Cohen & Co. Walks Clients through Cares Act Changes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – On top of having to transition its entire staff to remote work, Cohen & Co. found itself doubly busy in the spring with the passing to the Cares Act.

The law, passed in late March, brought changes to many facets of business law and accounting, as well as implemented the Paycheck Protection Program.

“Our tax team studied every detail of the Cares Act and what that meant to clients. … We guided clients through every stage of the process, from eligibility and the application process to applying for loan forgiveness and proper financial statement accounting,” says Lisa Loychik, tax partner. “In addition to producing blogs and hosting several webinars on the program, we most recently began offering a service to help businesses streamline the application process for Round 2 of the PPP.”

Also among the digital tools Cohen & Co. offered were a liquidity dashboard and cash management modeling tool to help businesses better understand their cash position and the Economic Recovery Resource Center, which features more than 80 original pieces to help visitor stay on top of changes and opportunities brought by the pandemic.

Cohen & Co.’s work wasn’t limited to interacting with clients, however. Staff met with lawmakers to advocate for clients’ needs and wrote several comment letter to organizations such as the Federal Reserve and Small Business Administration on tax and business provisions.

The tax firm, which employs 650, joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion effort and created the Cohen IDEA – Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Action – Team, led by Youngstown-based assurance director Trinette Simon.

“The team is focused on expanding dialogue and understanding within the firm, outlining actionable goals and objectives, and identifying and executing on sustainable and impactful activities that can become a lasting part of the firm’s culture,” Loychik says.

A partnership with Youngstown State University to recruit talent was also continued as Cohen & Co. hosted a virtual leadership day for students to educate them on the public accounting industry. Combined with additional recruiting efforts, the company hired nearly 90.

Employees helped the Mahoning Valley community in many ways, including working at United Way’s Satur-Day of Caring events, making blankets for Making Kids Count and participating virtual Heart Walks for the American Heart Association. The office also collected donations for Second Harvest Food Bank and Northeast Ohio Adoption Services and collected holiday gifts for Beatitude House and YWCA Mahoning Valley.