Over the past few years, the emphasis on employee engagement and happiness has been forefront in the business news and best practices. And though more companies are realizing Ping-Pong tables aren’t essential for workplace happiness, there’s certainly value in creating a ‘fun’ work environment to boost employee engagement. Whether your company’s incentives are fun or financial... View Article
By Tom Ovendale, Principle, and Bob Gruber, Founder, The Rainier Group. Deferred compensation can be a valuable tool in helping CEOs accomplish their employee retention and incentive objectives. Retirement plans, pension plans, and stock-option plans can all aid in making employment opportunities attractive for recruiting. Unfortunately, many deferred compensation plans fail to deliver the desired... View Article
Tax season is upon us. Americans and their advisors are trying to sort out the nuances of the recent federal changes including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 that applies to this year’s filings. However, the TCJA isn’t the only regulation complicating filings for businesses this year. New IRS rules regarding audits... View Article
We hear it all the time — “I want employees to think like owners”. This desire by business owners to align employee behavior with the objectives of owners often results in compensation and other incentive plans that mimic the financial results that owners receive. Stock ownership, options, stock appreciation rights, phantom stock, and profit sharing... View Article
Deferred compensation plans can solve and avoid compensation problems, contribute to a greater rate of growth and profitability, and increase the probability of attracting and retaining key personnel. While not a cure-all, deferred comp plans can be an important part of the arsenal that helps achieve the objects of the CEO. Join us for a... View Article
There’s been a lot of interest lately on the plight of the southern Puget Sound Orca pod population and the impact that stormwater and other pollution may have on them. With their numbers declining, the state of Washington is considering various options to address the decline. Meanwhile, the federal government is also considering revising water quality and stormwater... View Article
This week the Washington Department of Revenue will require some out-of-state businesses (remote sellers) to collect sales tax. A remote seller who, during the current or previous year, has at least $100,000 in retail sales to Washington consumers or at least 200 separate transactions with Washington consumers is required to collect and remit sales taxes.... View Article
Q: If a business owner takes one piece of information from this event home with them, what is the most important? Shahar: Taxes are not a “Dead End.” Planning and Financial maintenance is like health care. If you are proactive and take good care of how healthy and clean the business is – it will... View Article
A lot of emphasis is placed on the need for metrics in business – “What gets measured, gets done” or “What gets measured, gets managed.” When management starts tracking a behavior, the staff starts paying attention to it. That’s good, right? That’s the point! When the metrics aren’t clear or aren’t aligned with your business’... View Article