8/6/2019 Article in Newsletter

1/2

13

LEADERSHIP

Bell & Company Chosen for2011 Public Service

for Firms Award

The Arkansas Society of CPAs Public Service Award forFirms aims to recognize firms for their public servicecontributions on the local, state, and or national level. Theaward intends to encourage more CPA firms to initiate orincrease their community activities, publicize these activities,and reinforce the professions reputation for commitment to thepublic good. Almost any public service related activity will count,

except for professional services related to accountingorganizations, which are not considered in determining theaward winner. In evaluating the Public Service Award for Firms,consideration is given to the size of the firm in relation to itscontribution to the community it serves.

Bell & Company, PA, a regional firm in North Little Rock isthe recipient of this award for 2011. Bell & Company is adiversified public accounting and business advisory firm thathas served a broad range of corporate and individual clientssince 1982. The Bell & Company team is comprised of a groupof diverse individuals, each who has a strong educationalbackground and excellent professional experience, and whodeeply understands that service and synergy are at the heartof success.

The firms staff members deliver a catered meal to Unit A ofthe Arkansas State Mental Hospital at Thanksgiving andChristmas. Bell & Company staff members serve the meal andvisit with the patients. In addition, at Christmas, the firm,provides money for the staff to purchase and give presents tothe patients. During the summer, the firm holds a cookout forthe hospital staff and patients. Six months out of the year. Bell& Company provides a pizza lunch for the unit. This past year,funds were donated to the unit for the purchase of a NintendoWii video game and controllers; and according to hospital staff,this has greatly improved the morale of the patients. Bell &Company also collects clothing year round, which is donated to

the patients of all units of the hospital.Beginning in the summer of 2010, Bell & Company began

sending a group of staff member volunteers and food to servethe homeless at the Salvation Army as a fill-in volunteer groupfor Robert Johnsons Feed the Hungry program. Over thecourse of the summer, the firm provided volunteers and

prepared and served six meals for the homeless. The firm cannow regularly be found at the Salvation Army every firstWednesday of each month. Their donations to the homelesshave ranged from much needed items like socks, hats, gloves,and ponchos. Every month, Bell & Company also sends adonation to purchase protein and fruit for the weekendbreakfast meals that are served.

Clayton Bell, the son of the firms managing partner,Richard L. Bell, is a medical doctor at a clinic in the remotevillage of Seguin, Haiti. Following a catastrophic magnitude 7.0earthquake that occurred in Haiti in early 2010, Bell & Companywas able to raise much needed funds for school supplies for400 children in grades Kindergarten through sixth grade at aschool which adjoins the clinic. The firms staff graciously

gathered, sorted, counted, and packed the school supplies in400 separate containers, one per each child, for shipment toHaiti. Bell & Company staff also supports this clinic by providinginternet service and funding for a full-time nurse. The firmprovided the airfare and travel expenses to send two of thefirms staff members with Clayton on his initial trip to Haiti to helpset up the clinic and distribute school supplies to the children.Bell & Company volunteers worked with a local pizza companythat donates 10% of a nights sales to a charity. Through thoseefforts, $2,500 was raised for scholarships for Haitian childrento attend grade school.

In addition to the firms work in Haiti, Bell & Companysponsored six months of operations for a womens clinic inPrampram, Ghana during 2010 with a $3,000 donation. The

clinic provides free medical services to the poor of Ghana.Closer to home. Bell & Company sponsors underprivileged

high school students who play football to go to try-outs, in orderto be seen by college scouts and be potentially eligible forcollege scholarships. In 2010, eight of the fifteen studentssponsored by Bell & Company received scholarship offersThese students would not otherwise be able to afford to go tocollege.

As well as providing support to elementary and high schooage students, the firm funds undergraduate scholarships toarea colleges including the University of Central Arkansas.University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and the Bowen School ofLaw. These receive scholarship funds from the firm totalingover $5,750.

Bell & Company is actively involved in the Susan G. KomenRace for the Cure. Each year, the firm sponsors a team ofwomen to walk in the Race for the Cure, a 5K run/fitness walkwhich raises funds and awareness for the fight against breastcancer. The firm also has a group of men who participate in the3 Miles of Men as a measure of support during the Race.

Hearts & Hooves, a therapeutic riding and teaching facilityfor those with disabilities, is another organization which Bell &Company has long supported. The firm provides a monetarydonation each year that goes directly to the care of a horse

Continued on page 29

Bottom row: Richelle Eoff, Karen Brooks, Heather Hudgens, Jennifer Bell, Derick Fortenberry. Middle row: Mike Sterling, Deanna

Lovelady, Nadine Grady, Pancho Espejo, Andrew Griffith, BethanyPursiful. Back row: Brady Pipkin, Jeff Lovelady, Nell Sterling, KellyPhillips, Richard Bell. Not pictured: April Story, Cindy Westbrook,

Deborah Lawrence, George Wong, Karen Hale, Kathryn Massanelli,Kathy Beaver.

ASCPA Newsletter: July, 2011

8/6/2019 Article in Newsletter

2/2

Tax Information From the IRSContinued from page 28

The streamlined Installment Agreements will be availablefor small businesses that file either as an individual or as abusiness. Small businesses with an unpaid assessment

balance greater than $25,000 would qualify for the streamlinedInstallment Agreement if they pay down the balance to $25,000or less.

Small businesses will need to enroll in a Direct DebitInstallment Agreement to participate.

Small businesses are an important part of the nationseconomy, and the IRS should help them when we can,Shulman said. By expanding payment options, we can helpsmall businesses pay their tax bill while freeing up cash flow tokeep funding their operations.

Offers in CompromiseThe IRS is also expanding a new streamlined Offer in

Compromise (OIC) program to cover a larger group ofstruggling taxpayers.

This streamlined OIC is being expanded to allow taxpayerswith annual incomes up to $100,000 to participate. In addition,

participants must have tax liability of less than $50,000,doubling the current limit of $25,000 or less.

OICs are subject to acceptance based on legarequirements. An offer-in-compromise is an agreementbetween a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayers taxliabilities for less than the full amount owed. Generally, an offerwill not be accepted if the IRS believes that the liability can bepaid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement.The IRS looks at the taxpayers income and assets to make adetermination regarding the taxpayers ability to pay.

29

TAX

Bell & Company Chosen for Public Service for Firms AwardsContinued from page 13

named Ben. Hearts and Hooves mission is to provide anenvironment to serve those individuals with disabilities so thatthey may achieve increased self-confidence and improve lifeskills through teamwork with a horse and staff.

Bell & Company provides pro-bono accounting servicesand tax returns for ten not-for-profit entities. They help theentities file for not-for-profit status recognition if needed, andprepare the yearly form 990. The firm also offers tax servicesfree of charge to medical residents at the University ofArkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and ArkansasChildrens Hospital. During the 2010 tax season, the firmprepared over 50 of these returns.

Bell & Company staff members have adopted homeboundsenior citizens through Home InsteadSenior Santa. The seniors send theirrequests through Home Instead rep-resentatives, and tree ornaments areavailable for staff to choose a senior tofulfill their requests. In 2009, Bell &Company staff adopted over 30 seniors;and in 2010, they adopted 40 seniors.Similarly, the firm has been involved inthe Salvation Armys Angel Treeprogram, which included two employeesthat volunteered and worked in theSalvation Army distribution center to

distribute gifts to recipients.During the 2009 Christmas season,Bell & Company donated to variouscharities, sponsored five children fromthe Salvation Armys Angel Tree, andasked the firms staff to nominate theirfavorite charity for consideration of a$500 donation. The following thirteenorganizations received a $500 donation:Friendly Chapel, Arkansas Food Bank,Beyond Boundaries, PARK, PulaskiCounty Humane Society, ChristianLovendahl Foundation, Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter Day Saints Humanitarian Fund, First Assemblyof God (a special request for a family), Watershed, RecoverySystems of Arkansas, Operation Teddy Bear, Teen Challengeand Salvation Army Angel Tree.

Bell & Company, PA, was the recipient of the 2010Governors Work-Life Balance Spotlight Award, which is givento companies exhibiting leadership in implementation of familyfriendly practices. The award recognizes Arkansas employersfor establishing and providing resources that supporemployees in balancing the needs of both work and family.

The Arkansas Society of CPAs will formally recognize Bel& Company, PA, as the recipient of its 2011 Public Service forFirms Award, during the Annual Convention Award Banquet onSeptember 23, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. The firm will becomethe Arkansas nominee for the national Public Service for Firms

Award.

ASCPA Newsletter: July, 2011