ss&g solutions spring 2013
DESCRIPTION
General business newsletter from SS&G, a certified public accounting and business advisory firmTRANSCRIPT
Spring 2013
Tearing Down
SILOSScott White succeeds at IGS Energy by fostering collaboration
strategic excellenceDelta Systems
get to knowMichael Perlman
focus onQuickBooks®
2 ss&g solutions spring 2013
going for gold
AKRON301 Springside Drive
Akron, OH 44333
CHICAGO225 West Illinois St., Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60654
CINCINNATI11500 Northlake Drive, Suite 210
Cincinnati, OH 45249
CLEVELAND32125 Solon Road
Cleveland, OH 44139
COLUMBUS300 Spruce St., Suite 250
Columbus, OH 43215
DES PLAINES1665 Elk Blvd.
Des Plaines, IL 60016
ERLANGER3940 Olympic Blvd., Suite 340
Erlanger, KY 41018
RALEIGH3737 Glenwood Ave., Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27612
SKOKIE8707 Skokie Blvd., Suite 400
Skokie, IL 60077
SS&G HEALTHCARE SERVICES275 Springside Drive
Akron, OH 44333800-288-2818
SS&G PARKLAND32125 Solon Road
Cleveland, OH 44139800-869-1834
SS&G WEALTH MANAGEMENT275 Springside Drive
Akron, OH 44333800-871-0985
PAYTIME INTEGRATED PAYROLL SOLUTIONS
31105 Bainbridge RoadCleveland, OH 44139
800-579-9529
Send letters to the editor and story ideas to [email protected]
SS&G is a founding member
of LEA Global, an international
professional association of independently
owned accounting and consulting firms.
www.SSandG.com
800-869-1834
Less is more, so start subtractingThe world we live in is overwhelming, complicated,
and, at times, exhausting.
Every day, we wake up to our smartphones, iPads,
and laptops, reviewing emails, LinkedIn, Facebook
and Twitter, text messages, schedules, the headlines,
and the scores from last night’s game. If you’re like
me, all this happens before your first cup of coffee.
Even with all of the information-gathering devices
we have at our fingertips, it seems as though we have
lost our sense of what’s important.
Is checking the weather for a trip you’re taking in
two weeks really benefiting your day? Just how smart
is that phone if it’s distracting you from that time
you set aside to reflect on your next big project, not to
mention the goal you missed at your son’s soccer game because you failed to look up
from your emails? Is it worth the anxiety you felt on your last flight because you were
expecting a message and weren’t able to check for an hour?
This world of immediate information has helped us to become sharper at running
our businesses, but it seems as though the communication overload is starting to blur
our vision.
Since the recession, most businesses have figured out how to become more
productive, reducing costs to survive. Now we need to shift our attention to the
bottom line. Profitability needs efficiency, and the secret to efficiency just may be
to do less. We think we always need to do more, but, in fact, our days are filled with
many distractions and very few of these interruptions can make us more profitable.
Matthew E. May recently published “The Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for
Winning in the Age of Excess Everything.” May believes that “less is best,” and that
“by removing just the right things in the right way, something very good happens.” So
in doing less, or subtracting, a C-suite executive or business owner can cultivate the
calm, quiet mind one needs to improve performance, profitability, and value.
Even the late, great Steve Jobs believed it. At the Apple Worldwide Developers
Conference in 1997, he said, “People think focus means saying yes to the things
you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the
hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as
proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying
no to 1,000 things.”
According to a report by McKinsey and Co., “multitasking can limit you by slowing
you down, limiting your innovation, and putting you on edge.” How can we expect to
be focused on productivity and profitability in our businesses if we are distracted by
the very things that are supposed to be making us more efficient?
Think about it. Could you do more with less? I know I can.
Mark Goldfarb, CPA
Managing Director
IRS Treasury Regulations require us to inform you that any tax advice contained in the body of this communication was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions.
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first person
Michael PerlmanTitle: Managing director, Chicago
Degree/college: Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
Hometown: Lincolnwood, Ill., a suburb immediately north of Chicago
Year I joined SS&G: 2013
My first job: Little League umpire – my first entrée into leadership and management
The word that best describes me: Caring
I’ve been recognized for: Promoting change.
The best part about my job: Having a positive influence on the lives of those with whom I work
The best piece of advice I’ve received: Surround yourself with good people who are as smart as or smarter than you
Books of note on my shelf: “The 360 Degree Leader,” “Now, Discover Your Strengths,” “The Speed of Trust,” “True Professionalism,” “The Question Behind the Question,” “Leading Change,” “Be Unreasonable — Start With No,” “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”
The biggest challenge I’ve overcome: The fear of making small talk
If I could change anything in my career: Beginning to network in the early stage of my career
If I could give one piece of advice to executives: Be humble and demonstrate humility
A great leader is: One who brings out the best in everyone in the organization.
The business/business leader I admire most: Walt Disney. He had a dream, created a vision and built a legacy.
My business philosophy: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
I’m most proud of: The love from my devoted wife and the emotional strength and emotional independence of my college-age daughters.
I hope I never: Stop learning.
A little-known fact about me: I’ve seen the Rolling Stones perform live each time they’ve visited Chicago since 1975
My next goal to be met: The successful expansion and growth of SS&G in Chicagoland
My favorite place in the world is: Being on a beach on an island on the Caribbean
When I get discouraged, I: reflect and consider what I could have done differently.
My attitude toward change is: Bring it on!
I’m inspired by: People who have succeeded when the odds were against them.
Success is: A state of mind. j
If I weren’t doing this, I would: Be a rock-and-roll drummer.
4 ss&g solutions spring 2013
industry
Elizabeth Barry needed a fresh perspective on how
Delta Systems Inc. was operating, and she found
it through the SOAR to Strategic Excellence™
program, developed by Larry Goddard, managing
director at SS&G Parkland Consulting.
The company was doing very well, but Barry wanted
to see if there was a way to identify improvements that
would help Delta Systems do even better.
“We had used the same strategic planning approach for
many years and everybody felt it was time to try something
new,” says Barry, the company’s president and CEO. “I
thought the SOAR program was different enough that we
should try it. It was truly looking at the full company.”
That broader organizational view is a crucial part of
getting employees excited about the future at all levels of
the company.
“It is the responsibility of senior leaders to lay out the
vision for success,” Goddard says. “But if you truly want
the vision to be successful, the best way to do it is to
allow people throughout the organization to be involved
in figuring out how to turn the vision into reality.”
SOAR to Strategic Excellence’s Corporate Body Scan™ is
a process that assesses a company’s overall effectiveness
and identifies opportunities for improvement. At Delta
Systems, this process included 18 people from across the
company, not just senior managers. Each employee was
given the opportunity to answer 300 questions about
the business. Those answers were entered into software
that created a report explaining which areas were doing
well and which were in need of improvement, allowing
Reaching new heightsDelta Systems energized its employees by turning its corporate vision into reality
the company to develop a detailed action plan for
improvements and benchmarking the company against
high-performance, world-class companies.
“We asked everyone to be honest answering those
questions,” Barry says. “It really does delve into many
facets of the company that a traditional strategic
planning program might not look into or address.”
Taking actionOne area that Delta learned it needed to work on was its
new employee onboarding process.
“We want to make sure everybody knows that we are
trying to hire the right people and onboard them as best
we can to make their integration into Delta easier,” Barry
says. “Then we’re working with each employee to make
sure they get adequate training and career growth that
makes them the best Delta employee.”
A group has been tasked with the challenge of
improving the onboarding process and meets a few
times each month to work with an SS&G facilitator to
develop and implement action plans. Other teams are
working on better customer evaluation strategies and a
new vision strategy.
“One thing that scored low was no one was too excited
about our existing strategic plan,” Barry says.
The SOAR process is still under way, but Barry
is confident that lack of excitement is no longer a
problem, as employees throughout the organization
are now playing an active part in mapping out the
company’s future.
“If you truly want the vision to be successful, the best way to do it is to allow people throughout the organization to be involved in figuring out how to turn the vision into reality.”— Larry Goddard
“The excitement is already there now that we’ve
started this process and started to address these items,”
Barry says.
Understanding your flawsSOAR provides the deep look a company often needs to
take as it pursues its bigger goals.
“You have to hear how good the good parts of the
company are, but you also have to hear about what
you’re not doing as well,” Barry says. “These days, you
have to be strong in as many areas as possible.”
That includes everything from hiring the right people,
to having a strong culture that welcomes and trains
those people, to keeping them informed so they can
better serve your customers.
Barry believes SOAR has put Delta on a path to excel
in these areas and others. She hopes the end result will
be a stronger company.
“Everyone knows what the common plan and vision
are and knows that we all work to make it possible,”
Barry says. j
HOw tO reacH: Delta Systems Inc., 330-626-2811 or
www.deltasystemsinc.com
SOAR builds teams that winThe SOAR to Strategic Excellence™ program is the result of more than 20 years of research conducted by Larry Goddard to determine just what it is that makes a company world class.
“I found the traditional method of consulting to be inefficient and ineffective,” says Goddard. “I wanted to create a scorecard that allowed a business to measure its effectiveness compared to world-class performance.”
There are four main sections in SOAR: strategy and vision; organization and culture; accounting and finance; and responsiveness and execution. A group of people who represent a cross-section of the company get together and answer 300 questions about the business.
“We separate them into three groups to answer the questions separately and then we compare their answers,” Goddard says. “If the three teams don’t agree, we have a discussion about why they didn’t agree.”
Creating three groups and having a facilitator question inconsistencies ensures you are getting at the heart of what a company does and does not do well.
“There are multiple safeguards built into the system that make it very difficult to get anything but the truth,” Goddard says.
There are four subsections within each of the four main sections. They all count equally, with each area being worth 100 points for a total of 1,600 points. If 85 percent of your company’s answers match what world-class companies do, then you’re considered a world-class company.
One of the keys for any company participating in SOAR is the team-based implementation process that is geared to helping companies that fall short become world class. This process helps generate employee buy-in, which is a highly effective catalyst for business success.
“Instead of just having people do their jobs, you allow people to start thinking about how to make the company better,” Goddard says. “It gets people much more energized, focused and, committed, and you achieve employee buy-in.”
To learn more about SOAR, visit www.SSandG.com/ services/management-consulting-and-strategy or contact Larry at [email protected].
“We’re working with each employee to make sure they get adequate training and career growth that makes them the best Delta employee.”— Elizabeth Barry, president and CEO
Delta Systems Inc.
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Scott White blames himself for the silos that developed at IGS
Energy Inc. a few years ago.
“I was not facilitating enough communication between the
leaders,” says White, the company’s president and co-founder. “I think
the company got bigger and people got focused on accomplishing what
they felt needed to be accomplished.”
Every good leader wants his or her employees to be focused. But
when that focus is so intense that it blinds that person to how others
contribute to the company’s success, it becomes problematic.
“Finance needs to accomplish what it needs to do and operations
needs to accomplish what it needs to do,” White says. “But to the
extent that we can understand a little bit more about how they are
accomplishing what their role is and how it aligns to the company,
the more we can support each other and maintain alignment as a
company.”
White has seen IGS — the nation’s largest independent retail
supplier of natural gas — transform from a three-person startup in
1989 to a company with more than 350 employees and $1.4 billion
in annual revenue today.
Experience has shown him that alignment, no matter how
big your company gets, begins with your leadership team.
“As more people get involved, it is harder to have a
personal relationship with everyone,” White says when
asked about the challenges of growth. “Managing a larger
group of people, you need to rely on your leadership team
to help you.”
Scott White succeeds at IGS Energy
by fostering collaboration
Phot
os: J
effr
y K
oncz
al
8 ss&g solutions spring 2013
Engage your leadership teamWhite meets with his leadership team for two hours
once a week to review what is happening both in the
business and within each department.
“We rotate the subject and allow different executives
to have their day, and that challenges them to be
accountable to the rest of the team,” White says. “That
allows the whole executive suite to be more informed
and more aligned in leading the business. It is a great
way to keep everybody accountable to each other.”
It also reinforces the notion that, while your business
is made up of different departments, everyone is
supposed to be working toward the same ultimate goal.
“The more people know about what we are trying to
do and why we are doing it, the more engaged they are
going to be,” White says.
White believes he has evolved as IGS’ CEO from a
tactical executioner to more of a strategic planner.
“I have people that can execute far better than I can
tactically,” White says. “I need to make sure what they
are executing on, as each individual leader is executing
on their tactic, that all those things are aligned with
each other and not getting out of sync. As you develop
in your career, you prove yourself to be tactically
efficient. As you get higher up, you need to become
more strategically thoughtful.”
White learned a lot about managing people and
keeping things in sync while playing with The
Safarians, a rock band he helped lead during his
college days.
“We had players come and go, we had conflict
management, we had highly talented people who
were not engaged,” White says. “All these things are
not any different in the C-suite. You had people that
were really talented individually, but together they
were not compatible because they did not complement
each other. A lot of those lessons I learned about talent
management and egos and how people can complement
each other are things that I apply today.”
White once dreamed of becoming a professional
drummer. But while he appreciates the lessons he
learned from playing in college, he has no regrets about
the way his life has turned out.
“The more people know about what we are trying to do and why we are doing it, the more engaged they are going to be.”
— Scott White IGS Energy Inc.
www.igsenergy.com
“There are a lot more starving drummers than there
are CEOs,” White says. “And I realized the person I met,
who I ended up marrying, did not want to be married to
a rock-and-roll drummer.”
White says his wife of 23 years, Michele, has played
an important part in his life.
“Having that stability at home is a big part of being
successful in your career,” he says.
Encourage employee feedbackAbout a year and a half ago, White started taking an
hour each quarter to sit down with 50 to 80 employees
to provide a company update. He reminds people what
the goals are and talks about how the company is doing
in its efforts to meet them.
After the update, he opens the floor for questions.
White likes to hear about the good things that are
happening at his company, but even more, he wants to
hear about the problem areas.
“We ask for people to give their input, and if they
are seeing problems or if they are observing things that
are not flowing through the way we had hoped, it is
valuable for us,” White says. “Some of the best feedback
is when you tell me what is wrong.”
One example is a problem that had developed with
IGS’ call center operations. Some newer markets had
a new customer service platform, while older markets
were using the older system. White says it became
obvious to him that, with the different platforms,
customer service representatives were struggling to
learn multiple systems. As a result, the management
team decided it was important to try to simplify the
business.
“That was a result of getting valid feedback from
the people trying to keep up with what we were asking
them to do,” White says.
So how do you encourage employees to provide
feedback that is not complimentary of the way you are
running your business?
“You have to be prepared to hear the bad things and
the things you may not have known,” White says. “The
people on the front line are your best resources. If you
ask them what is wrong, they will tell you.”
Once you hear it, you have to show that you are glad
somebody brought the problem to your attention so it
can be fixed.
“If you hear bad news and you act negatively, that is the
last time you are going to hear bad news,” White says.
In addition to being nonconfrontational when
someone raises concerns, you also cannot lie if you hear
about a situation or problem that you did not know was
occurring.
“If you find yourself caught off guard, it’s best to just
admit it,” White says. “As the company gets bigger, you
are not going to know everything. If you are honest and
say, ‘I need to look into it,’ or ‘I do not have that level of
detail,’ that’s better. Do not try to make up something.” j
HOw tO reacH: IGS energy, 888-995-0992 or
www.igsenergy.com
TakeawaysHere are some of Scott White’s keys to effective leadership.
• Setasidearegulartimetomeetwithyour leadership team and review the direction of the company.
• Expectdepartmentheadstoknowtheir own goals and encourage them to be familiar with how the actions of other departments fit into the fulfillment of those goals.
• Createanenvironmentwhereemployees can and do bring you concerns about problems that exist in your company.
9spring 2013 j ss&g solutions
10 ss&g solutions j spring 2013
focus on
QuickBooks® is for more than just small businesses. While it can certainly benefit small businesses,
QuickBooks® has software for larger companies,
as well. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions®, used
by companies that have more than $5 million
in revenue, allows 30 simultaneous users and
up to 100,000 names (customers, vendors,
and employees) and 100,00 items (inventory,
noninventory, and service items).
Utilize utilities. There are many housekeeping utilities in
QuickBooks® that manage the integrity of your
company’s data, but many companies either don’t
know about these functions or don’t utilize them.
For example, the Verify Data Utility detects data
damage and the Rebuild Data Utility repairs it. In
addition, the Export Utility allows QuickBooks®
users to transfer list data.
Take advantage of the memorized reports and transactions features. These improve efficiency, as you don’t need to
re-enter similar data each time. For example, if you
have a monthly rent bill, you can tell QuickBooks®
to memorize the transaction data so it will appear
every month. Memorized reports also save the
settings you’ve used for previous reports so you
can import new data in the same format.
4 tips for getting the most out of
QuickBooks®
Be careful when modifying transactions from prior periods. Before modifying old data, such as voiding an
uncleared check or fixing an improperly recorded
bank transaction, check with your accountant.
You don’t want to change data from prior periods
because it will alter your retained earnings
balance. Generally, changing a date within the
same period or name shouldn’t be a problem as
long as the finances stay the same, but always
double check. j
HOw tO reacH: contact Deborah Defer at
If you’re one of the millions of people who use Intuit® QuickBooks®, you may be missing out on some key
points and features that can improve your business and make your job easier.
Here are four tips to help you get the most out of QuickBooks® from Deborah Defer, a senior consultant at
SS&G. She is the firm’s expert in the accounting software and is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor®.
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11spring 2013 ss&g solutions
the last wordwith Gary Shamis
“I don’t plan to fade into the sunset; I plan to maintain an active role at SS&G.”
I believe it is only fitting to dedicate this “Last Word”
to Bob Littman, who becomes managing director of
SS&G on May 1. I have tremendous confidence that
Bob will take SS&G to new places and heights. Bob is a
great person, committed to his family, our clients, and
our colleagues.
I don’t plan to fade into the sunset; I plan to
maintain an active role at SS&G. I will be there to assist
Bob and will continue to lead the growth initiatives
for the firm. We remain a work in progress, striving to
raise the bar in all aspects of what we do.
It has been a true honor to lead SS&G for the past 27
years. It is amazing to me how almost three decades
passed by so quickly. I am so grateful to the many
clients I served, and to the wonderful colleagues I have
worked with at SS&G and LEA Global, our international
association of CPA firms.
My final word
A word about Bob
I am truly blessed. I set out to be a doctor and ended
up with the perfect career. Thanks to everyone who
made this journey so incredible. j
Bob Littman began
his career at SS&G in
1985 when the firm
had 10 employees. Now,
on May 1, he assumes
the role of firm managing
director, overseeing 525
professionals in four
states. We know him to
be a dedicated professional, approachable leader, and
extraordinary accountant.
What should you know about Bob? He possesses an
uncanny ability to multitask, returns phone calls and
email promptly, and always goes the extra mile to take
care of his clients. He has managed the firm’s largest
book of business, runs marathons, plays a mean game
of golf, is active in the community, and still has time
to spend with his family. We aren’t really sure how
he does it, but we know if anybody is best suited for
the role of firm managing partner, it’s Bob. He’s set
standards for integrity and client service, and has been
an integral part of the growth and success at SS&G for
more than 25 years.
Basically, Bob is the model for success and someone
we believe will lead the firm into a successful,
prosperous future. To learn more about Bob, view his
bio at www.SSandG.com. To reach Bob, email him at
[email protected] or call 800-869-1834. j
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more
In fact, we like to step outside the spreadsheet. At SS&G, our CPAs take the time to understand each client’s unique situation so we can offer customized accounting, tax, assurance, and consulting service. We don’t just report your past, we tailor our approach to help plan for your future. Let us help you go farther.
Discover what makes us different at SSandG.com/words.
We go beyond accounting.