Category Archives: Value for Your Law Firm

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Kaufman, Rossin Sponsors Tom Hudson Radio Show on WLRN

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Radio broadcaster Tom Hudson of WLRN in Miami

WLRN special correspondent Tom Hudson hosts a new weekly radio series about South Florida called “The Sunshine Economy.”

If you are a WLRN listener, you may have heard the first episode of a new series, “The Sunshine Economy,” this morning. Renowned broadcaster and anchor Tom Hudson is hosting a series of one-hour radio shows that examine key drivers of the South Florida economy.  Kaufman, Rossin & Co. is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of the first six episodes of this program, which airs Mondays in May and June at 9 a.m., with a repeat broadcast at 7 p.m. 

Today’s show explores the economic ties between Miami and Latin America, including Brazil as an increasingly important emerging market economy, U.S.-Colombia relations, the Drug War, the Cuba trade embargo, post-Chavez Venezuela and China’s rising influence in Latin America.

Kaufman, Rossin will also be hosting five exclusive roundtable lunches with Tom Hudson, where South Florida CEOs and industry experts will discuss trends and concerns in manufacturing, healthcare/life sciences, real estate, the investment industry and technology.

We welcome you to be a part of the discussion online. Let us know your thoughts about the program by commenting on our blog, and keep the conversation going on Twitter by following @KaufmanRossin and @WLRN and using hashtag #SunshineEconomy.

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Janet Kyle Altman is marketing principal for Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in Florida. She serves as a board member for the Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade and as a board member and immediate past chair for Friends of WLRN. Janet can be reached at jaltman@kaufmanrossin.com.

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The Evolution of Blanket Receivership Orders

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Amir Isaiah of Kaufman, Rossin & Co.Does a property have to be in foreclosure before a court can appoint a receiver to collect overdue fees for condo and homeowner associations? That’s one of the grey areas I explored as a panelist at a recent litigators luncheon on the role of fiduciaries. Trish Redmond moderated the panel that also included Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Leesfield, Maria Yip, Jerry Markowitz and Ken Welt. 

The housing crisis and the use of blanket receivership orders to help associations collect delinquent maintenance fees was a hot topic of discussion for the panel, which highlighted several interesting sub-topics relating to the role of fiduciaries. Judge Leesfield led the discussion. She was the first judge in the country to approve blanket receivership orders, the far-reaching equitable remedy that condo and homeowner associations sought against delinquent unit owners in the landmark case, The Oaks at Miami Gardens.

Since the Oaks decision in March 2009, the blanket receivership order has evolved. The Quatraine order, entered about seven months after the Oaks decision, cites Section 718 of the Florida Statutes, as does the Oaks Order. However, the Quatraine order also references the Court’s inherent equitable powers as an additional basis for that order.  The more recent Hillcrest order drops the reference to Section 718 as a basis altogether and instead relies entirely on the Court’s inherent equitable authority.

The underlying reason the blanket receivership order evolved was to effectively remove the requirement (as interpreted by an increasing number of judges at the time and by some still today) in Section 718 that a foreclosure action be pending (either by the bank or by the association) before a receiver may be appointed.  However, contrary to the position taken by many members of the judiciary, Section 718 does not specifically require that a foreclosure action be pending before a court can appoint a receiver.  Rather, Section 718 says “If the unit owner remains in possession of the unit after a foreclosure judgment has been entered, the court, in its discretion, may require the unit owner to pay a reasonable rental for the unit.  If the unit is rented or leased during the pendency of the foreclosure action, the association is entitled to the appointment of a receiver to collect the rent.”  Nowhere does it say that a foreclosure action is required as a pre-requisite to the appointment of a receiver.

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Amir Isaiah, J.D., LL.M., is director of receivership and fiduciary services at Kaufman, Rossin &Co., one of the top CPA firms in the country. Amir can be reached at aisaiah@kaufmanrossin.com.

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Stanford Offering Free Fall Classes Online

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Andrew Phillips of Kaufman, Rossin UniversityWould you like to learn valuable skills that can benefit your business? Better yet, would you like to learn those skills from a professor at one of the country’s top universities  –  for free? This fall, Stanford University is offering 16 classes in business, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, technology and science at no cost to the public. All classes are online, so you even can watch the lectures in your pajamas. “The courses are open to anyone with a computer, anywhere,” says the university.

A couple of classes have already started, but most will begin in late September to mid-October. Here’s the full list:

  1. Machine Learning with Professor Andrew Ng, starting August 20
  2. Cryptography with Professor Dan Boneh, starting August 27
  3. Introduction to Mathematical Thinking with Professor Keith Devlin, starting September 17
  4. Probabilistic Graphical Models with Professor Daphne Koller, starting September 24
  5. Human-Computer Interaction with Professor Scott Klemmer, starting September 24
  6. Introduction to Logic with Professor Michael Genesereth, starting September 24
  7. Organizational Analysis with Professor Dan McFarland, starting September 24
  8. Writing in the Sciences with Professor Kristin Sainani, starting September 24
  9. Algorithms: Design and Analysis, Part 2 with Professor Tim Roughgarden, starting in October
  10. Solar Cells, Fuel Cells and Batteries with Professor Bruce Clemens, starting October 8
  11. An Introduction to Computer Networks with Professors Nick McKeown and Philip Levis, starting October 8
  12. Technology Entrepreneurship with Professor Chuck Eesley, starting October 15
  13. Designing a New Learning Environment with Professor Paul Kim, starting October 15
  14. Finance with Professor Kay Giesecke, starting October 15
  15. Startup Boards: Advanced Entrepreneurship with Professor Clint Korver, starting October 15
  16. A Crash Course on Creativity with Professor Tina Seelig, starting October 17

At Kaufman, Rossin & Co., we believe in continuous learning. That’s why we established Kaufman Rossin University, with classes for our clients as well as our employees. That’s why we offer Kaufman, Rossin Presents, our monthly seminar series for entrepreneurs in Miami, and the monthly BIG Breakfast in Ft. Lauderdale. And that’s why when we see a great educational offer like this one, we make sure to pass it along!

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Andrew Phillips is a dedicated technology instructor for Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the country, and manager of Kaufman, Rossin University, the firm’s internal training organization. He can be reached at aphillips@kaufmanrossin.com.

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Professional..or entrepreneur?

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Attorneys, accountants, and physicians study for years to offer wise counsel and quality service to clients and patients.  But adding a course in entrepreneurship might have prepared us better for 2011!   The ongoing economic downturn, increase in competition, and ever-shifting technology landscape are just a few of the factors that professionals must contend with, particularly when managing small practices.

3 key competencies

You can’t afford to ignore these three areas.

  1. Financial Controls.
    Do you work hard for your revenue?  Then make sure it’s protected.  According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the typical organization loses 5% of annual revenue to fraud, and small organizations are disproportionately affected.  People you’ve trusted for years who are facing harsh economic realities may find themselves tempted. If you aren’t sure you understand how your accounting system works, or whether your electronic transactions are secure, invest in an expert review of your procedures and controls.
  2. Strategic marketing.
    Would you benefit from more business?  Don’t just wait for it to walk through the door.  Don’t think that what worked 20 years ago will work for you today.  And absolutely don’t think that using online media is unprofessional! More and more business decisions are made based on non-traditional marketing, including social media.  According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, 50% of adults use social networking sites. People trust personal recommendations (including from their Facebook Friends) and increasingly distrust paid advertising.  If you haven’t figured out how social media fits into your marketing strategy – or you don’t even have a strategy, seek professional help.
  3. Intelligent Technology
    You don’t neglect your ongoing professional training, and you don’t let yourself fall behind as your field advances. But most professionals only think about their computer systems when they need tech support.  It’s like the furniture in the waiting room - if there are no holes in the upholstery, all is well.  If that’s your attitude, you may be exposing yourself to risk:  information security risk, compliance risk, and the ever-so-real risk of missed opportunities.  Choosing the right systems, implementing them properly, and training your staff is one investment you won’t regret.

These are just a few of the many entrepreneurial skills that today’s professionals can’t ignore.  What new skills are you learning?

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Janet Kyle Altman is a principal with the entrepreneurial accounting firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co.  She provides marketing consulting, facilitates planning meetings, and offers training and coaching in leadership.  She can be reached at jaltman@kaufmanrossin.com.

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Attorneys Audit Technique Guide

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The IRS published the Attorneys Audit Technique Guide to help examiners audit an attorney’s tax return. However, the document is not an official pronouncement of the law or the position of the IRS, and cannot be relied upon as such.

The Guide notes in part that:

  1. the identity of a client and the nature of his or her fee arrangement generally is not protected by the attorney-client privilege.
  2. attorneys who base their fees on hours worked plus case-related costs should be able to provide detailed records of their time and costs since that is how they bill their clients.
  3. attorneys working on a contingency fee basis use either a gross fee contract (where court costs, expert fees, etc. are deductible business expenses) or a net fee contract (where expense advances are treated as loans until settlement).

To view the entire Guide, click here. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 561.394.5100 or sberger@kaufmanrossin.com or any Kaufman, Rossin professional.

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Scott F. Berger, CPA is a tax principal at Kaufman, Rossin’s Boca Raton office.  Kaufman, Rossin & Co. is one of the top CPA firms in the country.  He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.