Services
Our partners are always involved in the services performed through direct supervision, performance and/or coordination of the services. This commitment and attention to detail ensures quality service is always achieved and allows for our clients to maintain a high degree of peace of mind.
Our associates receive extensive and rigorous training and are proficient in knowing the importance of proper internal controls, appropriate segregation of duties, detailed policies and procedures, prudent lending practices, compliance with regulations and enterprise-wide risk assessments and evaluations.
PAAST offers services to the following industries:
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Services
We have extensive experience serving closely-held and private companies and we are familiar with the challenges they encounter. Some of the services we provide include:
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Assurance services are the cornerstone of the practice of public accounting and one of the most important services provided by PAAST. As licensed CPA’s we are uniquely qualified to provide assurance services. This is an attest function, the only service requiring practitioners to be Certified Public Accountants. Our CPAs have extensive experience in providing auditing services to our clients in various industries. Types of Assurance Services:
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PAAST’s experienced audit professionals are committed to maintaining professional standards and quality in all audit services. We work closely with our clients to maximize our understanding of their systems and operations. During the audit process, we strive to:
PAAST can accomplish this because our audit services are carefully planned, well organized and completed on a timely basis.
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Using state-of-the-art computerized auditing and consulting techniques, PAAST provides the highest quality of professional services. We focus on key risk areas to provide management, vendors and lenders with reasonable assurance that financial statements are free from material misstatements. As a result, we are vigilant in our efforts to stay abreast of regulatory developments through continuing education, and we maintain memberships in the Private Companies Practice sections of the AICPA. This ensures that we maintain the highest ethical and professional standards by requiring our firm to be subject to peer reviews every three years. We are very proud of the fact that we have always had unqualified peer reviews since the inception of our firm.
Banks and financial institutions are required to comply with Bank Secrecy Act and Anti Money Laundering regulations annually as part of internal Compliance programs. Compliance with BSA / AML regulations requires institutions to meet the “five pillars” including capable officers, internal controls, adequate training, an independent audit, and enhanced customer due diligence procedures.
PAAST has been engaged to perform the independent audit of several Bank’s BSA/AML compliance program in accordance with Section 352 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Our procedures are performed in accordance with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) /Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Examination Manual that was most recently issued in December 2014.
PAAST has worked with Banks supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and Federal Reserve oversight offices in Atlanta and New York. Internationally, PAAST has also worked with Financial Institutions in Puerto Rico who are overseen by the Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (“OCIF”). Our scopes in previous engagements has included, but is not limited to:
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Our staff of professionals includes auditors, tax practitioners and other professionals with years of knowledge and experience in different industries. With our knowledge and experience we are able to provide in-depth high quality solutions and alternatives to numerous financial problems/issues and management problems/issues. We have been able to effectively resolve problems/issues and in many cases have created opportunities for our clients. Our goal in performing consulting services is to assist our clients in developing and understanding the available alternatives and developing and implementing the best solution for them
Our business consulting services include:
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PAAST, P.L. has extensive experience helping and managing clients and their assets with timely advice and by actively engaging with our clients needs.
We can tailor our services to support and manage your specific industry or organizational needs. From Bookkeeping to contract negotiations our staff will walk you through each issue with care and attentiveness.
Our personal engagement and attention to detail have resulted in the longevity of our clients and satisfaction of results.
Our business services include:
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Security Assessment
Security assessments are focused reviews on an organization’s people, processes, and technology infrastructure to identify and reduce confidentiality, integrity, and availability risks to your information assets. It is mostly technical in nature and most effective when coordinated with the company’s information security personnel. A security assessment can consist of a combination of either a vulnerability assessment, penetration test, or social engineering exercise.
A Vulnerability assessment is a process using a combination of sophisticated tools and methodologies to analyze deficiencies, whether logical or physical, in either systems or processes within the environment. Its purpose is not necessarily to exploit any discovered vulnerabilities, rather to verify they exist and the likelihood of their exploitation.
The purpose of any penetration test is to assist an organization in determining the ability of exploits that may exist against discovered vulnerabilities found in a company’s systems or information assets. A penetration test subjects a system to real-world attacks selected and conducted by our security staff. The benefit of a penetration test is to identify the extent to which sensitive information can be compromised and possibly exfiltrated before an actual determined attack. Only a real penetration test can simulate what would happen if a determined hacker were to attack your organization. A penetration test can either be enterprise wide or targeted to specific assets.
Genesis can provide social engineering exercises to attempt to gain sensitive or private information from a Company’s employees that may be later used either as leverage to gain access to internal systems or to access private information. The purpose of this exercise is to assess the readiness of employee behavior by testing a company’s security awareness and preparedness. Methods may include phishing exercises, pretext calling, malware injection, or physically accessing sensitive information.
We can provide assessments for any of the following:
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We understand the complexities of pension plan auditing and the importance of smooth interaction amongst the auditor, employer, the custodian and the plan administrator. We have experience in auditing 401 (k) plans, VEBA, and welfare benefit plans. Our Audit Partners have over 30 years of combined experience in auditing benefit plans. Our clients benefit from the personal in-depth and quality service we provide. We have experience in dealing with and resolving issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL). We have extensive experience in the following areas:
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Since 401 (k) audits are required for the majority of retirement plans in excess of one hundred active participants at the beginning of any plan year, we are well versed in working with these plans as well as all the supplemental schedules and specific reporting required by ERISA, DOL and Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). We understand the qualification requirements and are aware of issues with prohibited transactions, deemed distributions and reporting failures:
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Since founding our firm in 1999 we have assisted numerous entrepreneurs, like ourselves, with their start-ups from traditional industries and brick and mortar companies to internet and high-tech ventures. Our personal experience and understanding of the difficulties and issues encountered in the development stages of any start-up organization. Our personal experiences with the importance of marketing, communication and cash-flow have assisted numerous entrepreneurs who have evolved to successful business ventures and remain our clients. Our goal is to assist our clients in the proper planning, evaluation and development of their business ventures. We offer the following consulting services:
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As entrepreneurs we are uniquely qualified to assist other entrepreneurs with their new business ventures and thrive on the eventual success of our clients.
PAAST partners carry expertise beyond that of Certified Public Accountants including other certifications such as Certified in Financial Forensics, Certified Forensic Accountant, Certified Professional in Anti-Money Laundering that recognize their level of knowledge and expertise by different organizations.
We combine our audit and investigative knowledge with accounting skills to identify how fraud is perpetrated and to unravel matters that are complex quagmire. Ongoing training in fraud detection reinforces our extensive experience and helps us stay one step ahead of fraud perpetrators and ever-evolving fraud schemes. We participate in state and national litigation and fraud conferences organized by both the AICPA and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. PAAST forensic accounting services include:
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We work with our clients to test internal control policies and procedures and identify potential weaknesses within business processes and information technology environments. Our information technology assurance services are geared to identify and assess technology networks, internal control policies, and procedures taking our client’s technology department, internal processes and controls and operating environment into consideration. These services may be provided as part of an internal audit of financial statements or as individual projects. These services may be necessary as a result of major organizational changes, implementation of new technologies or reliance on third-party service providers. Our affiliate, Genesis Systems Consulting, assists us in providing our information technology assurance services. The following are some of the information technology assurance services that PAAST provides:
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PAAST has unique expertise and highly qualified individuals in providing litigation support services. We have partners that in addition to being Certified Public Accountants have other certifications (such as Certified in Financial Forensics, Certified Forensic Accountant, Certified Professional in Anti-Money Laundering) that recognize their level of knowledge and expertise.
We have significant experience and resources in assisting clients with legal disputes. We assist attorneys and their clients with comprehensive analyses that are thoroughly documented and supported in conjunction with expert witness testimony.
PAAST’s litigation support team includes Certified Public Accountants and Certified Forensic Accountants. PAAST has experience assisting attorneys and providing expert witness testimony in a variety of industries and cases.
The following is partial list of our litigation support experience:
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Some of our litigation support services include:
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Technology provides almost limitless capabilities for managing various aspects of our organizations. Some of those aspects include the use of models (both quantitative and qualitative) for making key decisions in your organization’s operations. However, when it is not implemented correctly it could yield disastrous results that management may be relying upon needlessly. This can set a company back years and create significant costs if regulations aren’t met or the technology creates inefficiencies and needless labor.
At PAAST, we can provide management with an assessment and validation of models used for decision making including assessment of those key systems relied upon to implement the model. We will review the inputs, outputs, and environmental variables necessary to meet the model’s overall objectives. We can provide guidance on where improvements can be made or identify weaknesses or risks in either the data, processes, or the model itself that is being relied upon by the company.
Tax Services (Domestic)
PAAST is proactive in formulating beneficial tax strategies for our clients. Tax laws and rates are continuously changing and complex. As Certified Public Accountants we are uniquely qualified to assist our clients with tax consulting, compliance and preparation. Our tax professionals provide confidential personal tax planning and consulting to our clients and are proactive in minimizing the taxes paid by individuals, businesses and other entities.
We have extensive experience with federal and state tax issues regarding the taxation of individuals, corporations, S corporations, partnerships, LLC’s and other entities.
PAAST offers comprehensive tax counseling to comply with federal and state tax laws and regulations and to assist in minimizing taxes. Our goal is to work closely with our clients to ensure that they are taking advantage of many tax planning strategies available. We also want to ensure that our clients are in compliance with income tax laws and assist in preparing all necessary tax returns. Our professionals are Certified Public Accountants and continually stay abreast of the most recent changes in tax laws through involvement in various associations and obtaining relevant training. In addition to our human capital, we also have access to other resources and online research services to ensure that we are in current with the latest industry news and developments. The following are some of the tax services that PAAST provides:
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Tax Services (International)
PAAST has the experience it takes to devise global tax solutions with the ultimate goal to minimize your worldwide tax liability. Our bilingual international tax professionals can help you with all of your corporate and individual compliance needs, while providing value-added tax structuring and planning services. As an independent member of PrimeGlobal we have independent affiliates throughout the world that can assist us with local laws and support.
Corporate International Tax Services provided:
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Individual International Tax Services provided:
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Tax Services for the Financial Industry
PAAST’s bilingual financial services tax professionals have a vast amount of experience with tax issues relating to domestic, mortgage and foreign banks. We know the importance of industry training and are members of several industry and professional organizations, which allows us to stay abreast of current tax issues facing financial institutions. Our team is well respected as a tax advisor in the South Florida market with regards to the taxation of international bank agencies, branches and Edge Act banks. PAAST Tax Services include:
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Tax Planning and Compliance for Individuals and Closely Held Entities
Tax planning and compliance for individuals, family owned businesses and closely held entities is one of the core services provided by our tax professionals. We understand that everyone has a unique individual tax situation. In the evolving world of tax compliance, our services exceed the basic tax planning and preparation of federal and state tax returns.
Our tax services include a complete range of tax planning, compliance and consulting services customized to deliver a level of service exceeding all expectations. Our professionals work closely with each of our clients to identify opportunities and optimize tax strategies to expand their businesses and minimize taxes. By understanding the tax perspective of business owners, we are able to develop an advanced plan for structuring business transactions to capitalize on personal situations. Our tax compliance and consulting services include:
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Trusts and Estate
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