Four New Directors Named at Doeren Mayhew

TROY MICHIGAN – Troy-based public accounting and consulting firm, Doeren Mayhew has named four new directors in the firm: Claudio Calado, Aaron Caya, Timothy Gunn, and Christopher Masters. All four have been promoted from the positions of managers.

Claudio S. Calado –Director of Mergers and Acquisitions
Mr. Calado has been with Doeren Mayhew since 2005. He is a graduate of the University of Dortmund (Germany) with a master’s degree in economics. Claudio’s areas of expertise include all stages of the merger and acquisition process and strategic and operational business finance planning and analysis.

Aaron T. Caya, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFF, ABAR – Director, Litigation Support and Forensic Services
Mr. Caya started his career with Doeren Mayhew in 2000. He is a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan. Aaron’s areas of expertise include technical and practical knowledge in all stages of the valuation and litigation process, fraud and forensic accounting services, and financial support in commercial litigation and employment law matters.

Timothy D. Gunn, CPA, CFE – Audit Director
Mr. Gunn has been with Doeren Mayhew since 1998. He is a graduate of Walsh College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Tim’s areas of expertise include audits, reviews, compilations, fraud and forensic accounting services, and consulting.

Christopher T. Masters, CPA – Audit Director
Mr. Masters joined Doeren Mayhew 1998. He is a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Chris’s areas of expertise include audits, reviews, compilations, and consulting.

Founded in 1932, Doeren Mayhew recently celebrated its 77th anniversary and has grown to become nationally and internationally recognized as trusted business advisors to thousands of individuals and businesses throughout North America and around the world. Doeren Mayhew represents manufacturers, contractors and builders, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, auto dealers, financial institutions, municipalities, school districts, and non-profit organizations, with a full range of accounting, audit, tax, merger and acquisition, and consulting services.

Tax Planning Tip #6 - Save Tax-Deferred First

Because of the tax advantages, contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b), 457, SIMPLE or SARSEP, is usually the best first step in retirement planning:

* Contributions are generally pretax, so they reduce your taxable income.
* Plan assets can grow tax-deferred— meaning that you pay no income tax until you take distributions.
* Your employer may match some or all of your contributions—also on a pretax basis. At minimum, contribute the amount necessary to get the maximum employer match.

Note that, if you’re age 50 or older, you’re eligible to make a “catch-up” contribution.

In certain situations, other tax-deferred savings options may be available:

If you’re a business owner or selfemployed. You may be eligible for a plan that would allow you to make much larger contributions. Depending on the plan, you might not have to make 2008 contributions, or even set up the plan, until after year end. If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan. Consider contributing to a traditional IRA:
* You can generally deduct your contributions, though your deduction may be limited based on your adjusted gross income (AGI) if your spouse participates in an employer-sponsored plan.
* Contribution limits, including for catchup contributions, are lower than those for employee contributions to employer sponsored plans.

You can make 2008 IRA contributions as late as April 15, 2009.

Tax Planning Tip #5 - Time Investing Gains and Losses

While time, not timing, is generally the key to long-terminvestment success, timing can have a dramatic impact on the tax consequences of your investment activities. The 15% long-term capital gains rate is 20 percentage points lower than the highest regular income tax rate of 35%—and it generally applies to investments held for more than 12months.

Holding on to an investment until you’ve owned it for more than a year may help you substantially cut your tax on the gain. Keep in mind, though: You have only until 2010 to take advantage of the 15% rate (which also applies to qualified dividends), unless Congress extends it. Of course, be sure to consider overall performance and risk, not just taxes, when making investment decisions. Here are some other tax-saving strategies related to timing:

Use unrealized losses to absorb gains - If you’ve cashed in some big gains during the year, before year end look for unrealized losses in your portfolio and sell them off, thus offsetting the gains.

Don’t let tax reasons hold you back from selling at a loss. If you’re ready to divest your portfolio of a poorly performing security but don’t have enough gains to absorb the loss you’ll realize, remember that capital gains distributions from mutual funds can also be offset with losses. If you end up with a net capital loss, you can claim up to $3,000 of the loss against ordinary income this year and carry forward any excess to future years.

Doeren Mayhew: August/September Recap

We've been up to a lot these past months and wanted to share some of our recent posts with you. Follow the links below to read financial newsletters, blogs, and guides that Doeren Mayhew has been on:

• Doeren Mayhew: Pursuing Your Financial Dreams (Scribd)
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on Docstoc
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on Squidoo
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on YouTube
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on Facebook
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew named to Top 100 Accounting Firms list for 14th consecutive year
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew Retirement Financial Planning
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew New Splash Site
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew Free Child ID Kits
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on CNN
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on BusinessWeek
• Doeren Mayhew: Doeren Mayhew on DBusiness
• Doeren Mayhew: Blogpost

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Doeren Mayhew Gives Back With Child ID Kits

TROY, MICHIGAN – Doeren Mayhew, a Troy-based certified public accounting and management consulting firm, announced today that it has launched a new Website where visitors can sign up to receive free child ID kits.

Doeren Mayhew has found a creative approach to helping its local community by providing free child ID kits to clients, prospects, employees, or anyone that asks for one. People requesting the kits from Doeren Mayhew are assured that they are not going to be solicited in any way; the program is simply for goodwill. To date, Doeren Mayhew has given away over 1,000 kits, originally offering them at seminars and conferences, and eventually through the firm’s corporate Website. The positive response received on the corporate Website lead Doeren Mayhew to create a dedicated Website just for child ID kits.

The kits keep a child’s vital identification information close at hand in case of an emergency. If the unthinkable ever happens, this kit can be easily stored and is readily accessible to authorities. Each kit records vital medical, identification, and contact information, including fingerprint and DNA samples that can be instantly provided to emergency personnel.

According to Larry Simon, one of the Firm’s directors, “Doeren Mayhew is a very family-focused firm and extremely committed to our community. We place the utmost importance on the safety and well being of our children and just wanted to do something to underscore this sentiment. Offering free child ID kits to clients and friends of the firm just felt like a natural fit. We started offering the kits four years ago and continue to receive great response today. When people call or e-mail us requesting the kits, they are always appreciative and supportive. It’s just a small way we can give back to our clients and the community.”

To receive a free child ID kit, please visit the Doeren Mayhew Website.

About Doeren Mayhew

Founded in 1932, Doeren Mayhew recently celebrated its 75th anniversary and has grown to become nationally and internationally recognized as trusted business advisors to thousands of individuals and businesses throughout North America and around the world. Doeren Mayhew represents manufacturers, contractors and builders, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, auto dealers, financial institutions, municipalities, school districts, and non-profit organizations, with a full range of accounting, audit, tax, merger and acquisition, and consulting services.