Member News

Harness Software (a Foundation Software Company) on Apr 01, 2021 Forget the horse and water; the saying should read: “You can lead a construction worker through a safety program, but you cannot make them follow it.” The goal of any safety program is to reduce incidents, but in order to achieve that, the employees must actually follow the program. This is a challenge for many construction companies. Safety risks and the incidents that follow take place on construction sites for one of three possible reasons: 1. They Don’t Know Employees who simply don’t know all the safety information are more timid around the tools and equipment and are more likely to make a mistake due to lack of training. This is especially true of new hires. 2. They Don’t Care More experienced employees who have been on the job for a while, who have yet to experience an incident, can become overconfident and feel invincible, often leading to very risky behavior on their part. 3. There’s a More Efficient Way The most experienced workers on site have likely gone through an incident or accident themselves and are less likely to take major risks but have also developed more efficient / less safe habits over the years, potentially leading to an incident. > Continue Reading   Sue Drummond knows that learning new technology can be intimidating and overwhelming sometimes. That's exactly why her role at Harness Software is to teach, guide and customize the fear away. Together with our clients, she sets project priorities, exchanges resources and shares best practices, all in an effort to achieve happier and healthier employees and safer job sites.   About Foundation SoftwareFoundation Software delivers job cost accounting, project management, estimating & takeoff, and safety software, along with payroll services, to help contractors run the business side of construction. For more information, call (800) 246-0800 or email info@foundationsoft.com." target="_blank">3 Safety Program Styles Compared: Incentive vs Behavior vs Discipline

Last Updated by Sue Drummond, Harness Software (a Foundation Software Company) on Apr 01, 2021 Forget the horse and water; the saying should read: “You [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:01-05:00June 20th, 2022|AM Whitepaper, CICPAC, Construction, Exclude Post, Member News|

Lazear Capital Partners is a leading middle market investment bank specializing in ESOPs, Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Formation, and Turnaround Advisory Services. They guide clients through every step of their business succession or exit strategy.

“Lazear Capital Partners is a consultant for business financing – whether it is buy, sell, invest or M&A. Calling them an investment banker is a disservice to what they do. They get and find money to fund growth and serve as a business financial management partner for their clients.”

- Michael Marlowe, Co-Founder at Bluemile Inc.

About Lazear Capital Partners

Lazear wants to make your dreams come true. Going above and beyond to guide you every step of the way, Lazear is more than just an investment banking firm, they are part of your team. Taking the time to understand your business needs, they make their clients top priority. Whether you are looking to create a succession plan, clearly define your exit strategy or develop an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), they solidify the best option(s) for you that will result in long-term benefits. Coupling business experience with legal and financial expertise, Lazear standouts from other firms. Contact them to put their negotiating skills to work and help transition into the next chapter of life. If you (or your clients) are considering a sale or other ownership transition, allow Lazear the opportunity to review your situation and provide thoughts on how to maximize value, all at no cost should you decide not to retain our services. Please contact
Doug Janowski or (614) 221-1616 if you would like to learn more about our services. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]" target="_blank">Lazear Capital Partners Joins CICPAC as Associate Member

Lazear Capital Partners is a leading middle market investment bank specializing in ESOPs, Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Formation, and Turnaround Advisory Services. They guide [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:01-05:00February 22nd, 2022|Announcements, CICPAC, Member News|

2021 List of Forbes America's Best Tax and Accounting Firms has been released! We are so excited that 34 CICPAC member firms have made the list! Congratulations to all the firms and their dedication to the tax and accounting industry!
  • Adams Brown
  • Aldrich CPAs + Advisors
  • Atkinson & Co. (now CLA)
  • Barnes Dennig
  • BeachFleischman
  • BerganKDV
  • BerryDunn
  • Blue & Co.
  • Brickley DeLong
  • Calvetti Ferguson
  • CliftonLarsonAllen
  • CohnReznick
  • GBQ Partners
  • Gollob Morgan Peddy
  • H&CO Advisors
  • HHM - Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough
  • HoganTaylor
  • Iannuzzi Manetta
  • James Moore
  • KSM - Katz Sapper & Miller
  • Lane Gorman Trubitt
  • LaPorte CPAs & Advisors
  • Lutz
  • Marcum LLP
  • MCM LLP
  • Plante Moran
  • RBT CPAs
  • SAX
  • Stambaugh Ness
  • SVA Certified Public Accountants
  • Thompson Greenspon
  • Warren Averett
  • Yeo & Yeo
  • YHB - Yount, Hyde & Barbour
" target="_blank">34 CICPAC Member Firms Named to Forbes America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms List

The 2021 List of Forbes America's Best Tax and Accounting Firms has been released! We are so excited that 34 CICPAC member firms have made [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:02-05:00December 9th, 2020|Announcements, CICPAC, Construction, Member News|

said Henry South, Atkinson & Co. managing partner. "We have always believed that serving our clients is an opportunity to know them better. And, when we know clients better, we can align our services to contribute to their growth and profitability." As one of the largest New Mexico-owned public accounting and consulting firms serving the Southwest since 1970, Atkinson & Co. has earned a reputation for quality, reliability, and personal service. The firm has a long-standing tradition of community involvement. Atkinson & Co. earned distinction for its workplace policies by Family Friendly New Mexico, a statewide project developed to recognize companies that have adopted policies that give New Mexico businesses an edge in recruiting and retaining the best employees.
"I see a great fit between our firms," said Georgie Ortiz, managing principal of CLA's New Mexico office. "By blending our capabilities, we continue to strengthen our commitment to create opportunities for our clients and for our people."
As one of the nation's leading professional services firms, CLA has retained the agility to serve clients of all sizes and in all locations, while at the same time bringing an uncommon depth of capabilities, all in one place. The nearly 50 former Atkinson & Co. team members will continue to serve clients locally and nationally from Albuquerque, increasing CLA's New Mexico team to more than 100 people. About CLA -
www.claconnect.com CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services. With more than 6,200 people, 120 U.S. locations and a global affiliation, we promise to know you and help you. Investment advisory services are offered through C!iftonLarsonA!len Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor." target="_blank">Albuquerque-Based Atkinson & Co. Joins CLA

12/1/2020 - CICPAC member firm, Albuquerque-based Atkinson & Co., has joined national professional services firm CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), as of December 1, 2020. "We're excited [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:02-05:00December 8th, 2020|Announcements, CICPAC, Member News|

Any questions related to testing the security of your remote infrastructure, feel free to reach out to HORNE LLP's Director of Network Security, Brad Pierce, at 901.372.5816 or brad.pierce@hornecyber.com." target="_blank">Testing the Security of your Remote Infrastructure

There is a lot of uncertainty around where we are headed, both individually and corporately, as we watch, for most of us, one of the [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:03-05:00April 2nd, 2020|CICPAC, Member News, Resources|

ealvarez@hcoadvisors.com. [fusion_button link="https://www.hcoadvisors.com/" text_transform="" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment="" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" border_width="" border_radius="" border_color="" border_hover_color="" size="" stretch="default" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]Visit H&Co's Website[/fusion_button][/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]" target="_blank">E.F. Alvarez Merges with H&Co. Advisors

EFA, CPAs (Miami, FL), led by long-time CICPAC member and industry leader Emilio Alvarez, has announced it's late 2019 merger with H&Co. Global Advisors. [...]

By |2022-07-18T14:36:03-05:00February 2nd, 2020|Announcements, CICPAC, Member News|

We are excited to welcome, Jennifer Miloszewski, CPA, Director with Blue & Co. (Lexington, KY) to the CICPAC family.

Blue is a Top 60 CPA firm in the US, with 450+ employees and 10 offices in three states! Their construction practice serves more than 400 privately-held companies. They are actively involved in ABC, AGC, CFMA and other state organizations, as well as Surety associations in KY, IN and OH.

The company's clients include:

[/fusion_text][fusion_builder_row_inner][fusion_builder_column_inner type="1_2" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" border_radius="" box_shadow="no" dimension_box_shadow="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" padding="" dimension_margin="" background_type="single" background_color="" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center" linear_angle="180" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="no"][fusion_checklist icon="" iconcolor="" circle="" circlecolor="" size="" divider="" divider_color="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id=""][fusion_li_item icon=""]

Commercial, institutional, and industrial building construction

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Drywall and insulation contractors

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Electrical contractors

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General contractors and specialty subcontractors

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Heavy and civil engineering construction

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Highway, street, and bridge construction

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Residential housing construction and remodeling

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Masonry contractors

[/fusion_li_item][/fusion_checklist][/fusion_builder_column_inner][fusion_builder_column_inner type="1_2" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" border_radius="" box_shadow="no" dimension_box_shadow="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" padding="" dimension_margin="" background_type="single" background_color="" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center" linear_angle="180" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" last="no"][fusion_checklist icon="" iconcolor="" circle="" circlecolor="" size="" divider="" divider_color="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id=""][fusion_li_item icon=""]

Plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractors

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Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors

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Real estate companies and developers

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Roofing contractors

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Site preparation contractors

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Structural steel and precast concrete contractors

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Water and sewer line construction

[/fusion_li_item][/fusion_checklist][/fusion_builder_column_inner][/fusion_builder_row_inner][fusion_button link="https://www.blueandco.com/industries/construction/" text_transform="" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment="" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" border_width="" border_radius="" border_color="" border_hover_color="" size="" stretch="default" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]Learn More about Blue[/fusion_button][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="15pt" bottom_margin="15pt" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]" target="_blank">Blue and Co. (Lexington, KY) Joins CICPAC

We are excited to welcome, Jennifer Miloszewski, CPA, Director with Blue & Co. (Lexington, KY) to the CICPAC family.Blue is a Top 60 CPA [...]

By |2020-01-29T21:20:50-05:00January 29th, 2020|Announcements, CICPAC, Member News|

Reproduced with permission from our Associate Member, Beneco Retirement plan fees are complicated. Between administration, investment management, recordkeeping, consulting, revenue sharing, sub-TA and 12b-1, it isn’t always clear to plan participants or plan sponsors exactly what they’re paying, how much they’re paying or even who’s paying the fees. ERISA Section 408(b)(2) states that plan fiduciaries have to determine whether the agreements and compensation of service providers are “reasonable.” The rule requires service providers to supply plans with disclosures to help them determine if fees are “reasonable.” Beneco helps fiduciaries with this complicated determination by identifying:
  • All of the total plan cost components
  • The various primary drivers of retirement plan pricing
  • The role of revenue sharing

Cost Components

The three main components are administrative fees, investment fees and plan consulting fees. Administrative and plan consulting fees may be paid by the plan sponsor or the participant. Investment fees are always paid by participants and deducted from plan assets.

Primary Pricing Drivers

Several key factors can impact plan pricing. The larger the plan in terms of assets, the lower the plan sponsor out-of-pocket (per participant) costs. Other factors to consider include:
  • Number of plan participants
  • Average account balance
  • Service requirements
  • Plan design features

Revenue Sharing

Revenue sharing includes payments made by investment managers to service providers or plan consultants for a portion of the revenue generated from the management of a particular fund or funds. Historically, such allowance may or may not be known to a plan sponsor. Regardless, it’s imperative that plan sponsors with fiduciary oversight of their organization’s retirement plan understand the distribution systems that most investment management organizations use and how they share revenue. The most common forms of revenue sharing can include 12b-1 fees, shareholder servicing fees and sub-transfer agent (sub-TA) fees. In some instances, a portion of the investment management fee for proprietary funds may include some revenue sharing. The diagram below illustrates potential fund expenses.

Fiduciary Best Practices

Best practices dictate that plan fiduciaries must go through a prudent, comprehensive and measurable process of monitoring and documentation to ensure that only reasonable fees are being paid. This process includes:
  • Working with an experienced consultant who understands retirement plan fee components
  • Disclosing and documenting all fees from retirement plan service providers
  • Benchmarking fees annually for due diligence purposes
  • In-depth, live-bid benchmarking of fees, services and investments against alternative providers every three years to ensure competitive reasonableness
[/fusion_text][fusion_button link="https://www.beneco.com" text_transform="" title="" target="_self" link_attributes="" alignment="" modal="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" color="default" button_gradient_top_color="" button_gradient_bottom_color="" button_gradient_top_color_hover="" button_gradient_bottom_color_hover="" accent_color="" accent_hover_color="" type="" bevel_color="" size="" stretch="default" icon="" icon_position="left" icon_divider="no" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]Learn More about Beneco[/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]" target="_blank">Understanding Retirement Plan Fees

Reproduced with permission from our Associate Member, Beneco Retirement plan fees are complicated. Between administration, investment management, recordkeeping, consulting, revenue sharing, sub-TA and 12b-1, [...]

By |2023-05-02T10:49:37-05:00April 12th, 2019|AM Whitepaper, CICPAC, Construction, Member News, Resources|
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