IRS Issues Guidance on 2009 Required Minimum Distribution Waiver

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The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance for retirement plan administrators, plan participants and retirees regarding recent legislation affecting required minimum distributions. The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 waives required minimum distributions for 2009 from certain retirement plans. Generally, a required minimum distribution is the smallest annual amount that must be withdrawn from an IRA or an employer’s plan beginning with the year the account owner reaches age 70 1/2. The 2008 law waives required minimum distributions for 2009 for IRAs and defined contribution plans (such as 401(k)s) and allows certain amounts distributed as 2009 required minimum distributions to be rolled over into an IRA or another retirement plan.

Notice 2009-82 provides relief for people who have already received a 2009 required minimum distribution this year. Individuals generally have until the later of November 30, 2009, or 60 days after the date the distribution was received, to roll over the distribution. read more...

The notice also provides guidance for retirement plan sponsors. It contains two sample plan amendments that plan sponsors may adopt or use to amend their plans to either stop or continue 2009 required minimum distributions. Both sample amendments provide that participants and beneficiaries can choose to receive or not to receive 2009 required minimum distributions. Also, both sample amendments allow the employer to offer direct rollover options of certain 2009 required minimum distributions.

Plan sponsors may need to tailor the sample amendment to their plan’s particular terms and administration procedures and must adopt the amendment no later than the last day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2011 (January 1, 2012 for governmental plans).

Winner! Best Places to Work in the North Bay

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The North Bay Business Journal has named 55 winners for its annual Best Places to Work competition, and Ghirardo CPA is pleased to have made the cut for the fourth consecutive year! The winners were selected by the Business Journal editorial department based on several criteria.

We would like to thank the North Bay Business Journal for recognizing Ghirardo CPA as one of the Best Places to Work. We are honored to be among this elite group of companies. Click here for the full North Bay Business Journal article.

September is College Savings Month

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With actual and proposed changes to the popular 529 Savings Plans, make sure you have all the latest information! One change allows families saving for college to use 529 plans to pay for a student’s computer-related technology needs. The new American Opportunity Credit allows more parents and students to use a federal education credit to pay part of the cost of college. For a more comprehensive look at the different programs available, please visit our website or contact your Ghirardo CPA representative.

Is this the recovery??

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“If this is the recovery, then I’m really in trouble”, a small business owner recently confided. Many small business owners can sympathize with that sentiment. While the stock market is up nearly 50% from March, unemployment is still growing and most importantly, sales are still down compared to last year. The good news is that you have made it this far; the bad news is that the recovery may be slow and uneven. If this sounds like your situation, it may be time to improve your current level of profitability and position your company for revenue growth, despite a challenging economy. Some of the following initiatives may be in order: Profitability Improvement: Evaluate the profitability of your business by customer, product, project, territory, salesperson, etc. to find out where you are making money and just as importantly, where you are not. This sometimes leads to benchmarking your pricing and product offering in comparison with the market. Oftentimes this work identifies pricing opportunities that lead to a quick boost in profit margins.

Sales Management and Compensation: The profitability analysis can lead to a change in the size and/or composition of the sales force or sales compensation plans to ensure that your company has the right number of salespeople focused on where your company makes money.

Business Development Plan: Finally, this work sets you up well for a more formal business development plan (especially if bank financing will be required to finance that business development effort). In today’s market, this effort requires a more systematic approach:

Define your company’s target markets, current and desired customer profile, competitive strengths and weaknesses and unique selling proposition

  • Identify and prioritize business development strategies designed to leverage your strengths with your target market
  • Develop implementation timelines and resource requirements
  • Establish metrics and measure results

How do you get all this done while still focusing on your business? Give us a call; we have experienced professionals ready to help. Contact Paul Breimayer, our Director of Business Consulting at 415-408-5021 for more information.

How a SBA Loan Can Help Your Business - Workshop

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Spend 75 minutes with Paul Breimayer, Director of Business Consulting at Ghirardo CPA and John Connally, Vice President and Client Relationship Manager at Circle Bank to learn what you need to know about the major recent improvements in the Small Business Lending loan programs and how you can put these loans to use in financing your business. Plus we'll help you discover:

  • What are the big advantages with SBA financing
  • What businesses qualify for SBA financing
  • How long does it take/what do I have to do to obtain SBA financing

**Limited space available for only 15 particpants!**

Seminar Details

Date: August 13, 2009

Time: 12:00 to 1:15 p.m.

Location: Circle Bank, San Rafael Branch 1200 Fifth Ave., San Rafael

Admission: No cost - invitation only!

Reservations: Paul Breimayer at 415-408-5021

Lunch will be provided.

Strategies for Success 2009

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We are pleased to announce an upcoming seminar, "Strategies for Success 2009", hosted by the Novato Chamber of Commerce and jointly sponsored by Ghirardo CPA, Circle Bank and Warren Capital Corporation. This event will feature four experts in bank and non-bank financing options for small business owners in today's challenging economy. The workshop will cover:

  • What to look for and expect from a lender
  • Bank and non-bank financing solutions
  • How to get better prepared to increase your chances of success

The seminar will be held on July 9, 2009 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and located at Unity in Marin, 600 Palm Drive, Novato.

Meet the Presenters

Paul Breimayer, has an extensive background that includes 10 years as a CPA with a Big Four accounting firm, 5 years as a Chief Financial Officer and 10 years as the Managing Director of a division of a Fortune 500 company. He is the Director of Business Consulting with Ghirardo CPA and focused on providing CFO services to small businesses, including assistance in obtaining bank and non-bank financing.

John Connelly, Vice President and Client Relationship Manager at Circle Bank, has a 17 year career in the banking industry. Previously a Senior Vice President at Bank of America, John’s principal experience is in delivering financial solutions to small to mid-sized businesses through his background in commercial banking and product management.

For 36 years, Patrick Kilkenny worked for various banks including Redwood Empire Bancorp, Allied Savings Bank, California Valley Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. He is now an Advisor/Consultant for Business Financing and is the Principal of Kilkenny Advisors.

Clay Stephens is founder and CEO of Warren Capital Corporation, a specialty finance company, headquartered in Novato. Warren Capital's 25 year history includes completing over 3,000 transactions for a value in excess of $1.5 Billion. They offer a variety of equipment financing and asset based financing products. Warren Capital has an investment banking affiliate, Wood Warren & Company, located in Emeryville, CA.

For additional information and to register for the event, please visit the Novato Chamber of Commerce web site.

Interest Free Loans?

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Sound too good to be true? Here's the real story....the Small Business Administration (SBA) is responding to the current economic recession with the recently announced ARC Loan Program. This loan program is designed to provide short term relief of up to $35,000 to small businesses facing an immediate financial hardship. Here are some of the other benefits:

  • No collateral required
  • No SBA loan fees
  • No payments for at least the first 12 months

Sounds great...I would like a dozen of these!!

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. To begin with, each small business is limited to one ARC loan. To qualify you will also need the following:

  • Your business is suffering an immediate financial hardship (such as declining revenues or difficulty making loan or vendor payments)
  • Financial statements demonstrating that your business had a positive cash flow in 1 of the last 3 years
  • Cash flow projections for the next 2 years indicating that you will be able to meet your current and future loan payments
  • Your business is no more than 60 days past due on any loan

ARC loans are not intended for start-ups, businesses that are already severely delinquent or businesses whose past performance/future cash flow indicate that the business is not viable.

If you have any additional questions regarding the new ARC loan program or any of the many recent SBA loan program improvements, please contact your lender orour Director of Business Consulting, Paul Breimayer at Ghirardo CPA at 415-408-5021.