Williston CPA firm uses triple bottom line with small businesses to effect large-scale environmental change
Davis & Hodgdon Associates, CPAs, PLC,Vermont Business Magazine What was once regarded as the obligation and domain of the big boys (think Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Microsoft), now sees small to mid-sized organizations joining the charge through the adoption and practice of the triple bottom line (TBL). TBL can be defined as a business framework of three pillars of sustainability: people, planet and profit. Why the latest inclusion? Almost 30 million small businesses in America can be a powerful body in effectively helping to address today’s formidable societal and environmental concerns according to one TBL practitioner. A CPA firm in Vermont is showing small business how to get it done. It embraces corporate social responsibility in which the TBL practice is embedded. The act of corporate social responsibility (CSL) can be defined as “voluntary activities undertaken by a company to operate in an economic, social and environmentally sustainable manner.” John Davis, managing partner of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs knows from where he speaks. His 24-person firm developed a CSR policy, over a two- year period, which it practices with employees and clients alike. According to Davis, “Gone are the days when having a recycling bin on premises meant your company was environmentally fit. Locally and globally, we’re in need, now, of organizations of all sizes to integrate CSR practices into their business operations on a voluntary basis.” While a smaller outfit may not share the fiscal resources of a multi-national behemoth that can facilitate philanthropic activity (environmentally and otherwise), the practice of CSR is still possible – and advantageous. Adopting a CSR policy delivers benefits that outweigh perceived inconveniences. Specifically, a CSR policy will: • Provide community support and strengthen local economies through the charitable giving, pro bono and volunteer elements of the policy• Enhance relationships with stakeholders: clients, staff, suppliers, etc. as a result• Increase customer retention• Attract more investors• Reduce costs from efficiency improvements• Assist in attracting and retaining a happy workforce• Differentiate a business from its competition• Improve a business’ reputation and generate positive publicity Davis believes that when companies, particularly small to mid-sized ones who may not always have a platform to communicate their business values, adopt a CSR policy, rewards follow. “When smaller organizations operate in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner,” offers Davis, “they do so transparently (because of their size) and it helps them succeed – in particular, by encouraging shared values and social license.”He continues, “We crafted the policy because we needed to organize and measure our community efforts including charitable donations, volunteer group outings and pro bono work, amongst others, so that we could show what we are doing and create a better vehicle to do more of it. In addition, the value to companies that are practicing CSR can be significant in terms of their bottom lines.” The three main components of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs’ 19-page CSR policy are Community Works, Environmental Standards and Staff Wellness. These components are applicable to organizations of all sizes and the policy details the steps involved. Since its implementation, the policy has been extremely well received by clients and employees alike with great interest being generated in the community. According to Inc.com contributor, Jared Hecht, CEO and co-founder of Fundera, 99.7 of U.S. employer firms are small businesses. In his December 2014 article, he cites the 2010 Census showing 27.9 million businesses were registered in the U.S. compared to just 18,500 companies of 500 employees or more. “It was always apparent that small businesses are indeed the backbone of the American economy. Acting as a collective body and incorporating CSR policies, they are now integral to shaping its future. The power of these small businesses combined can effect large-scale environmental change when it comes to sustainability intelligence. It’s truly a win for all – one’s business, staff, clients and the general public. All are made better,” observes Davis. To read the firm’s 5-part blog series on CSR, click on: www.dh-cpa.com/blog.html(link is external)Williston, VT November 9, 2015 – Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs
Aerodynamics specialist Drag2Zero has kick-started the first of a new content series – The Projects That Made Us. The first instalment recalls the design of the Giant Trinity TT bike, which debuted in 2008 with instant and emphatic success, including six National TT Championships and a Tour de France TT win.While the bike went on to be a hit in both racing and sales terms, Drag2Zero notes that it nearly didn’t happen. The company’s content feature reveals the backstory of the Trinity and its origins in the dissatisfaction of the T-Mobile Team with their 2007 bikes.“The Trinity was a really intense project that came very soon after we founded Drag2Zero,” said company founder Simon Smart. “We had very little time or budget, and we were learning on the job how to test bikes in a wind tunnel. But it was an exciting period and it produced a genuinely game-changing bike. It was very enjoyable to look back at the project.”The full story behind Drag2Zero’s collaboration can be found online.Drag2Zero (D2Z) was founded in 2007 by ex-F1 aerodynamicist Simon Smart. The company’s goal was to introduce cycling and triathlon to a new level of aerodynamic refinement.‘D2Z uses wind tunnels and CFD combined with decades of experience to optimise rider positions, bike set-up and product design for many of the world’s leading athletes, teams and brands, plus hundreds of amateurs, with fantastic success, including Grand Tour titles and World Championships.’D2Z adds that its ‘development partnerships with Giant, Endura, ENVE and Scott have created world-beating products.’drag2zero.co.uk Related
Image credit ‘Big Sonia.’Shawnee Mission hosting free screening of “Big Sonia” tonight. The Shawnee Mission School District will be hosting a free screening of the documentary “Big Sonia,” which tells the story of area resident and Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski. The screening begins at 7 p.m. tonight in the SM East auditorium, 7500 Mission Road.Bennett Park closed over concerns about falling limbs. Bennett Park in Prairie Village has been temporarily closed over concerns about the integrity of a large tree near the playground. Officials are worried that large branches may be ready to fall off the tree. “There is a possibility it needs to be removed to avoid any damages or injuries from rotten branches falling. Until that determination is made, please stay clear,” said the Prairie Village police on Twitter Tuesday evening.Johnson County Sheriff’s Office will conduct sobriety checkpoints this weekend. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement agencies are planning a series of sobriety checkpoints this weekend. The checkpoints will be set up at locations with high rates of traffic accidents. Drivers suspected of being intoxicated will be subjected to on-site sobriety tests.Delays on Johnson Drive as crews resurface road in Shawnee. Road crews are at work resurfacing a portion of Johnson Drive from I-435 to Pflumm in Shawnee this week. While motorists can still pass through the stretch, traffic will be slower-than-normal through Friday. City officials are asking motorists to exercise caution in the area and to be mindful of workers.
The Viking E-10-WHA is a telephone line powered speaker phone designed to provide quick and reliable two-way hands-free communication. When the “Call” button is pressed, the E-10-WHA will come off-hook and will remain off-hook allowing personnel to identify who is at the speaker phone. For additional security, the E-10-WHA will automatically answer inbound calls for personnel to silently monitor the area.End the call by simply pressing the “Call” button again or hanging up the called phone. Built-in call progress detection prevents the E-10-WHA from remaining off-hook and tying up the phone line or extension. A programmable call length timeout, busy signal detectio, and silence timeout ensure the E-10-WHA is ready for the next user.The E-10-WHA can be connected directly to a CO line or analog PABX/KSU station that is programmed as a ring-down circuit or use with a stand alone ring-down circuit such as Viking’s DLE-200B. The E-10-WHA can also be used with a Viking dialer and is compatible with many of Viking’s Door Entry Controllers.The E-10-WHA is designed for indoor use. For outdoor applications, use model E-10-WHA-EWP which includes Enhanced Weather Protection (EWP).
by. Alan JacksonSpreadsheets are a basic, essential tool in the financial world, right?Expecting a community banker to work without a spreadsheet would be like telling a home builder to construct a house without a hammer and nails, wouldn’t it? Not necessarily.Some tasks will always be best accomplished using spreadsheets, but when it comes to planning, budgeting and forecasting, spreadsheets come with limitations. Those shortcomings can seriously hobble your ability to successfully complete these key tasks accurately. Inaccurate planning can directly impact your bottom line.How do you know if your spreadsheets are holding you back? What are the indicators that it’s time for your organization to move beyond the spreadsheet for forward-looking tasks?Here are three you may recognize as relevant:Inaccuracy would be disastrous: No one wants to be wrong, of course, but in some situations inaccuracy can spell disaster. For example, a wrong prediction of deposit trends could leave your bank with a serious shortfall, or cause you to miss a vibrant growth opportunity.Too many hands may spoil the stew: The more hands your data passes through, the greater the chance that something will get scrambled. With spreadsheets, it’s simply too easy for a formula to become broken as the document moves from team member to team member. continue reading » ShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
ABI Multifamily, Arizona’s largest locally-owned, dedicated multifamily brokerage and advisory firm, has announced that it will be opening its Tucson regional office with the addition of Lance Parsons to the organization as Senior Vice President.John Kobierowski, Senior Managing Partner, states, “We are excited to welcome Lance to the ABI Multifamily team. Lance will provide strong leadership and brings decades of experience to our Tucson Regional office. Lance has over 30+ years of Tucson-specific commercial real estate experience which, quite frankly, is unparalleled in the market.”Lance began his career in real estate shortly after graduating from the University of Arizona with a finance degree. Upon obtaining his CCIM designation in 1991, Lance began his specialization in the acquisition/disposition of multifamily assets. Throughout his 30+ year career, he has received numerous awards including: RE/MAX International’s Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award (given to less an 5% of its agents worldwide), he was the Market Forecast winner – 2003/2004 Southern Arizona Multifamily Housing Association and served as Chapter President of the Southern Arizona CCIM Association.
From Detroit Free Press AdvertisementClick Here to Read MoreAdvertisement Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that Mark Schulz, executive vice president and president of international operations, has announced his plans to retire from the company early next year. He began his career with Ford as an assembly line worker in 1970. Schulz, 54, is responsible for the company’s business in Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific region. In that job, he oversees the global activities of the Premier Automotive Group, which includes Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, as well as the company’s partnership with Mazda Motor Corp. Ford did not say who would replace Schulz, saying any resulting restructuring would be the topic of a future statement. Schulz was not available for an interview Thursday. But the departure may give new CEO Alan Mulally a chance to further streamline Ford’s operations. Mulally and outside critics have complained that Ford’s operations are too complex, with too many layers of management. Some wondered whether Schulz, a hockey buddy of Chairman Bill Ford, might be leaving the company when he skipped the Beijing Auto Show in November. Schulz had been under pressure recently as three of his four operating groups reported worse financial results during the third quarter than a year earlier. The only improvement was in Ford of Europe, which posted a pre-tax loss of $13 million, compared with a pre-tax loss of $55 million a year earlier. The other three groups are PAG, Asia Pacific and Africa and Mazda. Advertisement Schulz previously served as president of Asia Pacific and Africa, and before that he led Asia Pacific and Ford South America operations as a corporate vice president. Prior to his election as a corporate officer, Schulz was the head of Ford’s operations in Turkey for five years. Schulz serves on several boards, including the National Committee of United States-China Relations, the United States-China Business Council and the National Bureau of Asian Research. He also is a member of the International Advisory Board for the President of the Republic of the Philippines. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University and master’s degrees from the University of Detroit in economics and the University of Michigan in engineering, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Sloan Fellow. Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press
Mr. Plancher expressed profound gratitude to CARICOM IMPACS, the UK and the Commander of the French Forces in the Caribbean for their assistance in getting supplies to Haiti. He further said “the materials will strengthening the capacity of the Department of Penitentiary Administration in Haiti to implement its plan to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, in a context where resources are lacking and cases of infection in prison are of concern to national authorities”. Six Eastern Caribbean countries deemed safe for travel – CDC Haiti has recorded twenty-six (26) cases of COVID-19 in three (3) of its twenty two (22) prison facilities (as of 2 June 2020). Over ten thousand prisoners are currently housed inside Haiti’s penitentiary facilities which is almost eight times the holding capacity making it the most overcrowded in the Caribbean. CMO says Saint Lucia at critical stage of COVID-19 outbreak CARICOM IMPACS And The United Kingdom Step Up The Fight Against COVID-19 By Donating Basic Sanitation Supplies To PrisonsThe CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) with the generous support of the British High Commission, Port of Spain, answered the call to support the prison in Antigua and Barbuda by donating basic sanitation supplies to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The sanitation supplies included…May 25, 2020In “Antigua & Barbuda”St. Kitts And Nevis Prison is Better Equip to Prevent COVID-19: CARICOM IMPACS And The United Kingdom Provide Support To Regional PrisonsThe CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) is stepping up donations of basic sanitation supplies and other COVID related supplies to prisons and correctional facilities in twelve (12) CARICOM Member States affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An air shipment of the sanitation supplies arrived in St. Kitts today.…May 27, 2020In “IMPACS”COVID-19: CARICOM IMPACS and the British High Commission Extend Support to Prisons in Trinidad and Tobago and GrenadaPrisons are generally considered to be amplifiers in the spread of infectious diseases and pose a great challenge for authorities working to prevent and contain COVID-19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies people in prisons as more vulnerable to COVID-19 than the general population because of the confined conditions in…June 2, 2020In “Barbados”Share this on WhatsApp St. Lucia records more cases of COVID Oct 15, 2020 About CARICOM IMPACS CARICOM IMPACS has been providing support in advancing COVID-19 related policies in regional prisons to prevent, mitigate and control an outbreak of the pandemic. Earlier this year, on 25 March 2020, at the CARICOM IMPACS Meeting of Heads of Corrections and Prison Services, proposals were advanced to reduce COVID-19 in Prisons included: Prisons are generally considered to be amplifiers in the spread of infectious diseases and pose a great challenge for authorities working to prevent and contain COVID-19. The WHO identifies people in prisons as more vulnerable to COVID-19 than the general population because of the confined conditions in which they live, and proximity with one another – conditions that facilitate transmission of diseases. Responding to the request from Haiti Prison Authorities to support national COVID-19 measures to minimize and control the risk of the contagion inside their prisons, the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) with the support of the United Kingdom (UK) has immediately provided urgent assistance of basic sanitation supplies and other COVID related supplies. On Tuesday, 2 June 2020 an air shipment of the sanitation supplies arrived at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Port-au-Prince and was delivered to Louis Guerro Plancher, Chief of Staff, Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP), Haiti; with the airlift capacity being provided by the French Air Force. The supplies included infrared thermometers and cleaning products such as disinfectant, liquid soap, bleach, hand sanitizers and other COVID related supplies; which are in accordance with guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the prevention and control of the pandemic in prisons. The Regional Security System (RSS) is a key partner in this collaborative initiative by providing airlift and logistical support for the distribution of supplies to some CARICOM Member States. The French Forces in the Caribbean also provided Airlift to the Bahamas and Belize. Early release of non-violent sick and elderly inmates who pose absolutely no threat to society but only serve to increase the concentration of persons in prisons;Increased screening of staff and prisoners; limiting unnecessary in-person visitation so as to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure in facilities;Enhanced information sharing among prisoners;Education and training for prison administrators and prison staff; andDevelopment of national prison pandemic plans. Over the past two weeks CARICOM IMPACS has successfully donated supplies to the correction and prison services in 10 CARICOM Member States – Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. This assistance package is part of an ongoing project funded by the UK government to support the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19 in CARICOM Prisons. St. Lucia is expected to receive similar assistance on Friday 5 June 2020. Oct 16, 2020 CARICOM IMPACS is the coordinating and implementation arm of the region’s multilateral crime and security management architecture, specifically designed to administer a collective response to the crime and security priorities of its Member States. Its members comprise fifteen (15) CARICOM Member States and five (5) Associate Members. IMPACS comprises the Headquarters which is in Trinidad and Tobago and two sub-Agencies, the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) and the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC). The Agency is responsible for the coordination of the Standing Committee of Correctional Services and Prisons in CARICOM. Learn more at https://www.caricomimpacs.org Share this:PrintTwitterFacebookLinkedInLike this:Like Loading… The donation of these supplies will encourage and assist with the accelerated adoption of WHO guidelines for prisons and other places of detention, as well as help mitigate the spread of the pandemic, and reinforce security within Haiti prisons. You may be interested in… Oct 15, 2020 Oct 16, 2020 As part of the CARICOM coordinated response to COVID-19, CARICOM IMPACS is contributing to prevent and mitigate the spread of the pandemic in prisons, law enforcement and other security sectors in CARICOM Member States. More deaths from COVID-19 recorded in CARICOM countries,… 
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In conjunction with the jack-up vessel Seaworker, which has been working at the port since March of this year, MPI Adventure will begin installing monopile foundations and transition pieces for Phase 1 of the London Array Offshore Windfarm.David Gledhill, CEO for Hutchison Ports UK, which owns Harwich International Port, said: “”The UK’s offshore wind power projects are rapidly expanding, both in the size of wind farm developments and the installation vessels used, and we are pleased to welcome the largest vessel in her class. Sustainable energy sources are of paramount importance, and it is good to know that Harwich International Port is getting involved with projects that will help with the country’s future energy requirements, securing a ‘greener’ future for all in the long term.”London Array operations at the port are being carried out alongside those of the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, which commenced at Harwich in August 2009. With the world’s two largest current offshore wind projects being installed simultaneously from the port and with expectations high for future developments in this sector, Harwich is reinforcing its position as one of Europe’s leading ports in this important and expanding market.