Tag Archives: Accounting

Make It Count with Rodefer Moss & Co., PLLC | Real Estate Accounting Solutions: Alleviating Accounting Headaches for Commercial Property Management

Rodefer Moss: A Different Kind of CPA Firm

The team at Rodefer Moss listens better, tries harder and cares more.

In 2016, Rodefer Moss, the Southern Indiana accounting and business advisory firm, was a finalist for GLI’s Inc.credible Awards in the Innovation & Creativity category – despite the fact that innovation and creativity are not normally attributes associated with accounting firms. Operating under the strict limitations of their profession, accounting firms are usually praised for things like efficiency, thoroughness, accuracy, knowledge and experience.

“We were the first CPA firm ever nominated for this award, in 16 years,” said Rodefer Moss President Doug York. “for us to be recognized in the marketplace for being innovative and creative, I think that explains just about everything you need to know about us.”

As a company that has operated in Southern Indiana for nearly 50 years, Rodefer Moss has developed a special relationship with the community. It understands – especially – the challenges of small, family-owned businesses that are looking for more than just tax preparation from an accounting firm.

“The nature of the Southern Indiana business environment is mostly small and family-owned,” York said. “They have different situations than larger businesses, different problems and challenges. We’ve worked with those kinds of companies. We understand them.”

Strategic analysis is a critical component of the Rodefer Moss approach to its services. “If you just want us to file your tax returns,” said York, “where you give us the numbers and let us fill in all the blanks, we’re probably not the firm for you.”

Hoosier History

Melhiser Endres, CPAs, P.C. was formed in 1969 by local accountants Norman Melhiser and Edward Endres. In 1980, Tom Tucker joined the firm as partner. The company was then named Melhiser Endres Tucker CPAs, P.C. Doug York became President in 2004.

In 2008, the firm merged with Rodefer Moss & Co, PLLC, a Tennessee-based regional accounting and consulting firm. Headquartered in Knoxville, the firm also has offices in Nashville, Greeneville and Kingsport, Tenn. The Rodefer Moss name was retained for the entire entity, and York was named president then, too.

Today, Rodefer Moss consists of eight offices based throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, with nearly 150 employees. In Indiana, the firm has offices in New Albany, Georgetown and Corydon. There are 50 employees locally, including 25 CPAs, serving more than 4,000 clients in the Southern Indiana and Louisville markets.

Philanthropy and Office Environment

Rodefer Moss considers philanthropy one of the key hallmarks of their mission statement. They are committed to serving the communities in which they live and work.

They believe that community service is integral to sustaining a community and business. By immerging themselves in service, they ensure the growth of the community and assist those in need. Their commitment to community service is focused on education, health and economic growth. They believe economic growth is promoted by supporting and participating in the community.

Joe Brown, a partner in the New Albany office, has more than demonstrated the firm’s commitment to community service, and his works have inspired others in the firm to follow in his footsteps. Joe was recently honored with the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana’s Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Indiana CPA Society’s highest award for service to the community.

“Everyone with Rodefer Moss has long admired Joe for the time, effort, and even sacrifice, he’s made over the years to uplift people and organizations in our community,” said York. “Joe is a great example of a top-flight professional accountant and community builder.”

In 2015, the firm was named one of Louisville Business First’s “Best Places to Work” and their philanthropic efforts were acknowledged by being named as one of the Top Ten Small Business finalists for the past two years by the publication.

Rodefer Moss also has implemented a volunteer program that encourages their team members to engage and volunteer for community organizations. They earn points depending on their amount of time or involvement, and the employees who have met their goals are rewarded. They also offer their team members time away from the office to participate in such activities.

Traditional Services

• Assurance • Consulting • Estate & Trust

• Business Valuation • Employee Benefit Plans • Tax Planning & Compliance

Innovative Services

In addition to traditional accounting firm services, such as assurance and tax compliance services, Rodefer Moss offers a full suite of consulting services through several affiliates. The overwhelming desire to serve their clients better and exceed their expectations is a driving force throughout this firm.

“That’s what makes us different,” said York. “We take the time and effort to learn about you, your business and your needs, and we do our best to address all of those needs.”

As Rodefer Moss is led by an entrepreneurial spirit, they recognized areas where they saw both their clients, and the general marketplace, that were underserved.

To better serve the business community, they created firm affiliates to address those issues:

Epayroll Resource Group (www.epayrollrg.com): Many of their clients expressed frustration with their payroll providers. Specifically, issues ranged from price to being “just a number” to their payroll providers. Epayroll addresses all of these issues. Prices are extremely competitive, and more often than not, are lower than pricing of national providers. Epayroll clients are each assigned their own payroll specialist, which builds a relationship, improves communication and maintains continuity. Because of this relationship, Epayroll clients definitely aren’t just a number!

Real Estate Accounting Solutions (www.REASAccounting.com): Many commercial property management clients were spreading themselves too thin and trying to do it all. Either they are trying to do it all themselves, or trying to plug round pegs in square holes with the staff they had, but there was not an affordable solution for them, so it seemed as though they were stuck. Enter Real Estate Accounting Solutions (REAS). REAS takes the accounting and administrative burden off the backs of property managers and frees them to work “in” their business, rather than “on” it.

The Capsa Group (www.thecapsagroup.com): The financial crisis and the ensuing focus on financial institutions have put these institutions under more regulatory and compliance pressure than at any time in U.S. history. Local community banks and credit unions typically lack the internal resources to address these issues internally, and would oftentimes be forced to outsource these services to multiple vendors. Acquiring these important services from multiple vendors is a struggle on its own. By addressing these issues for financial institutions, they can now focus on their core business – which is serving their own clients – and leave the regulatory and compliance headaches to the experienced team at The Capsa Group.

Rodefer Moss Consulting (www.rodefermossconsulting.com) is a full service forensic and valuation firm specializing in quality intangible asset valuation solutions, litigation support and investigative accounting services. Clients typically require Business Valuation services, where a client may be involved in a merger or acquisition, planning to take the company public, or planning a stock transfer, and require an accurate valuation of the business involved; Litigation Support, where the legal profession needs support during litigation with financial ramifications, where the issues range from shareholder dissension to matrimonial matters; or Investigative Accounting, which is often used in criminal investigations and legal proceedings, where the Rodefer Moss Consulting team provides credible, supportable, objective and independent analysis for law firms.

Depth of Expertise

Rodefer Moss has developed alliances and network relationships to meet the ever-expanding needs of their clients. As such, they are an Independent Member of the BDO USA Alliance of Accounting and Consulting Firms. Through the Alliance, they have direct access to the same technical resources, industry specialists, and world-wide knowledge base utilized by BDO USA, LLP, one of the largest national accounting firms.

For more information about Rodefer Moss, visit www.rodefermoss.com. The firm’s four local offices are located at:

301 E. Elm Street, New Albany | 812.945.5236

119 E. Beaver Street, Corydon | 812.738.3777

1074 Copperfield Drive, Georgetown | 812. 951.2708

2225 Lexington Road, Louisville | 502.719.1750

Make It Count with Rodefer Moss & Co., PLLC | Use the New Year to review Internal Controls

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By Douglas York, CPA, President Rodefer Moss & Co, PLLC

Douglas York, CPA, President

Even when you think you have internal controls that’ll uncover a nickel that falls under a desk, it’s important to revisit them – and their effectiveness – periodically. It’s remarkable how many business owners or chief financial officers operate within a certainty that their accounting safeguards are keeping them safe, but are failing.

Effective internal controls are as important for small businesses as major corporations because major corporations have extensive and expensive accounting systems and procedures to catch anything out of the ordinary. Except, not, as the examples below illustrate. Please note the positions and responsibilities of the individuals who either actually, or allegedly, committed the fraud:

S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Houston: “An accountant from Georgia has admitted he committed wire fraud and stole more than $3 million from Houston company Airis International Holdings, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.”

“Daniel Nathan West, 50, of Duluth, Georgia, was previously employed as the treasurer and chief financial officer for Airis International Holdings. In this role, he was to manage Airis finances during construction projects, control the company’s monetary assets, administer payments and payroll, among other things.”

Overland Park accountant embezzled more than $4 million: (KCTV News) – “An Overland Park accountant has admitted he embezzled more than $4 million from his firm’s clients.

“Thomas Hauk, 42, pleaded guilty to five counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, five counts of counterfeit securities and four counts of money laundering. Hauk worked as accountant at Assured Management Company from approximately 2005 to July 2015.”

Ex-Gottex accountant charged in U.S. with embezzling $3.4 million: (Reuters) – “A former accountant for Gottex Fund Management Holdings Ltd has been criminally charged with embezzling nearly $3.4 million over a four-year period from the Swiss hedge fund firm.”

“Gary Tiffany, 32, was arrested on Monday and charged in a criminal complaint filed in a federal court in Boston with bank fraud, wire fraud and engaging in illegal monetary transactions, prosecutors said…According the complaint, from April 2011 through November 2015, Tiffany wired funds from the company’s accounts to his own and forged checks in order to embezzle $3.38 million.”

The internal controls imperative exists regardless of the size of your business or the length of time employees have been working for the company. The companies listed above lost millions. On a relative scale, a small business can be hit just as hard, or harder, with the loss of far smaller sums.

Here are ways to conduct an internal controls checkup:

If you’re internal controls policies are not in writing, write them down; if you have no written internal controls policies, you effectively have no internal controls.

Written policies give consistency to your office operations, eliminate confusion about proper procedures; benchmarks through which to ensure activities are being properly conducted; and protect the business if a claim is made by an employee that he or she didn’t understand what was expected of them or claims to have been told “this is how we do that” though it doesn’t conform with policy.

Segregate duties. For example, ensure one person doesn’t have unilateral authority with respect to how money is received, disbursed, or accounted for. The more an individual believes themselves to be in sole possession of authority or accountability, the greater the temptation for its misuse.

For example, employees who prepare deposits should not make the deposits. Staff that reconciles accounts should not be solely responsible for preparing financial statements. Accounts payable and receivable functions should have more than one person involved in each process, with periodic random reviews conducted by senior management or the business owner. There should be separation of duties and redundancy of accountability in every aspect of receiving or disbursing money.

Document every financial activity – including petty cash withdrawals.

Use qualified professionals to find the gaps in your systems and strengthen the ones that are working well.

Among the resources available to help business improve internal controls are the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and COSO – the Committee of Sponsorship Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Good internal controls are like a continuous MRI exam: it enables you and your accounting team to know what’s going on internally to ensure your systems are healthy and able to react to problems or fraud before they become crisis.

The New Year is a great time for making a resolution about internal controls.

Rodefer Moss is a three-state accounting firm with offices in New Albany, Corydon, and Georgetown, Ind., Louisville, Ky., and four offices across Tennessee. The firm’s website is www.rodefermoss.com