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by Stephen Parezo

Gene Polley

December 18, 2006—As a signal that tax season has officially arrived, Fiducial’s tax department recently traveled from coast to coast to present a series of Year-End Professional Conferences to keep corporate staff and franchisees abreast of new tax developments and to refresh their memory of the tax code.

These two-day seminars were held over a two-week span in Portland, OR, Santa Ana, CA, Baltimore, MD, and St. Louis, MO. The sessions also offered attendees the chance to earn 16 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits in taxation.

Gene Polley, a senior business advisor in Fiducial’s San Diego, CA, office, who attended the conference in Santa Ana, found that it was a “pretty painless” way to pick up CPE credits.

“They did a great job in telling about the tax changes which I had been following in the news,” said Polley who mentioned there were some “big changes” this year in terms of cash contributions for charity.

“As of January 1, 2007, you need a receipt for everything,” he said. “You could claim that you gave the Girls Scouts $10 a year ago but now to get a deduction you either need a cancelled check of up to $250 or a receipt from the agency if it’s above $250. People aren’t going to be able to say ‘use the same amount as last year.’ ”

For items being donated to charity, you need to have clothing and household items in at least average or better condition to get a write-off.

“You can’t wear out a pair of shoes and try to sell them,” he said. “It has to be in basically saleable condition for the thrift store. That’s a big difference.”

According to the IRS, a taxpayer may claim a deduction of more than $500 for any single item, regardless of its condition, if the taxpayer includes a qualified appraisal of the item with the return. These household items include furniture, furnishings, electronics, appliances and linens.

Investment that was well spent

The seminar also covered complicated areas such as Like-Kind Exchanges which Polley and others found very beneficial.

“Andy Martin [Fiducial’s Tax Processing Center manager] explained what was required in order to handle situations with the sales of business assets and tax deferred exchanges,” he said. “We went through those situations in-depth. It was kind of tutorial in nature which was really helpful to make sure we’re all up to speed in those areas. They typically do that every year.”

Once again, members of Fiducial’s Tax Hotline, Guy Mullen and Bob Sperling, were lauded for their work assisting those with tough tax questions.

Michael Vovakes

“We all had the phone number memorized,” Polley said. “It’s a huge, huge advantage for us compared to our competition. I cite this frequently when I’m making a presentation.”

Fiducial franchisee Michael Vovakes drove down from his Upper Montclair, NJ, office to attend the conferences in Baltimore, MD. Vovakes says he “couldn’t be more pleased” with this year’s seminar that dealt with a number of sticky issues.

“One of the topics was an overview of paying alien employees,” he said. “It is not as simple as you think. Another was a discussion on exempt employees. Better be careful.”

Larry Recor, a Fiducial franchisee with upstate New York offices in Boonville, Old Forge and Utica, described the event as “a most useful conference.”

“The topics and presentation were right on!” said Recor. “The investment in time and dollars was well spent from my viewpoint. I came away with a good feeling about having spent the time.”

Protecting clients’ best interests

Karl Herba, who traveled to Maryland from his Fiducial franchise office in Chittenango, NY, says he attends these functions mainly for one purpose.

“The thing I get from the seminar is the opportunity to network with my fellow franchisees—that’s what I get out of the conferences,” said Herba who hobnobbed with franchisees Steve Smith of Middletown, MD, Tim Lee of Englewood Cliffs, NJ, and Recor.

Herba found the topics presented were quite timely. He was encouraged by the presentation made by Jim Layton, Fiducial’s director of systems support and development, who pointed out company developments on several fronts.

“It was very upbeat,” Herba said. “It’s a chance to see where Fiducial is and they are going forward nicely. It looks like things are in place in terms of financial services and national accounts.”

Franchisee Jim Crisafulli brought home additional knowledge on tax changes to his Woonsocket, RI, office along with a better understanding of such topics as shareholder and partner basis, bankruptcy, dispositions of business property, ethics and decedent’s final returns. He also had an opportunity to pose questions to the presenters that were pertinent to his clients.

Jim Crisafulli

‘Kudos to them all’

Like other attendees, Crisafulli took full advantage of the seminar to help him better represent his clients.

“Because I am investing into professional development and training,” said Crisafulli, “my knowledge base is increased and I have more to offer my clients and perhaps a competitive edge [compared] to other practitioners who may not keep up with new tax laws and changes.”

Those franchisees taking time away from their businesses felt that the insights they gained from the sessions was well worth the trip.

“Having a tax research department and training is very important,” Crisafulli said. “My clients know that I have this as a resource and it gives them confidence that they are getting accurate tax advice and tax preparation services.”

Vovakes says the network is lucky to have a dedicated tax department at Fiducial with plenty of experience in handling very complex tasks.

“Kudos to them all,” he said. “Every office should attend every year.”

Positive reinforcement

Jim McCarthy

Jim McCarthy, branch manager of Fiducial’s Manassas, VA, office, thought the conference provided a good review of tax laws plus a positive reinforcement of professional ethics.

The conference also emphasized integrity and confidentiality among tax preparers to ensure that they protect their clients’ best interests.

“Clients should know we’re keeping up with that [ethics],” said McCarthy. Tax preparer-wise “we’re training them and reviewing their performance.”

Added Vovakes: “There needs to be a constant reminder to all of us that just ONE of us acting irresponsibly can affect us all. There is no room for shortcuts in what we do for our clients.”

When it comes to having their tax returns prepared, small business owners are anxious for a quick turnaround.

“It’s a peace of mind issue for small business owners,” McCarthy said. “Everybody wants it to be over with.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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