A NOTE FROM BARBARA
CFO
Here at Parasec, October is a pretty important month. Every year we celebrate our team and all of their hard work as part of Employee Ownership (EO) Month. It was 1995 when Parasec made the transition to an EO company. Looking back at that journey, I am proud of the ownership culture that we have built and how much stronger we are today. As part of being an ESOP, we share information about our company financials with our employee owners. This transparency enables our entire team to see the overall financial health of the company. We can then collectively celebrate our progress and wins, as well as review ways to improve and grow.
We also develop and share work-level metrics, communicate with our team regularly about how employee ownership works, and create systems wherein everyone can identify areas to improve upon and generate new ideas. All of the collaboration and personal investment in our company brings us together and creates a common purpose. Every employee owner knows that what they do affects everyone else—that we are all owners and that we are in this together.
In addition, Parasec strives to create a stronger sense of community by caring for employees as people. We share the good and bad news and make a point of supporting each other on our journey. As an employee-owned company we talk a lot about the financial benefits employees can realize at retirement. Although this may be a long way off for many team members, it’s still a very important benefit of being an ESOP.
I want to take this opportunity to recognize the amazing team of employee owners we have here at Parasec. Each one of our team members are dedicated to delivering unparalleled service and customer care–and it truly shows.
To our clients, we appreciate the opportunity to do business with you and are grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us. Happy EO Month to all our fellow employee-owned companies!
Industry News
Delaware: 24-Hour Swap Policy Ends
Effective June 12, 2023, the state of Delaware ceased accepting document swap requests, which allowed for filed documents to be changed/corrected within 24 hours of submission. Now, in order to properly correct the error, the Delaware Code requires that a “Certificate of Correction” be filed. This applies to all entity types and expedite levels.
Various States: Upcoming Holiday Closures
Please be aware that as we enter the fall and winter months a number of issuing offices will be closed for various holidays and state-related reasons. Be sure to check with your local issuing offices for additional closures that may not be included below.
October 9 – Columbus Day: AL, AZ, CO, CT, GA, ID, IL, IN, ME, MD, MA, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, UT, VA, DC, WV
October 18 – Alaska Day: AK
October 27 – Nevada Day: NV
November 7 – Election Day: NJ, NY
November 10 – Veteran’s Day (Observed) – All states except WI
November 23 – Thanksgiving Day – All states, Parasec’s Offices
November 24 – Day After Thanksgiving – AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WV OPEN: AK, AL, AZ, CT, DC, HI, ID, LA, MA, MO, MS, MT, ND, NJ, NY, RI, SD, UT, WI, WY; Parasec’s Offices
December 24 – Christmas Eve – IL, MI, SC, TN, VA
December 25 – Christmas Day – All states, Parasec’s Offices
December 26 – Day After Christmas – AR, GA, IN, KY, NC, OK, SC, TX
December 29 – New Year’s Eve (observed) – KY, MI, TN
January 1 – New Year’s Day – All states, Parasec’s Offices
Federal: Corporate Transparency Act
At Parasec we are continuing to track any updates with regard to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and the forthcoming compliance requirements that will take effect on January 1, 2024. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently published several documents to assist with understanding the new requirements. One such publication is the Small Entity Compliance Guide, which aims to help small businesses comply with the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rule. FinCEN has also revised its FAQs about the BOI reporting requirements, which incorporate content from the newly released guide. Additionally, FinCEN published a 30-day notice for the report to collect BOI from reporting companies, which details what information will need to be collected and submitted when filing opens next year.
FinCEN is still in the process of developing the infrastructure and IT system needed to govern, collect, and store the information securely. While we wait for that online system to be developed and the legal requirements to go into effect, we suggest that companies begin assessing their reporting obligations. A good first step would be identifying if an entity is exempt or if it will need to comply with reporting requirements. If your company will be required to report BOI information, it might be a good time to start compiling the required information.
Additionally, companies may want to start developing internal procedures for updating BOI information as needed. Existing reporting companies created before January 1, 2024, will have a full year from the bill’s effective date to meet the new compliance requirement—as their reports are due by January 1, 2025. Any reporting companies created on or after January 1, 2024, must file an initial report within 30 calendar days of actual or public notice of their company’s registration or formation. That said, FinCEN did just issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to extend the 30-day initial report filing deadline to 90 days—so that may change. FinCEN believes the proposed extension will give reporting companies created or registered in 2024 additional time to understand their regulatory obligations and obtain the required information.
As we continue to monitor new developments, please make sure you are following us on LinkedIn, where we post regularly on this topic and other noteworthy industry news.
Federal: OFAC Prohibited Countries
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers and enforces economic sanctions programs primarily against countries and groups of individuals, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers, who pose a threat to the United States. Due to the diversity of the sanctions, OFAC does not maintain a specific list of countries that U.S. persons cannot do business with. That said, we at Parasec regularly monitor the OFAC website for updated sanction information and adjust accordingly. At this time, we are unable to do business with several sanctioned countries, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela. For more information on OFAC, visit them online at https://ofac.treasury.gov/.
Service Spotlight
Apostilles & Legalizations
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“I have used Parasec since 1998. I would not be able to do my job as a legal secretary without their help, and expertise. Great company!”
~ De Ann D C, Legal Secretary