Number Crunchin' News
April 2001
link to: Page 1

Meriann’s Golden Rules

(Cont’d from Page 1)

She is the owner of Common Sense Financial Solutions.  She also teaches at UCSB.  Speaking on managing personal finances, Meriann stated the following “golden rules“: 

  • Be an owner – not a loaner:

  • Pay off non-tax-deductible debt in order of interest rate.

  • Use a debit card.

  • Plan for spending on big items by accrual of funds.

  • Start an emergency fund.

  • Prioritize spending using  “top down” budgeting using a cash flow approach.

  • Simplify:

  • Put regular bills on automatic payment.  Pay by phone.

  • Make automatic contributions to retirement funds monthly.

  • Consolidate accounts – brokerages, bank accounts, etc. by type.

  • Buy software and use it wisely.

  • The best offense is a good defense:

  • Plan for disability insurance, life insurance, and estate planning including a will, as well as a health care power-of-attorney and financial power-of-attorney.

  • Take charge of retirement plans – don’t rely on Social Security. 

FileTaxes.com
Submitted by Ken Jurgensen

  Did you know you can "file" 941s, W-2s, and/or 1099s online? (Unfortunately, they don't do DE-6s.)  Here's the blurb at their website:

  “This is the first and only web site that makes tax information filing easier for the millions of businesses that use the internet today.

  “From here you can file your W-2, 1099, and 941 forms without having to leave your home or office. FileTaxes.com is ideal for every business — no hassles with forms, mailing copies, and submitting information to the government.  We do it all!”

 

Congratulations to Mary & Ken Jurgensen on the birth of their first child, Emma Rose.   In appreciation of all he does for us (listserver administrator, photographer, and Welcoming Committee), the Association has sent a congratulatory gift certificate to the family.  Ken, let’s see “Daddy’s little girl“!

One Last Reminder about Dues

If the address label on your newsletter has 03/31/2001 highlighted, your half-yearly dues had not been received as of last week.  If your dues are not received and current as of 04/17/01, you will not be included in the May mailing of the Referral List to our local accounting professionals AND your name will be removed from the listserver (you wouldn‘t want THAT to happen, would you?)

Newsletter Committee Changes

  Caron D’Orazio will be ending her commitment to the Newsletter Committee by editing the May newsletter.  Thank you,  Caron D’O for a job well done, and thank you for giving us plenty of notice to find your     replacement (always MUCH appreciated!)

  Monica Dittrich answered the call (quite quickly) for a new Newsletter Editor — thank you Monica!   She and Julie Raffety each will be editing their first newsletters in August and September, respectively.  Thanks to both of you for your willingness to contribute!

IRS Letter Forwarding Program

Submitted by Francesca Zak

From the SSA Newsletter, Spring 2001

This program offers letter forwarding assistance to individuals who wish to contact persons whose whereabouts are unknown to the inquirer and their Social Security Number is known.  For humanitarian purposes (which includes financial entitlement) the IRS will search its data base for a recent address and forward the inquirer’s letter to the missing person.  The program is useful to individuals, pension plan administrators, financial institutions, and state and federal agencies who are attempting to locate individuals.  However, this program does not apply to locating a party to a pending litigation or for process service.

 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is precluded under Codes Section 6103, (Disclosure Law) from giving addresses or other information to the individual who initiated the search.  Tax returns and return information are confidential information and therefore cannot be disclosed without authorization.  To divulge the disposition of a letter submitted for forwarding would indicate that the IRS had an address on file for an individual, and that the individual filed a return.

Letter forwarding requests for assistance involving 49 or less individuals should be directed to the local IRS Office, ATTN: Disclosure Officer.  There is no charge for processing these requests.  However, requests involving 50 or more potential recipients, including multiple requests from a single requester, are processed under IRS Project 753, Computerized Mailout Program at the national office.  These requests are queued at an IRS Service Center and there is a charge for this service.

Requests for assistance or additional information should be directed to the IRS Office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, ATTN: Irving C.J. Porter at 202-622-3324.

A short autobiography by . . . Kathy Leer
(your SBBA Vice President)

I have been a self-employed, full-charge bookkeeper for over 19 years now in the Santa Barbara area.  I have an Associates degree from SBCC, and have done upper division work in accounting at UCSB.  I have been happily married for almost 20 years, have a 16 year-old daughter who is very special to me, and also have a great adult step-daughter, son-in-law, and very sweet grandson!   I play the violin, am the assistant concertmaster with the SBCC orchestra, and have been a member of that group for 20 years.  I also play the guitar and piano, and sing with the Unitarian choir.

It's been a privilege for me to be your vice-president of SBBA these past 2 years!!  It's been a great way for me to be involved with this wonderful group, and to get to know other bookkeepers/CPA's better!    I really am enjoying it!

 

 

"First, Break All the Rules"

"Now, Discover Your Strengths"

Reviewed by Caron Garliepp

These are the titles of two books, one published in 1999, the other in 2001.  I’m currently reading the first one; my husband has read it and is now reading the second.  We think they are excellent books, written well and easy to  read.

"First Break All The Rules" is about what it takes to be a great manager.  Over a span of 25 years, the Gallup Organization interviewed more than a million employees and asked them hundreds of different questions, on every conceivable aspect of the workplace.  After analyzing all the data, they discovered that measuring the strength of a workplace can be simplified to twelve questions, which measure the core elements needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees.  The questions are:

  1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

  2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

  3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

  4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

  5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

  6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

  7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

  8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

  9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

  10. Do I have a best friend at work?

  11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

  12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The book states that, “If you can create the kind of environment where employees answer positively to all 12 questions, then you will have built a great place to work. 

"Now, Discover Your Strengths" says that, “The great organization must not only accommodate the fact that each employee is different, it must capitalize on these differences. . . .By changing the way it selects, measures, develops, and channels the careers of its people, this . . .organization must build its entire enterprise around the strengths of each person.”  There’s listed a website one can go to, answer a “Strengthsfinder Profile,” and discover the source of your strengths.

Sound interesting?  Check ‘em out!  They are each co-authored by Marcus Buckingham.