IMA-January-2013 - Long Island Chapter of the Institute of

LONG ISLAND CHAPTER
Monthly Dinner Meeting - Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Milleridge Cottage - Jericho, NY - Cocktail Hour begins at 6:00 pm
Managing Reputation Risk
Special Guest Speakers:
Andy Kraus
Epoch 5 Public Relations
Robert Rickey
TIAA-CREF Financial Services
Moderated by Bob Arnold, Jr.
Advanced Pricing and
Payment for the Meeting:
$65
(IMA Members receive $10 discount)
Pre-register online at http://longisland.imanet.org/
(*Please note there will be a $10 surcharge for registration & payment at the door)
Thank You To Our
January Sponsors
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
The LISS Group • Valley National Bank
Unique Business Solutions
January 2013
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 2
andy kraus, Senior Vice President - Epoch 5 Public Relations
Andy Kraus has 30 years of experience in marketing communications on the agency and client sides, as
well as for non-profits. He has worked with many market leaders in industries such as financial services,
insurance and accounting. His experience runs the strategic gamut from media relations and community
affairs to internal communications. Additionally, he is a specialist in crisis communications, serving as an
advisor, strategist and spokesperson for many high visibility clients in numerous controversial situations.
At Epoch 5 since 1991, Andy has managed accounts including Veolia Transportation, Shell Energy, Covanta
Energy, Newsday, CVS/pharmacy, KPMG and Catholic Health Services of Long Island. Prior to joining
Epoch 5, he was with several major New York City public relations agencies, including Cohn & Wolfe,
which is part of the Burson-Marsteller network, one of the largest in the world. In New York, he supervised
a variety of accounts including banking giants Chase Manhattan and Citicorp, and others such as State
Farm Insurance, MasterCard, Hasbro, the United States Mint and Welsh Development International.
On Long Island, Andy also worked for Greenstone & Rabasca Advertising, Long Island’s largest ad
agency at the time, and Kopf & Isaacson. He began his career as a newsman, working as a reporter and
editor for a number of daily and weekly newspapers near Philadelphia covering beats including the
courts, business, government and politics. He continued his newspaper writing as a freelance writer
for Newsday.
Andy has served as board president of the 350-member Sagamore Rowing Association; as an advisor to
the board of Volunteers for Wildlife; and on the board of the YMCA of Long Island.
Robert t. rickey, CFP, AIF, Senior Director - TIAA-CREF Financial Services
Rob Rickey has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry. For the last fifteen
years, Mr. Rickey served in various capacities at TIAA-CREF. Rob played a key role in the development
of the company’s financial advisor distribution channel and their institutional business. In his current
position as Head of TIAA-CREF’s Advisor Services, he is responsible for the sales, service, operations
and infrastructure required to support the distribution of the firm’s products & services through the
independent advisor channel. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, Rob was as a financial Advisor at a leading
mutual fund company. Mr. Rickey earned a B.A in Economics from Long Island University and an M.B.A
in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business. Rob also holds the
Certified Financial Planner designation and is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary.
Douglas
A. Cohen,
Phillips,CPA
CPA
Andrew M.
PMS 2945
PMS 5425
Partner Partner
Managing
Mobile:
212.812.7000
Direct: 516.620.8444
Direct:
212.375.6701
andrew.cohen@weisermazars.com
douglas.phillips@weisermazars.com
Gail L. Trugman-Nikol
Peter Papagianakis
(516) 935-5641 | Gail@UBSassociates.com
pp@BLawFirm.com
Peter Papagianakis
22 Jericho Turnpike; Suite 100-East
Mineola, NY 11501
office: 516-280-8600
fax: 516-740-0761
1375 Broadway (37 St.); Suite 300
New York, NY 10018
office: 646-862-1210
fax: 646-292-5121
Cell: (516) 713-6325 | Fax: (516) 935-4101
P.O. Box 7777 | Hicksville, NY 11802
www.UBSassociates.com
Joseph A. Giacinto
Chief Executive Officer
(516) 338-5454 Ext 23
Fax (516) 338-4479
jgiacinto@pbipayroll.com
www.pbipayroll.com
unique
business solutions
Your Process. Staff Knowledge. | IDENTIFY • DOCUMENT • PROTECT
January 2013
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Last Month's Meeting
Page 3
by Karen A. Goldberg, CPA
The IMA Long Island hosted 100 members and guests at our annual Holiday dinner meeting on December 4,
2012. It was great to see so many members joined by their spouse who helped celebrate the year-end Holiday
season at the festive Milleridge Cottage.
Members and guests were generous with food and Holiday gifts which benefitted area food banks as well as
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island. Susan Samaroo, Chief Operating Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters Long
Island, addressed attendees and thanked them for their donations.
The highlight of our evening was a comedy performance by John Garrett. John began his post college career like
many of our members, as an accountant, eventually earning his CPA designation. A self-described “outside the
box” CPA, John left the accounting profession to perform comedy full-time. John found a room full of material
with bankers, lawyers and “sweater-vested” accountants to poke fun at. John ended his performance with a
Family Feud-style game show pitting IMA Board members against bankers. More than a few good laughs were
shared by all.
The IMA Long Island Board looks forward to 2 events in January. Our monthly dinner meeting is January 8th,
including an expert panel on Reputation Risk. In addition, our quarterly breakfast series resumes on January
31st featuring Steven Davies providing time management and supervision skills advice.
Thank You To Our December Sponsors
The LISS Group
January 2013
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
retirement plans: the good,
the bad and the ugly
Page 4
by Eric Monroe
Standard Pension Services, LLC
Our firm has specialized in design, administration
and compliance management of all types of retirement
plans in excess of 50 years so it’s fair to say we’ve had
the opportunity to review our share of plans and have
seen the “good” the “bad” and the “ugly”. We would
like to share with you the top 5 ways your retirement
plan can stay in the ‘good’ category.
Education
The subject of employee education is essential on
participant directed platforms.
Design
I started with design for a reason. It is the single most
important part of any retirement plan. The proper
retirement plan design will provide for a strong
foundation, make it appealing to most people and
accomplish the goals of the plan sponsor.
A “good” plan consists of a consultant to educate the
plan sponsor and the plan participants. Sponsors
should be educated on fiduciary duties, compliance
and regulations pertaining to offering a retirement plan.
Participants should be educated on plan features, on
the basics of how to plan for retirement in a practical
way and how to make confident investment choices.
A good consultant should be educated, committed
and responsive to hosting educational seminars and
enrollment meetings for participants and annual reviews
with the trustee(s).
Retirement plans in the “good” category are compliant,
provide a benefit with flexibility, are current with today’s
regulations and are not a burden to the plan sponsor.
Fees
There are administration fees, legal fees, platform fees,
investment fees and commission fees associated with
both trustee and participant directed plans.
Plans in the “good” category are working with a
consultant that is dedicated to the retirement plan space.
The consultant should know what reasonable fees are
based on their experience and knowledge of the industry
and guide you accordingly.
Trustee directed plans should tailor education based on
the objective of the plan sponsor and the type of plan
such as a Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution.
Reviews
Most would agree one of the signs of a well run company
is management’s ability to be proactive when possible.
Having a “good” retirement plan means annually
reviewing:
• the plan design for effectiveness and efficiency
• fees and expenses associated with the platform
• investment options and managers performance
• educational opportunities for the sponsor and the
participants
Investment Choices
Whether it is a participant directed or a trustee directed
plan, reviewing the investment menu is an important
part of a plan sponsor’s duties. For a participant directed
plan, offer too few investment choices or too many
choices and the participant could end up in a state of
inertia or making choices based on the dart board theory.
The easiest way to determine if your plan is “good”,
“bad” or “ugly” is to ask an independent consultant for
a third party review. Many retirement plan consultants,
such as Standard Pension Services, will do a review
for free.
A “good” plan has all available asset classes and choices
such as stable value, bonds, balanced, large-mid-small
cap, international and preferably target date funds.
Target date funds have become popular because they are
easy to understand, diversified, professionally managed
and automatically rebalanced. The target date funds do
everything a prudent investor should do automatically
and do it at a very competitive cost. In addition, the
plan sponsor might want to consider low cost Index
and ETF investments.
This article is complements of IMA member Eric Monroe,
Senior Associate with Standard Pension Services, LLC.
We are excited to be sponsoring the IMA’s February
meeting and are looking forward to being a trusted
resource for information to other members. Please look
for us at our sponsor table.
Standard Pension Services, LLC 300 Garden City Plaza
Suite 252 Garden City NY 11530 516-873-0090 x204
EMonroe@StandardPensionServices.com
Congress wants to take your retirement plan benefits!
Fight for your 401(k) at www.savemy401k.com.
January 2013
Institute of Management ACCOUNTANTS
Page 5
2012-2013 Dinner Meeting Schedule
January 8th, 2013 - Managing Reputation Risk
February 12th, 2013 - Managing 401k Plans
March 12th, 2013 - Financial Planning for Retirement
April 9th, 2013 - Combined Meeting with TMA & AANG
May 14th, 2013 - FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD DINNER
Quarterly Breakfast Series
January 31 , 2013 - Time Management & Improving Managerial Skills
st
April 30th, 2013 - Wealth Management/Understanding Trusts & Estates
July 2013 - Fraud Protection
New Members:
Send or bring a friend or business associate to an IMA meeting!
Your help is needed to keep our Chapter growing. Please submit the name of a prospective
candidate who might be interested in IMA membership to our Vice President of Membership:
Karen Goldberg
WeiserMazars LLP
60 Crossways Park Drive West, Suite 301 • Woodbury, NY 11797
Phone (516) 488-1200 • Direct: (516) 620-8760
Email: membership@ima-longisland.org • Karen.Goldberg@WeiserMazars.com
Your Newsletter Editor
Your newsletter editor is always looking for information about you and other chapter
members as well as significant issues concerning our Long Island community relative to
accounting and business matters. Please forward all personal notes for possible inclusion
in the newsletter to the editor:
Sima Ali, Esq.
Ali Law Group, PC
775 Park Avenue, Suite 255 • Huntington, NY 11743
(631) 423-3440
Email: sima.ali@alilawgroup.com
Visit our website at
http://longisland.imanet.org