Ascentis Blog

Information to help HR and payroll managers, recruiters, and compliance officers become more effective.

Tag Archives: hris

SWOT Away your Labor Issues

When you put together your annual business plan, you probably do a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis to determine how your company is different from your competition and what actions will keep your business going and growing. But, the biggest threat to your business may be the one thing to which you are paying the least attention.

Based on recent regulatory and court activity, wage and hour litigation is the single greatest threat to your continued business success according to this article on compensationcafe.com.  Misclassification, wage theft and other issues require as much attention from businesses as product, pricing and promotion.

Wage and hour litigation is expensive – costing companies up to double and triple damages plus fines plus attorneys fees. While income from operations usually comes in incrementally, wage and hour settlement payouts are a large sum hit on the bottom line. This can not only devastate an organization it can bankrupt it, affecting every single member of that company.

So, how much attention are you paying to your employment practices? Have you performed a SWOT analysis? What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? Where do you have opportunities? What issues pose the greatest threat?

Conducting a compliance audit is a great opportunity to identify and eliminate your unwritten employment policies and practices. Research best practices through discussions with human resources professionals and your legal counsel and make a plan to implement them.

Stay informed about the latest in HR and payroll news, trends, best practices and evolving legislation. Sign up for the monthly Ascentis HR, Benefits and Payroll News.

Ascentis Webinar Series: April 2011

International Expansion 101: What you need to know.

Are you planning on expanding your business internationally? Are you already involved in international operations and need accounting, finance, HR or tax advice? You won’t want to miss this informative webinar.

Ascentis and High Street Partners invite you to an informational webinar that discusses best practices for expanding
your operations overseas. Presented by Ben Wright, High Street Partners director of business development, this 45-minute
presentation will focus on the opportunities and challenges companies face when expanding into foreign markets, including
how to avoid the most common missteps.

This webinar will present actionable advice on the following topics:

  • What sort of entity structure is required
  • How to hire and pay your international employees
  • International banking considerations
  • How one company successfully expanded into
    25 countries in just 24 months

Register now April 21, 10 am, PDT*

Register nowApril 27, 10 am, PDT*
High Street Partners is the leading international business services firm, providing a wide range of finance, accounting, human resources, tax, compliance and administrative services to companies doing business overseas.


High Street Partners, Inc.

If your company is preparing to expand internationally – or is in the process now – you do not want to miss this educational event.

Ascentis at the Benefits Selling Expo

“For our clients we’re not just benefits brokers, we’re also an extension of our clients’ HR department. Using Ascentis services to power those relationships has made us infinitely more valuable to our clients. We believe this has had a very positive impact on our client retention as well as our ability to attract new business.” ~ Matt Cowan – CEO, Cowan Benefit Services. Inc.

We’d like to be able to give other benefits brokers out there the same opportunity to impact client retention. That’s why we developed the Ascentis for Brokers program.

Want to know more? Come meet with Ascentis strategic relationship manager Laura Cohen and Vice President Andrew Keenan at the 2011 Benefits Selling Expo.

We’d love to meet you. So stop by our booth, ping us on Twitter, reach out via Facebook, or just sent us an email if you’d like to get together during the conference for a meal or a drink.

In the meantime, you can download our whitepaper “Automating Benefits Management for Strategic Success” or download our Easy Enrollment brochure below.





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Download the FREE Ascentis brochure for
benefits brokers:

End-to-End Benefits Management with Ascentis
Easy Enrollment

Ascentis Easy Enrollment

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IRS Announces 2011 Standard Mileage Rates

IRS Standard Mileage Rates 2011

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) are:

  • 51 cents per mile for business miles driven
  • 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for more than four vehicles used simultaneously. The IRS is requesting public comments on whether taxpayers should be allowed to use the business standard mileage rate in this circumstance.

Other Changes Regarding Standard Mileage Rates in 2011

Beginning in 2011, a taxpayer may use the business standard mileage rate for vehicles used for hire, such as taxicabs.

Also beginning in 2011, the standard mileage rates are announced in a separate notice, which also provides the amount a taxpayer must use in calculating reductions to basis for depreciation taken under the business standard mileage rate and the maximum standard automobile cost for automobiles under a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) allowance. The IRS plans to discontinue publishing the standard mileage rate revenue procedure annually but will publish modifications as required.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

For Additional Information

Revenue Procedure 2010-51 and Notice 2010-88 contain additional details regarding the standard mileage rates.

Stay informed about the latest in HR and payroll news, trends, best practices and evolving legislation. Sign up for the monthly Ascentis HR, Benefits and Payroll News.

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