TAGLine for Week 2 of 2012

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1. TIAG WELCOMES NEW MEMBER IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Founded in 1958, Hemming Morse, LLP., (HM, LLP) (San Francisco, California, USA) is a leading accounting firm, with the strategic focus of their practice comprising two main areas of expertise: Litigation and Forensic Consulting Services and Financial and Compliance Auditing of Employee Benefit Plans. The firm has approximately 100 employees working together on complex and high-profile assignments that are local, regional, national and international in their scope. 

For more information, view their TIAG profile or visit their website at www.hemming.com.

2. “THERE ARE SOME CLIENTS YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER MET”

The President of the Appleton Group, Bob Sattin, recently wrote an article titled “Charity Begins at Home: Screen Your Clients Before Accepting Them,” which was published in the January 2012 edition of the CPA Practice Management Forum. This article provides insights, which are beneficial and universal to accounting firms while at the same time marketing TIAG and TAGLaw to a large international audience of your peers.

Click here to download the article or learn more about the entire publication at www.cchgroup.com.   

3. TIAG NORTH AMERICAN BEST PRACTICES CALL: THIS WEEK

Please join us for our next Best Practices Teleconference Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. EST. This call will feature an update on the TIAG network and some of our members and a presentation by Jocelyn Nager who is the Managing Partner at Frank, Frank, Goldstein & Nager (www.ffgnesqs.com). She will be presenting on "Accelerating Your Realization Rate and Improving Your Cash Flow". Jocelyn was named “One of Best Attorneys 2011,” by The New York Business Enterprise Report, and counts many accounting firms among the clients for whom she does work in establishing intake procedures and collecting receivables. She has been recommended to TIAG by several accounting firm sources.  A few minutes with us and your TIAG colleagues in January could make a big difference to you at year-end.

How to Join the Call

For login details for the call, please email Chris Cervellera at ccervellera@tiagnet.com. 

4. CONTRIBUTE TO TAG FOUNDATION SECURELY AND EASILY VIA PAYPAL

For the convenience of our members around the world, we have made it possible to donate to TAG Foundation using the popular online payment service, PayPal. Click here to start off the new year with a donation to TAG Foundation for you and/or your firm. 

What is TAG Foundation?

With advice and counsel from a committee of advisors and from members in affected areas of the world, TAG Foundation funds, contributed by The Appleton Group, Inc. and by members of TAGLaw and TIAG, will provide aid to local charities around the world, most often in response to natural or other disasters. Please consider making contribution to the TAG Foundation, which will help us quickly and effectively distribute aid when a disaster or crisis occurs. Learn how you and/or your firm can contribute at TAGFoundation.TAGLaw.com.

The TAG Foundation has been approved as exempt from taxation under §501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

5. UPCOMING TIAG INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

Spring 2012 International Conference: SAVE THE DATE!
May 7-9, 2012; San Francisco, California, USA; Four Seasons Hotel

Conference registration information is coming soon. Download the TIAG/TAGLaw Hotel Reservation Form to reserve your room at the special conference rate.

Fall 2012 International Conference: SAVE THE DATE!
October 22-24, 2012; Brussels, Belgium; The Conrad Hotel

6. MEMBER NEWS

Has your firm received a new certification or expanded your service capabilities? Let us know by sending an email to Chris Cervellera at ccervellera@tiagnet.com.

TIAG Members

- ESV Chartered Accountants in Sydney, Announce David Prichard as New Tax Partner; ESV Chartered Accountants (New South Wales, Australia)

- TIAG Welcomes New Member, Velani Contabilidade e Assessoria Ltda., in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil

- Russell Brown Wins "Novel" Judgment Against Edward Lehman; Lehman Brown (Beijing, China)

TAGLaw Members

To encourage the continued successful collaboration between TIAG and TAGLaw firms, we will from time to time, feature news and articles from TIAG members. To learn more about TAGLaw and the more than 110 firms in the network and to find those in your region, visit www.TAGLaw.com. 

- Osborn Maledon Litigators Ranked ‘Highly Recommended’ By National Litigation Guide, Benchmark Litigation 2012; Osborn Maledon, P.A. (Arizona, USA - TAGLaw) 

- Little Medeiros Kinder Bulman & Whitney, P.C. Secures Award of Damages for Massachusetts Contractor in Excess of $5 Million; Little Medeiros Kinder Bulman & Whitney, PC (Rhode Island, USA  - TAGLaw)

- HPK Attorney Tiffany S. Franc One of Maryland's Leading Women; Hodes, Pessin & Katz, P.A. (Maryland, USA  - TAGLaw) 

- Osborn Maledon Named Top Firm by Martindale-Hubbell; Osborn Maledon, P.A. (Arizona, USA  - TAGLaw)  

- BOYNECLARKE LLP Lawyers Listed in 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (16th Edition); BOYNECLARKE LLP (Scotia, Canada  - TAGLaw) 

- Queensland Supreme Court Leads the way on Reforming the Practice of Disclosure; Carter Newell Lawyers (Queensland, Australia  - TAGLaw) 

Why should my firm send news and articles to TIAG?

By sending your firm’s news and articles to TIAG to be featured on the TIAG website and TAGLine, your firm will gain exposure within the TIAG and TAGLaw networks. Additionally, this will increase your firm’s visibility on search engines such as Google and Bing. For your convenience we have created a mailbox, marketing@tiagnet.com, exclusively for your news, articles and newsletters. 

7. EXCLUSIVE TIAG DISCOUNT ON UPCOMING CCH SEMINARS

TIAG and TAG Academy have joined with CCH to bring you a 20% discount exclusively for TIAG members on several CCH seminars. We hope you will consider these offerings and pass them along to members of your firm. 

January Courses: 

Tue 10: Understanding Foreign Subsidiaries and Completing Form 5471 

Wed 11: 1040 Individual Income Tax Forms and Law Update 

Thu 12: Preparers Beware Before You Sign That Tax Return: What Every Tax Professional Must Know about Preparer Responsibilities and Penalties 

Fri 13: Carryover Basis and Preparing the New Form 8939 for 2010 Deaths 

Tue 17: Construction Industry Tax Foundations -- Summary of the Complicated Tax Accounting Methods for Construction Contractors 

Wed 18: 1120S S Corporation Tax Update and Review of Key Issues 

Thu 19: Getting Financially Challenging Situations onto the Tax Return - Short Sales, Foreclosures, and Cancellation of Debt 

Tue 24: IC-DISCS: Practical Tax Planning and Compliance Considerations for Closely-Held Exporters 

Wed 25: Construction Industry Tax Update 

Thu 26: TAX PRACTICE QUALITY CONTROL: Protect Your Practice, Please and Protect Your Clients 

Tue 31: 1065 Partnership-LLC Tax Update and Review of Key Issues

Complete Calendar of Discounted Events for TIAG Members

Click here to view a calendar of CCH seminar programs that are available with the exclusive TIAG member discount.

8. UNDERSTANDING & MAXIMIZING YOUR TIAG MEMBERSHIP

Below are some of the most recent resources we have created to help our members understand and maximize their TIAG memberships. Review these resources and circulate them among your firm’s leadership. 

TIAG Member Guide

We have created a Member Guide, which details many of the programs available to TIAG members. The guide is an interactive presentation and allows members to visit specific areas of the TIAG website to access the materials and content discussed. Click here to access the TIAG Member Guide or sign in to the TIAG website and click “Member Guide” under the “Resource Center” menu.

TIAG Member FAQs

Have you ever had a question about TIAG and needed answer quickly? Click here to access the list of FAQs for TIAG members or sign in to the TIAG website and click “TIAG Member FAQs” under the “Resource Center” menu. If you have a question that is not shown, you can submit a question to the TIAG staff for consideration. 

Note: To access these resources will need your firm’s TIAG website user name and password. If you do not have your user name and password, please email helpdesk@tiagnet.com. 

9. TIAG LINKEDIN GROUPS

TIAG Member’s LinkedIn Group Grows to Over 100 Members!

By joining the TIAG LinkedIn groups you can connect with other TIAG members and grow the profile of your firm within the network. Join now by clicking the names of the groups below.

- TIAG Members Group

- TAG Tax Specialty Group

- TIAG Latin America (TIAG América Latina)

10. FOLLOW TIAG ON TWITTER

Do you or your firm use Twitter? 

Keep up-to-date with TIAG and other TIAG members by following us on Twitter @TIAGnet!

Connect with TIAG and TAGLaw members on Twitter!

- TIAG Members on Twitter

- TAGLaw Members on Twitter

Regards,

The TIAG Team