2012 Tax Party

This year's Tax Party was held on Tuesday, April 17th.  We had fried fish, shrimp and gumbo catered by Sam's Seafood.  We also had some Bayou Grits from Dog House Deli. Yum!

 

 While we were all chowing down, Ted was in the kitchen mixing Mint Julep Martinis and Margaritas!

Did you notice that Charles had his own very special drink for this year's festivities??

Happy End of Tax Season, everyone!!

Those IT Pranksters Strike Again ...

This time, the "victim" was their department coordinator, Stephanie Hirst! 

Happy Belated Birthday, Stephanie! 

Has anyone seen Stephanie this morning??

Found her!!

"Wait, you mean you're not going to help me clean this up??"

Happy Birthday, Cedric!

The IT department takes birthdays very seriously here at Saltmarsh ...

Happy birthday to Cedric Durre!  We hope they didn't hide your scissors ...

Saltmarsh Participates in Bowl for Kids' Sake

Saltmarsh participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Northwest Florida's annual Bowl for Kids' Sake fundraiser, helping the organization to raise more than $46,000!

According to BBBS, it costs on average $1,000 per Big/Little match for one year.  The funds raised at this year's Bowl for Kids' Sake event will allow BBBS to match more than 115 children who are currently on their waiting list!

Thanks to our team for your generosity and for participating in such a great cause for our community!

8 Hours of A&A CPE with Russ Madray, CPA

On Friday, May 18th at New World Landing, Saltmarsh will be hosting 8 hours of A&A CPE with Russ Madray, CPA. 

J. Russell Madray, CPA is president of The Madray Group, Inc., which specializes in knowledge transfer. The Madray Group helps businesses, accounting firms, and other organizations understand and implement technical accounting and auditing issues. Mr. Madray has more than 15 years of professional experience, including 10 years in public practice.

As an author for CCH, Mr. Madray is responsible for several of the profession’s best-selling books, including Attestation and Other Special Engagements, Compilations and Reviews, and the newly-published OCBOA Guide. In addition, he speaks to hundreds of groups each year on accounting and auditing topics and has made presentations in more than 40 states.

Topics of Discussion:

• Update on private company financial reporting
• Update on IFRS in the United States
• FASB update
• Audit standards update
• Compilation and review standards update

Location/Price 

• 8 Hours of A&A CPE starting at 8:00 a.m. 
• New World Landing - 600 S. Palafox St., Pensacola FL 
• The cost per course is $195 and includes course materials, lunch and all-day refreshment bar!

Register Now at: http://www.saltmarshcpa.com/seminars/sign-up.asp

Kristen Stogniew to Speak at Tampa Financial Institution Seminars

Saltmarsh Shareholder, Kristen Stogniew, will be speaking at two upcoming seminars in the Tampa Bay area. On April 17, she will present "The Dodd Frank Act and Community Bank Compliance for 2012" to the Central Florida Compliance Association.  In addition, she will present two Bank Secrecy Act related topics at this year's ACFE Tampa Chapter's Fraud & Computer Crimes Seminar.  More information about the events can be found below.

About the Speaker: Kristen is a Shareholder in the Financial Institution Advisory Group at Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund. She has been providing legal advice and audit services in regulatory compliance and banking operations since 1995. At Saltmarsh, she continues to provide risk management, policy and procedure drafting, compliance audit and monitoring, and related consulting in areas such as BSA, Loan and Deposit Compliance, Marketing and Retail Delivery, Trust, Governance, and ACH. Kristen also provides one-on-one mentoring and customized training to staff, management and Bank Directorate. Kristen is a Member of the Florida Bar and is an Accredited ACH Professional.

Central Florida Compliance Association
"Dodd Frank for 2012"
April 17, 2012
8:15-9:45 a.m.
Commerce National Bank & Trust
1201 South Orlando Avenue, Suite 100
Winter Park, Florida 32789


ACFE Tampa Chapter
13th Annual Fraud & Computer Crimes Seminar
May 10th & 11th, 2012
Marriott Tampa Westshore
1001 North Westshore Blvd
Tampa, FL 33607

Thursday, May 11th, 2012 (RSVP by April 13th)
8:30 – 9:20 a.m.
Topic Title: "Anti-Money Laundering Systems Data Validation"
Topic Summary: Financial institutions are finding that they can no longer rely solely on their AML system vendor’s setup processes and standard report packages. Regulators are asking for independent validation that the system accurately captures transactions, and that its filters and monitoring reports are appropriate for the specific institution. This session will guide you on performing and documenting that validation.

9:30 – 10:20 a.m.
Topic Title: "10 Steps to a Better Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Program"
Topic Summary: A discussion of current BSA enforcement and money laundering trends, and simple steps you can take to ensure your program measures up.

It's Mardi Gras!

The Saltmarsh "Krewe" wishes you a very Happy Fat Tuesday!  Let the Good Times Roll!

Ted Gund is decked out in his Mardi Gras best to celebrate!

 

Meet Caroline!

On February 14th, 2012, Ron Jackson welcomed a new granddaughter!  Caroline Rae Jackson was born at 9:05 p.m., weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 19 inches long. 

Congratulations to the Jackson family on this joyus occasion from the entire Saltmarsh family!

Ron Jackson with his new granddaughter, Caroline.

Suzanne Cox Featured on Tampa's Fox 13

Suzanne Cox, CPA, was recently featured in a news story on Tampa's Fox 13 about stolen tax returns.

During the interview, she talks about being a victim herself, and gives tips on how to recognize when fradulent activity is happening to you.

View the video on our website at www.saltmarshcpa.com/cpa-news

Saltmarsh offers March Training Classes with Solvability, Inc.

Government Contract Accounting Made Easy

March 6, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund

34 Walter Martin Road, Fort Walton Beach, FL  32549

Meet the expert! Miriam H. Ezell, CPA with Solvability, Inc. brings over 20 years of government contract accounting experience. She teaches, trains and gives you peace of mind as you learn the Government Cost Accounting Language and Practices.

Join us for this fun overview of government contract cost accounting which includes terms and methods in an overview of DCAA Information for Government Contractors. Learn how to calculate indirect rates, what makes up unallowable costs, how to set up a chart of accounts for compliance, what to use for indirect rates in your proposal when you have no historical rates.

This is a great place to start for the beginner Government Contractor or as a refresher course.

Cost: $55.00 per person

Register Now:  http://gcmeflorida.eventbrite.com/

DCAA Compliant QuickBooks

March 7, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund

34 Walter Martin Road, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549

Meet the expert! Miriam H. Ezell, CPA with Solvability, Inc. is a Quick Books Pro Advisor with over 20 years of Government Cost Accounting experience.

If you want to do business with the federal government, you have to understand their government accounting language. Learn how to structure your existing data in Quick Books to be DCAA compliant, starting with the Chart of Accounts numbering and tiers. Class will cover required system settings for Customers & Jobs, Employee data, Service Items and Payroll items. You will learn the business rules required to code transactions correctly within Time Tracking, recording Bills and creating Invoices. Using these rules and settings will enable you to correctly report cost and revenue by month. This class reviews indirect rates from the Income statement and includes processing steps for monthly financial reporting. This class is targeted for accountants who are experienced Quick Books users.**Approved for 8 CPE hours**

End of class will be time of questions and answers regarding DCAA compliance issues.

Laptop required for participation.

Class is limited to 6 people for an informal setting and one-on-one guidance.

Cost: $395.00 per person

To Register: http://qbflorida.eventbrite.com/