What if someone stole money from your bank account and the bank was not responsible for the loss? It could happen. By now, most computer users have heard of keyloggers which record all key strokes one does on their computer. These keyloggers come in various forms. Some need a wealth of IT knowledge to implement and others, your five year old child could implement.
Starting off with the less complex would be the ones that plug into the back of your computer between the actual computer and the keyboard. These are easily installed and removed without the user’s knowledge. After all, how many times do you look at the back of your computer? A maintenance worker, co-worker, or janitor could easily install these and capture all your usernames and passwords that you keyed in during the time the small device was installed.
Continue reading "When Complex Passwords Are Not Enough: Keyloggers and Trojan Clampi Virus" »
Furmano Foods continues to be a company known for its delicious tomatoes and one with exceptional service. The company’s recipe for success includes ingredients like honesty, integrity, and quality, but the secret ingredient in the Furmano formula is its people. Continuing in my series of Servant Leaders, an individual that I am excited to write about is David Geise, President and C.E.O. of Furmano Foods.
Family owned for four generations, Furmano's roots run deep in the heart of Pennsylvania's farmland in which David Geise’s grandfather began canning tomatoes in 1921. As David recalls, “Ever since he took his first tomatoes to market, the Furmano's brand has been synonymous with superior quality, great tasting tomatoes. We've come a long way from the days when he and my grandmother used a family recipe to prepare the tomatoes in a copper kettle on their kitchen stove. But, we've never strayed from the high standards that my grandfather, J.W. Furman set. We're proud of that.” Today, Furmano’s has become the largest family-owned tomato processor in the eastern United States.
Continue reading "David Geise: CEO of Furmano Foods" »
As an accountant and auditor I have been trained to make assessments on the health of organizations. In fact, we even have a special model we use called the Altman Z-Score. This mathematical formula determines the probability that an organization will go into bankruptcy. As I read Lawrence Kadish’s article titled, Taking the National Debt Seriously in the Wall Street Journal, I just kept thinking of the Altman Z-Score.
Our national debt is approximately $12 trillion dollars and currently 40% of all individual taxes collected are used just to pay the interest cost on this loan.
Continue reading "Is our Country on a Collision Course?" »
Many people think of a negotiation as something that happens during mergers and acquisitions, while others think of car or home purchases. But the reality is that most of us spend a large part of our day negotiating. Webster defines negotiation as “a dialogue intended to produce an agreement.”
Our negotiations during the day may include where we will eat, how much to price services and products we sell or buy, discussing our children’s weekend plans, or talking about the economy and what it means with a colleague of differing opinion. The list is endless.
Continue reading "Negotiations: An Important Part of our Day" »
As I have written in the past, commercial real estate has been hit hard during this recession and the worst is probably yet to come. Just speak with any commercial real estate agent and they will tell you that vacancy is on the rise and good deals are to be had. As more organizations are reducing employees, downsizing operations… office space is becoming easier to find.
The Wall Street Journal recently had a great article titled, Office Rents Dive as Vacancies Rise. The article points out the obvious, that as vacancy rates increase, the rents are decreasing. Nationwide, office rents fell 8.5% in the third quarter of this year, while vacancy rates have hit 16.5%.
Continue reading "Commercial Real Estate Vacancy on the Rise (and Climbing)" »
What happens to your company if you or your business partner unexpectedly dies, becomes incapacitated, or goes through a divorce? At death, shares of a business form part of an estate and may be left to one's spouse, children, or other heirs through the owner's last will and testament. With divorce, shares form marital property that could be divided such that an ex-spouse might become a shareholder.
Other types of disruptions such as medical incapacity or financial circumstances may force a shareholder to transfer shares to third parties. In addition, general disagreements between business partners may cause one or more of the owners to separate from the business and transfer or sell their ownership interests.
Continue reading "Shareholder Agreements: Essential Succession Management Tool" »
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