Lockdown
Like many of you, Marcum’s entire team is working remotely for now, as we take every step possible to protect the health and safety of our workforce and their families in these unprecedented times.
We made the switch to mandatory telecommuting as of March 17, and we will be keeping all Marcum offices closed until Monday, April 13. We are keeping a close eye on developing news to determine if this remote work arrangement should continue beyond that.
Fortunately, we’ve invested heavily in technology, and everyone on our team is set up to work seamlessly from wherever they are. Based on the email traffic, Skype messaging and soft phone call volume we’ve seen on our servers since Tuesday, there was a lot of productivity. Who knows? We might even find that without a lot of “drop by” visiting from colleagues, we are actually more productive working remotely. We’ve seen lots of creativity on how to get things done in this new environment. Necessity is the mother of invention.
While our offices are physically closed, Marcum remains open for business. During this period, we are available to you as always. Your emails and phone calls are being answered as per usual (well maybe not as quickly), and your Marcum professionals are working remotely to meet your needs and produce your deliverables in all the ways you have come to expect from us.
I’d like to extend a big round of applause and thanks to the Marcum IT team for all of the extra effort they have put in to make sure this transition went smoothly. Although a number of our team members have worked remotely for at least part of the week for years under Marcum’s flexible work program, taking the whole team “virtual” on short notice required a lot of careful coordination – and sophisticated crisis management planning – and those efforts have not gone unnoticed. The transition has been absolutely seamless.
I’d also like to commend our entire team for their wholehearted commitment to serving our clients while juggling situations like school closures and elderly parents who need assistance – not to mention toilet paper hoarding. Marcum’s mission is to deliver superior client service, and this remains our guiding principle even now. Especially now.
Although the U.S. government pushed the April 15 tax payment deadline back by 90 days (for individuals who owe $1 million or less and corporations that owe $10 million or less), the deadline hasn’t changed for tax return filing or extension requests. As a result, we continue to operate at full throttle.
To those of you who are middle-market CEOs and executives, I’d like to express my appreciation, as well. Being a leader isn’t easy under ordinary circumstances, and our current environment is unprecedented. You are our nation’s job creators, and I have been deeply moved by the efforts many of you are making to take care of your employees. I know what I’ve been doing on a round-the-clock basis for the last 10 days or so, and I know you’ve all been doing the same. It’s not fun.
Speaking of which, with the economy slowing, many of you have contacted our professionals for advice on improving your cash position and protecting your cash flow, so you can maintain your current payroll. Our advisors can offer you many creative strategies, even under the most trying circumstances. There is no reason to struggle with this situation alone.
In addition, we have a launched a Coronavirus Resource Center, which you can access via our website. You will find relevant tax updates, commentary on how the pandemic is impacting individual industries, and other helpful information. This content will be continuously updated to help you make decisions in this unprecedented situation.
If I were to gaze into my crystal ball, I would say it looks like the economy will slow significantly, if not grind to a halt, between today and April 30. Come May, we will start to see a bottoming out and my best guess (and hope) is that we start to see signs of a recovery starting post-Memorial Day. July and August should bring moderate and measured growth, and then post Labor Day we should be in a full-blown recovery. I could be right or wrong on the dates, but this is what’s going to happen. It’s only a matter of how far down we go, how long it lasts, and when and how fast we recover.
But again, whatever it is going to be, we at Marcum are here to help.
Stay strong – and healthy!
