Thursday, March 28, 2024

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NEW NAME, SAME FACES: Steven Monacelli, right, co-founder of Rhode Island accounting firm Restivo Monacelli, talks with staff member Ann McQueeney. Monacelli says the firm’s acquistion by WithumSmith + Brown PC allows the agency to provide more services. Monacelli is now a partner at Withum. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Local accounting firms disappearing in ‘upward mergers’

Cranston accountant David E. Fontes has gone through four sets of business cards, email addresses and company logos in the last 17 years. But he’s...
FEELING WARY: Steven M. Parente, executive vice president and director of retail banking for Bank Rhode Island, says the bank has taken steps to prevent scammers from tricking customers who use a peer-to-peer payment platform. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

A bank phishing scam that hooks younger customers

The nightmare begins with a text message that appears to come from the bank, alerting the customer to a suspicious, unauthorized transaction. Thousands of dollars...
KEEPING TRACK: Spencer Blier, right, founder and CEO of licensed marijuana cultivator Mammoth Inc. in Warwick, watches as Rob Cornell harvests some of the product. Blier says banking and tax accounting are made more difficult because federal law prohibits the cannabis industry. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

For cannabis industry, bookkeeping not easy

Stories of cannabis business owners carrying around backpacks filled with cash while doing business are symbolic of an industry saddled with the challenges that...
HOT PROPERTY: Michael Giuttari, left, president of Providence-based MG Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., and MG Vice President Julie Freshman outside Phillipsdale Landing in East Providence, which was listed for sale in August at $9 million.  / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Big property deal is indicator of interest in E.P. waterfront

Sprawling expanses of land along the East Providence waterfront that were once used for heavy industrial purposes are now presenting new opportunities for commercial...
SNAPPED UP: Warehouse space is hard to come by lately, and that was illustrated by this recently completed flex building at the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown. The space has already been leased by two businesses that will use the building for warehousing and other purposes. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Companies on desperate search for warehouses

Businesses looking for a warehouse in Rhode Island might be searching for a long time because the exploding growth of online retail has spurred...
READY FOR LAUNCH: Elizabeth M. Tanner, left, director of the R.I. Department of Business Regulation, and Melissa Travis, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants, are preparing for a pilot program in which blockchain technology will be used for the credentials of the state’s CPAs. / PBN PHOTO/CASSIUS SHUMAN

CPAs playing key part in R.I. blockchain pilot program

Twenty-five Rhode Island accountants are preparing to be guinea pigs for a digital ID program using blockchain technology that, if successful, could transform the...
AND ... ­ACTION: Sonya Janigian, right, owner of Sonya’s Clothing, shoots a Facebook Live video in her Cranston boutique with the company’s sales manager, Carmen Garcia. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Reliance on social media has severe downside

Sonya Janigian is not your typical social media influencer. But in the last 18 months, livestreamed Facebook videos have become a fixture of her Cranston...
CHANGING NEEDS: Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, says business grants should be targeted differently as challenges for businesses shift over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Pandemic relief programs still have aid available

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses in the hard-hit arts and hospitality industries were forced to shutter. But drawing from state grant funding, Brooklyn...
NOT EASY: Saeed Roohani, chair of the Department of Accounting at Bryant University, says becoming a certified public accountant requires money and time, which may be dissuading some people from becoming a CPA candidate. / PBN PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Is qualifying for a CPA license too tough?

Within the accounting profession, certified public accountants are regarded as among the field’s most highly capable and well-compensated individuals. But as firms have difficulty...
ENHANCED ­­ABILITIES: R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha says a new state law gives his office more power to pursue businesses accused of deceptive or unfair business practices. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

New R.I. law strengthens protection for consumers

Bad drivers and a weak business climate aren’t the only measurements by which Rhode Island ranks poorly compared with other states. For nearly two decades,...
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