In This Issue

QuickBooks Upgrade

Minimum Wage Increase

Chuck's Roast

Networking

Fraud Corner

Promotions!!

Save the date...

SDK's Family Business Roundtable - November 6

Oktoberfest - October 21

QuickBooks Upgrade - how often and when?

By Michele Jensrud, a Top 100 QuickBooks ProAdvisor

Every fall, QuickBooks releases a new version of QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise and each fall one of the most common questions I get asked by my clients using QuickBooks is: How often do I need to upgrade my QuickBooks?

Read the article

Minnesota Minimum Wage Increase

Effective August 1, 2014 the Minnesota minimum wage has risen for the first time in almost a decade. Large employers (more than $500,000 in annual revenue) will start paying a minimum wage of $8.00/hour compared to the previous rate of $6.15. In 2016, the rate will be $9.50, and will be indexed to inflation starting in 2018.

Chuck's Roast

Our own Chuck Selcer was honored and "roasted" (we refer to it as the Chuckroast) by Sabes JCC on August 4th at Oak Ridge Country Club. He was honored for his many years of community service. We congratulate Chuck and feel the honor bestowed on him was well-deserved, but it was the unanimous opinion of all attendees that the "roasters" were way too easy on him.

And a word from Chuck (pictured above with his family):

THANK YOU - to all who came out to "cut up" with me. I was humbled, honored, and thrilled with the many donations made to the JCC, one of my favorite organizations. Over $70,000 was raised!

SDK's August Newsletter

This month we introduce our client, 180 Degrees, Inc., which just announced the opening of Brittany's Place: A Safe and Sound Shelter for Girls on Friday, August 1, 2014. Brittany's Place will support the Minnesota Safe Harbor Law that will recognize sexually exploited youth under age 18 as victims and not juvenile delinquents.

The mission of Brittany's Place is to create additional alternatives to placing youth in detention, providing shelter and healing for sexually exploited girls and young women, and further expanding our community-based services to empower all youth to make healthy life choices.

Networking on the golf course - Five things to remember

August is a great time to hone your golf skills, and
also to build up your networking skills. Here are five things to remember on your next outing.

As you're walking the course and enjoying casual conversation, be sure to listen to what your fellow players are saying - what are their needs and wants? Make mental notes so you can keep them fresh and write them down as soon as you are able.

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Fraud Corner - Small Businesses

Every two years the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) releases its Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse based on research of over 1,000 occupational fraud cases. The report analyzes how fraud is committed, detected, and how organizations can protect against the risk of fraud. Included in the report are statistics on the personal characteristics of the individuals perpetrating the fraud such as age, gender, employment tenure and education level.

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Promotions!!

Join us in congratulating the following outstanding employees of SDK! Their hard work and commitment has earned them a promotion:

Ryan Churness has been promoted to senior manager in our tax department.

Quint Koplitz has been promoted to senior accountant in our audit department.

Leslie Lanz has been promoted to senior accountant in our audit department.

Michaela Mumbleau has been promoted to manager in our audit department.

Samantha Ritter has been promoted to senior accountant in our audit department.

Jennifer Stavish has been promoted to senior manager in our tax department.

We welcome your comments and feedback, and will do our best to answer your questions. Contact your SDK representative or send a note to one of us and we'll be sure to find the right person to assist you.

SDK's Editorial Board

Brian Prazak, CPA, CFE, Forensic & Valuation Services

Beth Johnson, Marketing

Ron Kelner, CPA, Tax
Valorie Mussehl, CPA, Employee Benefits
Amanda Nelson, CPA, Accounting Services

Taylor Mackin, CPA, Audit