August 2023
A Note From Rene’
Have you heard of the Corporate Transparency Act that begins in January? I hadn’t either until I was having a recent casual conversation with a neighbor who works for a law firm. I’ve included an article that one of their attorneys wrote on the topic. Please make sure you get with your CPA and/or attorney to know whether or not you are required to file the CTA form in January of 2024.
Speaking of not always being aware of things, how is communication at your workplace? It is a topic that I discuss nearly every week with one client or another! How are you at delivering tough messages? I’ve included a Harvard Business Review article on “How to be direct without being rude.” Please think about how you and your team are sharing information. Is it healthy? Defensive? Is it prompting negative reactions? Do you fully understand how it is impacting morale, retention/attrition, productivity? Since this is one of my favorite topics, I’d love to hear from you on how you define your office communications. Give me a call or shoot me an email.
As summer is wrapping up, I’ve hope you’ve taken some time to truly disconnect and recharge. It’s not too late if you haven’t and I promise you won’t regret it!
René
Is Your Business Ready??? Corporate Transparency Act Applies to all Businesses, including LLC’s
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a piece of legislation aimed at promoting corporate transparency and combating illicit financial activities in the United States that goes into effect January 1, 2024. The CTA imposes significant reporting requirements in the form of reports that can be time consuming and difficult to put together due to the nature of information required in the reports. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) estimates more than 32.5 million reports will be filed in the first year of the CTA, and 5 million per year thereafter. Penalties for non-compliance range from up to $500 per day until the violation is remedied to a criminal fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to two years imprisonment.

How to Be Direct Without Being Rude
You’re pressed for time and have a zillion emails sitting in your inbox. You also need to send your boss the weekly sales report ASAP. You quickly shoot a message to your team:
Hi,
Please send me your individual sales numbers for this week. I need them pronto, no later than 10 am.
Thanks
Your work BFF later says she saw the message, and thought it was a tad rude.
You don’t agree with her assessment, but the feedback is not entirely new. Last week, during a brainstorm meeting, someone pitched an idea you thought would never work. You said: “Your idea isn’t going to work because of X, Y, and Z. You haven’t considered those roadblocks. I highly recommend we go in another direction.” Afterward, your manager said that you came across a little too strong.
