I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. It is a time to look back on the past year and look at the blessings, the positives in our lives.
Given the media and the economy it is sometimes easy to forget the good things, the little victories we all have. This is definitely a time to remember and reflect on those victories, big and small; to set the stage for not only a great holiday season, but to get recharged for a recovering positive 2010.
Sincerely,
Stan Taylor, CSAM
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Seven Rules For Succeeding As A Brand-New Leader
Michael D. Watkins 11.04.09, 5:05 PM ET
The actions you take during your first few months in a new role have a major influence on whether you ultimately succeed or fail. Transitions are pivotal times, in part because they are when everyone expects change to occur. They're also times of great vulnerability, when new leaders lack established working relationships and detailed knowledge of their new roles. If you fail to build momentum during your transition, you will face an uphill battle from then on.
What does it take to make a successful transition into a new role? My research has led me to compile seven rules that can help any newly appointed leader take charge more effectively:
Rule 1: Leverage your time before entry.
Your transition begins during the selection process when you're being picked for the job, not when you formally enter the organization. If you fail to use the time before your move effectively, you'll undermine your ability to get on top of the job right from the start. It's a priceless period for absorbing information about your new organization and beginning to plan. Wise new leaders therefore use the time between the decision to take a new position and the formal start date to jump-start the transition process.
Rule 2: Organize to learn.
Taking on a new role can feel like sailing into a dense fog. You can see only a short distance and must exercise great caution as you strive to get your bearings. Because expectations for you are high and your time is precious, you must be an active learner. This means organizing to learn as efficiently as possible everything you need to learn about your new role. Plan early on to focus on three distinct types of learning: technical, political and cultural. Technical learning means understanding products, markets, customers, strategy and operations. Political learning means assessing how decisions are made, understanding who is most influential and identifying key sources of power. Cultural learning means understanding your new organization's norms and values, its accepted ways of working and all the habits that make its character unique.
Rule 3: Secure early wins.
By the end of your first few months on the job, you will have to have made substantial progress energizing people and focusing them on solving the business's most pressing problems. It is crucial that people see momentum building from the start. Tangible improvements motivate employees, encouraging them to try for still more and better. So plan to secure early wins by identifying significant problems that can be tackled in relatively little time. Their solutions must yield identifiable operational and financial improvements in performance.
Rule 4: Lay the foundation for success.
Early wins will help you get off to a good start, but they won't suffice for continued success. You must also lay a foundation for the deeper changes that can bring sustained improvement in your organization's performance. Your efforts during the first six months to lay that foundation must focus on building the team, transforming key structures and processes and developing all the skills you yourself will need to achieve your goals.
Rule 5: Construct a personal vision.
To get people to buy in and go the extra mile, you need to conceive a personal vision for your organization and make it a shared vision. You do this through cycles of observation, imaginative visualization and clarification. The new leaders best able to formulate a vision of what they want to accomplish are those who observe most carefully how their new organizations work. Thoughtful observation of the situation at hand, and hard-headed assessment of potential threats and opportunities, enables you to imagine--and communicate--what might be.
Rule 6: Build alliances.
You can only transform an organization if powerful people and groups find that helping you do so is in their own interest. New leaders can learn and plan, but they can achieve little on their own. Armed with knowledge of the political landscape, reach out and consolidate potential sources of support. Strive to convince those who can be convinced. Early in the transition, many people will be neither dedicated supporters nor implacable opponents. They will be indifferent or undecided--and, hence, persuadable.
Rule 7: Manage yourself
Finally, knowing and managing yourself is as important as knowing and managing the organization. The physical demands of a transition are high as you log endless hours traveling and attending meetings and face ever more work. The emotional demands are also great as you try to cope with not only challenges at work but also disruptions in the usual rhythms of life at home. You must therefore prepare for the emotional burden of transition by developing ways to maintain your equanimity. The key is to build the right networks for advice and counsel that can help you to exercise clear-headed judgment, stay focused and maintain emotional evenness.
It's up to you.
Success in putting these seven rules into practice won't guarantee a smooth transition. Even the best-laid plans can go awry. But care in planning and carrying out a transition can substantially improve your chance of success--and your chance to get opportunities to make further transitions in the future.
Michael D. Watkins is the author of Your Next Move: The Leader's Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions. He is co-founder of Genesis Advisors, a leadership development firm in Newton, Mass., that specializes in transition acceleration programs and coaching. His previous books include The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels and The First 90 Days in Government: Critical Success Strategies for New Public Managers at All Levels.
Forbes.com
The actions you take during your first few months in a new role have a major influence on whether you ultimately succeed or fail. Transitions are pivotal times, in part because they are when everyone expects change to occur. They're also times of great vulnerability, when new leaders lack established working relationships and detailed knowledge of their new roles. If you fail to build momentum during your transition, you will face an uphill battle from then on.
What does it take to make a successful transition into a new role? My research has led me to compile seven rules that can help any newly appointed leader take charge more effectively:
Rule 1: Leverage your time before entry.
Your transition begins during the selection process when you're being picked for the job, not when you formally enter the organization. If you fail to use the time before your move effectively, you'll undermine your ability to get on top of the job right from the start. It's a priceless period for absorbing information about your new organization and beginning to plan. Wise new leaders therefore use the time between the decision to take a new position and the formal start date to jump-start the transition process.
Rule 2: Organize to learn.
Taking on a new role can feel like sailing into a dense fog. You can see only a short distance and must exercise great caution as you strive to get your bearings. Because expectations for you are high and your time is precious, you must be an active learner. This means organizing to learn as efficiently as possible everything you need to learn about your new role. Plan early on to focus on three distinct types of learning: technical, political and cultural. Technical learning means understanding products, markets, customers, strategy and operations. Political learning means assessing how decisions are made, understanding who is most influential and identifying key sources of power. Cultural learning means understanding your new organization's norms and values, its accepted ways of working and all the habits that make its character unique.
Rule 3: Secure early wins.
By the end of your first few months on the job, you will have to have made substantial progress energizing people and focusing them on solving the business's most pressing problems. It is crucial that people see momentum building from the start. Tangible improvements motivate employees, encouraging them to try for still more and better. So plan to secure early wins by identifying significant problems that can be tackled in relatively little time. Their solutions must yield identifiable operational and financial improvements in performance.
Rule 4: Lay the foundation for success.
Early wins will help you get off to a good start, but they won't suffice for continued success. You must also lay a foundation for the deeper changes that can bring sustained improvement in your organization's performance. Your efforts during the first six months to lay that foundation must focus on building the team, transforming key structures and processes and developing all the skills you yourself will need to achieve your goals.
Rule 5: Construct a personal vision.
To get people to buy in and go the extra mile, you need to conceive a personal vision for your organization and make it a shared vision. You do this through cycles of observation, imaginative visualization and clarification. The new leaders best able to formulate a vision of what they want to accomplish are those who observe most carefully how their new organizations work. Thoughtful observation of the situation at hand, and hard-headed assessment of potential threats and opportunities, enables you to imagine--and communicate--what might be.
Rule 6: Build alliances.
You can only transform an organization if powerful people and groups find that helping you do so is in their own interest. New leaders can learn and plan, but they can achieve little on their own. Armed with knowledge of the political landscape, reach out and consolidate potential sources of support. Strive to convince those who can be convinced. Early in the transition, many people will be neither dedicated supporters nor implacable opponents. They will be indifferent or undecided--and, hence, persuadable.
Rule 7: Manage yourself
Finally, knowing and managing yourself is as important as knowing and managing the organization. The physical demands of a transition are high as you log endless hours traveling and attending meetings and face ever more work. The emotional demands are also great as you try to cope with not only challenges at work but also disruptions in the usual rhythms of life at home. You must therefore prepare for the emotional burden of transition by developing ways to maintain your equanimity. The key is to build the right networks for advice and counsel that can help you to exercise clear-headed judgment, stay focused and maintain emotional evenness.
It's up to you.
Success in putting these seven rules into practice won't guarantee a smooth transition. Even the best-laid plans can go awry. But care in planning and carrying out a transition can substantially improve your chance of success--and your chance to get opportunities to make further transitions in the future.
Michael D. Watkins is the author of Your Next Move: The Leader's Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions. He is co-founder of Genesis Advisors, a leadership development firm in Newton, Mass., that specializes in transition acceleration programs and coaching. His previous books include The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels and The First 90 Days in Government: Critical Success Strategies for New Public Managers at All Levels.
Forbes.com
Friday, November 6, 2009
WORKERS READY TO MAKE A CHANGE!
It is taken form the Gilbert Gazette newsletter.
- Note the projected number of folks heading back to India and China.
- These are typically your highly educated people.
Surveys Shows Workers Are Ready to Make Changes
Several recent surveys show that the recession is having a profound impact on workers and employment trends worldwide. Even though they measure different things - global hiring, immigration repatriation, and career trends - the theme is the economy is global and when it recovers, things will not go back to the way it was.
Reverse Immigration: More skilled immigrants are pursuing careers back home, raising concerns that the U.S. may lose its competitive edge in science, technology, and other fields. "What was a trickle has become a flood," says Duke University's Vivek Wadhwa, who studies reverse immigration.
Wadhwa projects that in the next five years, 100,000 immigrants will go back to India and 100,000 to China, countries that have had rapid economic growth.
Monster poll: Workers in North America and Europe showing 89 percent would consider or would make a career change if it meant finding a new job. While only 11 percent of the 22,444 of Monster site visitors in Europe, Canada, or the U.S. said they wouldn't change careers, while 49 percent said they're ready to change careers now.
The 'Global Snapshot' survey from international recruitment firm Antal asked 7397 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China, and the USA if they were currently hiring at professional and managerial levels. The survey shows current hiring across the globe is up from 46% of respondents to 50% now. Organizations intending to hire is up from 44% to 48%. Organizations intending to shed staff has fallen from 35% to 25% now.
In the US, the percentage of organizations hiring has risen to 55% from 43% in April and of those intending to hire in the coming quarter to 56% from 34%. Furthermore firing levels are down, albeit marginally from 38% to 34%. In the U.S., 55 percent of respondents report hiring, with the same percentage planning to hire next quarter. By Joan Runnheim Olson
This article speaks to what I have been seeing in the market. Activity is picking up, more and more banks are backfilling & topgrading talent than at any time in the last two years.
Stan Taylor, CSAM
Friday, August 28, 2009
DENOVO period now 7 years, up from 3!
Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised Depository Institutions
FIL-50-2009August 28, 2009
Summary:
The FDIC is advising the banking industry of supervisory changes for state nonmember institutions insured seven years or less (de novo period). Under current policy, newly insured institutions are subject to higher capital requirements and more frequent examination activities during the first three years of operation. Based on supervisory experience, the FDIC will now extend the de novo period from the current three-year period to seven years for examinations, capital, and other requirements. In addition, material changes in business plans for newly insured institutions will require prior FDIC approval during the first seven years of operation.
Highlights:
FIL-50-2009August 28, 2009
Summary:
The FDIC is advising the banking industry of supervisory changes for state nonmember institutions insured seven years or less (de novo period). Under current policy, newly insured institutions are subject to higher capital requirements and more frequent examination activities during the first three years of operation. Based on supervisory experience, the FDIC will now extend the de novo period from the current three-year period to seven years for examinations, capital, and other requirements. In addition, material changes in business plans for newly insured institutions will require prior FDIC approval during the first seven years of operation.
Highlights:
Recent experience has demonstrated that newly insured institutions pose an elevated risk to the FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund. Depository institutions insured less than seven years are over represented on the list of institutions that failed during 2008 and 2009, with many of those failures occurring during the fourth through seventh years of operation.- A number of newly insured institutions have pursued changes in business plans during the first few years of operation that have led to increased risk and financial problems where accompanying controls and risk management practices were inadequate.
To address the heightened risks presented by newly insured depository institutions, the FDIC is extending the supervisory procedures for the de novo period from three to seven years. - During the seven-year de novo period, these institutions will remain on a 12-month risk management examination cycle and be subject to enhanced supervision for Compliance examinations and Community Reinvestment Act evaluations.
- Any material change in an institution's business plan during the de novo period also will require prior FDIC approval.
- These procedures apply to existing newly insured institutions.
- De novo institutions that are subsidiaries of existing "eligible" holding companies generally will be excluded from these procedures.
full doc a this link:
Continuation of FIL-50-2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
ARE YOU READY FOR AFTER SURVIVAL?
- Are you thinking about what comes after surviving the recession?
- Are you beginning to think about thriving?
- Do you have the right people in place or identified?
Business Challenges After the Recession
When the recession is over, business challenges will be different, not gone. Companies wrestling with the downturn need to consider what new problems they’ll face in the recovery.
You may have cut back on your staffing level to survive the recession. When sales recover, you’ll start hiring—but whom? Many of the folks you laid off will not be available. Some of the people you hire may not have worked in your industry before. You will have a training challenge greater than you had before the recession.
The employees who stayed with you through the recession will be different. They may have felt guilty when they survived layoffs. Then they worked hard without bonuses, pay raises or much chance of promotion (because the company was not expanding, and few higher-ups were quitting or retiring). After working hard through the recession, their attitudes will be different than had been a few years earlier.
Consumers are cutting back on their spending, but the day will come when they buy cars and furniture again. How will the recession change their attitudes? Will they buy the same products, the same styles, at the same price points as they did in 2005? Probably not. What mix of products will fill the consumer’s need to celebrate the return to normalcy, without falling into the same old bad habits?
When it’s time to ramp up production, will your vendors be ready? If you had to cut back your orders during the recession, your vendors will be hurting. They may have laid off key personnel, and they may not have the financing in place to buy raw materials to provide you with products. Their problems will become your problems if you rely on them for critical supplies.
Speaking of finance, what about your own situation? The financial crisis has changed the world of credit in ways that won’t quickly be reversed. Securitization will continue, but at a much slower pace, with far simpler deals. This is a problem even for companies that never floated complex deals on Wall Street. Virtually all forms of business credit have been securitized: bank loans, lease receivables, commercial mortgages, credit card debt. Many business borrowers didn’t even know that the money for their loans came through these channels. The closure of secondary markets, though, makes business credit harder to obtain.
Business recoveries are stressful to balance sheets. Chief financial officers who have felt stressed by declining sales volumes will feel a different kind of stress next year. Increasing orders will require spending on inventories and personnel, much of which has to take place before payments are received from customers. This need for working capital will increase before credit markets fully adjust to the financial crisis.
How does a business leader prepare for these new challenges? The first step is to keep the company going, which means dealing with today’s challenges. At the same time, take a few hours and sketch out the challenges you expect when the recovery comes. Bring in a few colleagues and brainstorm. Then look at the issues that need current action. Some problems can wait until they arise, but others can be nipped in the bud with a little forethought. The companies that thrive in the recovery will be those that not only survived the recession, but also planned for better times.
by Bill Conerly
Economist
Copyright 2006-2008
Conerly Consulting LLC
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
1099 VS W-2, AN IRS CHECKLIST
1099s and Taxes
When a person is paid on the form, 1099-misc, all money earned by the individual is paid on an untaxed basis. It is then the responsibility of the individual to file and pay the appropriate taxes. These taxes can be owed to Federal, State and Local governments. Workers' compensation and unemployment issues also must be addressed independently.
W-2s and Taxes
When a person is paid on the form W-2, the employer automatically withholds and pays all of the necessary employee income taxes as required by the IRS. These taxes include: Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, and FICA (Social Security and Medicare). In addition, the employer will pay all of the necessary employer taxes. These taxes include: FICA (Social Security and Medicare), FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax), and SUI (State Unemployment Tax).
IRS 20 Point Checklist for 1099 Workers
Specific factors that are used by the IRS in determining whether an individual is an employee (W-2) or an independent contractor (1099) are listed below. This listing is commonly referred to as the "20 factors" test. This 20-point checklist is only a guideline; it does not guarantee that a person is correctly classified. Most agencies and courts typically look to the totality of the circumstances and balance the factors to determine whether a worker is an employee.
1. Must the individual take instructions from your management staff regarding when, where, and how work is to be done? A worker who is required to comply with other persons' instructions about when, where, and how he or she is to work is ordinarily an employee. This control factor is present if the person or persons for whom the services are performed have the right to require compliance with instructions.
2. Does the individual receive training from your company? Training a worker by requiring an experienced employee to work with the worker, by corresponding with the worker, by requiring the worker to attend meetings, or by using other methods, indicates that the person or persons for whom the services are performed want the services performed in a particular method or manner.
3. Is the success or continuation of your business somewhat dependent on the type of service provided by the individual? Integration of the worker's services into the business operation generally shows that the worker is subject to direction and control. When the success or continuation of a business depends to an appreciable degree upon the performance of certain services, the workers who perform those services must necessarily be subject to a certain amount of control by the owner of the business.
4. Must the individual personally perform the contracted services? If the services must be rendered personally presumably the person or persons for whom the services are performed are interested in the methods used to accomplish the work as well as in the result.
5. Have you hired, supervised, or paid individuals to assist the worker in completing the project stated in the contract? If the person or persons for whom the services are performed hire, supervise, and pay assistants, that factor generally shows control over the workers on the job. However, if one worker hired supervises, and pays the other assistant pursuant to a contract under which the worker agrees to provide materials and labor and under which the worker is responsible only for the attainment of a result, this factor indicates an independent contractor status.
6. Is there a continuing relationship between your company and the individual? A continuing relationship between the worker and the person or persons for whom the services are performed indicates that an employer-employee relationship exists. A continuing relationship may exist where work is performed at frequently recurring although irregular intervals.
7. Must the individual work set hours? The establishment of set hours of work by the person or persons for whom the services are performed is a factor indicating control.
8. Is the individual required to work full time at your company? If the worker must devote substantially full time to the business of the person or persons for whom the services are performed, such person or persons have control over the amount of time the worker spends working and impliedly restrict the worker from doing other gainful work. An independent contractor, on the other hand, is free to work when and for whom he or she chooses.
9. Is the work performed on company premises? If the work is performed on the premises of the person or persons for whom the services are performed, that factor suggests control over the worker, especially if the work could be done elsewhere.
10. Is the individual required to follow a set sequence or routine in the performance of his work? If a worker must perform services in the order or sequence set by the person or persons for whom the services are performed, that factor shows that the worker is not free to follow the worker's own pattern of work but must follow the established routines and schedules of the person or persons for whom the services are performed. Often, because of the nature of an occupation, the person or persons for whom the services are being performed do not set the order of the services or set the order infrequently. It is sufficient to show control, however, if such person or persons retain the right to do so.
11. Must the individual give you reports regarding his/her work? A requirement that the worker submit regular or written reports to the person or persons for whom the services are performed indicates a degree of control.
12. Is the individual paid by the hour, week, or month? Payment by the hour, week, or month generally points to an employer-employee relationship, provided that this method of payment is not just a convenient way of paying a lump sum agreed upon as the cost of a job. Payment made by the job or on a straight commission generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.
13. Do you reimburse the individual for business/travel expenses? If the person or persons for whom the services are performed ordinarily pay the worker's business and/or traveling expenses, the worker is ordinarily an employee. An employer, to be able to control expenses, generally retains the right to regulate and direct the worker's business activities.
14. Do you supply the individual with needed tools or materials? The fact that the person or persons for whom the services are performed furnish significant tools, materials, and other equipment tends to show the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
15. Have you made a significant investment in facilities used by the individual to perform services? If the worker invests in facilities that are used by the worker in performing services and are not typically maintained by employees (such as the maintenance of an office rented at fair value from an unrelated party), that factor tends to indicate that the worker is an independent contractor. On the other hand, lack of investment in facilities indicates dependence on the person or persons for whom the services are performed for such facilities and, accordingly, the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
16. Is the individual free from suffering a loss or realizing a profit based on his work? A worker who can realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the worker's services (in addition to the profit or loss ordinarily realized by employees) is generally an independent contractor, but the worker who cannot is an employee.
17. Does the individual only perform services for your company? If a worker performs services for a multiple of unrelated persons or firms at the same time, that factor generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.
18. Does the individual limit the availability of his services to the general public? The fact that a worker makes his or her services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis +indicates an independent contractor relationship.
19. Do you have the right to discharge the individual? The right to discharge a worker is a factor indicating that the worker is an employee and the person possessing the right is an employer. An employer exercises control through the threat of dismissal, which causes the worker to obey the employer's instructions. An independent contractor, on the other hand, cannot be fired so long as the independent contractor produces a result that meets the contract specifications.
20. May the individual terminate his services at any time? If the worker has the right to end his or her relationship with the person for whom the services are performed at any time he or she wishes without incurring liability, that factor indicates an employer-employee relationship.
If after reviewing this IRS 20-point checklist you find your "consultants" should be W-2 rather then 1099 we can assist you with that transition.
NOTICE: Management Recruiters of Vancouver has provided the content of this document for general informational purposes only. You should not substitute this information for personal consultation with a qualified professional in the field, nor should you rely upon this information in taking any action. No attorney-client relationship will be created through your use of this document.
When a person is paid on the form, 1099-misc, all money earned by the individual is paid on an untaxed basis. It is then the responsibility of the individual to file and pay the appropriate taxes. These taxes can be owed to Federal, State and Local governments. Workers' compensation and unemployment issues also must be addressed independently.
W-2s and Taxes
When a person is paid on the form W-2, the employer automatically withholds and pays all of the necessary employee income taxes as required by the IRS. These taxes include: Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, and FICA (Social Security and Medicare). In addition, the employer will pay all of the necessary employer taxes. These taxes include: FICA (Social Security and Medicare), FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax), and SUI (State Unemployment Tax).
IRS 20 Point Checklist for 1099 Workers
Specific factors that are used by the IRS in determining whether an individual is an employee (W-2) or an independent contractor (1099) are listed below. This listing is commonly referred to as the "20 factors" test. This 20-point checklist is only a guideline; it does not guarantee that a person is correctly classified. Most agencies and courts typically look to the totality of the circumstances and balance the factors to determine whether a worker is an employee.
1. Must the individual take instructions from your management staff regarding when, where, and how work is to be done? A worker who is required to comply with other persons' instructions about when, where, and how he or she is to work is ordinarily an employee. This control factor is present if the person or persons for whom the services are performed have the right to require compliance with instructions.
2. Does the individual receive training from your company? Training a worker by requiring an experienced employee to work with the worker, by corresponding with the worker, by requiring the worker to attend meetings, or by using other methods, indicates that the person or persons for whom the services are performed want the services performed in a particular method or manner.
3. Is the success or continuation of your business somewhat dependent on the type of service provided by the individual? Integration of the worker's services into the business operation generally shows that the worker is subject to direction and control. When the success or continuation of a business depends to an appreciable degree upon the performance of certain services, the workers who perform those services must necessarily be subject to a certain amount of control by the owner of the business.
4. Must the individual personally perform the contracted services? If the services must be rendered personally presumably the person or persons for whom the services are performed are interested in the methods used to accomplish the work as well as in the result.
5. Have you hired, supervised, or paid individuals to assist the worker in completing the project stated in the contract? If the person or persons for whom the services are performed hire, supervise, and pay assistants, that factor generally shows control over the workers on the job. However, if one worker hired supervises, and pays the other assistant pursuant to a contract under which the worker agrees to provide materials and labor and under which the worker is responsible only for the attainment of a result, this factor indicates an independent contractor status.
6. Is there a continuing relationship between your company and the individual? A continuing relationship between the worker and the person or persons for whom the services are performed indicates that an employer-employee relationship exists. A continuing relationship may exist where work is performed at frequently recurring although irregular intervals.
7. Must the individual work set hours? The establishment of set hours of work by the person or persons for whom the services are performed is a factor indicating control.
8. Is the individual required to work full time at your company? If the worker must devote substantially full time to the business of the person or persons for whom the services are performed, such person or persons have control over the amount of time the worker spends working and impliedly restrict the worker from doing other gainful work. An independent contractor, on the other hand, is free to work when and for whom he or she chooses.
9. Is the work performed on company premises? If the work is performed on the premises of the person or persons for whom the services are performed, that factor suggests control over the worker, especially if the work could be done elsewhere.
10. Is the individual required to follow a set sequence or routine in the performance of his work? If a worker must perform services in the order or sequence set by the person or persons for whom the services are performed, that factor shows that the worker is not free to follow the worker's own pattern of work but must follow the established routines and schedules of the person or persons for whom the services are performed. Often, because of the nature of an occupation, the person or persons for whom the services are being performed do not set the order of the services or set the order infrequently. It is sufficient to show control, however, if such person or persons retain the right to do so.
11. Must the individual give you reports regarding his/her work? A requirement that the worker submit regular or written reports to the person or persons for whom the services are performed indicates a degree of control.
12. Is the individual paid by the hour, week, or month? Payment by the hour, week, or month generally points to an employer-employee relationship, provided that this method of payment is not just a convenient way of paying a lump sum agreed upon as the cost of a job. Payment made by the job or on a straight commission generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.
13. Do you reimburse the individual for business/travel expenses? If the person or persons for whom the services are performed ordinarily pay the worker's business and/or traveling expenses, the worker is ordinarily an employee. An employer, to be able to control expenses, generally retains the right to regulate and direct the worker's business activities.
14. Do you supply the individual with needed tools or materials? The fact that the person or persons for whom the services are performed furnish significant tools, materials, and other equipment tends to show the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
15. Have you made a significant investment in facilities used by the individual to perform services? If the worker invests in facilities that are used by the worker in performing services and are not typically maintained by employees (such as the maintenance of an office rented at fair value from an unrelated party), that factor tends to indicate that the worker is an independent contractor. On the other hand, lack of investment in facilities indicates dependence on the person or persons for whom the services are performed for such facilities and, accordingly, the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
16. Is the individual free from suffering a loss or realizing a profit based on his work? A worker who can realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the worker's services (in addition to the profit or loss ordinarily realized by employees) is generally an independent contractor, but the worker who cannot is an employee.
17. Does the individual only perform services for your company? If a worker performs services for a multiple of unrelated persons or firms at the same time, that factor generally indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.
18. Does the individual limit the availability of his services to the general public? The fact that a worker makes his or her services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis +indicates an independent contractor relationship.
19. Do you have the right to discharge the individual? The right to discharge a worker is a factor indicating that the worker is an employee and the person possessing the right is an employer. An employer exercises control through the threat of dismissal, which causes the worker to obey the employer's instructions. An independent contractor, on the other hand, cannot be fired so long as the independent contractor produces a result that meets the contract specifications.
20. May the individual terminate his services at any time? If the worker has the right to end his or her relationship with the person for whom the services are performed at any time he or she wishes without incurring liability, that factor indicates an employer-employee relationship.
If after reviewing this IRS 20-point checklist you find your "consultants" should be W-2 rather then 1099 we can assist you with that transition.
NOTICE: Management Recruiters of Vancouver has provided the content of this document for general informational purposes only. You should not substitute this information for personal consultation with a qualified professional in the field, nor should you rely upon this information in taking any action. No attorney-client relationship will be created through your use of this document.
Friday, April 3, 2009
MARK TO MARKET CHANGES COULD CREATE OPTIONS FOR BANKS
ACTUAL TITLE
"Accounting rule change could end bank crisis, or make it worse"
The little-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is poised to deliver today a change in accounting rules that proponents say will save the banking system — and opponents warn could bring even more ruin to the U.S. economy.
link for more detail:
(FASB 157) http://www.fasb.org/st/summary/stsum157.shtml
By Kevin G. Hall
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The little-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is poised to deliver today a change in accounting rules that proponents say will save the banking system — and opponents warn could bring even more ruin to the U.S. economy.
The FASB is expected to relax the rules on how banks value assets that investors no longer are willing to purchase.
Current rules require banks to list the value of assets on their books at their current market price — a practice called "mark-to-market." The assets, however, at the center of the global financial meltdown — securities backed by bad mortgages — have no market. Investors simply won't touch them.
That's forced banks to lower the reported value of their assets, and quarter after quarter since mid-2007, they've had to write off more and more losses. That forces them to hoard their capital, rather than lend it, to offset their losses. That's how the housing crisis begat the banking crisis, which begat the U.S. economic crisis, which begat the global financial meltdown.
Banks say the mark-to-market accounting rule has worsened the financial crisis by making institutions appear weaker than they really are. The pools of mortgages, they say, should be valued not on what they're worth today, but what they are expected to be worth at maturity.
"Why should all assets be treated as if they're really for sale?" asked Bert Ely, a banking expert who gained wide recognition during the savings-and-loan crisis of the late 1980s.
During the S&L crisis, government regulators initially eased federal accounting rules for troubled S&Ls, which hid their negative worth and allowed them to make even worse decisions that led to their collapse and an expensive federal rescue.
Could it happen again?
Enter FASB. The Norwalk, Conn., private-sector entity adopts common standards that are accepted by regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
FASB moved with breakneck speed to consider the rule change after its chairman, Robert Herz, was roughed up by lawmakers on March 12 and warned that Congress could impose new rules if he wasn't willing to do so. Democrats, led by Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, insisted on the change.
FASB is expected to relax mark-to-market rules, sometimes called fair-value accounting, to recognize the maturity value of the mortgage securities often referred to as toxic assets.
Supporters think this will provide a tremendous boost to banks and ease the economic crisis.
"I think change in mark-to-market (rules) would make a big difference. If there's a bottom spotted on the economy, then the banking thing goes away. As soon as Wall Street sees a bottom, then you can make accurate forecasts. When you can do that, the banking crisis ends," said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo. "That's equivalent to a huge toxic asset (being lifted) because you bring private investors back in."
The rule change could allow banks to use one accounting standard for what it reports to the SEC, whose mandate is investor protection, and a more relaxed standard for reporting to banking regulators. That would ease the demand on banks to raise more capital in a distressed environment.
Critics think the change would allow banks to cook their books by hiding their truly bad assets behind longer maturity dates.
"The biggest problem with mark-to-market isn't mark-to-market, it's what part of the balance sheet is mark-to-market and what part is not," said Franklin Raines, the former chief executive of mortgage-finance giant Fannie Mae. If FASB relaxes the rule for distressed bank assets, he said, "You have got a distortion in the balance sheet that nobody can understand."
The changes would allow banks to revise their first-quarter 2009 reports to reflect a hold-to-maturity value on assets that no investor will buy now. Some advocates have proposed allowing this change to apply retroactively to the dismal last quarter of 2008, and perhaps even further back.
The change has been debated from the very start of the financial crisis in mid-2007, so action now raises eyebrows.
"It's an awkward time to do it," said David Wyss, chief economist for the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's in New York. He said it gives the appearance of sweeping problems under the rug.
The action could add more uncertainty, warned Gary Stern, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
"I think it would raise as many problems as it answers," he told McClatchy Newspapers.
"Accounting rule change could end bank crisis, or make it worse"
The little-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is poised to deliver today a change in accounting rules that proponents say will save the banking system — and opponents warn could bring even more ruin to the U.S. economy.
link for more detail:
(FASB 157) http://www.fasb.org/st/summary/stsum157.shtml
By Kevin G. Hall
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The little-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is poised to deliver today a change in accounting rules that proponents say will save the banking system — and opponents warn could bring even more ruin to the U.S. economy.
The FASB is expected to relax the rules on how banks value assets that investors no longer are willing to purchase.
Current rules require banks to list the value of assets on their books at their current market price — a practice called "mark-to-market." The assets, however, at the center of the global financial meltdown — securities backed by bad mortgages — have no market. Investors simply won't touch them.
That's forced banks to lower the reported value of their assets, and quarter after quarter since mid-2007, they've had to write off more and more losses. That forces them to hoard their capital, rather than lend it, to offset their losses. That's how the housing crisis begat the banking crisis, which begat the U.S. economic crisis, which begat the global financial meltdown.
Banks say the mark-to-market accounting rule has worsened the financial crisis by making institutions appear weaker than they really are. The pools of mortgages, they say, should be valued not on what they're worth today, but what they are expected to be worth at maturity.
"Why should all assets be treated as if they're really for sale?" asked Bert Ely, a banking expert who gained wide recognition during the savings-and-loan crisis of the late 1980s.
During the S&L crisis, government regulators initially eased federal accounting rules for troubled S&Ls, which hid their negative worth and allowed them to make even worse decisions that led to their collapse and an expensive federal rescue.
Could it happen again?
Enter FASB. The Norwalk, Conn., private-sector entity adopts common standards that are accepted by regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
FASB moved with breakneck speed to consider the rule change after its chairman, Robert Herz, was roughed up by lawmakers on March 12 and warned that Congress could impose new rules if he wasn't willing to do so. Democrats, led by Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, insisted on the change.
FASB is expected to relax mark-to-market rules, sometimes called fair-value accounting, to recognize the maturity value of the mortgage securities often referred to as toxic assets.
Supporters think this will provide a tremendous boost to banks and ease the economic crisis.
"I think change in mark-to-market (rules) would make a big difference. If there's a bottom spotted on the economy, then the banking thing goes away. As soon as Wall Street sees a bottom, then you can make accurate forecasts. When you can do that, the banking crisis ends," said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo. "That's equivalent to a huge toxic asset (being lifted) because you bring private investors back in."
The rule change could allow banks to use one accounting standard for what it reports to the SEC, whose mandate is investor protection, and a more relaxed standard for reporting to banking regulators. That would ease the demand on banks to raise more capital in a distressed environment.
Critics think the change would allow banks to cook their books by hiding their truly bad assets behind longer maturity dates.
"The biggest problem with mark-to-market isn't mark-to-market, it's what part of the balance sheet is mark-to-market and what part is not," said Franklin Raines, the former chief executive of mortgage-finance giant Fannie Mae. If FASB relaxes the rule for distressed bank assets, he said, "You have got a distortion in the balance sheet that nobody can understand."
The changes would allow banks to revise their first-quarter 2009 reports to reflect a hold-to-maturity value on assets that no investor will buy now. Some advocates have proposed allowing this change to apply retroactively to the dismal last quarter of 2008, and perhaps even further back.
The change has been debated from the very start of the financial crisis in mid-2007, so action now raises eyebrows.
"It's an awkward time to do it," said David Wyss, chief economist for the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's in New York. He said it gives the appearance of sweeping problems under the rug.
The action could add more uncertainty, warned Gary Stern, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
"I think it would raise as many problems as it answers," he told McClatchy Newspapers.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
How will this benefit your Financial Institution?
Fed launches new $200B consumer credit program
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer – Tue Mar 3, 5:00 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The government launched a much-awaited program Tuesday to spur lending for autos, education, credit cards and other consumer loans by providing up to $200 billion in financing to investors to buy up the debt.
If the program succeeds, it should help bust through the credit clogs in place since last year and make it easier for Americans to finance large and small purchases at lower rates, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress. That, in turn, would help revive the economy, he said.
Created by the Fed and the Treasury Department, the program has the potential to generate up to $1 trillion of lending for businesses and households, the government said. It will be expanded to include commercial real estate, though that won't be part of the initial rollout.
"There's a looming crisis in commercial real estate whereby owners of shopping malls, hotels, rental properties and many other types of buildings are unable to refinance or to pay for new construction because the (commercial) securitization market is completely shut down," Bernanke said during an appearance before the Senate Budget Committee.
The program will start off by providing $200 billion in loans to investors with the goal of jump-starting lending to consumers and small businesses. The program, dubbed the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, was first announced late last year and originally was scheduled to start in February.
Participants — companies and investors that pledge eligible collateral to back the loan — must request the new government loans by March 17. The Fed will provide the three-year loans on March 25.
"We should see immediate benefits to students, to credit cards, to small businesses, to consumer loans," Bernanke told lawmakers.
Under the program, the Fed will buy securities backed by different types of debt, including credit card, auto, student and small business loans. The credit crunch — the worst since the 1930s — has made it much harder for people to obtain such financing , and those that do can be socked with high rates.
Before the financial crisis, banks relied on packaging such loans into securities and selling them to pay for additional lending. That process had financed about 25 percent of consumer loans in recent years until the credit markets ground to a halt in October, the government said.
Anil Kashyap, a professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, said the program should make it easier for consumers to get loans. But he cautioned that the Fed's involvement in this area could have unintended consequences elsewhere by making other debt securities not backed by the government less attractive to investors.
"We'd really rather the credit markets just work properly," Kashyap said.
The Fed plans to keep the program running through December, but said it could be extended.
The Fed and Treasury expect that securities backed by car-fleet leases as well as by certain equipment, including for heavy construction and for agriculture, will be eligible for Fed funding in its April operation. Participants in the second round of funding must request the government loans by April 7, which the Fed will disburse on April 14.
The program, the Fed said, will remain focused on securities that are best able to aid the economy and financial markets and that can be added at a low risk to the government.
Limits on executive compensation that apply to financial institutions receiving capital from the $700 billion rescue program won't apply to lenders and other participants benefiting from the program. That's because it wants "to encourage market participants to stimulate credit formation" and use the program, the Fed said.
___
AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer – Tue Mar 3, 5:00 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The government launched a much-awaited program Tuesday to spur lending for autos, education, credit cards and other consumer loans by providing up to $200 billion in financing to investors to buy up the debt.
If the program succeeds, it should help bust through the credit clogs in place since last year and make it easier for Americans to finance large and small purchases at lower rates, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress. That, in turn, would help revive the economy, he said.
Created by the Fed and the Treasury Department, the program has the potential to generate up to $1 trillion of lending for businesses and households, the government said. It will be expanded to include commercial real estate, though that won't be part of the initial rollout.
"There's a looming crisis in commercial real estate whereby owners of shopping malls, hotels, rental properties and many other types of buildings are unable to refinance or to pay for new construction because the (commercial) securitization market is completely shut down," Bernanke said during an appearance before the Senate Budget Committee.
The program will start off by providing $200 billion in loans to investors with the goal of jump-starting lending to consumers and small businesses. The program, dubbed the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, was first announced late last year and originally was scheduled to start in February.
Participants — companies and investors that pledge eligible collateral to back the loan — must request the new government loans by March 17. The Fed will provide the three-year loans on March 25.
"We should see immediate benefits to students, to credit cards, to small businesses, to consumer loans," Bernanke told lawmakers.
Under the program, the Fed will buy securities backed by different types of debt, including credit card, auto, student and small business loans. The credit crunch — the worst since the 1930s — has made it much harder for people to obtain such financing , and those that do can be socked with high rates.
Before the financial crisis, banks relied on packaging such loans into securities and selling them to pay for additional lending. That process had financed about 25 percent of consumer loans in recent years until the credit markets ground to a halt in October, the government said.
Anil Kashyap, a professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, said the program should make it easier for consumers to get loans. But he cautioned that the Fed's involvement in this area could have unintended consequences elsewhere by making other debt securities not backed by the government less attractive to investors.
"We'd really rather the credit markets just work properly," Kashyap said.
The Fed plans to keep the program running through December, but said it could be extended.
The Fed and Treasury expect that securities backed by car-fleet leases as well as by certain equipment, including for heavy construction and for agriculture, will be eligible for Fed funding in its April operation. Participants in the second round of funding must request the government loans by April 7, which the Fed will disburse on April 14.
The program, the Fed said, will remain focused on securities that are best able to aid the economy and financial markets and that can be added at a low risk to the government.
Limits on executive compensation that apply to financial institutions receiving capital from the $700 billion rescue program won't apply to lenders and other participants benefiting from the program. That's because it wants "to encourage market participants to stimulate credit formation" and use the program, the Fed said.
___
AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Happiness!
"The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness,
only the pursuit of it.
You have to catch up with it yourself."
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist & printer
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The "No Jobs" Myth -
Recently the news media, economists and any pundit who could get space in a newspaper, on TV or on the radio talked about the US losing over 500,000 jobs in the month of November. For those who lost jobs, as we know, these are difficult times, financially, socially and emotionally.
We do not minimize that loss for anyone.
As we consider what this means to our company (and the unemployed we continue to help), it is important to keep things in perspective. Compared to the media's version of our job market, the real data is encouraging when we consider our economy's: 1) total jobs and, more importantly, 2) overall hiring activity.
First, consider the number of jobs lost in November – 533,000. We're told that: "It was the most jobs lost in one month since December 1974." That's a nice sound bite if you are writing a newspaper article. Another accurate sound bite is: "In the month of November, we lost 34 one hundredths of one percent of the total jobs in America." And it looks like this:
And consider that in each month of the first 10 months of this recession over six times as many people were hired. How does that make sense? How can we be hiring millions and be losing jobs at the same time? The answer is employee turnover and what economists call "churn".
Churn refers to the natural number of businesses failures and startups. Employee turnover refers to such things as employee quits, relocations, deaths, terminations and retirements. Even when there is not economic growth, both churn and turnover lead to job openings, which in turn lead to hires. And the number of hires each month is a more relevant and meaningful number for both the unemployed and the staffing industry.
So how many hires do we normally have and how has this recession affected the number of hires? In a good economy such as September 2006- September 2007 the number of hires was 58 million. In our current recession the following year (2007-2008) it has fallen by only 8% to 54 million according to the latest data. And it looks like this:
So, even in the middle of this recession, though you wouldn't know it from the media, there were 54 million hires. This means that if you were in an average US town of 100,000, employers hired 17,500 people in the last year. In the year before, they would have hired 19,000 people. Fortunately, for our company and the job seekers we place, employers keep hiring, even in a downturn.
Staffing has grown to be a great solution for employers who need people to keep their businesses healthy as well as for job seekers who need jobs to keep their lives and families healthy. Staffing companies save both employers and job seekers time and money and are a key in keeping our country healthy in this economic downturn. Instead of stepping back and waiting for a recovery, this is a time to step forward and help make it happen.
We do not minimize that loss for anyone.
As we consider what this means to our company (and the unemployed we continue to help), it is important to keep things in perspective. Compared to the media's version of our job market, the real data is encouraging when we consider our economy's: 1) total jobs and, more importantly, 2) overall hiring activity.
First, consider the number of jobs lost in November – 533,000. We're told that: "It was the most jobs lost in one month since December 1974." That's a nice sound bite if you are writing a newspaper article. Another accurate sound bite is: "In the month of November, we lost 34 one hundredths of one percent of the total jobs in America." And it looks like this:
And consider that in each month of the first 10 months of this recession over six times as many people were hired. How does that make sense? How can we be hiring millions and be losing jobs at the same time? The answer is employee turnover and what economists call "churn".
Churn refers to the natural number of businesses failures and startups. Employee turnover refers to such things as employee quits, relocations, deaths, terminations and retirements. Even when there is not economic growth, both churn and turnover lead to job openings, which in turn lead to hires. And the number of hires each month is a more relevant and meaningful number for both the unemployed and the staffing industry.
So how many hires do we normally have and how has this recession affected the number of hires? In a good economy such as September 2006- September 2007 the number of hires was 58 million. In our current recession the following year (2007-2008) it has fallen by only 8% to 54 million according to the latest data. And it looks like this:
So, even in the middle of this recession, though you wouldn't know it from the media, there were 54 million hires. This means that if you were in an average US town of 100,000, employers hired 17,500 people in the last year. In the year before, they would have hired 19,000 people. Fortunately, for our company and the job seekers we place, employers keep hiring, even in a downturn.
Staffing has grown to be a great solution for employers who need people to keep their businesses healthy as well as for job seekers who need jobs to keep their lives and families healthy. Staffing companies save both employers and job seekers time and money and are a key in keeping our country healthy in this economic downturn. Instead of stepping back and waiting for a recovery, this is a time to step forward and help make it happen.
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