Money Talk
New ATA financial council gathers in Little Rock for accounting and finance workshops
By Angela E. Thomas Contributing Writer
The new overtime exemption
rules and unclaimed property were two of the topics covered at the first Arkansas Trucking Association’s (ATA) Accounting & Finance Council meeting. Hosted in Little Rock’s Victory Building, there were 24 accounting and finance professionals representing 17 member companies in attendance. Claims man- agers, risk consultants and CFOs as well as others were among the audience. Shannon Newton, president of the
ATA says the Accounting & Finance Council (AFC) is the result of the asso- ciation’s look at its members’ needs. This is the fourth council created
by ATA and provides an educational and networking outlet for a group the other councils didn’t reach. The safety professionals have a home in the Safety Management Council, and shop super- visors, sustainability experts, technol- ogy professionals find peers in the Maintenance & Technology Council. The 40 Under 40 Council is a profes- sional development group for young professionals from carrier members who prove themselves hard-working and eager to learn the trucking business, but members graduate from the council when they turn 40. Carriers and sup- pliers in this industry only operate suc- cessfully and efficiently when someone is running the numbers and making sure everything adds up. Until recently, ATA hadn’t offered many chances for these individuals to get around one table and communicate their successes or brainstorm solutions to shared prob- lems.
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“Our purpose is to innovate and
engage with our members to figure out any voids,” Newton says. Joseph Kaiser, vice president and
chief accounting officer for USA Truck, serves as chairman of the council, and feels networking is just one of its benefits. “We’ll discuss topics that are rel-
evant to our members and bring people together to find solutions to the prob- lems [our members] are experiencing,” he says. “One of our immediate goals is to bring together the smaller and big trucking companies, to bridge the gap between them.”
PAYROLL AND PROPERTY WORKSHOPS Stuart Jackson, attorney, heads the
Labor and Employment Team at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, LLP. During the meeting, he addressed the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which becomes effective Dec. 1. Jackson’s presentation outlined the new rules for overtime pay and exemptions. He also offered attendees cost-neutral options for complying with the new rule. The law stipulates that any employ- ee who works more than 40 hours per
week must be paid overtime, unless he/ she is exempt. Jackson says the employer bears the burden of proving an employ- ee is exempt. The motor carrier and out- side sales exemptions are not affected by the law. The FLSA provides exemptions for administrative, computer, execute and professional employees who meet a minimum salary threshold. With the increasing minimum salary to $913 per week, individuals who were previously exempt may lose that status. “If you find you have employees
who fall in these categories, you may need to adjust their pay,” Jackson says. Jackson wrote about the options
an employer has for adjusting pay and advice for avoiding traps of the overtime regulations in Vol. 21 Issue 3 of the Arkansas Trucking Report. Readers can also find more information at
www.dol. gov/whd. Relinquishing unclaimed property
was another topic covered during the meeting. Arkansas State Auditor Andrea Lee presented “The Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt,” giving a synopsis of the state’s Unclaimed Property Law. Unclaimed property, according
to Lee’s office, is “any financial asset, usually tangible, held for a person or
Issue 5 2016 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT
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