THE BUZZ
MESSAGE FROM JOE DAMIANO
Team, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. It is hard to believe 2022 is here, especially after all that was accomplished this past year. We celebrated our 65th anniversary, moved into our Parsippany headquarters, had a very successful busy season and a noteworthy growth year – so much to be proud of! I hope you all enjoyed our End of the Year Celebration. It was a wonderful evening, especially with our team members from around the country joining us, and officially announcing our new Partners effective January 1. Joe Piela, Debbie Nappi, Helena Lynch, April Kushner, Craig Cassano, and Frank Centrella will continue to be vital assets to our firm in their new roles and we look forward to watching them excel as leaders of the firm. Congratulations to them once again! Also, as you are already aware, COVID cases unfortunately continue to climb. For the safety of our team members and those around us, we strongly encourage you to work remote until January 17th. If you are scheduled to visit a client, we ask that you convert that meeting to a virtual one. If that is not possible, please reach out and confirm your client’s COVID-19 guidelines before your visit. We will continue to update you if there are any changes on the local and state level, but please reference the CDC guidelines for best safety practices. While we continue to fight the COVID fight, we look forward to the future. Each year we set the bar higher for our standards of excellence, growth and national rankings and continue to hit our marks. We believe 2022 will be no different, especially with the team we have in place. We hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy, and we thank each one of you for your hard work and dedication to Sax. Happy New Year! Joe
Congratulations to Sax's Newest Partners , Effective January 1st, 2022
Craig Cassano
Frank Centrella
Debbie Nappi
Joe Piela
April Kushner
Helena Lynch
Sax's End of Year Celebration
Thank you for coming!
Thank you to everyone who came out to join us for our End of Year Celebration event! It was a great evening with the Sax Team!
For those who want to relive the night or for those who could not make it, below are two photo albums from the evening.
Event Photo Album Photo Booth Photo Album
Thank you to our retiring Partners
Randy Natoli Bob Hopper Michael Mongelli for all your service to Sax over the years!
HUMAN RESOURCES
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to the newest members of our Sax family.
My Doan Senior Tax Associate California | 12.6.21
Nomaan Ali Senior Tax Associate Texas | 12.6.21
My graduated with a BS in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. She joins the Sax team as a Senior Tax Associate effective December 6th.
Nomaan attended and graduated from Texas A&M University where he received a degree in Accounting. He joins the Sax team as a Senior Tax Associate effective December 6th.
Fun fact: My's favorite thing to do when she has free time is cook different types of food such as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
Fun Fact: Nomaan likes the outdoors and sports. Especially watching and playing fantasy football!
Edward Cooper Tax Manager NYC | 12.13.21 Edward graduated from Monmouth University with a BS in Accounting. He joins the Sax team as a Tax Manager effective December 13th. Fun fact: Edward hopes to eventually visit every state and continent. When he is not traveling or working, you will find him in attendance at most New Jersey Devil's home games where he has been a season ticket holder for 10 years.
Great Cards
Ella Valdes deserves a great card for the outstanding work she did on the audit of an NFP client. She operated above her level, handled all of the issues that arose during the audit, and presented to results of the audit to the board, all with minimal assistance. She is a real asset to have on the Sax team.
Sax’s New Client Payment Platform is Now Live!
Paying invoices just got easier for our clients through Sax’s transition to an enhanced payment platform through our new partner, Anduin.
Effective December 15, clients can now save payment methods, schedule future payments and more.
Moving forward, invoices will be received from invoices@saxllp.com and below is an example of what the new email will look like: Sample of Emailed Invoice:
Learn More Here
FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Managing Partner Joseph Damiano was included in the December issue of Commerce Magazine on what Accounting firms will be focused on in 2022. To view the feature on page 12, click here. Joseph Damiano was also named to NJBIZ’s Accounting Power 50 list for the second straight year. This list recognizes the most influential men and women in the profession. Read his feature here.
Sax recently gave their annual donation towards the Arc of Essex's annual Toy Drive. Pictured here are all the toys purchased with the money donated!
FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS
We enjoyed hosting some our out of state remote team members for our annual End of Year Celebration!
Sax had the honor of presenting St. Joseph's Children's Hospital with a check for $90,000 that was raised through our 10th annual 4 MILER. All the proceeds fund the hospital's Child Life Department. Read all about it here.
Sax, along with RIPCO Realty and Zuber Lawler LLP, had their successful soft launch of 420Cannect, a networking group for like-minded cannabis professionals.
FIRM ANNOUNCEMENTS
On November 18, Sax's Construction niche hosted an Industry Update with an esteemed panel that discussed the current climate of the industry and what we can expect to come in the near future.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's White Elephant!
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RECENT WINS A/O NOVEMBER 19
NEW CLIENT WINS Command Companies
ENGAGEMENT TEAM Jennifer Moroz
George Harms Construction Co Inc.
Michael Curry
Amerivator Systems Corp - Valuation
Megan Sartor
Citywide Paving, Inc. Zero Studios, Inc.
Ermal Luzaj Ken Hofsommer
Universal Metalcraft Inc
Ermal Luzaj
C.C. Controlled Combustion Co.
Ermal Luzaj
Cyriac, Inc.
Eddie Rivera
American Landmark Development
Stuart Berger
Therapy Resources of Morris County LLC
Eddie Rivera
YMCA Camp Mason
Marqus White
Miltenyi Biotec North America
Frank Pawlowski
Suarez Health Medical
Joshua Chananie
CLIENT INFORMATION UPDATES
Please email client changes to clientinfo@saxllp.com Examples of client changes include: New email address and/or phone number New AP personnel Change in main address or billing address (master and/or engagement) Please don’t assume someone else will make the changes. Be proactive and let the firm know. Please continue to use NLAC@saxllp.com to report clients who are No Longer A Client
2022 BUSY SEASON Guidelines & Reminders
Tax February 7 to February 18 – 50 Charge Hours Per Week February 21 to April 15 – 55 Charge Hours Per Week
A&A Managers/Senior Managers – Busy season goal is 520 chargeable hours for the 13 week season from January 17 to April 15 Associates/Senior Associates – Busy season goal is 650 chargeable hours for the 13 week season from January 17 to April 15 All team members will continue to take a one-hour lunch break during the busy season. The core hours of the office are from 8:30am to 5:30pm, M-F Paid Time Off cannot be scheduled: For the A&A team from January 10 to April 15 For the Tax team from February 7 to April 15
Reminders Knowledge transfer and training (i.e., training so work can be given to seniors and associates) Business Managed and/or Engagements worked on Client service (Client Service Delivery Model) Realization; attainment of budget Technical expertise and growth TEAMS Meetings - Some individuals will be working remotely on engagements. Please set up a Teams Meeting for the days of your engagements, so everyone on the engagement, no matter where they are, can interact like you would if the team were all in the same room. Release Your Time Daily - We can’t stress enough the importance of releasing your time daily so managers can monitor progress on the job
Congrats to our Walking Challenge Winners!
First Place The Rambling Saxburys – Joy Matak, John King, Virginia Dennerlein, and Michael Rolls
Second Place The Remote Trail Blazers – Kelita Sookhoo, Jamie Torres, Amanda Malko, Moe Khaled, and Deep Khurana
Third Place The Walkaholics – Donna Finale, Jennifer Moroz, Autumn Konke, and Sandy Tufaro
Transition to Microsoft Teams Phone System
If you have not been able to attend one of the training sessions that covered Sax’s transition to Teams’ phone system, or would like to review it, recordings are available on the SharePoint homepage. A quick-guide to Teams calling is available there as well. As a reminder, benefits of Microsoft Teams’ phone system include: Mobile & desktop apps – simple to use and completely integrated apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, & Android Seamless mobility – make and take calls from anywhere: office, home or mobile device Call management – transfer and forward options to route calls to the right person, anytime, anywhere Easier collaboration – a single hub for chat, meetings, calls and more Voicemail – voicemail transcription and notification allows you to easily manage voice messages from any device Connect naturally – Chat, call and meet across devices @mention someone to ensure they see your message Keep interactions fun with memes and giphys
NEW: Retirement Plan Announcement
Announced earlier this month, as part of our 401(k) upgrade to Principal in January 2022 the firm is raising its 401(k) matching formula to 25% up to the first 10% of eligible compensation contributed. Therefore, the maximum company match portion will now be 2.5%, subject to IRS limits and vesting.
This increased match is in addition to the standard 3% discretionary profit sharing contribution, which SAX has traditionally provided employees each year. Therefore, most eligible employees will have the opportunity to receive up to a 5.5% total company contribution to their 401(k) from Sax. Employees will be notified when the transition to Principal is complete and can access their accounts at Principal.com. We encourage all employees to utilize and explore the many new resources available through Principal.
Click Here For More Information
Sax's TAKE 5 with SAX podcast, hosted by Todd Polyniak & Craig Cassano, was created so our clients can press pause on their busy work days and leverage the expertise of our resident experts who provide important things to know NOW.
LISTEN TO OUR MOST RECENT RECORDINGS Topic Focus: Business Valuations Release Date: 12.13.21
Listen Here
Special Guest: Megan Sartor, CPA, ABV, CFF Head of Sax' Valuation, Forensic, and Litigation Practice
Topic Focus: Cryptocurrrency Release Date: 10.28.21 Listen Here
Special Guest: Shivani Jain, CPA, MST Head of Sax’s Tax Department and Cryptocurrency Practice
Topic Focus: Cannabis Release Date: 9.29.21 Special Guest: Adam Holzberg, CPA, MBA Senior Manager, Sax Cannabis Advisors
Listen Here
ANYTHING TO ADD? Email marketing@saxllp.com