Commercial and Industrial (C&I) loans have become a larger part of many institutions’ portfolios due to market demand, examiner feedback and pressures to stay profitable. But there are risks in C&I lending, such as inexperience in the area and inadequate strategic planning. In order to approach it conservatively, here are six key processes to help. Reevaluate […]

If you are searching for a location to start up, relocate or expand their business, consider New York as a possibility, if applicable.  In an effort to bring businesses back into New York, New York State launched the START-UP NY program effective January 1, 2014.  The START-UP NY program allows qualified companies and their employees […]

Biodiesel Backs Off The Obama Administration is significantly paring back Biodiesel requirements for all fuel distributed in America. This was foreshadowed in October of 2013 when a preliminary report was leaked and suggested that the Administration was going to lower the requirements for Biodiesel fuel nationally.  The reason?  Not, regrettably, concern for the high cost […]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA aka ‘Obamacare’) came into being in 2013 with much fan fair and plenty of problems.  Not only did the Website for enrolling not work properly, President Obama’s promise that ‘if you like your health care plan, you can keep it’ turned out to be not entirely true […]

By Richard Ascher The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) actions in 2014 will be a key driver for the U.S. economy which will be less predictable with a new Fed Chair in Janet Yellen.  The Fed is unlikely to tighten aggressively, so rates at the short end of the yield curve should not change significantly. U.S. economic […]

There are many important tax changes taking effect in 2014. They are the result of tax legislation enacted in prior years, or are triggered by effective dates in regs, rulings and other guidance. Also, a number of important final regs go into effect in 2014. This article highlights key non-inflation-indexed tax changes affecting businesses and […]

Smolin Lupin Manager, Jim Ferrone, was featured in the December issue of COMMERCE Magazine. To read "Nonprofits Need Strong Fiscal and Financial Policies", click here and turn to page 16 to read about his take on Non-Profit Best Practices. Or you can download the PDF here.

Federal Audit Clearinghouse Due to the federal government shutdown the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s (FAC) projected rollout of its new updated system was delayed from its original projected date and occurred on Nov. 15. Now that the system is up and running, each user should create his/her own account using one email address. Access to the […]

Did you know?... Today, nonprofit sales of goods and services to households in the U.S. amount to almost $1 trillion a year- more than 5 percent of gross domestic product. The Nonprofit Governance Index found that 45 percent of nonprofit board members were women, compared with roughly 17 percent on Fortune 500 boards. Organizations in […]