The 43rd annual Thomson Reuters Synergy event was held in Denver, Colorado this year. The Tafoya Barrett Team sent three of us to attend this exciting event. There were over 200 product innovation and product training sessions presented by Thomson Reuters and industry experts. The conference presented many opportunities to connect with presenters, sponsors, and network with professional peers. The tax, trade, and legal landscape continues to evolve with constant regulatory changes, requirements, and economic challenges. Tafoya Barrett is dedicated to continue to find the best solutions for our clients.
The Tafoya Barrett and Associates team had such a fun time in July with Tara of Creative Soul Scavenger Hunts. Tara was even able to include our associates that work in India in the festivities. Even the Durangotangs (who are very familiar with all "things" Durango) discovered some interesting tidbits.
Which team do you think recreated the Dempsey knock out mural better?
More fun pics!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates PC is excited and proud to announce that our own Chris Carney is a member of the 2022-2023 Leadership La Plata class. Leadership La Plata’s mission is to build a cadre of informed leaders who are committed to broadening knowledge of La Plata County, developing leadership skills, and utilizing them for the benefit of our diverse community. Each year a diverse group of dynamic and talented individuals is selected to be part of Leadership La Plata ("LLP"). Since its founding in 1988, LLP has graduated more than 400 concerned citizens, and counts among its alumni business leaders, government officials, non-profit directors, active private citizens and more – all committed to making a difference in La Plata County.
We want to give a big shout out to all of our clients and friends who supported us in our 2nd annual Men in Heels race! We could not have done it without you! Thank you to those who volunteered, spectated, and donated!
Because of your wonderful donations Tafoya Barrett and Associates aka The Tax-Manian Devils--Kickin’ Assets & Takin’ Names were able to win this year’s HERO AWARD! With your help we raised over $5,600 for the Women’s Resource Center and the Gena Rych Scholarship Fund! We are thrilled to have your support. You truly made the difference for us, and we are extremely grateful! We are so honored to share this success with you!
We had an incredible day on the Animas River. This trip was especially amazing because it was the first time in well over a year that the ENTIRE Tafoya Barrett and Associates team had gotten together in person! We couldn’t have chosen a better team building experience than rafting with Mild to Wild. They really made our trip exciting and memorable! It was so great being back together again!
April 15 Tax Deadline Extended!
As you may have heard, The Treasury Department announced today that the April 15 filing deadline is also being extended to July 15. What this means is that you now have until July 15 to both pay and file your taxes. Again while this news will be beneficial and a relief to many, we understand that many of you will still want to file as soon as possible.
Accordingly our team met this morning (most of us remotely via zoom) and discussed how to best handle this new deadline, keeping in mind the safety of ourselves, clients and community. What we decided as a team is to hit a bit of a pause for a day or two, to collect ourselves, check in on our loved ones and then get back to business mostly as usual. Like you, we have family and friends that have been impacted significantly by all of this and a slight pause will allow us to help them if we can.
From there, we have decided that we will continue to work hard (including some overtime), but maybe not quite as hard as usual. We still want to get as many returns done by April 15 as we can (assuming that we are healthy). We will then take our normal spring break to recoup and recover and then start up again at a normal pace to continue to push to the new July 15 deadline. We feel fortunate to be able to continue to work during this time when many can’t.
With all of that in mind, we will continue to work on returns on a first in first out basis, meaning those that got their information to us first will be worked on first. We have always tried to complete all returns turned into us by February 28 by April 15. Please understand that this might be more difficult this year with all the uncertainty and that some returns that came in before February 28 will not get done by April 15.
Once again, as we reported in a previous update we have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that our office is as clean and safe as possible. In addition, most of us are working remotely to limit the number of people in the office. To protect us, you and our community, we would also like to encourage you to use your secure online portal, fax, mail and email as much as possible and only come into the office if absolutely necessary. Again, for now, our office is open to receive mail and document drop off, but we hope you will help us in limiting foot traffic. And as a reminder, we can also deliver your returns via mail or through your portal.
Now that we have a little time to breathe, we can also turn our attention to the flood of resources that we have been getting to help small businesses and their employees during this difficult time. We know that many of you are being forced to close your business and lay off staff and that is heartbreaking news to us. We will spend the next couple of days understanding the resources available and issue an announcement with summaries of that information as soon as we can.
Again the safety of you our clients and our staff is of utmost importance during this time. We sincerely appreciate your patience, trust and business during these trying times! Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Pat, Michelle, Brad T., Brad W., Chris, Kelsey, Matt, Theresa, Marian, Cindy and Gaby
Another Update on April 15 Tax Deadline
The Treasury Department and the IRS followed through with some guidance yesterday on the April 15 tax deadline. As we suspected and reported yesterday, only the payment date was extended to July 15. The filing date is still April 15. What this means is that you still have to either file your returns or file an extension by April 15. However if you still owe tax for 2019 (less than $1,000,000) you do not have to pay that tax until July 15. In addition, if you owe a first quarter estimate for 2020 that would typically be paid on April 15, you also do not have to pay that until July 15
While the postponement of these payments will be beneficial to many and is welcome relief, it will not change our approach to April 15 very much. We will still have to complete your return or file an extension by April 15. We will continue to work on returns on a first in first out basis, meaning those that got their information to us first will be worked on first. We have always tried to complete all returns turned into us by February 28 by April 15. Please understand that this might be more difficult this year with all the uncertainty and that some returns that came in before February 28, may also have to be extended.
As usual, even if we are extending your return we still have to figure out at least an estimate of what your tax liability is and report that on the extension. We believe this to still be the case even though you will not have to pay that tax until July 15. Accordingly, please continue to send us your tax information if you haven’t already in whatever method works for you (in person, mail or portal). We will need as much of your source documents and information that you can gather and get to us so that we can determine a reasonable estimate of your potential tax liability and report that on the extension.
As we reported in a previous update we have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that our office is as clean and safe as possible. In addition, many of us are working remotely to limit the number of people in the office. So for now, our office is open and you are able to drop information off and/or come in and meet with us if you want. We encourage you to use your secure online portal, fax and email when possible. We can also deliver your returns via mail or through your portal. We will let you know, if we are forced to close our office to foot traffic.
Finally, The American Institute of CPAs, the “AICPA”, is still putting pressure on the Treasury and IRS to also extend the actual filing deadline. We will keep you informed if this happens. Until then, it is business as usual (mostly ) for us!
Again the safety of you our clients and our staff is of utmost importance during this time. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns!
We wanted to take a moment and address any questions or concerns that you may have about your taxes and consulting during this time and how we are preparing for the unknown. While we are uncertain how this virus may impact our community, our lives and our work flow, we are taking the necessary precautions and have a plan to continue serving all of you as best we can.
As many of you know we have been a paperless office and have been utilizing secure portals for many years. Even though you may bring us paper, we scan it and digitize it as soon as we can. As a result of that and our investment in technology we are able and often do work remotely. That means that even if we are forced to close our offices temporarily or our staff chooses to work remotely if they are not feeling well, we will still be able to work efficiently and will continue serving you!
In summary, here is our plan both while the office is open and if we are forced to close our office. The safety of you our clients and our staff is the most important consideration in all of this!
While our office is open
We plan to maintain our normal office hours of 8-5 Monday through Friday until we are told that is not wise or we believe it is no longer safe. During this time, please let us know whether you are comfortable coming in to drop off information, have personal meetings and or pick up information. We will serve you however you feel is best for you.
Please know that we have hand sanitizer at our front desk, in our bathrooms, kitchen and our conference rooms. Our staff always has and will continue to clean the conference room tables and other surfaces after every meeting. Finally, our staff has been reminded to wash and clean their hands often throughout the day, have been directed to stay home if they are not feeling well and to get checked out should they have any symptoms.
Should you need to get documents to us and are not comfortable coming into the office, here are the alternatives. You can email us information, but we would like to remind you that you should be careful emailing confidential documents. A more secure option is to use our secure portal system. Our secure portal system can be used to send us any document and QuickBooks files as well! If you don't have a portal and want one, please just let us know and we can get it set up and train you on how to use it. They are very easy and efficient. As always you can mail or fax us information too!
Tax returns are done and don't want to meet in person? This again is where our secure portals come into play. We can upload your return to your portal including all items that require action, like signature pages, vouchers etc.
Then to make sure that you understand the returns, we can either go over them with you on the phone or better yet have a Zoom Video Conference where we can still see each other and actually share our screen to walk through the return! Don't have or want a portal? No worries we can mail you everything and go over the return with you over the phone or via Zoom!
What happens if we are forced to close our office?
All of our staff except Gaby our receptionist has the ability to work remotely from home just as efficiently as if they are here. Many of us already do this some and thus we are all experienced in working together as a team remotely. We will continue to work hard on your returns and consulting, no matter what happens (assuming we are healthy of course)!
Gaby and Cindy will take turns being present in the office, to receive mail, process paper returns and send out mail as well. We will still be able to deliver your returns to you remotely as discussed above.
If you need to talk to us, please email us or leave a voice message. Even if we are working remotely we will check our voicemail 2 -3 times a day and will try to return your call with 24 hours.
Extended Deadline?
You may have heard that there is a proposal to extend the tax deadline. What happens if they do that? At this point there are no details of this proposal and we are not sure what it means. However, we already have enough work to keep us busy through April 15 and we will continue to push hard to that deadline. We will let you know more when we do!
We hope that his message sets your mind at ease at least with regard to your taxes and consulting projects with us. Please let us know if have any questions or concerns!
Recently, Brad Tafoya was recognized by the Kinder Institute of Life Planning as an official Trainer!
What is Life Planning?
On the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, Life Planning is explained as the following:
"Life Planning focuses on the human side of financial planning. In Life Planning we discover a client’s deepest and most profound goals through a mindfulness-based process of structured and non-judgmental inquiry. Then, using a mix of professional and advanced relationship skills, we inspire clients to pursue their aspirations, discuss and resolve obstacles, create a concrete financial plan, and provide ongoing guidance as clients accomplish their objectives." (George Kinder, Kinder Institute of Life Planning)
Brad Tafoya's Story:
"After 20 years of being a CPA and helping clients decipher complicated taxes and guide them through the financial implications of business and life transitions, Brad went through his own personal life transition. After several months of self-reflection and soul searching, he started to notice or perhaps paid more attention to the emotions that came up with clients around their money, taxes, and finances. The realization that there is a relationship between money and feelings led Brad on a journey of reading books and articles about the psychology of money. His study deepened his understanding of himself and led to better understanding and empathy for what his clients were facing.
"Looking for more, he attended the Seven Stages of Money Maturity workshop led by George Kinder himself. After a day and a half of the workshop, George chose Brad for a life planning demo and proceeded to make him cry in front of 30 strangers, all CFPs and CPAs. He became hooked on Life Planning instantly! Brad now offers life planning to his clients and is trying to make Life Planning what he does fulltime." (Our Trainers, Kinder Institute of Life Planning)
To learn more about Life Planning, visit their website: The Kinder Institute of Life Planning .
To book an appointment for Financial Life Planning with Brad Tafoya, please email [email protected] or call at 970-259-8000.
Thank You and Congratulations Again to Brad!
How do you know you're with the right CPA for you? Check out Michelle's answer on the latest "It's Your Money" episode!
Check out the latest "It's Your Money" episode featuring Michelle Kooi:
October 17th, 2019 - Employees of Tafoya Barrett and Associates headed out to Bayfield to pick apples for the Good Food Collective! What is the Good Food Collective? It’s a nonprofit organization based in the La Plata and Montezuma areas. The organization aims to support local farmers and bridge the gap between excess, fresh, local food and the community—using this locally produced food to create jobs, build up our economy, and feed our people.
Without volunteers, these apples would simply fall to the ground and go to waste. But instead, these apples went to places like Pine River Shares in Bayfield and Jon Ott’s in Hermosa.
How many apples went to these places? We didn’t count them one by one (despite our love of numbers) but we DID weigh the apples and picked nearly 200 LBS worth!
Wow!
Thank you to Rachel and Halle in the Good Food Collective for showing us the ropes and picking apples with us. We had a grand time!
If you want to know more about the Good Food Collective, feel free to visit their website here:
Thanks to your amazing support, Tafoya Barrett and Associates placed 2nd in donations to help support the Women’s Resource Center. We really couldn’t have done this incredible thing without the huge community support and our clients who went above and beyond to help us reach this awesome goal!
So a big, hearty “Thank You!!!” from all of us here at Tafoya Barrett and Associates.
You rock!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates is proud to participate in the Men in Heels Race!
Taking place on September 5th at 5:30PM on 679 East 2nd Avenue in Durango, our very own Brad Tafoya, Pat Barrett, Chris Carney and Matthew Chapman will all be running in the Men in Heels Race held by the Women's Resource Center.
Come see our fellows all glammed up and running to help support the Women's Resource Center and the Gena Rych Scolarship Fund in memory of Gena Rych! The rest of us at Tafoya Barrett and Associates will be there, heartily cheering our team on.
Want to help us in our support of the Women's Resource Center and the Gena Rych Scholarship Fund?
Follow this link to donate (and be sure to select "Tafoya Barrett and Associates" as your team after you click the "Donate" button!):
https://womens-resource-center-in-durango.networkforgood.com/projects/79008-men-in-heels
And if you want to learn more about the event, check out the link below:
http://wrcdurango.org/events/men-in-heels/
Thank You!
From Your Friendly Neighborhood Accountants & Financial Advisors,
Tafoya Barrett and Associates
Once again, Tafoya Barrett & Associates cleaned up our block during the 16th Annual Downtown Durango Clean-Up Day on Friday, May 24, 2019. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Great job team!
Brad and Pat are excited to announce that Michelle Kooi has been admitted as a junior partner of the firm, effective January 1, 2019! Michelle joined the firm in May of 2017 and has quickly proven that she is an incredible asset to the firm, our clients and our community! Adding Michelle as a partner will allow the firm to continue to offer proactive and thoughtful tax preparation and planning services to existing and new clients while allowing Brad, Pat and Michelle to expand financial, retirement, estate and general business consulting to all clients.
Read more about Michelle here: https://www.tafoyabarrett.com/michelle-kooi1
Several of us were able to volunteer at Manna Soup Kitchen on Monday, October 29, 2018. We chopped, cooked and served lunch to lots of folks alongside the regular Manna Soup Kitchen volunteers. It was a fun day and a great way to give back to the community!
Tafoya Barrett & Associates, PC is pleased to announce that we are a Bronze Leaf sponsor of the 5th annual “One Garden at a Time” a farm-to-table dinner and silent auction to support The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado on October 12th at the Glacier Club. We believe strongly in the work that The Garden Project is doing and wish to help grow a healthier community by supporting school and community gardens programs. Join us for a wonderful evening!
Tickets and more information available at: http://www.thegardenprojectswcolorado.org/one_garden_2018
The event will feature farm fresh cuisine, local drinks, delectable desserts and an incredible silent auction. The whole experience will be interwoven with The Garden Project's garden programs and connections in the community.
This annual fundraiser supports their work with school and community gardens, allowing them to provide valuable programs like the Manna Market to food-insecure families, Farm to School programming for local students, and public gardening at the Ohana Kuleana Community Garden.
Very limited tickets are available for purchase, so don't delay! This event sells out every year. Tickets and more details available here.
Most of us think accounting is all about crunching numbers. For alumnus Brad Tafoya, though, being an accountant is more about heart than about spreadsheets. He and his firm, Tafoya Barrett & Associates, are all about helping their clients and their community reach their full potential.
"We all have issues with money, with finances," Tafoya (Accounting, ’92) says. "How do we have the life that we want when all these other things are getting in the way? It becomes a very emotional process. Watching people realize those fears, come to terms with them, and choose not to allow them to affect them anymore is amazing. And I get to help them with that. It’s really cool."
Tafoya has been the principal owner of his certified public accounting firm since 2005, when he and his partner bought the company he’d been working with since 1998. Tafoya Barrett and Associates is a tax and financial planning firm working with business owners and other individuals in the Durango community. The majority of the small firm’s employees have Fort Lewis College connections—nine of the thirteen people have some connection to FLC, whether they are alumni, current students, or even a professor.
Naturally, the team handles tax preparation and many of the usual services of an accounting firm. But Tafoya’s own specialty is working with clients as a life planner. Think of his role as a combination between a financial planner and a life coach. Rather than examining a person’s cash flow and net worth statements up front, he gets into his clients’ true passions and goals and hopes.
"With life planning, that all comes first," he says. "Before I even look at their finances, I get very clear with them about what exactly their life goals are, who they want to be, what they want to do. From there, we work on a plan for how to bring those elements more fully into their lives. Then, as part of that process, I wrap in the actual finances, the true financial planning, to make that happen."
As an example, Tafoya talks about a hypothetical couple who has long dreamed of owning a second home on the beach. He would listen to all the reasons they want that home, all they want to do with it, all the emotions they’ve tied up into it. Then, he’d take a look at their financial situation. If they can’t afford that home, he dives deeper into what it is about that dream that speaks to them.
Then he works with them on different ways to bring those dreams to life. For instance, maybe this couple just wants to visit the beach for a month each year, and a vacation rental or a home swap would better suit their resources.
"That’s what life planning is about, putting the goals and the hopes and the dreams first, and then bringing in the finances to make that happen," Tafoya says. "That’s my passion, because I really feel like I can make a difference in my client’s lives."
The difference Tafoya makes in people’s lives extends well beyond his clientele, though. Tafoya Barrett & Associates is a community-oriented firm. Giving back to the local Durango area community is even part of their mission statement.
That commitment shines through in the company culture. Tafoya explains that they provide each employee an average of an hour per week to go volunteer at any nonprofit they choose, whether that’s building trails or working with youth centers. Three times a year, the entire firm volunteers in the community as a group. And the firm matches up to $500 in nonprofit donations from each employee every year.
"We want to give back to our community," Tafoya says. "We want to provide a space for our employees to do that too."
Tafoya Barrett & Associates does such a good job encouraging community involvement that the community has taken note. For instance, the firm won Small Business of the Year in 2014 from the Durango Chamber of Commerce in recognition of its involvement in and support of local causes.
Tafoya says that any recognition humbles and surprises him. Awards or not, he is certainly grateful for the opportunities to give back to Durango that owning his own firm enables. "The thing about being a small business and being an entrepreneur and being able to serve the community, either through volunteerism or being on boards and whatnot? It’s good for our firm and good for the community," he says. "I never thought about it that way, but I guess we do help in a way our own little bit of helping shape the community."
It’s not just coincidence that Tafoya’s community is Durango. Returning here was a deliberate choice he made after finishing graduate school and working for a few years at a large firm in Denver.
"It was just too big," he says. "I’m an outdoor person. I want to be able to spend my lunch hours and my weekends outside playing, and it was just so hard in Denver."
He was willing to sacrifice a lucrative career to live in Durango. He was on the partner track, with a firm who was happy to have him. "I remember thinking back then, well, I'm going to go to Durango and I'm going to be doing easy 1040s the rest of my life," he says. "My career won’t be that challenging, but I’ll be in Durango, and it’ll be cool."
Then he arrived, started working for the firm he would later own, and the rest is history in motion. "My career has been much more rewarding than I thought it would be," he says. "I feel like this community has always been good to us."
Every year, on the Friday before Memorial Weekend, local company staff, friends and neighbors get together as one big team and armed with brooms, scrappers and trash bags, cleanup dowtown Durango. Each team is assigned all four sides of one block. It is a tradition at Tafoya Barrett and Associates to participate in this event, always hoping, and usually successful, to have our block! Lots of hard work but very fun - great job Team!
This makes 11 years that we have proudly participated in the Dave Spence Ski Classic, benefitting the Adaptive Sports Foundation. Their mission is to provide outdoor sports opportunities to improve the quality of life for children, adults and veterans with physical disabilities and their families. This is one of the Foundation’s biggest fundraisers of the year and a great chance for out accountants and CPA’s to take a break from tax season! Pat Barrett, Brad Wolters, Michelle Kooi, Kelsey Damron and Matthew Chapman represented us well on the slopes. Thank you Dave Spencer for allowing us to help contribute in furthering your vision.
We had a blast volunteering at the La Plata Open Space Conservancy's Wine & Spirits Tasting Snowdown event this year. It has become tradition that Tafoya Barrett and Associates not only support La Plata Open Space Conservancy's cause but to volunteer at this wonderful event annually.
Our very own Pat Barrett received the "Bill Mashaw" Volunteer of the Year award. The Durango Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year award was renamed the "Bill Mashaw" Volunteer of the Year award in 2012. Bill was very involved in the Durango community by organizing the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization and through his involvement in the Community Development Corporation, and served with the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Pat was recognized for his dedication and involvement in our community. Pat is an active member in Kiwanis Club of Durango, Durango Knights of Columbus, and past Board Member and President of the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County. Both of our partners encourage the firm to give back and get involved in our community and lead by example. Pat is a great reminder of how one person really can make an impact towards the betterment of our community.
Our team had a blast participating in this year’s Stan the Marathon Man 5K and 10K. The majority of us participated in the 5K walk. Pat represented in the 5K run and Michelle Kooi rocked the 10K run.
All of the proceeds raised are given to the Alzheimer’s Association Durango and the Fort Lewis College Foundation – Athletes To End Alzheimer’s Scholarship. The event is hosted in honor of Stan Rabbe, a Durango local and avid outdoorsman who passed away in January of 2015.
Tafoya Barrett and Associates is pleased to announce that we are sponsoring One Garden at a Time, a farm-to-table dinner and silent auction to support The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado on October 12th at the Manna Garden. We believe strongly in the work that The Garden Project is doing and wish to help grow a healthier community by supporting school and community gardens programs. Join us for a wonderful evening!
Tickets and more information available at: http://www.thegardenprojectswcolorado.org/one_garden_2017
This month the Alliance is proud to showcase Tafoya Barrett Associates. Tafoya Barrett was founded in 1979 by Bill Brown and Steve Wheeldon to provide high quality, high-end tax and financial consulting services here in Durango, Colorado. The firm grew steadily and was acquired by current owners Pat Barrett and Brad Tafoya in 2005.
Tafoya Barrett is a member of CPA Associates International, giving them access to unique accounting resources for companies in our region. They currently have 10 full time employees, five of whom are Fort Lewis College graduates (including Brad Tafoya!).
The owners of the company love doing business in La Plata County. They are amazed by the community here, as well as their business clients, local resources, and of course our great lifestyle which makes the day AFTER April 15th so enjoyable.
The company was recently named Small Business of the year by the Durango Chamber of Commerce, in part because of the firm’s extensive community efforts through programs like Rotary’s Red Ball Express and the Dave Spencer Ski Classic at Purgatory. Tafoya Barrett is also committed to our local businesses through its role in the Alliance. Brad Tafoya helped form the Alliance in 2010, and later served on the Board as well as being Board Chair from 2013 to 2014.
Thanks to Tafoya Barrett for being a founding Investor-level member of the Alliance, and all they do to make Durango and La Plata County a great place to live and do business!
September- it's a busy time for accountants. It means heavy workloads, deadlines and putting in hours on the weekends. But that doesn't mean we don't stop to spend time in the community, and this year we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in the Stan the Marathon Man 5K & 10K Walk/Run at Santa Rita Park.
The event is hosted in honor of Stan Rabbe, a Durango local who passed away from complications of Alzheimers in January of 2015. Stan was an avid outdoorsman and traveler, who enjoyed hiking, hunting, cycling and more. All of the funds and donations raised for the event are given to the Alzheimer’s Association Durango or Fort Lewis College Foundation – Athletes To End Alzheimer’s Scholarship, all the funds stay local.
Our firm participated as a group, though some of us ran the 10K while others walked the 5K. Even some of our furry companions joined us for the event. There were tons of community members there, everyone had a smile on their face and we all had a wonderful time participating. Local musicians and bands were placed throughout the course, playing music and keeping participants excited and energized. There were several water stations all manned by smiling volunteers and at the finish line you received fun bead necklaces. Several of the local bakeries and grocery stores provided food and drinks.
Overall, it was a fantastic event raising money for a great cause. Made even better by the fact that all the funds stay here in our community! And even though most of us had to come to the office after the event, we still look forward to participating again next year!
There are few things that compare to the feeling of giving back to the community we are so fortunate to live in. Last Tuesday, our staff had the honor of preparing and serving lunch at Manna Soup Kitchen. Working with the amazing staff at Manna's we prepared Teriyaki Beef w/ pineapple, rice, mixed veggies, and garden salad with fresh baked sugar cookies for dessert. This is the third time our office has had the opportunity to prepare and serve at Manna's and we look forward to doing it many more times in the future.
We arrived while Manna's staff was serving up a hot breakfast. After prepping everything for lunch under the guidance of Manna's chef, Thomas, we made several dozen sandwiches for the sack lunches that are available to anyone on request. Thomas filled us in on the numerous services provided at Manna's, such as clothing vouchers to local thrift stores, bus passes, shower and laundry facilities and more, most of which are earned by helping with chores. We also had a chance to check out their garden, where we learned that some of the produce is used for meals and the rest is given to those in need.
We are amazed and inspired by the work that Manna Soup Kitchen does for the people in the community. Their hard work does not go unappreciated by the people they serve either, as many of them stayed to help clean the dining hall after they had finished their meals. We had a wonderful time thanks to the fantastic people at Manna Soup Kitchen.
For more information on volunteering or donating to Manna Soup Kitchen visit http://mannasoupkitchen.org/
Our very own Pat Barrett was recognized as 'Citizen of the Year' by the Mason's Durango/San Juan Lodge #46. Pat was both shocked and honored to receive the award, saying,
"I was shocked to have been recognized by the local Mason's lodge as their Citizen of the Year. It was an honor to have been recognized along side the true heroes of our community which included several first responders from Durango Fire and Rescue, the Durango Police Department, La Plata County Sheriff's Office and Colorado State Patrol, in addition to several teachers and students from the Durango 9R, Bayfield and Ignacio school districts. The Masons are a huge asset to our community, and its members are continually giving back in so many ways behind the scenes, day-in and day-out."
The award given to Pat states, "Pat Barrett is a quiet leader that works behind the scenes. He moved to Durango in 2001 and has participated in It's about Kids Steering committee, was a founding member of the Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County and Grand Knight for two terms for Knights of Columbus. He is on the boards of B & G Club and Kiwanis."
Congratulations to Pat and Thank You to the Mason's for their continued support and involvement in our community!
If you were driving downtown last Friday, there is a good chance you saw people all over wearing bright green t-shirts. Our staff was among the mass of lime green shirt wearing volunteers helping out with the Downtown Durango Cleanup. The cleanup is an annual event hosted by the Durango Chamber of Commerce on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Volunteers are assigned a block of downtown to clean up; this includes sweeping sidewalks, picking up trash, scraping off stickers & any other small tasks to tidy up the area. Our staff had a great time participating, the weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a great way to spend time helping the community.
The cleanup takes place right before hundreds of tourists and bikers get into town for the annual Iron Horse Bike Classic. With the help of a large group of volunteers, downtown Durango was cleaned in a matter of hours. Complimentary coffee and donuts were available for volunteers prior to the start of the cleanup and the Durango Diplomats kept volunteers hydrated by handing out chilled bottled waters throughout the morning. After the cleanup volunteers wearing their bright green shirts could stop in Durango Coffee Company and get a drink for 50% off.
Overall, it's another great display of the wonderful community we live in. We appreciate the Chamber organizing the event every year and encouraging the community members to keep Durango looking beautiful. We love the opportunity to help care for and add value to the community, especially before a huge visitor weekend such as Memorial Day. Plus, it's always nice to get out of the office on a lovely spring day and spend a few hours surrounded by members of the community working to make Durango an even better place to call home.
In February, the FASB published its new standard on lease accounting. It requires companies that lease assets for terms of more than one year to report on their balance sheets right-to-use assets and corresponding liabilities over the lease term, regardless of how they’re classified for income statement and tax purposes. It also calls for lessees to expand their footnote disclosures about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of payments they make for the lease agreements.
Current practice
Under existing GAAP, companies record on their balance sheets only lease obligations that are akin to financing arrangements (also known as finance or capital leases). In practice, few leases appear on company balance sheets, because companies are given significant leeway to structure deals to look like rentals (also known as operating leases). For some companies, such as airlines that lease their fleets of planes or retail chains that rent storefronts, operating lease payments make up significant financial obligations.
Thumbs up
For decades, many investors have complained that current practice makes lessees appear more financially secure than they really are. Therefore, overall, investors and analysts are applauding the FASB’s move to require companies to report all leases on their balance sheets.
Thumbs down
Businesses worry that the new lease standard’s benefits don’t offset its significant implementation costs. The lease standard is scheduled to become effective for publicly traded companies in 2019 — just a year after the broad-reaching revenue recognition standard goes into effect. The net result will be a major amount of stress on controllers, their financial reporting teams and corporate reporting systems.
Next steps
We can work with you to implement both standards and plan for any adverse consequences that may arise, such as loan covenant violations or credit downgrades.
© 2016
Another Snowdown has come and gone and like years in the past, Tafoya Barrett and Associates staff had the opportunity to volunteer at the La Plata Open Space Conservancy (LPOSC) 22nd Annual Snowdown Event. Every year for Snowdown LPOSC hosts a Wine and Spirits Tasting accompanied with a silent auction. For the last few years members of our staff have volunteered to help with the event. This year Cindy Morin, Alicia Siow, Kendra Marquez & Lynndee Beller were all able to attend and help with this years event.
The event was held at Mutu's Italian Kitchen and had an excellent turnout. The silent auction included original artwork from local artists as well as a variety of items that focused on Durango's quality of life. The evening also included a raffle for a number of items ranging from Ski Passes to a Dog Sled Ride. There was an endless supply of delicious food, desserts, and wine and craft spirits from local distilleries.
LPOSC is a local non profit organization that protects open lands through conservation easements. The Snowdown Event is one of their largest fundraisers and something our firm looks forward to helping with every year. We are so grateful for all the wonderful and hard work that LPOSC does for this community and if attendance of this event is any indication, then we know the community members feel the same way.
Recently, our staff volunteered with Trails 2000 and helped create a new trail in Horse Gulch. We had been looking forward to working with Trails 2000 and when the initial date of our project rolled around, the weather forced us to postpone. Two weeks later we were eager to meet Dewayne (our Trails 2000 leader) and get to work.
Trails 2000 is a local trails non profit, located here in Durango. They help build, maintain, and educate the community on trails. The incredible work they do building and maintaining trails is based solely on the help they receive from volunteers. Helping to lead groups, ranging from high school students to local office staff's like ours, Trails 2000 educates on how to build new trails and cover old trails with the least amount of disturbance to the natural environment.
Building trails is no easy task, and our group of 10 volunteers learned that very quickly. Dewayne led us up to the trail we would be working on and gave us a rundown on the different types of tools we would be using and gave a saftey talk. Then we got to it! We spent the morning building the new trail and covering the two previous trails that had been washed out. We were exhausted!
Working with Trails 2000 was such educational experience and we all felt very accomplished when our little section of trail was complete. We were even fortunate enough to witness the first rider to use the new trail. Trails 2000 took great care of us while we were out there, providing not only the tools and safety protection, but also with plenty of drinks to keep us hydrated in the heat and snacks to keep us energized.
There were plenty of bikers out on the trails that morning and so many took the time to thank us for our work on the trail. It just shows how truly connected this community is and Trails 2000 continually works on building that connection. We had a blast working with Trails 2000 and we look forward to the opportunity to work with them again in the future.
Our very own Cindy Morin and Marian Hamlen have been accepted into the Durango Diplomats! The Durango Diplomats is an organization within the Durango Chamber of Commerce, made up of 40 members. The Diplomats are the goodwill ambassadors for the Chamber as well as the entire Durango community. Members assist with ribbon cutting ceremonies to celebrate grand openings and provide a volunteer base for special events in the community throughout the year.
"I enjoy being a Diplomat as I think it helps new businesses realize that community spirit runs strong in Durango. There is a big commitment towards buying local and supporting local stores. This is the 1st step in helping them see this," says Cindy. "The Chamber special events are a great way to meet your local merchants, your community and support the Chamber!"
Cindy and Marian have attended ribbon cutting ceremonies at places such as Durango Craft Spirits, The Clay Room, and Scenic Aperture. Cindy also volunteered at the annual Shred Day at Santa Rita Park.
Congratulations to Paula Carron!!! Winner of the jelly bean counting contest we held during tax season. Paula had 
the closest guess without going over the actual amount. She guessed 963 and the actual amount was 990. Her prize was $50 Durango Dollars, to be used anywhere in Durango!
Thanks to everyone who participated!!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates, PC is both excited and proud to announce they are the recipients of the Small Business of the Year Award from the Durango Chamber of Commerce. We would like to express how truly honored we are to have received this award; and thank the wonderful members of the community and Chamber of Commerce for their recognition. As presenter Joe Lloyd said, "Their values of integrity, honesty, balance and community service go beyond how they conduct their business. They extend into how they interact within their neighborhoods, schools, town, environment and the world in which we live, work, and play." We are so proud to be a part of this community and we will continue to strive towards those values. We would also like to congratulate all of the other nominees, who were so deserving of their nomination. We are grateful to be nominated and recognized with such incredible individuals and businesses.
Special thanks to the Durango Chamber of Commerce for putting on the event. They did a fantastic job.
Tafoya Barrett and Associates is honored to be announced as one of the nominees of the Durango Rocks Small Business of the Year award. Durango Rocks is an annual event held by the Durango Chamber of Commerce, that recognizes individuals and businesses for their outstanding service to our amazing community. The event will take place January 22nd, tickets are available through the Chamber of Commerce. We are grateful to be nominated and are very excited to celebrate an evening with all who attend.
Tafoya Barrett and Associates partner Brad Tafoya has won the Durango Herald's 2014 Reader's Choice Award for best Tax Preparer! Thank you to everyone who voted; we look forward to continuing to serve our great community!
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners; thank you for all you do for our community!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates' partner John Moore was selected for the 2014-2015 Leadership La Plata Class.
Each year a diverse group of dynamic and talented individuals is selected to be part of Leadership La Plata ("LLP"). Since its founding in 1988, LLP has graduated more than 400 concerned citizens, and counts among its alumni business leaders, government officials, non-profit directors, active private citizens and more – all committed to making a difference in La Plata County.
Good work, John!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates won this year’s Clean Commute Week Business Commuter Challenge in the “tiny” business category! This was our second year participating and our employee participation rate was up by 25%. We walked, biked, carpooled, and used public transportation to commute to work.
Durango’s Clean Commute Week run is by the City of Durango and is sponsored by over 50 businesses with even more businesses participating in the challenge. Over 600 people participated in this year’s events and over 1000 sustainable trips were logged. The week included free bike tune ups at the farmers market, a bike fashion show, Petal vs. Metal Challenge, and a final party at Ska Brewing.
Congratulations to Tafoya Barrett & Associates' Heidi Holland for receiving the High Noon Rotary Club's "Service Above Self" Award. This award is to recognize members of the Rotary community who work hard to create positive change at home and, around the world. And because of this, they’re making clubs stronger, communities better, and peace possible.
Congratulations to Tafoya Barrett & Associates partner John Moore for his recent appointment to United Way of Southwest Colorado Board of Directors! John says "Supporting the United Way is very important to me because it gives me the ability to change lives, inspire hope, encourage others and impact my community on a larger and broader scale then I could do on my own. United Way makes Southwest Colorado a better place to live."
In United Way’s 41-year history of service to Southwest Colorado, they have found that when people join together for the common good, things change for the better. United Way targets barriers that families and individuals face that prevent them from thriving.
Through their annual Community Investment process, they are partnering with over 40 agencies across the region that are addressing these barriers every day. Each agency has a program that has proven to United Way that it is operating efficiently and effectively and helps United Way address one of its goals for the community in Education, Self-Reliance and Health. United Way of Southwest Colorado gives approximately $1,000,000 to our community annually.
Tafoya Barrett & Associates employees and their families attended Hospice of Mercy's 10th Annual Soup for the Soul fundraiser. Lynndee Beller said,"I am always amazed by the generosity in our community, but Soup for the Soul 2014 blew me away!"
Hospice of Mercy has provided compassionate care in our community for over 30 years. Hospice of Mercy and Mercy Health Foundation are building a 11,000-square-foot, 12-bed hospice house on the Mercy campus in Grandview. The hospice house is set to open in the near future and be a wonderful addition to our community!
The 11th Annual Clean Day was held on May 23rd. The Tafoya Barrett Associates crew was out in force sprucing up Downtown Durango. "It is a great way to give back to our community, and we get to be outside!" said Chris Carney.
Thanks to all of the businesses who helped to keep Durango beautiful!
Tafoya Barrett & Associates sponsored a team at the 30th annual Dave Spencer Ski Classic, to benefit Adaptive Sports Association (ASA). As usual it was a ton of fun! We were the second fastest team, and Heidi Holland was the fastest woman in the event! Our super hero costumes made us faster than speeding bullets!
The programs at ASA help enrich and transform the lives of people with disabilities through sports and recreation. By working with students to overcome physical and cognitive challenges in a safe, supportive environment, ASA helps students "explore possibilities."
Tafoya Barrett & Associates accountants Leah Bathen and Heidi Holland worked with "Know Your Dough" teaching seniors at Durango High School about financial literacy. The six-session class is part of Junior Achievement’s mission to prepare young people to succeed in making personal financial decisions. Junior Achievement focuses on three key content areas: entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness.
“I have been volunteering to teach students for five years now,” says Heidi. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge with the students. It’s important students graduating high school to learn and understand how finances and financial decisions affect life.” And Leah adds, “I think there is great value in providing students with an understanding of how the financial and economic world works. Junior Achievement provides professionals and students an incredible opportunity to work together and introduce topics that will impact the students throughout their entire lives.”
Tafoya Barrett and Associates PC announces that Brad A. Tafoya, CPA, recently completed all the requirements to become a Certified Financial Planner.
To earn the designation, Tafoya met experience and ethical requirements of the CFP Board, successfully completed financial planning coursework and passed the 10-hour CFP Certification Examination covering these areas: financial planning process, risk management, investments, tax planning and management, retirement and employee benefits and estate planning. Tafoya will use the knowledge obtained from the program, with more than 20 years’ CPA experience, to enhance the holistic financial-planning and wealth-management advice available to the firm’s clients.
Tafoya Barrett and Associates PC team members spent New Year's Eve cooking at Manna Soup Kitchen. They made New Year's gumbo, great job team!
Manna Soup Kitchen is the only soup kitchen in La Plata County. They are "on the front line" providing for the most immediate needs of individuals and families in our community. Their clients depend on Manna to provide hot nutritious meals and supportive services in an atmosphere of acceptance and caring.
Tafoya Barrett & Associates' partner Pat Barrett was nominated for Durango Chamber of Commerce's Volunteer of the Year. Since moving to Durango in 2001, Pat has immersed himself in the local volunteer community. As well as serving various functions in his Kiwanis Club, Pat and his wife, Lisa, were instrumental in founding the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County. He is a graduate of Leadership La Plata and is active in the Knights of Columbus. Pat a truly amazing asset to our community and our firm.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners; thank you for all you do for our community!
Tafoya Barrett and Associates PC provides high quality tax and financial planning services that exceed our
clients' expectations and make a real difference in their financial lives while actively contributing to our community.
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