Happy Halloween!!!

This year along with decorating the office and showing off our costumes, the TY team participated in a Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Everyone was given a pumpkin last week and encouraged to let their imaginations run wild. And here are the results...

1st Place - Barbara Toland

2nd Place - Tricia Millena

3rd Place - Teresa Karlson

Other creative entries...

New Publication for Unemployed

The IRS has released a new publication titled "Tax Impact of Job Loss," which discusses tax issues connected to severance pay, unemployment compensation, pension plans, job search expenses and moving costs. If you or someone you know is dealing with unemployment, you may find some useful information in the publication, available online here.

Leading the Way - Top 100

The list of the top 100 most influential people in the accounting industry was recently released. ThomasYork, LLP would like to congratulate our friends and associates that have made this prestigious list. We are proud to have worked with and learned from some of these fine people and look forward to using their experience and knowledge to assist us in creating a leading edge CPA firm. If you are interested you can use the link below to review list.

Look Inside >> Top 100 People - 2009

AFRs for November

The Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs) for the most of November are as follows:

	Annual	Semiannual	Quarterly	Monthly
Short-term (≤ 3 years)	0.71%	0.71%	0.71%	0.71%
Mid-term (> 3 years but ≤ 9 years)	2.59%	2.57%	2.56%	2.56%
Long-term (> 9 years)	4.01%	3.97%	3.95%	3.94%

SBA training on winning federal contracts

The SBA has released its newest online course for women small business owners, titled: Winning Federal Contracts: A Guide for Women Entrepreneurs. This training is free and includes numerous resources. The SBA also has an online training program related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, titled Recovery Act Opportunities: How to Win Federal Contracts. This program is also free, and includes resources to help you understand and engage in the government’s contracting process. The program is fully automated and indexed so you can review all or only the parts you are interested in.

Governor Signs Four Critical Bills for CPAs

Glen Thomas, who is on the statewide CalCPA Society Accounting Education Committee (AEC), has been working very hard over the past three years with fellow members for the passage of SB 819. According to the CalCPA:

After 33 years, California is no longer the problem child when it comes to CPA licensing. Sunday night, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed SB 819 into law, which will require all California CPAs licensed after 2014 to have 150 hours of college education prior to licensing. CPAs licensed prior to 2014 will be grandfathered in as substantially equivalent. California should now be considered a substantially equivalent state, likely easing mobility for California CPAs providing services in other states that have adopted the new mobility provisions consistent with the Uniform Accountancy Act. Those provisions allow out-of-state CPAs to provide temporary services in those states without notifying the board of accountancy or paying a fee. This is a really big step for California CPAs. "While some of the details of the bill remain to be worked out, the passage of this legislation is historic and at long-last puts California CPAs on a level playing field with CPAs from other states who have been considered substantially equivalent for years," says CalCPA CEO Loretta Doon. "We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our government relations team lead by Bruce Allen and Jeannie Tindel, and Paul Regan, our Government Relations Committee chair.” Doon also praised the multitude of members from students to seasoned partners who participated in CalCPA’s grassroots efforts. Those members met with legislators in their district offices, and in the Capitol, to discuss the importance of substantial equivalency and other key legislation. Additionally, the governor signed AB 138, which requires mandatory peer review for CPA firms. The peer review requirement will start in 2010, but firms don't have to provide their peer reviews until the 2011 renewal for firms with the last digits 1-33. The new law will use a phased in implementation over a three-year period. Also signed into law were AB 117, which requires license status disclosure for inactive CPAs, and AB 129, which reinstates a taxpayer privilege provision. Visit CalCPA's website to learn more about these important new laws that will pave the way for the future of the profession in California.

IRS releases Retirement Plan Navigator

WebCPA reports:

The Internal Revenue Service has created a new Web-based tool to help small-business owners determine which tax-favored pension plan best suits their needs and how to keep their plans in compliance. The IRS Retirement Plan Navigator aims to provide employers with an online guide for choosing, maintaining and correcting a plan. The navigator does not suggest which plan may be best for a specific employer, but instead lays out the options to allow small-business owners to choose a plan that best fits their situation. Options include 401(k) plans, plans with individual retirement accounts, defined-benefit plans and tax-exempt plans. The navigator includes a side-by-side comparison of the various types of pension plans and their requirements. The navigator also provides a checklist and suggested resources for maintaining compliance. It offers suggested options to employers seeking to correct errors and bring their plans back into compliance.

If you are interested in more information on retirement for you or your employees, you may want to give this new tool a try.

TY Helping the Victims of Typhoon Ketsana (Philippines)

On September 26, 2009, Typhoon Ketsana (a.k.a .Ondoy) brought a month's worth of rainfall to Metro Manila and nearby areas in just a few hours, causing severe flooding which resulted in the loss of many lives and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. No power supply, limited communication and transportation, no foods, no medicine, no clothing and no clean water running in the affected areas by typhoon Ondoy. The ThomasYork team, led by Tricia Veneracion-Millena, started a food and clothing drive to provide assistance to the typhoon victims. The expectation of receiving one to two bags of donations was surpassed when in less than a week's time our team amassed a van full of clothes and canned goods. The team also received generous cash donations to purchase canned soup and medical supplies. Typhoon Ondoy victims in the Philippines are in dire need of your help. If you would like to help you can drop off used clothing, food or cash here at the TY office in San Ramon. Our donations will be shipped early next week. Listed below are numerous other ways you can help the typhoon victims. Donate Online

• ABS-CBN Foundation: http://www.abs-cbnfoundation.com/donate.php
• Ateneo Alumni Northeast, Inc: http://www.atenista-usa.org/site/featured-articles/help-for-ondoy-victims/
• Ayala Foundation: http://af-usa.org/donate_now_form.asp (select AFI-Typhoon Relief Fund in drop down menu)
• eBay: http://donations.ebay.com/charity/event.jsp?NP_ID=-45#donatenow
• Gawad Kalinga: http://www.gk1world.com/give.html
• Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/philippines-flood-disaster-fund/
• HOPE Worldwide: https://www.hopeww.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1227&srctid=1&erid=162143
• Music for Relief: http://musicforrelief.ning.com/page/donate-1
• Operation Blessing International: http://www.ob.org/_programs/disaster/news/2009/dr_2009_0927_ketsana_philippines.asp
• PhilippineAid.com: http://www.philippineaid.com/
• Philippine National Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/Default.aspx?S=48&SS=972
• PayPal: PayPal is also accepting donations now. Please send to give@redcross.org.ph.
• Thomson Reuters Foundation (total sum donated by October 16 will be matched by the company): http://www.trust.org/trust.org/page/files/philippinestyphoon2009.html
• TXTPower (Paypal): http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20090927-227196/Help-Ondoy-victims-via-Paypal
• UNICEF USA has an anonymous donor that will match all donations (up to $100,000) before October 6. https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5960&5960.donation=form1
• Xavier School Alumni (NY): http://xs4ondoyny.chipin.com/ondoy-flood-victims
• Xoom: http://ronaldredito.org/blog/321/ondoy-donation-using-xoo/
• World Food Programme: https://www.wfp.org/donate/ondoy

Donate by Phone Call the American Red Cross at 1-800-435-7669. Please choose the 3rd option (International Donation), then tell the operator that your donation is for the Ondoy (Ketsana) typhoon victims in the Philippines. Donate Through Your Community There might be people in your community gathering relief goods and donations.

• Burlingame: MANILA BOX USA is now accepting donations in kind & will provide FREE shipping to Manila. Items will be sent by sea cargo and will delivered to the Whitespace Relief Center/Mar Roxas Headquarters in Cubao. Please drop donations off at their warehouse: 361 Beach Road Burlingame, CA 94010 or call (650)342-2858. Please pack them in boxes for easier handling. Business hours Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
• Hayward: Fil-Am Invitational Basketball League(FIBL) will send relief goods to typhoon Ondoy victims. If you want to make a donation (clothing, canned goods or money) please bring it on Sunday, October 4 to El Rancho Gym 541 Blanche St. Hayward, CA from 2:00 – 6:00 pm. Please visit their website for directions - http://www.leaguelineup.com/location.asp?sid=584979555&url=fibl&locationid=300348.
• Daly City: Liwanag Cultural Center, Hillside Park Clubhouse, 222 Lausanne Ave., Daly City‎, CA‎ 94014. Hours: Monday - Thursday 3:30 - 6:00 p.m.
• Oakland: Asian Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy & Leadership. Attn: Armael Malinis, AnakBayan-East Bay. 310 8th Street, Suite 215. Oakland, CA 94710
• San Francisco: Stanford’s Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) is also collecting donations to be sent to the Philippines to help victims of Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana). If you would like to make a donation, please contact AV David at avhdavid@stanford.edu or (650) 491-4561.
• San Francisco: Manila Forwarder will provide free box shipment to the Philippine National Red Cross, churches and other government agencies directly responsible with relief operations. Please drop off relief goods at Manila Forwarder Northern California, 5750 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94112. Tel: 510-750-3036 / Tel: 209-3499576 / Tel: 415-239-9576
• San Jose: Filipino Youth Coalition and Filipino Community Support. Corner of Kenesta Way and Clarice Drive, San Jose.

The most urgent needs are listed below - Food items: Rice, noodles, canned goods, sugar, iodized salt, cooking oil, mongo beans and potable water Medicines: Antibiotics, analgesic, oral rehydration salts, multivitamins and medications to treat diarrheal diseases Non-food items: Bath soaps, face towels, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, water containers, water purification tablets, plastic sheetings and laundry soap Rehabilitation Programs: Shelter materials for house repair Thank you!