To our LaPorte clients and community:
Much like you, we are consistently monitoring this ever-changing and unprecedented situation. Drawing on the lessons learned through Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, we have a strong business continuity plan in place. We have technology systems that enable our employees to efficiently and effectively provide client service remotely. Rest assured that we remain available and prepared to meet your business needs.
As we see other states mandating that non-essential businesses must close operations or insist their employees work from home, we are already providing our employees the option to work from home given their personal situations. Many of our employees are choosing to work remotely given we have had in place for some time the processes and technology to support this flexibility. As of today, all of our offices are open with the exception of our Baton Rouge office.
Given the rapidly changing environment, we also encourage you to conduct as much business virtually as possible. We hope you will reach out to any of our firm directors with any questions or concerns you have during this challenging time. You will find their contact information on the directors’ landing page of our website.
LaPorte teams who are working onsite at client offices have been advised to consult with them as to whether their offices are open or whether they have any special guidelines to follow. If you are expecting one of our teams and there is a reason why they should not come to your site, please notify your engagement leader, if you have not already. We will tailor our approach to meet your specific needs and we will adjust and communicate with you as circumstances change.
As you are likely aware, on March 20th, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that President Trump has directed him to push back the tax filing deadline to July 15th. This is a developing story and we will update our website with additional details as they become available.
Steven Mnuchin also mentioned that they are anxious to get refund money back in the hands of the people. If you believe you will be due a refund, we would encourage you to work with us to file your return at your earliest convenience.
While you can still mail or have your tax documents delivered by courier or personally, we want to alert you that your tax information can be sent to us safely through Sharefile, a secure file sharing and transfer service that’s built for business. If you are interested in having us set up your Sharefile account, please reach out directly to your LaPorte tax professional.
As a member of the RSM US Alliance, we have access to lessons learned and best practices from RSM, a leading provider of audit, tax, and consulting services to the middle market. They have created a COVID-19 resource center on their website which includes real-time insights on business continuity planning, tax and regulatory guidance, industry impact and the overall economy.
Lastly, we encourage you to read other up-to-date blogs on COVID-19 and ongoing updates on LaPorte’s current work situation in our Newsworthy section.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions. And please, take care of yourself, your family, and your community.
Sincerely,
William T. Mason, President and CEO