For most people, the idea of a corporate intranet is a place where you can grab company news, find benefit renewal forms, see the stock ticker, and access the directory. This is all well and good, and if it looks decent and it’s easy to use, even better! While some might venture to call that type of static intranet a success, today, the digital workspace can be so much more.

What Does the Digital Workspace Look Like?

The best digital workplaces are customized to align with the needs of the specific organization it serves. However, they’re all a combination of an intranet, collaboration program, task manager, and communication platform. An ideal digital workspace is a portal, connecting disparate applications and resources that employees need to do their job, without the burden of multiple logins and multiple open windows. It’s connected, easy to use, and driven by search and discovery. It allows you to store content, keep that content private, share it with your team, or even co-author pieces with 8 of your colleagues. A digital workplace is about you. It’s geared to show only content that’s relevant to who you are, who you work with, and what you do, while still allowing you to access resources you need as an employee. It should be the first thing you want to check when you turn your computer on in the morning!

What Makes an Effective Intranet Redesign?

If efficiency and productivity are two of your organizational goals, then it’s time to consider building a corporate intranet, or at the very least, redesigning your current one. If you want to achieve optimum success, you need to give your employees the tools to do so. An effective intranet redesign:

• Provides a flexible collaboration workspace for employees to leverage the knowledge of one another, and discover solutions faster• Has corporate information policies running in the background• Should not just be an internal website

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INSIDE THE SUMMER 2017 ISSUE

CYBERSECURITY BREACH — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

FIVE WAYS THAT CAN HELP YOU PAY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

MOVING FROM A STATIC INTRANET TO A DIGITAL WORKSPACE By Jill Hannemann

EMPLOYEE V. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CONSIDERATIONS

exclusively, and is an affiliate of Pinnacle Associates, Ltd., providing services such as financial planning, investment management, retirement and/or social security analysis. This alignment of brands in forming Withum Wealth Management underscores our Firm’s commitment to be a full-service provider to our clients, helping them to be in a position of strength.

WE’RE TOP-RANKING!Withum was recognized as the #1 Pacesetter in Growth demonstrating the largest percentage of revenue growth of the Accounting Today 2017 Top

100 Firms. In addition, the Firm was recently recognized as one of the Best Companies to Work in New York as well as one of the NJBiz Best Places to Work in New Jersey. We are very proud of these recognitions as they echo our vision to be a strategically-minded growth firm built upon team members who enjoy what they do.

WE'VE MOVED!Our Morristown-based office is now a new resident of Whippany, NJ. In April, 125 employees made the move to 200 Jefferson

Park, Suite 400, in Whippany, NJ, a 33,000-square-foot first-class office space. According to Kirk Holderbaum, partner-in-charge of Withum’s Whippany office, “This new office space will accommodate our continued growth and help facilitate the future expansion of our service lines and practice areas.” All of the Whippany office phone numbers and fax numbers will remain the same and have been re-routed from their former location.

WE’RE REINVENTING!We recently announced the brand alignment of PWM Advisory Group, LLC and Withum to form Withum Wealth

Management. Withum Wealth services Withum clients

WITHUM FIRM NEWS

BE IN A POSITION OF STRENGTHSM withum.com

The loss of employee personal information due to a cybersecurity breach is an ever increasing concern to all employers. Most companies have retirement plans and typically the information maintained within the plan includes: employee name, date of birth, address, social security number, compensation and other financial information. This information is provided to the plan record keeper and other plan service providers and the information is sufficient to steal one’s identity.

The cost of a cybersecurity breach, including detecting the extent of the break-in, recovering data and restoring systems integrity, can be substantial for plan sponsors and plan service providers. The Department of Labor (DOL) has expressed concerns that employee benefit plan (EBP) administrators may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and thus exposed to risks related to privacy, security and fraud. In present day, third party administrators (TPA) and EBP administrators transmit EBP transactions electronically, therefore, they are exposed to higher cybersecurity related risks than other corporations that may be able to have a closed system.

In light of all the potential cybersecurity related threats, the DOL stresses to EBP administrators that ensuring security of EBP data related to their employees’ sensitive information is deemed to be part of their fiduciary responsibility.

Most EBP administrators may be under the impression that anti-virus and anti-spam software installed protects them from these risks. They further may believe that by involving TPAs to handle EBP related transactions that would be sufficient to tackle cybersecurity related concerns. Considering all the potential threats involved, relying solely on TPAs or software does not ensure that EBP sensitive data is protected against potential cyber-attacks.

As auditors, we recommend reviewing the Service Organization Controls (SOC) 1 reports of TPAs to ensure data security related controls are addressed. Additionally, those charged with plan governance should develop a customized strategy to ensure the above necessary steps are followed to prevent cyber-attacks within their organization.

Finally, eliminating all risk of cyber-attacks is not possible, so plan sponsors and those charged with governance need to assess their plan’s risks and develop specific strategy to address those risks as unfortunately, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach related to cybersecurity and its not “if” there will be a breach its usually “when.” What will that cost your organization?

TO PROTECT AGAINST A CYBER-ATTACK, THE

DOL IS RECOMMENDING THE FOLLOWING FOR

EBP ADMINISTRATORS:

■ Review written information security policies, including those regarding encryption

■ Conduct periodic audits to detect threats ■ Perform periodic testing of backup and recovery plans

■ Determine responsibility for losses, including adequacy of cybersecurity insurance coverage

■ Establish training polices to reinforce data security

By Jennifer Keshwar, CPA

CYBERSECURITY BREACH WHAT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN ADMINISTRATORS NEED TO KNOW

There are two main types of Section 529 plans: (1) prepaid tuition plans let you prepay the cost of attending college years down the road at current rates and (2) college savings plans, whose assets are invested according to your preferences.

CUSTODIAL ACCOUNTS: A traditional way of saving for college is to set up a custodial account under your state’s Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA). With these accounts you, or another custodian, manage the funds for the child’s benefit until the child reaches the age of majority in the state. The advantages of Section

529 plans have tended to overshadow this approach in recent years. There also are potential “kiddie tax” complications with custodial accounts. Under this rule, unearned income of a dependent child under age 24 may be taxed at the top tax rate of the child’s parents to the extent that the child’s income exceeds an annual threshold ($2,100 for 2017). This tax provision can eat into the amount being saved for college.

MINORS’ TRUSTS: A minor’s trust, authorized by Section 2503(c) of the tax code, is designed to provide funds for beneficiaries to use to pay for college. Like custodial accounts, minors’ trusts have been around for a long time, but their popularity has waned because of the influx of Section 529 plans. Unlike custodial accounts, the trust can be set up to

continue past the state’s age of majority, as long as the beneficiaries don’t exercise a limited right to withdraw funds. With a minor’s trust, trust income is taxed directly to the trust, so this arrangement avoids any kiddie tax problems. However, trust tax brackets are narrow, and significant investment earnings may be taxed at the top rate of 39.6%.

COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (CESAs) operate like IRAs for education expenses. Withdrawals used to pay qualifying expenses are tax-free to the beneficiaries. However, the contribution limits pale next to those of Section 529 plans. The maximum annual contribution limit for a beneficiary is just

$2,000 and hasn’t been increased in years. Nevertheless, CESAs do offer some advantages. For one thing, unused assets can be rolled over tax-free for multiple beneficiaries. Furthermore, the funds in CESAs can pay for elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges. For this reason, such plans sometimes are used to supplement a Section 529 plan.

FINANCIAL AID: Finally, don’t overlook the role that financial aid can play in helping pay for your child’s education. Even relatively affluent families may qualify for some financial aid, so it makes sense to apply. At the very least, students should fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) provided by the federal government. To complement the FAFSA,

some schools also may require the student to submit another form, the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE; yet, certain colleges and state agencies may request additional forms. Colleges use the information in these documents to calculate their financial aid offers. Financial aid can come in several forms—as loans, grants and scholarships. Generally, these benefits are tax-free to the students who receive them, although there are certain exceptions, particularly when financial aid involves work-study programs.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) provides guidance in order to assist employers in classifying workers as an employees versus independent contractors. The proper classification helps employers determine whether they are required to withhold Federal and if applicable, state, and local income taxes; Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”) tax; Federal Unemployment Tax Act (“FUTA”) tax and additional federal or state required taxes.

As noted by the IRS, when making the determination as to whether a worker providing services is an employee or an independent contractor, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and independence must be considered, including, but not limited to behavioral control, financial control and the relationship of the parties.

BE IN A POSITION OF STRENGTHSM withum.comWITHUMSMITH+BROWN, PC | AUDIT TAX ADVISORY

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By Withum Wealth Management

EMPLOYEE V. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CONSIDERATIONSBy Withum's Healthcare Services Team

And remember, digital workspaces aren’t about static content learning — they’re about dynamic content and being able to easily discover what’s new.

Where to Begin?

So you’re convinced you need an intranet redesign, but where do you start? The first step is having a clear picture of your requirements and what productivity looks like in your organization. Take a detailed look at your structure and identify communication, collaboration, and information management opportunities. Be diligent because these opportunities can be hidden in the form of tasks, processes, and functional groups. As an example, take a look at the process for preparing for a board meeting:

Who has to contribute content? Who needs to view the content? What timelines and deadlines need to be met? How can productivity tools and collaboration speed up the preparation process? How can information and records management policies help protect and manage artifacts after the meeting has taken place?

By carefully examining processes like these in detail, it’s easy to identify opportunities for improvement, like whether or not the timeline for a task is appropriate, whether resources are being allocated optimally, and whether collaboration spaces are set up effectively. Once areas of improvement are identified, a customized digital workplace can be created.

WE’RE EXPANDING!On May 1, 2017, Portal Solutions, an information technology consulting firm based in Bethesda, MD, joined its practice with ours. “We are excited about joining forces with Withum,” says Daniel Cohen-Dumani, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Portal Solutions, who will join Withum

as a Partner and continue to lead its growing advisory practice. Managing Partner and CEO Bill Hagaman, CPA, CGMA, also noted, “We found the perfect match with Portal Solutions in terms of service expertise and culture. We are excited to now offer clients digital workplace solutions…”

FIVE WAYS THAT CAN HELP YOU PAY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

The cost of sending children to college remains daunting, and annual increases in the price tag for higher education have outpaced the overall inflation rate for years. According to the College Board, yearly hikes in college costs during the past decade have averaged roughly 5% while consumer prices in general have risen less than 3% a year. But parents can take advantage of several college saving tools to help meet this steep challenge. Consider these five possibilities:

SECTION 529 PLANS: Section 529 plans, sponsored by U.S. states, encourage families to set aside funds for the future education expenses of beneficiaries. The contribution limit usually is at least $300,000. As long as certain requirements are met, your investment can grow without current taxes, and distributions made for qualifying college

expenses — including tuition, fees, books, supplies, equipment and room and board for full-time students — also are tax-free.

(Continued from cover page)

Behavioral control refers to facts and circumstances as to whether there is a right to direct or control how the individual performs the work. An individual is generally considered an employee when the business has the right to direct and control the individual. The business does not have to actually direct or control the way the work is performed — as long as the employer has the right to direct and control the work.

Financial control refers to those facts that demonstrate whether or not the business has the right to control the economic

aspects of the individual’s job. When taking into account the various factors determined as to financial control the following

are considerations:

SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT — It is commonplace for an independent contractor to have made a significant investment in the equipment he or she uses in performing work for a third party.UNREIMBURSED EXPENSES — Often times independent contractors incur expenses in performing work for a third party that are not reimbursable expenses.OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFIT OR LOSS — The opportunity to yield a net profit or loss from performing work for a third party. In making this determination it is important to note if the compensation arrangement is such that the individual is personally responsible for all costs incurred in performing the function for a set fee no matter the costs incurred to complete the task.SERVICES AVAILABLE TO THE MARKET — An independent contractor is generally free to seek out other business opportunities whilst performing work engagements. Independent contractors have the ability to advertise, maintain a visible business location and are available to work in the relevant market.METHOD OF PAYMENT — In an employment arrangement, individuals are compensated at regular intervals, hourly, weekly, monthly, etc. This type of arrangement generally connotates that the individual is an employee, even when the wage or salary is supplemented by a commission. Arrangements with independent contractors are generally such that a determined amount is to be paid for the services performed; although it is common in some professions, to compensate independent contractors at an agreed upon hourly rate. Additionally, independent contractors will submit an invoice for payment at agreed upon intervals for payment of services rendered.

Type of relationship refers to facts that show how the individual and business perceive their relationship with each other.

The factors, for the type of relationship between two parties, generally fall into the categories of:

WRITTEN CONTRACTS — Although a contract between the parties may delineate whether the individual is an employee or an independent contractor, this alone is insufficient to determine the individual’s status. The IRS is not required to follow a contract stating that the individual is an independent contractor, responsible for paying his or her own self-employment tax. The facts and circumstances as to the arrangements governing how the parties work together determine whether the individual is an employee or an independent contractor.EMPLOYEE BENEFITS — Businesses generally do not grant benefits to independent contractors, however, the lack of these types of benefits does not necessarily mean the individual is an independent contractor.PERMANENCY OF THE RELATIONSHIP — If an organization hires an individual with the expectation that the relationship will continue indefinitely, rather than for a specific project or period, this is generally considered evidence that the intent was to create an employer-employee relationship.SERVICES PROVIDED AS KEY ACTIVITY OF THE BUSINESS — If an individual provides services that are a key aspect of the business, it is more likely that the business will have the right to direct and control his or her activities.

The IRS has also provided a twenty factor checklist for reference when determining whether a worker should be considered an employee or an independent contractor. An organization should review the IRS individual classification rules to ensure that they correctly identify and accordingly account for an individual as either an employee or independent contractor. As in the past, the IRS continues to highlight correct employer classification of individuals as one of its key initiatives. As noted by the IRS on its website, “There is no ‘magic’ or set number of factors that ‘makes’ the worker an employee or an independent contractor, and no one factor stands alone in making this determination.”It is important to note that if an individual is determined to be an independent contractor with no reasonable basis for doing so, the deemed “employer” may be held liable for employment taxes for that individual. The proper classification of individuals can save employers from facing difficulties, confusion and possible fines in the future.