2005: A Time to Thrive!
Ron Barnes
It’s the start of 2005 and a time for new goals and resolutions...
We at McCauley, Nicolas & Company, LLC want to help you achieve those goals! We want to be the first resource that clients, business leaders and the community turn to for leadership and creative solutions. Our partners and staff strive to continually improve the quality of service we offer. While there is often an emphasis on the technical side of what we do, we pay close attention to the manner in which we serve you. We want to do more than simply provide compliance services. We want to partner with you to see you reach your business and personal financial goals.
We are excited about the opportunities that the new year brings. As part of our commitment to improve our level of service, we recently welcomed three very talented new staff members to the firm. In 2005, we are placing even more emphasis on the continuing professional education of our staff. Our information technology team is working overtime as we continue our shift to reduced paper in the office. You may notice something a little different this year– the use of laptops in our conference rooms, which allows us to directly access our network and all of its resources while we meet with you.
Please schedule a meeting with one of our professionals early this year. This allows us time to provide you with that extra level of service and lets you know where you stand with the IRS well before time to mail your returns.
We had a very successful year in 2004 and would like to thank each of you for your business, friendship, support and the many referrals you sent our way. Whenever possible, we refer business your way as well!
If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to contact me at 812-288-6621 or via email,
Financial Planning
Dan McCauley
New Year’s Resolutions for the Small Business Owner
Each January people all across the country resolve to do things differently in the coming year. Some are life-changing resolutions; others simply make good sense. As a business owner, now is a prime time to review your business practices and improve your business systems. Here are a few “good sense” ideas that may turn out to be life changing!
Goal setting is the beginning of the process. Goals should be identified and written down with specific action plans and timelines to ensure progress can be easily measured. Be aware of any obstacles that could impede progress. Enlist the right people to assist you in reaching your goals. Obtain the knowledge and skills that you need to competently reach those goals. Lastly, yet first in importance, dedicate at least 10 to 15 minutes daily to work actively on your goals.
Guest Spotlight
Anne Yeiser
Plan Your Marketing and… Reap Rewards in the New Year
The start of a new year is a perfect time to evaluate what you are doing to promote your business or organization. If you don’t have a formal marketing plan, resolve to develop one. If you have a plan in place, it may be worth a second look. Following is an acronym to guide you as you develop or review your marketing plan:
Respect your clients. Customers today are better educated and more demanding. Stop seeing prospects as targets, and consider how you might best engage them. Your aim is to connect. One message probably isn’t enough. Respect differences.
Knight Bytes
James Osborne
Spy vs. PC
Most of us have personally experienced the invasion of advertising into almost every area of our lives. It has now crept onto our personal computers in the form of Adware and Spyware taking up residence on our machines, taking over web pages, popping up ads and harvesting personal information. Dell recently reported that the number one reason for calls to the technical support hotline is related to Adware or Spyware. What exactly are Adware and Spyware?
Adware is a generic term describing advertising supported software. It enables software authors to profit from their product without actually charging the end user. Banner ads or other types of advertisements are embedded or bundled with the software product, and the author receives either a flat fee, or a percentage of the revenue from the ads. Adware is similar to traditional print advertising, in that the advertiser pays for a “spot” in front of a person’s eyes. Adware can be an effective way for small software houses to fund the development of useful software without competing directly with the “big boys” in the marketplace.
Keeping
Up
Check 21 Update
The “Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act,” referred to as “Check 21,” is a federal law which became effective on October 28, 2004, designed to increase the speed and efficiency of check processing. Instead of physically moving paper checks from one bank to another, banks can now create an electronic negotiable instrument referred to as a substitute check, and destroy your original check.
How does this impact you from a tax standpoint? For those who have traditionally saved cancelled checks as documentation for deductions claimed on your tax return, you may want to consider the following suggestions for 2005:
Knightly News
Welcome New Employees
Emily French, Kevin Lippe and Christine Trenholm (below) are wonderful Staff I additions. |  |  |
Congratulations
To Waynette Scott and Andrea Byrne on their recent promotions. Waynette was promoted to Manager, and Andrea to Supervisor. |  |
To Lesley and Bugsy Andres on the birth of their son, Seth William, on Dec. 29.
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Also to Chris Ebelhar who recently passed the CPA exam.
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Farewell
Amy Smith, Paraprofessional, is relocating with her husband Matt to Memphis, Tenn. |
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