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Category Archives: Banking / Asset Managment

Business Report: More Businesses Eye Outsourcing Accounting

Posted onMarch 14, 2022
Michael Poveda, managing director, UHY Advisors NY, Inc.

BY Michael Poveda

According to the UHY 2022 Middle Market Trends Survey, over 20 percent of business owners have explored the option of outsourcing their accounting function and given today’s challenging business environment, that percentage is expected to grow.

Today’s business owners have their hands full just focusing on sustaining and growing their businesses, with little time to focus on their businesses’ accounting operations, despite that function’s importance. In fact, according to a survey by SCORE, a small business mentoring organization, a full 40 percent of small business owners say bookkeeping and taxes are the single worst part of owning a business. 

Yet, it is data from the accounting operations that should lay the foundation for important business decisions. Given that and given that few companies have full accounting capabilities in-house, outsourcing their businesses’ accounting functions is increasingly more attractive to business decision makers.

That is where Client Accounting Advisory Services (CAAS) comes in. CAAS allows a business to outsource its finance, back-office and accounting operations. It is a service offered by many accounting firms. It has benefits beyond outsourcing those activities. 

Since CAAS gives the accountant involvement in all data, transactions, trends, monitoring, capturing and analysis of the business’ financial activities, the accountant is in a unique position to provide informed advice on all business decisions and intelligent input on risk/reward situations. 

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Official: Community Bank NA Branch Shows Its ‘Commitment To Saratoga-Glens Falls’

Posted onMarch 14, 2022
Paul T. Wersten is the vice president, commercial banking officer, at Community Bank NA branch in Saratoga Springs. The office will serve commercial customers in Saratoga and Warren counties.
©2022 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jill Nagy

Community Bank NA opened an office in Saratoga Springs last November, filling a gap between its outposts in Latham and Whitehall and providing a more convenient location for commercial banking customers in Saratoga and Warren counties. Jeffrey M. Levy, Community Bank’s newly named president of commercial banking, who heads the new office, said that it “demonstrates our commitment to the Saratoga-Glens Falls community.”

The office is located on the second floor of The Washington building, 422 Broadway, upstairs from Northshire Bookstore and Kilwins. At least initially, the office will serve commercial clients with lending, insurance and wealth management services. The office will not accept deposits and there are no teller cages. Its four employees are “just the start,” according to Levy. Two of them will concentrate on making loans and one each will provide insurance and wealth management services. 

Community Bank has 11 branches in the Capital Region, including Albany, Latham, Whitehall, and Lake Placid.  Their southernmost office is in Albany’s Corporate Woods. Their community focus places them in non-metropolitan areas, i.e., not in large cities. In addition to the Capital Region, the bank has offices in Northeast Pennsylvania, Vermont, Western Massachusetts, and every county in Upstate New York, Levy said.  

There are no immediate plans for further expansion, Levy said, but noted that Gens Falls “fits in with our whole model.”

Levy has been with Community Bank since 2018. Before that, he held executive positions with NBT Bank and M&T Bank.  “Today, I am from Saratoga Springs,” he said. He has lived in the city for three years, after 21 years in Guilderland.

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Business Report: Staying The Course In Uncertain Times

Posted onMarch 14, 2022
Kenneth J. Entenmann, chief investment officer at NBT Wealth Management.

by Kenneth J. Entenmann

As the world watches the events unfold in Ukraine, it goes without saying that what we are witnessing is tragic and the human toll is something that cannot be understated. Military action always brings uncertainty, and it is difficult to assess the full extent of the situation while it is unfolding. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is no exception, and it has resulted in stunning market volatility.

However, strictly from an investment and economic perspective, geopolitical events rarely cause major bear markets or recessions. The markets tend to view them like natural disasters. That is, they are highly regionalized, they cause significant loss of property and life, but tend to be short-lived. 

Historically, dating back to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990, there have been nine global military “interventions.” The time period from the onset of the event and the market bottom ranges from 0 days to 70 days. For example, the market bottomed out 10 days after the 9/11 attack in 2001. The average decline in the S&P 500 is -6.9 percent. Importantly, the markets tend to recover quickly. 

The average one-month return after the bottom is 2.2 percent, the three-month return is 5.4 percent and the one-year return is 13.5 percent. Like all geopolitical events, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is impossible to predict. That said, it is likely to follow history’s pattern for a few reasons.

First, when we look at the global economy as a whole, the Russian and Ukrainian economies are small. The U.S. economy is the largest in the world at $21.4 trillion and nearly 25 percent of the total global GDP. By comparison, the Russian GDP is $1.7 trillion and 1.94 percent of global GDP while Ukraine’s GDP is estimated to be $156 billion. 

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Business Report: The Benefits Of Accelerated Depreciation

Posted onMarch 14, 2022
Co-managing partner Carissa Conley of the tax advisory firm Bucknam & Conley CPAs.

By Carissa Conley and Bryce Kahler

Every year, business owners across the country try to find ways to lower their taxable income and pay less taxes to the government. The easiest way to reduce tax is through operating expenses, which are necessary to run the business on a day-to-day basis. One of the most important expenses a business owner should take time to understand is depreciation: the expensing of business assets. 

Depreciation requires you to spread the cost of an asset over its useful life as it loses value. The easiest method to understand is straight-line depreciation, where the cost of the asset is expensed evenly over its useful life. 

If all assets were depreciated using the straight-line method, the business would have the same depreciation expense each year until the assets were fully depreciated.  If the asset had a five-year life, it would take five years to get the full benefit of its cost.  

But there are a lot of other depreciation methods and tax elections available to the business owner that create opportunities to manage their taxable profit in the year of purchase as well as in future years.  

There are current tax laws that offer more favorable options to accelerate depreciation and immediately expense the cost of assets, thus lowering your taxable income for the year.  It also enables you to match the expense with the cash outlay or, maybe even better, expense the property faster than you’re repaying the debt and thus put more money in your pocket now (which is why real estate investments are attractive). 

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Dealing With Payroll Protection Plan Issues Occupying Time And Effort At Local Banks

Posted onMarch 16, 2021March 16, 2021
Charles V. Wait Jr. is the president and CEO at Adirondack Trust Co.
©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com

By Jill Nagy

Area banks have been upgrading their online and digital services but the big push in 2020 appears to be administering Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) small business loans.

“It was an all-hands-on-deck situation; we recruited everyone to help out,” recalled Charles Wait Jr., president and CEO of Adirondack Trust Co. The bank processed $100 million worth of loans in the first round and he expects another $50 million during the second round. “It’s been an interesting 12 months,” he reflected.

Similarly, Marc Monahan, Glens Falls and Saratoga regional executive for NBT Bank, welcomed the PPP program as a way to stay in connection with existing customers as well as a way to bring in new ones.

“They need an account with us but they can open an account and apply for a loan on the same day,” he said. NBT has a dedicated website for PPP loans and, according to Monahan, they processed more than 3,000 applications last spring. 

“The past year has altered how we communicate with our customers,” Monahan said.

NBT has enhanced its mobile banking services, including mobile deposit (deposit checks using the camera on your smart phone), online payment services, and online bill paying. The drive-throughs are open and customers can visit the bank lobbies by appointment. However, he finds that customers increasingly prefer using electronic services.

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Adirondack Trust Co. Will Open New Glens Falls Branch This Year With More Services

Posted onMarch 16, 2021March 16, 2021
This is a rendering of the new Glens Falls branch of Adirondack Trust Co. nearing completion at the corner of Main and Pine Streets. It will have a drive-through window and plenty of parking.
Courtesy Adirondack Trust Co.

By Jill NAgy

A new Glens Falls branch of Adirondack Trust Co. is nearing completion at the corner of Main and Pine Streets.

The branch will be a two-story building with a drive-through window and plenty of parking, according to Charles Wait Jr., the bank’s president and CEO.

The building will replace the current branch on Maple Street. That branch will remain open until the new building is ready, probably in mid-April, Wait said.

The present location does not allow for a drive-through and there is limited parking.

The added space at Main and Pine will allow Adirondack Trust  to provide additional services. For example, Wait said, loan or mortgage officers can be posted there.

A ribbon cutting is planned, along with grand opening promotions in partnership with other businesses.

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CARES Act Funds Are Still Available For Small Business Loans In Eight Counties

Posted onMarch 16, 2021March 16, 2021
Beth Gilles, director of the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board, says there is plenty of money in a revolving loan fund for businesses dealing with COVID-19 issues.
©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com

By Lisa Balschunat

In September 2020, to assist small businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration  invested $22.8 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding that created a revolving loan pool to help small businesses.

For the past six months, $2.94 million of those funds have been managed in the north country by the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (LCLGRPB). 

Planning Board Director Beth Gilles said there is plenty of money still available for small businesses in the eight-county area of Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington counties. Funds target working capital projects, equipment, and purchases related to COVID-19 issues, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and facility upgrades.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners who may be retooling their business models could benefit from the CARES dollars. 

“A restaurant owner who expanded seating with outdoor dining in the parking lot last summer might now decide permanent outdoor seating would be good for business. This loan program could cover that,” Gilles said.

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ADK Trust Fund Gives Relief To Nonprofits

Posted onMarch 16, 2021March 16, 2021

The Adirondack Trust Co. Community Fund has awarded COVID-19 relief funding to local nonprofit organizations through the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, as well as Christ’s Cupboard Food Pantry at the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa.

This contribution will help local nonprofits combat food insecurity throughout Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties and was made possible through the ATCCF COVID-19 Relief Donor Advised Fund, officials said.

The ATCCF COVID-19 Relief Donor Advised Fund was created in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for the fund was made possible by donations made by community members.

“The Adirondack Trust Co. Community Fund is thankful to be able to provide funding to these critical organizations that directly help others,” said Advisory Committee Chair Brian Straughter. “Supporting the local organizations that provide direct aid in their time of need is important, and we are grateful to assist in their work.”

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NBT Bank Implements Several Digital Initiatives Across Multiple Business Line

Posted onMarch 5, 2020March 5, 2020

NBT Bancorp Inc. has executed on digital initiatives based on a technology road map with the objective of delivering features and functionality customers want and need, company officials said.
This road map includes the 2020 implementation of several digital initiatives across multiple business lines that will continue to transform the experience NBT delivers to its customers and employees.
“All of our customers expect ever-increasing flexibility, accessibility and speed to manage their finances,” said NBT President and CEO John H. Watt Jr. “Strong adoption of our mobile and online banking services and recognitions like our high ranking on the Forbes 2019 World’s Best Banks list and the 2019 Greenwich Awards in Small Business Banking and Middle Market Banking indicate our customer-first approach to NBT’s digital evolution is being well received.

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Charles V. Wait Jr. Named President, CEO At Adirondack Trust Co. Succeeding von Schenk

Posted onMarch 5, 2020March 10, 2020
Charles V. Wait Jr. became the new president and CEO at Adirondack Trust Co. ©2020 Saratoga Photographer.com

Charles V. Wait, Adirondack Trust Company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors announced a senior leadership appointment and an officer promotion within the bank’s management team.
Charles V. Wait, Jr., has become the organization’s new President and CEO, an appointment that was approved by the Board of Directors, effective February 12, 2020. Mr. Wait, Jr. succeeds Stephan R. von Schenk, who acted as the Adirondack Trust Company President since 2014 and CEO since 2017.

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