BIZGrowth Strategies - Fall 2017

I D E A S T O H E L P G R O W Y O U R B U S I N E S S
S T R A T E G I E S
ISSUE 73 • FALL 2017
Our business is growing yours
4 Steps to
Beat Ransomware
(and Cyber Attacks
in General)
Tangible Personal Property:
the Invisible
Business Tax
The Millennial
Workforce: Time to
Embrace Change 5 Factors
to Drive Success
in Any ‘Women in
Business’ Program
Benefit Trends& Considerations
2017

In This Issue
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BIZGrowth Strategies, visit
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visit cbiz.com/invitation.asp.
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1-800-ASK-CBIZ (1-800-275-2249).
@cbz CBIZ BIZ Tips
Videos
Management & Performance.... 2
4 Steps to Beat Ransomware
(and Cyber Attacks in General)
Tax & Accounting ...................... 4
the Invisible Business Tax
Employee Benefits .................... 5
2017 Benefit Trends &
Considerations
Human Resources...................... 6
The Millennial Workforce:
Time to Embrace Change
Expanding Your Business.......... 7
5 Factors to Drive Success in
Any ‘Women in Business’ Program
CBIZ in the News
For complete articles, visit
cbiz.com/news/in-the-news.
2 | BIZGROWTH STRATEGIES – FALL 2017 CBIZ, INC.
Management & Performance
Four Steps to
(and Cyber At
BY THE CBIZ CYBER TEAM
I
n May 2017 a ransomware attack named “WannaCry”
hit more than 200,000 computers across the globe. In
the weeks after, business leaders hurried to evaluate
their cybersecurity strategies for inclusion of protective
measures against ransomware attacks. Ransomware’s
ability to affect operations can wreak havoc on a
company’s infrastructure, reputation and finances.
Having proactive safeguards in place could have
prevented companies and their leadership from falling
victim to the effects of WannaCry.
The following steps will help you create and
implement a clear, holistic cybersecurity strategy that
should not only address ransomware but also be able
to protect your company from multiple types of cyber
threats.
Step 1: Create
Cybersecurity Procedures
& Controls 1
Cybersecurity is focused on protecting the digital
access points of data, such as computers, smart
phones, networks and servers. Business leaders need
to understand what assets are most valuable to their
company, where they reside, who touches them and how
access is managed.
Each company has a unique infrastructure,
so cybersecurity procedures will range in size and
complexity. Ideally, companies should tailor their
cybersecurity documented policies, procedures and
controls to their business and review and test them
regularly. Typical internal policy documents address
industry compliance requirements (if applicable),
infrastructure (systems to guard data), procedures and
responsibilities for implementation, maintenance, and
incident response.
Human Resource
Executive
Interviewing after hours
August 22, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
A crash course in starting your own
small business
July 20, 2017
Financial Advisor Magazine
7 ways business owners can secure
their exit strategy
June 22, 2017

CBIZ, INC. BIZGROWTH STRATEGIES – FALL 2017 | 3
Beat Ransomware
tacks in General)
CBIZ CYBER TEAM • 1.800.275.2249
Step 4: Prepare to
Respond When
an Incident Occurs 4Users need to understand what their company’s
cybersecurity policies and procedures contain and
what to do when an incident occurs. Board members,
officers and directors should periodically review internal
cybersecurity policies and procedures and document
training on the latest industry threats, best practices
and cyber insurance. Not only will the training help
executives manage their oversight of cyber risk, but
it also provides a layer of protection against personal
liability. After a cyber incident occurs, executives could
become vulnerable to litigation over allegations that
management had a lack of oversight. Documentation
can help provide a stronger defense.
Step 2:
Train Your Users
2
Step 3: Cover Yourself
with Cyber Liability
Insurance 3
Even with well-documented and tested procedures
and a team of trained users, your company may fall
victim to cybercrime. You can limit your financial, legal
and reputational damage with the coverage of a cyber
liability insurance policy. This insurance addresses two
critical risks: first, the liability risk if sensitive client or
employee information is compromised and second,
the substantial cost of notifying clients that their
information has been compromised, credit monitoring,
fines, legal fees and forensics.
Cyber liability insurance policies include a variety
of coverage options. If you already have a cyber
insurance policy in place, evaluate the coverage areas
that are included and any limitations. Once you are
comfortable with your coverage, update your documented
cybersecurity procedures to account for any insurance
policy requirements in the event of an incident.
Creating and implementing an incident response and
recovery plan guides your employees and stakeholders on
what to do if the worst case scenario occurs. All incident
response plans should include the key team members
tasked with remediation, communication procedures,
critical systems and potential workarounds that can
keep operations functioning, and an estimated recovery
timeline to contain a breach. Documenting a decision-
making process as part of the incident response plan will
increase the likelihood that your company can act quickly
and meet recovery deadlines.
State and federal breach notification laws should
be considered when drafting your incident response
plan along with your company’s cyber liability
insurance policy. Your policy might require certain
notification procedures be implemented, and it will
be important to include those contacts in your overall
incident response plan.
Holistic strategies withstand the test of time.
Your primary objective when designing your
cybersecurity strategy is to identify the critical areas that
require protection and put the steps in place to protect
them regardless of the attack vector. Threats to your
organization will constantly evolve, so having dynamic
cybersecurity policies and an incident response plan
in place helps your company minimize the impact of
disruptive situations.

Tax & Accounting
BY VICKI REZNICEK
B
usinesses consider real estate taxes in their bottom
line but often seem to forget about personal
property taxes. Every business has personal
property, so it can be a significant tax expense for them.
Tangible personal property (TPP) refers to property
that can be touched and moved, such as equipment,
furniture, computers, etc. Some states do not tax TPP;
however, property tax is the main tax supporting local
education, police/fire protection, local governments,
some free medical services and most local infrastructure.
Personal Property Reporting & Computing Value
The way you report personal property can have an
appreciable impact on the tax assessment. In addition
to machinery, furniture and the like, inventory, supplies
and leasehold improvements also may be assessed as
personal property.
TPP assessment attaches to the property at a
specific date. Rules vary widely by jurisdiction as do
valuation dates. Consider these key points when
completing the rendition form:
n Identify the assets at each location on the
assessment date and determine if the asset is
reportable as personal property.
n Prepare the rendition based on the original cost
by year of acquisition and apply the appropriate
depreciation factor to arrive at fair market value.
n Identify and remove assets that have been
disposed of. Your business will continue to pay
taxes on those assets as long as they remain on
the books.
Be mindful of appeal deadlines.
Generally, the rendition you submit is the basis for
the personal property value; however, assessors can
ignore the rendition as filed and arbitrarily assess the
taxpayer. Review the notice of value to confirm the value
agrees with the return as filed. If it does not, you can file
an appeal. Be aware of the appeal deadline; once a tax
bill is generated, it’s too late to protest!
Pay only your obligation.
Researching and preparing personal property forms
and documentation is intricate and time-consuming.
Businesses with a great deal of equipment or multiple
locations should consider enlisting the assistance of a tax
professional to ensure you pay only what you legitimately
owe. A tax professional can help you:
n properly classify fixed assets to minimize personal
property tax liability and avoid double taxation.
n seek out personal property tax incentives and
exemption opportunities.
n make adjustments to cost to produce an accurate
taxable cost (e.g., repairs, replacements,
intangibles, relocation).
n meet with plant personnel to determine how idle,
ghost, abandoned and fully depreciated assets are
being treated.
n ensure you pay only your obligation.
Companies often over-report as they tend to pick
up assets that are both real and personal from the fixed
asset ledger. Over-reporting = overpaying!
Pay attention to valuation notices. The time to
appeal is usually short. The time to be active is when
the valuation notice is received. Remember, if you wait
until you receive your tax bill, it’s generally too late to
protest!
VICKI REZNICEK
CBIZ MHM, LLC
St. Louis, MO • 314.995.5584
vreznicek@cbiz.com
the Invisible Business Tax

BY ZACK PACE
L
et’s take a brief respite from the greater Affordable
Care Act (ACA) debate and narrow our focus on what
matters most for large group employer health plans.
Based upon the media coverage of the health
insurance debate, one might assume:
1. Most Americans with health insurance are now
covered by individual policies.
2. Some remain covered by employer-sponsored health
plans.
3. All health plans operate similarly to car insurance.
The individual or employer pays fixed premiums to the
insurance company, and the insurer pays the resulting
filed claims.
Facts that might surprise you1
:
1. The percentage of employers offering group health
benefits has not materially changed since the advent
of the ACA; 59% of working-aged Americans still obtain
health insurance via their employer. Of these 59%,
61% do not have a “health insurer;” their employer’s
plan is self-funded. This 61% figure jumps to 83% if we
consider employers with 200 or more employees.
2. 15% of working-aged Americans are now covered
through Medicaid.
3. Only 9% of working-aged Americans are covered by
individual policies (on or off an ACA exchange or
marketplace).
How has the ACA impacted employer-sponsored plans?
1. Overnight, 30 hours per week became full-time
employment.
2. Reclassification of employees into four categories:
full-time, part-time, variable hour and seasonal. The
ACA ended temporary and intern classifications, for
example.
3. ACA employer shared responsibility penalty risks
created a paradigm shift from “What health benefits
do employees value?” to “What health benefits
eliminate our ACA penalty risks?” Thus, many
employers introduced high-deductible health plans,
offering adequate coverage under the “easy button”
federal poverty line affordability safe harbor.
4. Adoption of self-funding contracts, including level
funding, rose due to the elimination of the new ACA
Health Insurer Annual Fee (aka ACA premium tax)
and the early escape hatch provided to employers
with 51 to 100 full-time employees plus full-time
employee equivalents from the scheduled 2016
small-group expansion.
Where are we now?*
1. The October 2015 PACE Act ended the scheduled
small group expansion in all but a few states.
Suggestion: If you moved to self-funding to escape this
expansion, revisit fully insured pricing.
2. ACA employer shared responsibility still applies.
3. 1095-C/1094-C forms still apply for tax year 2017.
4. The Cadillac Tax hurricane is still scheduled to come
ashore January 1, 2020. Thus, as it stands, non-
calendar-year plans will likely need to make final
adjustments at the beginning of the 2019 plan year.
5. Section 125 (aka the tax-favored status of employer-
sponsored health plans) remains the largest federal
tax “expenditure” and provides $250 billion in income
and payroll tax savings to employees and employers
annually! Will Congress curtail or eliminate these tax
benefits in the future?
What are a few strategies employers can evaluate
regardless of what happens next?
1. If your plan is self-funded, explain to your employees
how the plan operates and why employee stewardship
of the plan financially benefits all parties. Emphasize
that increases to benefits compensation usually limit
increases to cash wages. Ask for your employees’
partnership and ideas.
2. If you’re interested in encouraging spouses to enroll
in their own employer’s plan, an easier, gentler
(Continued on page 8)
Employee Benefits
2017 Benefit Trends
Considerations

BY CLAIRE BISSOT
H
ave you found yourself perplexed by your
millennial employees? Even millennial leaders
have admitted noticing some unique qualities of
their counterparts that can be confusing and sometimes
lead to negative perceptions. However, those negative
perceptions likely derive from a place inside ourselves
that still does things (and expects things to remain) “the
way we have always done it.”
Challenging Our Mindset
As we transition to more millennials in the workforce,
many of whom are becoming our new leaders, it is
important to truly challenge ourselves to change
our mindset. Business leaders, managers and HR
professionals must take a new perspective, which can
start by asking the following questions:
1. Training
n How can I update my approach to training and
onboarding to provide more relevant information so
that my employees can better understand their jobs?
n How do I continue education beyond millennials’
first days in our organization? How do I engage
them to own that development?
2. Workplace Presence
n Should I alter my own attire?
n What persona do I portray? Could my suit make it
seem I’m not flexible or approachable?
n Could I be distancing myself from my team?
3. Work-Life Balance
n If I challenge myself to find work-life balance, could
I be a better leader and role model for my team?
n Could all my employees find this balance?
n Could our workplace environment be improved to
make this more possible?
4. Leadership Style
n What’s not working in our organization and/or our
leadership?
n What drives our employees and makes them want
to work for us?
The Millennial Workforce:
Time to Embrace Change
Human Resources
n How can we express our appreciation in a way they
will feel and appreciate?
n Everyone has a choice, so how does our business
become the best/right choice for our people?
Putting It into Action
Once we have reframed our thinking to something
we can actually accomplish – changing ourselves
instead of the entire millennial population – we can
put this into action by shaking up some of the most
ingrained processes, which often are the oldest, most
outdated and least impactful.
This doesn’t mean everyone should throw out
everything core to their personnel practices. However,
it does mean we should build a plan to transform and
revitalize our approach. Through focus groups, exit
interviews and everyday conversation, identify key areas
for change. (Remember: You may not always agree with the
change.) Here are some common areas for improvement:
n Dress code
n Telecommuting
n Vacation time
n Compensation/bonus
n Rewards/recognition
n Office space/events
n Performance reviews/feedback process
Planning Prioritizing
From here, take the same approach often used in
operational changes – a well-written plan with some
trial and error expected. Traditionally, people view
(Continued on page 8)

DISCLAIMER: This publication is distributed with the understanding that CBIZ is not rendering legal, accounting or other professional
advice. This information is general in nature and may be affected by changes in law or in the interpretation of such laws. The reader
is advised to contact a professional prior to taking any action based upon this information. CBIZ assumes no liability whatsoever in
connection with the use of this information and assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in laws or other factors that
could affect the information contained herein.
Expanding Your Business
to create and sustain. Including men and women,
younger employees and more tenured executives, and a
variety of ethnicities in your speaking lineup is valuable
from a content and optics perspective.
4. The initial costs associated with starting a women
in business program should never be a deterrent.
While costs are an important factor in any business
decision, the enduring potential of women-centric
programs is worth the investment. Companies of
all sizes should consider the long-term gains such
programs offer. The passion and commitment of
senior leadership via financial investment will be very
visible to and appreciated by those who participate.
5. The program must be available to every woman.
Who are we to determine what a woman’s individual
goals are? Look at the success stories out there –
women who started at the bottom of the corporate
ladder and worked their way to CEO! Why would any
program like this eliminate, define or identify only
certain women to participate? Any organization
seeking to reap the benefits certainly would not. In
fact, a concerted effort should be made to encourage
participation by all female employees, regardless of
position, personality, age, etc.
By taking into consideration these five factors with
your women in business program, your organization will
be well on its way to growing your business and bottom
line, attracting and retaining top female talent, and
fostering a supportive and progressive culture.
NANCY M. MELLARD
CBIZ Benefits Insurance Services, Inc.
Kansas City, MO • 816.945.5227
nmellard@cbiz.com • @NancyMellard
5 Factors to Drive
Success in
Any ‘Women in
Business’ Program
BY NANCY M. MELLARD
A
s more females rise in the ranks at workplaces, the
need arises for companies to dedicate resources
to building women-centric programs. The benefits
of these programs are plentiful and substantial, including:
n growing your business and bottom line.
n attracting and retaining top female talent.
n fostering a supportive and progressive culture.
With this in mind, here are considerations and
takeaways for those interested in starting or enhancing a
women in business program at their organization.
1. There must be a true commitment from the very top
of the organization. Support from senior leadership
and even the Board of Directors is essential to the long-
term success of the program. If this solid support is not
present, don’t waste your resources, time or money.
2. Once you have the partnership of senior leadership,
direct reports must be held accountable to execute
and stay engaged in the program. Too often there’s
clear dedication and passion from the very top, but
the next level, which is so impactful to developing
the program, doesn’t mirror that enthusiasm. Only
when direct reports are accountable for executing
the mission of the program can it be successful and
sustainable.
3. The commitment to advancing women in the
workplace must be ingrained in the organization’s
culture. For instance, when making hiring decisions,
consider diversity. When you have a conference, think
about who your speakers are and ensure they are
reflective of not only your company’s core competencies
but also that they capture the diversity you are striving

©Copyright2017.CBIZ,Inc.NYSEListed:CBZ.Allrightsreserved.•CBIZ-020,Rev.73
Our business is growing yours
Employee Benefits (Continued from page 5) Human Resources (Continued from page 6)
alternative to implementing spousal surcharges and
exclusions is simply setting the payroll deduction
differential between single and employee/spouse
coverage and the differential between employee/
children and family coverage at a rate that is higher
than what an individual would pay, on average, for
single coverage.
3. You might be surprised by the variability between
pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) contracts and
pricing. Study your current contract, review competitive
vendor alternatives and negotiate the best terms for
your company and your employees.
Now’s a great time to double-check that your health
plan remains compliant, competitive and contractually
sound.
1
Source: The Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research Education
Trust 2016 Employer Health Benefits Survey
* as of August 25, 2017
such changes as either 0 or 100%, forgetting there are
gradations and options. The in-between can help get
momentum in the right direction without having to jump
too far ahead. Little steps can go a long way.
Lastly, prioritization of change is essential to a
successful transition. Too much change in an organization
at once can lead to chaos even when all the change is
good. Therefore, it is important to prioritize and focus. To
do so consider the following:
n What other changes are occurring in the business
(e.g., personnel, operations, etc.)?
n What can quickly and easily change without too
much invested time and risk?
n What will most drastically improve my employees’
experience?
In general, millennials are much needed change
in today’s organizations. Let’s positively embrace this
generation, moving forward and upward!
CLAIRE BISSOT
CBIZ Employee Services Organization
Roanoke, VA • 540.853.8007
cbissot@cbiz.com • @ClaireBissot
ZACK PACE
CBIZ, Inc. • Columbia, MD
443.259.3240 • zpace@cbiz.com
@zpace_benefits

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