[TRANSCRIPT]
0:00:00 - (A): Coming up next on chamber amplified, the.
0:00:02 - (Bob Brown): Government wants to go ahead and have this depository, central depository, by which people and their companies are registered, try to.
0:00:12 - (Missy LaRocco): See if there's a way that you can use what you're gifted at in the nonprofit sector. So if you're good at advertising, is there a way to take that skill of advertising into one of the nonprofit sectors?
0:00:23 - (Doug Jenkins): Hello and welcome to the show. Doug Jenkins from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. On each episode of Chamber Amplified, we're examining issues that impact the local business community, whether it's employee recruitment, retention, marketing, it issues, maybe legal issues. That's what we're delving into today. It's really anything that can be impacting your business or your friend's business or your neighbor's know businesses in the community.
0:00:45 - (Doug Jenkins): Our goal is to give our members tips each week on at least one way they can improve operations and thrive in the current business environment. And each week, we're also talking to area businesses to learn more about how they got started and the lessons they learned along the way. Well, a new year is on the horizon, and with it comes new government regulations that can impact your business. Today, I'm joined by Bob Brown and Christina Cross of Bricker Grayden to talk about changes to the Corporate Transparency act, what they mean for your business, and where you can find the resources to figure out if you actually need to fill out extra paperwork in 2024.
0:01:17 - (Doug Jenkins): We'll also talk about what the CTA is designed to do and some of the important deadlines that you need to know about. We're also continuing to highlight the 2023 Small Business Award winners. Today we'll hear from Missy Larocco, who is named the nonprofit Champion of the year for 2023. We'll learn more about her career in the world of nonprofits, as well as her advice for getting involved, even when you might not think you have that time to do so.
0:01:40 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again for tuning in. Remember, if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, you could rate and review the show.
0:01:46 - (A): Believe me, that really does go a.
0:01:48 - (Doug Jenkins): Long way in helping spread the word. Now, let's get into it.
0:01:53 - (A): Let's dig into it. I guess just the cliff notes version of what CTA is, Bob, and why people will need to be paying attention to this in the coming year.
0:02:05 - (Bob Brown): Yeah, Doug, this is really something that's going to have an effect on most small businesses and a lot of family owned and whatnot, and it derives from a lot of bad actors. Unfortunately, several years ago, Congress went ahead and passed an act that authorized the Corporate Transparency act to come into play. It is a way for essentially the government to be able to monitor and know who the companies are that are out there.
0:02:41 - (Bob Brown): The real genesis is they would like to be able to know as a result of a lot of money laundering, a lot of ties to terrorism, that sort of thing, through corporations or limited liability companies that really had no faces or names behind them. The government wants to go ahead and have this depository, central depository, by which people and their companies are registered. The registration will go through Finsen, which is part of the department of treasury, and it will be an online recording of data of who the people are that are part of the company.
0:03:27 - (Bob Brown): And it's something that has never been done here in the United States. Other countries have a way of having companies registered as sort of a central registry. We do not. So this is really something that every small business owner is going to want to comply with. And we can kind of get into the details as we talk today.
0:03:51 - (A): Yeah, absolutely. So I guess good news, it potentially cracks down on some things that shouldn't be happening.
0:03:59 - (Doug Jenkins): Bad news is, Christina, I imagine this.
0:04:01 - (A): Is paperwork for businesses to do that perhaps they did not have to do in the past.
0:04:07 - (Christina Cross): Sure. Yeah. There's a lot of timing issues that businesses have to be paying attention to for this because it affects when your business was registered with the state. And for example, if it's a newly filed or registered company, you have certain requirement filings. And if you have filed in the past, you have so many days to file a report with Vincen. And what really we're looking at is mid sized, small to mid sized companies that this actually falls under because the threshold really, you have to maintain 20 employees and 5 million in annual revenue or fall into 23 category entity categories to be exempt.
0:05:01 - (Christina Cross): So most small to medium sized companies don't have 20 employees and aren't operating in 5 million annual revenue. This is something that small to medium sized businesses need to pay attention to. They are going to end up having to have to file this type of report, but then again, they also have to make sure that they're actually having to report because some of these entities might fall under the exceptions of the type of entity that they're operating.
0:05:33 - (A): Let's get into it a little bit. One of the big things is identifying that beneficial owner who maybe isn't on the paperwork or isn't in the normal part of the paperwork. What is a beneficial owner when it comes to how this is structured?
0:05:46 - (Bob Brown): Well, yeah, I'm happy to tackle that a beneficial owner is essentially someone in the company who makes the final decisions or has exerting influence. And it's really going to be a wide variety of folks. Let me kind of go through the exact.
0:06:09 - (A): Yeah, absolutely.
0:06:12 - (Missy LaRocco): Sure.
0:06:13 - (Christina Cross): Yeah. Somebody who controls or owns at least 25% of the reporting company or has that title of officer, they have that substantial control. So whoever is exercising substantial control over the company, whether they're a senior officer, a majority of a governing board, or someone who owns or controls at least 25% of the company. So companies are really going to need to go back to how they're structured.
0:06:47 - (Christina Cross): And if they don't know that offhand.
0:06:51 - (A): Well, that seems like a lot of fun things to delve into for local business owners who already have a lot on their plate when it comes time to one, there's possibly the paperwork to file or finding out if you're exempt. What's even the jumping off point for this? Where do you go to find this information?
0:07:10 - (Bob Brown): You'll want to get on the Finsen website, and it has actually a great FAQ link to that. And it's the Finsen. Govboi is the actual site. Now, interestingly, the actual form that is to be completed and you're going to do this online, there are not going to be paper filings, is still not up yet. They have not provided that to us so that we can figure out exactly what it looks like. But they've given certain the type of information that they may ask for. It's going to be background, it's going to be Social Security numbers, it's going to be addresses, that type of thing.
0:07:58 - (Bob Brown): But I think the best thing any business owner could do right now, when they've got some time here, is to get online, take a look at it, just to kind of see what this is all about because it'll be helpful for once. The government website is actually fairly helpful in deciphering this. We found it to be quite helpful because it's got some flowcharts that say, hey, one, do I even have to do this? And two, who has to be reported? And that type of thing.
0:08:32 - (A): We'll link to that in the show notes on the podcast as well to help people find that, because again, that's going to be very beneficial for people.
0:08:40 - (Doug Jenkins): Is there a deadline?
0:08:42 - (A): How long do people have to do this? Obviously, if the actual form isn't up, I can't imagine it's something that has to be done on January 1.
0:08:50 - (Bob Brown): Fortunately, it does not. There's actually two different levels. If you are an existing company that is formed and in existence prior to January 1, 2024, you have until the end of 2024 by which to file and complete this. If the company is formed from January 2024 on, you have 90 days by which to submit your filing. Now, that originally was 30 days, which was just really too tight and too aggressive.
0:09:26 - (Bob Brown): For one thing, people didn't know that this even existed, and a lot of people still don't know, but they did loosen that to about to a 90 day period, and that has to be complied with. Otherwise, there are pretty substantial penalties in not complying with that. One other thing that we're also talking with clients about is even after they've filed and they've done their filing with Finsen, if there's a substantial change of any type in ownership, essentially, if any of the questions that are answered in the form, which we still haven't seen the form yet, but any of that information changes, there's a duty upon the company to update that information within the 90 day time period. Now, once we get into, throw one more thing into it, as of January 1, 2025, that 90 day reporting period goes back to 30 to 30 days. So I think the thought is let's figure this out. Let's get them to register and then just kind of make this a matter of course.
0:10:40 - (Bob Brown): And then in 2025, then they're going to be a little more stringent on it. This is all Doug, subject to change and more wrangling in Washington, so we'll figure that out as we go.
0:10:54 - (A): That sounds about right. You mentioned other countries do have a centralized system like this to try and root out money laundering, things like that. Have they seen success in the countries that are doing this, where they've been able to crack down on some fraud that might have been happening prior to a regulation like this?
0:11:14 - (Bob Brown): I think they have. I think that's part of the genesis of this act, is that there has been some success in that. And a lot of times these are very reactionary sorts of programs and laws that are put in place to try to do. It's, I think Congress is hoping that this is going to lead to lessening those risks out there.
0:11:42 - (A): Christina, before we wrap things up, if people have questions about this, certainly, probably touching base with their legal representation, a good idea in this. If people would want to get in touch with you about this, what's the best way to do that?
0:11:56 - (Christina Cross): Sure. The best way is to contact me at Brooker Grayden law firm and also Bob, who's the head of our corporate group. But we have at least 20 attorneys that practice in corporate tax real estate that are all briefed on the Corporate Transparency act that are ready to assist those who have questions about the Corporate Transparency act. Do I fall under it? Who qualifies as a beneficial owner? That I have to report there might be questions of deadlines and corporate structure, whether they fall under an exemption.
0:12:32 - (Christina Cross): And those are things that our attorneys can definitely help assist with. I'm, of course, here located in Finley. Happy to meet with those in Hancock county and surrounding areas. Boots on the ground, but any of our lawyers, also throughout the state, are ready and able to help and assist business owners of any size really answer these questions that they might have about CTA, which we, for short for the Corporate Transparency Act.
0:12:59 - (Christina Cross): I do have to say that there are both financial and criminal penalties for businesses that either don't comply in filing or are not keeping Finsen up to date with their information and something to pay attention to. So they're saying from $500 to $10,000 per day if you're incompliant and imprisonment.
0:13:29 - (Missy LaRocco): Up to two years.
0:13:30 - (Christina Cross): So something to pay attention to if you're a small to mid size company. This is not something to take lightly.
0:13:38 - (A): Yeah, very much so. Well, Christina, Bob, we'd appreciate your time to get us up to speed on CTA and what that can mean for our area businesses today. Thanks for being on the podcast with us.
0:13:48 - (Christina Cross): Thanks for having us.
0:13:49 - (Missy LaRocco): It's been a pleasure.
0:13:52 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again to Bob and Christina for joining me. Once again, we have important links to everything they talked about in the show.
0:13:58 - (A): Notes of this episode so you can.
0:13:59 - (Doug Jenkins): Learn more about the changes to the CTA. Very important that you take a look at that one chamber program note for you. If you feel like you're run down this time of year, your time management is off.
0:14:10 - (A): We've talked about this a little bit.
0:14:12 - (Doug Jenkins): You can very easily get stressed out right now.
0:14:15 - (A): Maybe you need a little help to get through it.
0:14:17 - (Doug Jenkins): Well, if you are a chamber of commerce member or the employee of a chamber of Commerce member, you are eligible for a free month of Betterhelp online. Betterhelp offers online therapy, and it can be a really valuable tool this time.
0:14:29 - (A): Of year or really any time of.
0:14:31 - (Doug Jenkins): Year for that matter. If you'd like to get your business signed up, just reach out to me. I'll help you get enrolled. My email address is djenkins@finleyhancockchamber.com now let's get back into the show.
0:14:43 - (A): Joining us on the podcast now, another.
0:14:45 - (Doug Jenkins): One of our small business award winners.
0:14:47 - (A): Missy LaRocco from legal aid of western Ohio. Missy, thanks for joining us today.
0:14:51 - (Missy LaRocco): Thanks for having me.
0:14:52 - (A): So, missy, let's get people familiar with your work and your profession. First of all, I think a lot of people have been fortunate they have not had to use the services of legal aid of western Ohio. But it's great that we have a service like that here. Just tell us a little bit about what you do.
0:15:07 - (Missy LaRocco): Sure. So legal aid of western Ohio is a free legal service for people in poverty, and we do civil litigation. So we're kind of the civil equivalent of the public defender's office. We don't do criminal matters. We do non criminal matters, and we help people that are about 250% of the poverty guideline or below. And then our services are free if they meet also different protocols that we might have. So we might take a housing case, for instance, if you have a good reason for a defense to your eviction. But we wouldn't necessarily help if you just hadn't paid your rent for a no good cause type thing. So we prioritize the type of cases we take.
0:15:47 - (A): And this is an area where you hear the talking points of the legal system, is if you don't have the money, it's hard to navigate the legal system, and it can really work against you. So being able to have access to these types of legal services, I'm not going to say it completely balances the playing field, but it is a good resource.
0:16:06 - (Missy LaRocco): Yes. It goes a long way to balancing what we call the skills of justice, that you shouldn't be able to not have a fair shot at court just simply because you can't afford to obtain a legal counsel or an attorney.
0:16:17 - (A): So, missy, the award itself is for your individual efforts, and I know that you would probably never take complete credit for everything, but at the same time, what is it that drew you to this line of work?
0:16:29 - (Missy LaRocco): Well, I think that from a young age, I knew that I wanted to do something with my career that was helping other people. And so when I then took the course that took me into law, I knew that I wanted to do something within the legal field that also gave back to people. And this just seemed like the best fit for me because it was helping. I've always been a fighter for the underdogs, always been wanting a fair and just world out there.
0:16:56 - (Missy LaRocco): Always kind of look with rose colored glasses, I guess you can say, try to see the good in everything and the good in everybody. And so I think that this position here at legal aid allows me to do just that. And to really help people while I'm also making a career out of it. So it's been a great run, and.
0:17:15 - (A): I think part of the reason why you were such a great candidate for the award and ultimately the award winner is this isn't one nonprofit is your job. Two, you really like to give back to the community. You're involved in a variety of other different organizations. Most recently, we saw each other there at coats for Christmas and helping head that up, too. Can you talk just a little bit about some of the different things that you take part in in the community that help to give back as well?
0:17:44 - (Missy LaRocco): Sure. So lots of nonprofits in the area are always looking for good board members, and as you know, they're even more sought after if you have the legal background. They want that matrix on their board that has a little bit of everything. So I've been fortunate enough to serve on some really great nonprofit boards over the years, currently serving on Hancock Christian Clearinghouse's board and will be their board president going into the 2024 year.
0:18:10 - (Missy LaRocco): So that's an exciting new challenge for me. I'm also currently serving on Finley Digital Academy board. And for those that aren't familiar with FDA, that is an online digital school for, I don't necessarily know if we use the term, like, dropout rate, but it's for students that may be struggling at school and therefore want an alternative avenue for education. Yes, I do with some nonprofit boards, board work, and I've been on several different boards throughout my, I guess, time with legal aid and my time in Finley.
0:18:47 - (Missy LaRocco): And then I also am very involved in my church. I go to college First Church of God, and I'm part of their board of directors. So at our church, we consider that like a deacon position. So I'm a deacon position there, and I had the missions commission there, and so do a lot through that capacity as well, which has led me into mission field and doing things internationally for people in different countries, traveled the world per se, doing some mission trips that way. So it's another way for me to give back in a different avenue outside of just the local community kind of branching that service outward.
0:19:24 - (A): That is a lot on the resume right there. Not only it's not just things on a resume, it's a commitment of time and resources, which are in short supply for a lot of people these days. So I imagine finding the time to be this active can be a challenge.
0:19:43 - (Missy LaRocco): Yeah, it can. I think that sometimes staying active and everybody's a little bit different, but sometimes for me, staying active keeps that energy going, the more I go, the kind of more energy that I guess I'm blessed with. So that kind of helps. It doesn't always make sense, but to me, it's a good pace. I do like to stay busy, that's for sure. I just also try to balance now, as I get a little later in my career, make sure I'm balancing some of that rest and relaxation and family time along with my other commitments.
0:20:15 - (Missy LaRocco): Otherwise, it does tend to get a.
0:20:16 - (A): Little taxing later in your career. We're like the same age. We've got some years to go.
0:20:22 - (Missy LaRocco): Hey, it seems like I've been here for a while.
0:20:24 - (A): We're in our prime. So, Vizzy, I want to take you back to October and the small business awards. How did it feel to have your name called as the nonprofit champion of the year?
0:20:38 - (Missy LaRocco): Oh, man. I've been nominated for the awards a couple of times, and this was, like, the first time I'd actually won, so I wasn't really expecting it because of that. But it was great. It was just so flattering because there were so many great people in the room doing such amazing things in our community, and then the individuals I was nominated with as well, just doing amazing things. And so it's really a community effort. So I felt like it shouldn't just be shadowing me but emphasizing me, I guess. But everybody in Finland is doing such great work. But I was very honored to receive.
0:21:15 - (A): The word for people who want to. Maybe they're young professionals or maybe they're hitting an age where they've got a little bit more free time or something like that, but they want to get involved in nonprofit work, either by a volunteer, maybe make it their second career, that type of thing. What advice would you have for them.
0:21:34 - (Missy LaRocco): That want to get involved in volunteer.
0:21:36 - (A): Type work, however they want to get involved, and I guess what's the best way to get started? In getting involved in the nonprofit side?
0:21:44 - (Missy LaRocco): Yeah. If you want to get involved in nonprofit work, especially if it's find out where your passion lies, because there's so much nonprofit work out there that really, what is your passion? What drives you? And then if it's a career you're going into, try to see if there's a way that you can use what you're gifted at in the nonprofit sector. So if you're good at advertising, is there a way to take that skill of advertising into one of the nonprofit sectors and really push their mission forward? Are you passionate about children?
0:22:17 - (Missy LaRocco): I'm also currently on the Children's Mentoring Connection board of directors. And if someone was interested in advertising, man, you could give back to children's lives, impact children's lives by your advertising. It's kind of a win win. Do what you love as a profession, but also be impacting your community and individuals. And what better way than to connect with the youth and empower them to change the world as they get older?
0:22:41 - (A): You mentioned finding some time for yourself and that self care here. And I think sometimes when people look to get involved in a nonprofit or charitable efforts or whatever the case may be, or even a service organization, they have that concern that I have limited time, I've got kids and everything like that. What advice do you have to finding that balance of so you can get into this world but not get burnt out by it?
0:23:07 - (Missy LaRocco): Yeah. One idea is think creatively. Think outside the box. They don't always love it, but a lot of times I drag my boys along. They were at the coats for Christmas event, so they're probably not surprised by their mom doing that nowadays, but trying to find a way that maybe you can mesh the two worlds. So maybe all of you and your colleagues go out for a drink after work, but then you plan that the next weekend you might serve together or do something to help you bond as an office or bond as a group.
0:23:36 - (Missy LaRocco): Bring your kids along to service event. United Way, part of a United Way ambassadors group now, and the United Way Ambassadors group is a bunch of individuals. We're all ladies right now, that's trying to connect people with how they can give back in the community and looking for more family fun events that you can take your kids to, take your high schoolers to those type of things. So that might be a suggestion as well.
0:23:59 - (Missy LaRocco): But it's not always something grandioses that you have to do. You don't have to serve on the board. You can just show up for one of the pancake breakfasts at Kiwanis. You don't have to actually join Kuanis if you don't have the time to do that, even though they'd love to have you, you could volunteer to serve the pancakes one day. So it's just little, I think, nuggets of trying to give back to the community.
0:24:22 - (Missy LaRocco): And eventually you'll find your niche, and eventually times will change. The kids will, might maybe grow up, your career might take a switch, and you might have more time or less time. But I think that the goal is just to try to do something.
0:24:33 - (A): I think all good advice. I saw your boys had coats for Christmas. They did a great job.
0:24:38 - (Missy LaRocco): Good.
0:24:40 - (A): Well, missy, again, congratulations on the award, and thanks for joining us on the podcast.
0:24:44 - (Missy LaRocco): Thanks for having me, Doug.
0:24:49 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again to Missy for joining us. And again, congratulations on her small business award for 2023. That'll do it for this week's episode, and that'll do it for the podcast in 2023. We're going to take a couple of weeks off here for the holidays, but we'll be back at it in 2024 with several guests. We even have guest number 100 coming.
0:25:08 - (A): Up in March, I believe, so that'll.
0:25:10 - (Doug Jenkins): Be a big episode, and we're looking forward to that. Hope you learned a little something more about the local business community, maybe a little something more about how to run your business better. If you have any ideas for topics that we should cover, just send me an email. Djenkins@finleyhancockchamber.com the best way to get in touch with me remember, if you're listening on the chamber website, you don't have.
0:25:29 - (A): To just sit and stare at your computer while you're listening to the podcast. Although if you want to, hey, we're fine with that.
0:25:34 - (Doug Jenkins): But if you want to make it easier on yourself, you can just search for chamber amplified in your favorite podcast player. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on chamber amplified from the Finley Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.