What's New - 2000

 
The firm celebrated and honored the career of Jim Andrews, founding partner of AHP, at a reception on Thursday, December 14 at the Saginaw Country Club. The celebration recognized Jim's years of service to the firm and the community. Jim is known to all as a compassionate, technically proficient and respected leader whose principles of commitment to firm, family and community continue to inspire our firm. Many friends and associates joined AHP in honoring Jim -- a truly wonderful man.

It is with great pleasure that AHP announce  that Susan L. Crane and Randy J. Morse became partners in the firm effective January 1, 2001. We are very proud of the quality of the people in our firm and the success we have all enjoyed.  A promotion to partner is special.  This recognizes an individual’s dedication to the firm, superior technical abilities, good human relations skills, and the ability to grow the practice.  Randy and Sue are respected and trusted by their clients and by us with the firm.  Please join us in congratulating Sue and Randy, along with their families, in this exciting promotion.

The firm is pleased to announce the following staff additions:

Greater Lansing

Michael E. La Charite will join the professional staff as a consultant for special projects.  He will work on a part-time basis as he completes his education to obtain his teaching certificate. Mike has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business from Wayne State University and has his CPA license.  He has over 20 years of accounting and finance experience in a variety of industries to include 8 years of public accounting experience.

Norma Rogers will be joining the Greater Lansing office as an administrative assistant.  She will be arriving on November 27, 2000. Previously, Norma was an office administrator at a software training center and provided the administrative support for the President of the company and instructors.  Her experience also includes payment processing, month end reports, creating spreadsheets and other administrative responsibilities.

Staff Promotions Announced
The partners of Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. are pleased to announce the following promotions:

Bay City Office:

Shay Anderson has been promoted to Audit Manager. A graduate of Northwood University, Shay has 5 years accounting and audit experience and specializes in public school district, non-profit and governmental auditing. She became a CPA in May of 1997. Shay is a resident of Sanford.

Greater Lansing Office:

Linda Cooper has been promoted to Senior Accounting Manager. Linda came to AHP in October of 1998 and has more than 20 years of public accounting experience. Linda’s specialties include tax planning and compliance for individuals, trusts and corporations as well as estate planning. A graduate of Indiana University, Linda became a certified public accountant in 1976.

Louis Sicilia has been promoted to Senior Accountant. Louis, a resident of Holt, is a graduate of Michigan State University. He joined AHP in 1998 and earned the CPA designation in May 2000 after successfully completing the certified public accountant exam. Louis specializes in audit and serves the high technology and software industries as well as the firm’s college/university and governmental clients. 

Richard Englund has been promoted to Senior Accountant. A graduate of Lake Superior State University, Richard joined AHP in 1998 and became a CPA earlier this year after successfully completing the certified public accountant exam. A resident of Lansing, he performs both tax and audit functions specializing in privately-owned businesses, the construction industry and college/university audits.

Rasha Jadallah has been promoted to Staff Accountant. A resident of East Lansing, Rasha joined AHP in 1999 as a client service professional and has recently been providing audit and tax assistance to clients. She holds a bachelors degree in Economics and Business Administration from Birzeit University in the West Bank.

Saginaw Office:

Jeffrey Bertuleit has been promoted to Senior Accountant. Jeff received both his bachelors degree and an MBA from Michigan State University. He began his employment with AHP in 1998 and became a CPA in August of 2000. Jeff’s areas of specialty include college and university audits and tax. Jeff is a resident of Saginaw.

Barbara Place has been promoted to Senior Accountant. A graduate of SVSU, Barb began her career with AHP in 1998 and became a certified public accountant in August of 2000. Barb’s areas of specialty include healthcare, financial institutions, and college/university auditing. Barb is a resident of Midland.

Stan Schneider Passes the CPA Exam
We congratulate Stan on his success in passing the May CPA exam which is necessary to become certified public accountants. Stan joined AHP in 1997 and is a  graduate of Central Michigan University.  He performs both tax and audit engagements, specializing in financial institution and college/university auditing. Stan is a resident of Alma and works in the firm’s Saginaw office.

New Staff Additions
Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. is pleased to announce the following promotions:

Rochester Hills Office:

Anna Hepler will be joining us on October 23, 2000 as a client service accountant. Anna has had over 20 years of accounting experience. She has been the Finance Director at an ad agency in Bloomfield Hills along with being the Administrative Manager for mortgage and real estate office. She prepared monthly and annual financial statements, payroll and payroll tax reports, and accounts payable and accounts receivable assistance, and other administrative responsibilities. Anna has had experience with Peachtree accounting software. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Oakland University in psychology and a Master’s Degree from University of Detroit Mercy in Clinical Psychology. Anna’s first day will be .

Wendy Myers will join the staff on November 6, 2000. Wendy will provide administrative support to the staff in the office. Wendy has a background in teaching and has decided to change her career. She has been a preschool and elementary teacher for two years and has had an administrative position at an insurance agency in Rochester. Wendy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Oakland University.

AHP Teams with Foresight Solutions to Offer New Services
AHP, through its LACO Consulting division, has teamed with Foresight Solutions to provide a pair of exciting financial and accounting products to its clients. Foresight Solutions is an East Lansing, Mich.-based provider of financial software for mid-sized businesses and offers two software products. The Foresight Financials package features accounting, productivity, management and reporting tools in one, user-friendly system. The Foresight B2B package is a fully integrated business-to-business web store and back office accounting and business management solution for mid-sized organizations.

Michigan Tax Rates for Individuals
For the 2000 tax year, the Michigan personal income tax rate is lowered to 4.2%. Last year, legislature was enacted to begin reducing the rate from the current rate of 4.4%. The rate will decrease annually down to a final rate of 3.9% for tax years beginning after 2003. The tax rates for each year in this reduction period are as follows: 2000, 4.2%; 2001, 4.2%; 2002, 4.1%; 2003, 4.0%; and after 2003, 3.9%. (Act 40 (H.B. 5389)

Social Security Earnings Limits
Retroactive to January 1, most social security benefits are no longer reduced for amounts earned by senior citizens. The new law was signed April 7. Under the previous law, Social Security benefits were reduced, for beneficiaries between 65 and 69, by $1 for every $3 of income earned above $17,000 a year. Retirees of age 70 or older had no limits on earnings. The law, however, retains a portion of the existing law for retirees between ages of 62 and 64 who, since they elected early retirement, receive reduced benefits. Those retirees lose $1 in benefits for every $2 they earn over $10,080 a year. The bill previously had passed both the US House and Senate unanimously.

Vicki Bailey Earns Certification
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Vicki Bailey has completed all requirements for her Human Resources Generalist Certification. In earning this certification, Vicki was required to complete 15 courses over the past year. This was a big commitment, and as of today, she has completed her certification requirements. Vicki joined our firm in December of 1998, after 8 years with a national CPA firm in Dallas in their human resources department. She also holds a Bachelors degree, with a composite major in Sociology/Psychology, and a Masters of Education in Counseling.

Laura Ebel Promoted
Congratulations to Laura Ebel, a newly licensed CPA, on her recent promotion to senior accountant.

Barb Place Passes the CPA Exam
We congratulate Barb on her success in passing the CPA exam. Results of the most recent exam  were announced earlier this month.

Congratulations to Kathy Czerwinski
Congratulations to Kathy Czerwinski, Marketing Manager of Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. Kathy is one of the ten women honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Mitten Bay Girl Scouts for the Year 2000. Before joining AHP, Kathy was the Director of Marketing for Mutual Savings Bank in Bay City for thirteen years. 

Kathy was selected as one of ten women for the Woman of Distinction Award for her outstanding community service over several years. Kathy's community activities include Board Member, Membership Chairperson and President Elect of the Bay City Noon Rotary; Board Member and Marketing Steering Committee Member for Bay Medical Center, Campaign Cabinet Member for a number of years for the United Way of Bay County; Board Member of the Bay City Historical Society and official popcorn popper for the football season at the Essexville-Hampton Garber High School concession stand. She also participates in a variety of Chamber of Commerce committees including TriSource. Kathy enjoys volunteering in the community and finds giving back to the community she was born and raised in very fulfilling and rewarding.

Proposed DOL Regulations Would Affect Small Pension Plans
The DOL has proposed amendments to the regulations governing the circumstances under which small pension plans are exempt from the requirements to engage an independent qualified public accountant and to include a report of the accountant as part of the annual report under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). Read the summary of the proposed regulation.

It's Tax Time Again 
Don't wait until the last minute. Now's the time to start organizing and collecting the information you'll need to help us prepare your tax returns. Please visit our sections on Tax Services and Personal Financial Planning for a list of our more popular services.

Smooth Merger
Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. and Laine, Appold Co., P.C. successfully and smoothly merged their firms effective January 1, 2000. Read the whole story.