 42 of unsuitable on Rea Radio, Jeff joins Mark to talk why a business’s true value matters and what business owners can do to maximize that value. Complete with real-world examples and words of warning – this episode is certain to be valuable to listeners in all stages of their entrepreneurial careers. Are you ready to look beyond the day-to-day demands of payroll, minor challenges and the tendency to be overly focused on sales as a cure-all solution? Then this episode is for you! When this show ends you will be ready to set aside some time each week to contemplate the big picture – which is essential for securing meaningful business growth. In addition to recommending a variety of solutions capable of moving the needle, Jeff discusses why the true value of your business matters so much and why business owners should know the true value of their business as early as possible. Finally, Jeff touches on overlooked measures of value that are oftentimes overlooked by owners and subpar valuation professionals. According to Jeff, solid relationships with vendors and clients, for example, can amplify the goodwill of any organization; thus directly impacting the company’s overall value. Jeff argues that real value is found within the trust that exists between the business and people – not just in the business’s products or services. Once you have identified your business’s true value, you can identify a plan that will not only work, but will work efficiently and effectively. Do you like listening to unsuitable on Rea Radio? We want to know! Tell us what you think about this episode and the podcast in general in the comment section. Or, if you don’t have a lot to say, simply “like” this episode or give us five stars on iTunes. You can also email questions or suggestions for future episodes at [email protected]. For additional information about this episode and others, visit www.reacpa.com/podcast. Thanks for listening!

On Episode 41, we are rejoined by Joe Welker, Rea & Associates' IT Audit Manager on episode 41, we learn that there are two types of companies – those that have been hacked and those about to be hacked. Joe “Captain Data” Welker, CISA, Rea & Associates' IT Audit Manager, joins us once again to give us some valuable insight into current cyber hacking and internet threats and what we can do to keep ourselves, and our businesses, safe. Lack of cybersecurity training has left companies nationwide vulnerable to the ever-growing and constantly changing threat of cybercrime. In particular, malware and ransomware are especially vicious threats. On this episode of unsuitable on Rea Radio, “The Hacked & Hacked Nots,” we learn why many companies are now incorporating third-party software to monitor and protect their firewalls to determine which sites are safe and which ones should be avoided and help quarantine black listed sites and ensure high-risk sites are always avoided. Listeners will hear how professional hackers are now carefully researching individuals' and companies' digital pathways; and are paying attention to how frequently users visit particular sites and what they do while they are there. Then, the cybercriminal will fabricate imposter emails that are designed to entice the user to open an email or click on a link – compromising their entire network. It only takes one click of the mouse to effectively give hackers full access to user data and, if connected to a company’s network, so much more. This is one episode you don’t want to miss. Joe provides critical, real-world advice to help companies train and change the mindset and behavior of their employees in an effort to keep their data secure. Awareness, he argues, is the first critical step to curbing cyberattacks among your employees. Additionally, on this episode of unsuitable, you will learn more about: • What some tech companies are doing to protect users against cyberattacks. • Why some countries – particularly those in Eastern Europe – are not in a hurry to crack down on cybercrime. • And what you can do to promote a behavioral change within your organization. Want to learn more about cybercrime and how you can protect yourself? Find a wide variety of valuable information at www.reacpa.com/podcast.

How much thought did you put into how your business would be structured. Did you consider whether economic conditions would be more favorable if your company operated as a LLC (Limited Liability Company), C Corp or S Corp? Were the tax implications weighing heavily on your mind as you wrestled with this important decision? Your business’s structure is not a decision to be taken lightly and Gene Spittle, CPA, PFS, CGMA, a principal at Rea & Associates, will tell you why on this episode of unsuitable on Rea Radio. On this episode, Gene talks about various forms of business entities and why structure is so important. He will also weigh the pros, cons and general challenges associated with making the transition from one entity to another. Specifically, listeners will learn more about: • The popular LLC option, which effectively limits an individual’s liability to any investments, debts or loans that are personally guaranteed. • The costs and tax ramifications generally associated with switching from a C Corporation to an LLC. • Why some owners may want to transition their business from an S Corp to a C Corp for tax purposes and why certain assets, such as real estate, should be managed outside of the C Corp. • The benefits of operating as an S Corp and why timing the structure of your business can be incredibly beneficial. • The role succession planning plays on an owner’s desire to restructure their business and how doing so can help you avoid huge corporate taxes. This episode will benefit business owners in all stages of their careers and will help illuminate solutions to challenges regularly faced by entrepreneurs like you. To learn more about the importance of business structuring and how it can help you be a more strategic business owner, check out the additional articles and insight at www.reacpa.com/podcast. Don’t forget to let us know what you think about this episode in the comment section.