LEADERSHIP

Bell & Company Chosen for 2011 Public Service for Firms Award
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 serve the homeless at the Salvation Army as a fill-in volunteer group for Robert Johnsons Feed the Hungry program. Over the course of the summer, the firm provided volunteers and prepared and served six meals for the homeless. The firm can now regularly be found at the Salvation Army every first Wednesday of each month. Their donations to the homeless have ranged from much needed items like socks, hats, gloves, and ponchos. Every month, Bell & Company also sends a donation to purchase protein and fruit for the weekend breakfast 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 remote village of Seguin, Haiti. Following a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Haiti in early 2010, Bell & Company was able to raise much needed funds for school supplies for 400 children in grades Kindergarten through sixth grade at a school which adjoins the clinic. The firms staff graciously gathered, sorted, counted, and packed the school supplies in 400 separate containers, one per each child, for shipment to Haiti. Bell & Company staff also supports this clinic by providing internet service and funding for a full-time nurse. The firm provided the airfare and travel expenses to send two of the firms staff members with Clayton on his initial trip to Haiti to help set up the clinic and distribute school supplies to the children. Bell & Company volunteers worked with a local pizza company that donates 10% of a nights sales to a charity. Through those efforts, $2,500 was raised for scholarships for Haitian children to attend grade school. In addition to the firms work in Haiti, Bell & Company sponsored six months of operations for a womens clinic in Prampram, 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 order to be seen by college scouts and be potentially eligible for college scholarships. In 2010, eight of the fifteen students sponsored by Bell & Company received scholarship offers. These students would not otherwise be able to afford to go to college. As well as providing support to elementary and high school age students, the firm funds undergraduate scholarships to area colleges including the University of Central Arkansas. University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and the Bowen School of Law. These receive scholarship funds from the firm totaling over $5,750. Bell & Company is actively involved in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Each year, the firm sponsors a team of women to walk in the Race for the Cure, a 5K run/fitness walk which raises funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The firm also has a group of men who participate in the 3 Miles of Men as a measure of support during the Race. Hearts & Hooves, a therapeutic riding and teaching facility for those with disabilities, is another organization which Bell & Company has long supported. The firm provides a monetary donation each year that goes directly to the care of a horse Continued on page 29 13
ASCPA Newsletter: July, 2011

Bottom row: Richelle Eoff, Karen Brooks, Heather Hudgens, Jennifer Bell, Derick Fortenberry. Middle row: Mike Sterling, Deanna Lovelady, Nadine Grady, Pancho Espejo, Andrew Griffith, Bethany Pursiful. Back row: Brady Pipkin, Jeff Lovelady, Nell Sterling, Kelly Phillips, Richard Bell. Not pictured: April Story, Cindy Westbrook, Deborah Lawrence, George Wong, Karen Hale, Kathryn Massanelli, Kathy Beaver.

The Arkansas Society of CPAs Public Service Award for Firms aims to recognize firms for their public service contributions on the local, state, and or national level. The award intends to encourage more CPA firms to initiate or increase their community activities, publicize these activities, and reinforce the professions reputation for commitment to the public good. Almost any public service related activity will count, except for professional services related to accounting organizations, which are not considered in determining the award winner. In evaluating the Public Service Award for Firms, consideration is given to the size of the firm in relation to its contribution to the community it serves. Bell & Company, PA, a regional firm in North Little Rock is the recipient of this award for 2011. Bell & Company is a diversified public accounting and business advisory firm that has served a broad range of corporate and individual clients since 1982. The Bell & Company team is comprised of a group of diverse individuals, each who has a strong educational background and excellent professional experience, and who deeply understands that service and synergy are at the heart of success. The firms staff members deliver a catered meal to Unit A of the Arkansas State Mental Hospital at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bell & Company staff members serve the meal and visit with the patients. In addition, at Christmas, the firm, provides money for the staff to purchase and give presents to the patients. During the summer, the firm holds a cookout for the 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 Nintendo Wii 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

TAX
Tax Information From the IRS Continued from page 28 The streamlined Installment Agreements will be available for small businesses that file either as an individual or as a business. Small businesses with an unpaid assessment balance greater than $25,000 would qualify for the streamlined Installment Agreement if they pay down the balance to $25,000 or less. Small businesses will need to enroll in a Direct Debit Installment Agreement to participate. Small businesses are an important part of the nations economy, and the IRS should help them when we can, Shulman said. By expanding payment options, we can help small businesses pay their tax bill while freeing up cash flow to keep funding their operations. Offers in Compromise The IRS is also expanding a new streamlined Offer in Compromise (OIC) program to cover a larger group of struggling taxpayers. This streamlined OIC is being expanded to allow taxpayers with 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 legal requirements. An offer-in-compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayers tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. Generally, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes that the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement. The IRS looks at the taxpayers income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayers ability to pay.

Bell & Company Chosen for Public Service for Firms Awards Continued from page 13 named Ben. Hearts and Hooves mission is to provide an environment to serve those individuals with disabilities so that they may achieve increased self-confidence and improve life skills through teamwork with a horse and staff. Bell & Company provides pro-bono accounting services and tax returns for ten not-for-profit entities. They help the entities file for not-for-profit status recognition if needed, and prepare the yearly form 990. The firm also offers tax services free of charge to medical residents at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Childrens Hospital. During the 2010 tax season, the firm prepared over 50 of these returns. Bell & Company staff members have adopted homebound senior citizens through Home Instead Senior Santa. The seniors send their requests through Home Instead representatives, and tree ornaments are available for staff to choose a senior to fulfill their requests. In 2009, Bell & Company staff adopted over 30 seniors; and in 2010, they adopted 40 seniors. Similarly, the firm has been involved in the Salvation Armys Angel Tree program, which included two employees that volunteered and worked in the Salvation Army distribution center to distribute gifts to recipients. During the 2009 Christmas season, Bell & Company donated to various charities, sponsored five children from the Salvation Armys Angel Tree, and asked the firms staff to nominate their favorite charity for consideration of a $500 donation. The following thirteen organizations received a $500 donation: Friendly Chapel, Arkansas Food Bank, Beyond Boundaries, PARK, Pulaski County Humane Society, Christian Lovendahl Foundation, Church of Jesus 29

Christ of Latter Day Saints Humanitarian Fund, First Assembly of God (a special request for a family), Watershed, Recovery Systems of Arkansas, Operation Teddy Bear, Teen Challenge, and Salvation Army Angel Tree. Bell & Company, PA, was the recipient of the 2010 Governors Work-Life Balance Spotlight Award, which is given to companies exhibiting leadership in implementation of family friendly practices. The award recognizes Arkansas employers for establishing and providing resources that support employees in balancing the needs of both work and family. The Arkansas Society of CPAs will formally recognize Bell & Company, PA, as the recipient of its 2011 Public Service for Firms Award, during the Annual Convention Award Banquet on September 23, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. The firm will become the Arkansas nominee for the national Public Service for Firms Award.

ASCPA Newsletter: July, 2011