May 21st Update on C-19 Resources for you and your family

May has already been full of interesting news. The most exciting for me is that we appear to be on the path to reopening. The Optima Team is ready! Please let us know if there is anything Human Resources or Accounting related that we can help you with. Our team of CFO’s and Controllers are ready to jump in to help you strategize about the future and what KPI’s you should shift your focus to. Our HR team members are ready to keep you in compliance and bring your employees back properly.

Some clients are taking advantage of the shelter in place and various financial programs to perform strategic planning sessions so they can exit Covid-19 in as strong a position as possible.  We applaud and are supporting their proactive approach with the Strategic Advisory Services team.

Below, we have hand-selected from hundreds of emails to give you the most succinct and relevant information as possible. We have been receiving incredible feedback about our client newsletters and we plan to continue them as long as the information we can provide is useful and relevant.

As per the norm lately, we have added some helpful Business Accounting and HR Q&As at  https://optimaoffice.com/optima-news/.

Quick (and important) Links:

The PPP Forgiveness Application! https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/3245-0407-SBA-Form-3508-PPP-Forgiveness-Application.pdf

More government support- can’t hurt to look! https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-tax-relief-for-businesses-and-tax-exempt-entities

Hackers are busier than ever as 30 million Americans filed for unemployment. Learn more about COVID-19 scams, and how to avoid them.

Before businesses in the County of San Diego can reopen, they need to create a "Safe Reopening Plan", which ensures the safety of employees and customers. Here is a template that businesses will need to complete and post at their entrance: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/covid19/Community_Sector_Support/BusinessesandEmployers/SafeReopeningPlanTemplate.pdf

These strategies provide steps a business can take when creating a health and safety plan specific to its daily operations, customer base, and employee needs https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/san_diego_ready_-_strategies_to_reopen_san_diegos_economy.pdf

A partnership has been formed between Genalyte and the San Diego Blood Bank to offer COVID antibody testing to the community.  For anyone with health insurance it will be free of charge, and the test they are administering has a ~99% accuracy rate.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/story/2020-05-07/genalyte-and-blood-bank-partner-to-test-san-diegans-for-coronavirus-antibodies

Zoom Mandatory 5.0 Update: Beginning May 30th, 2020, Zoom will be enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data.

Here are some things to read and watch. Enjoy!

• Accounting tactics to survive and thrive (or call Optima!) https://www.vistage.com/research-center/business-financials/20200410-webinar-accounting-and-finance-tactics-to-survive-and-thrive/
• 10 great ideas for building teams remotely. My favorites are Commons, Show & Tell and AMA’s: https://blog.bonus.ly/remote-team-activities
• PPP deep dive: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2020/05/16/sba-releases-paycheck-protection-program-loan-forgiveness-application-a-deep-dive/#2360789b1b2f
• Opening up America again https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/?refID=renew&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=webex_returntowork_followup&utm_term=&utm_content=
• What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws: https://www.eeoc.gov
• CDC Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/pdf/ReOpening_America_Cleaning_Disinfection_Decision_Tool.pdf
• SDGE is opening up an opportunity for companies to reduce their electricity costs by 10% the period to apply is June 8-12^th https://www.sdge.com/customer-choice/direct-access
• Is COVID making our plastic problem worse? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/covid-19-is-forcing-us-to-rethink-our-plastic-problem/
• Real Estate updates for Q1 https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/investor/real-estate-investment-falls-in-q1-tracking-pandemic-spread
• JLL Technologies experts will present COVID-19: Technology opportunities for re-entry on Thursday, May 28 at 11 a.m. CDT. Register now.

Here are a couple of podcasts about the stimulus:

• https://livelifeliberated.blubrry.net/2020/05/08/episode-8-powerful-strategies-for-true-asset-protection-with-siddharth-chhokar/
• https://www.pacificadvisors.com/stimulus (They have 3 podcasts which are all really good. There is another one tomorrow if you register NOW!)

5.18.2020 Reopening the Economy info:

• https://abc7.com/amp/is-governor-newsom-speaking-today-4-phase-plan-update-napa/6193760/?__twitter_impression=true
• https://ktla.com/news/california/newsom-eases-california-reopening-rules-allowing-roughly-53-of-58-to-restart-their-economies/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

LinkedIn Learning:

• https://www.linkedin.com/learning/how-leaders-can-motivate-others-by-creating-meaning/why-meaning-matters-for-motivation
• https://www.linkedin.com/learning/how-leaders-can-motivate-others-by-creating-meaning/prioritizing-to-focus-on-what-matters

PARENTS! Cut yourself some slack!
Resource for your kids!

• http://conference.consciouscapitalism.org/conscious-capitalism-for-kids-quarantine-edition/
• https://workforce.org/news/child-care-for-essential-workers-in-san-diego-county-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/

Animal webcams! https://explore.org/livecams

There is a new portal available at covid19.ca.gov/childcare and enables parents to enter their location and the type of care they need, instantly receiving a list of local center-based and family child care programs. The list of open, licensed child-care programs will include health and safety information, age of children accepted, capacity, availability, hours, and contact information for the program.

Here are some publicly traded companies with interesting info:

• Uber (UBER) is reportedly in talks to buy Grubhub (GRUB) in an all-stock deal. If completed, it would combine two of the most dominant players in the meal delivery market. Coronavirus has caused an increase in popularity for on-demand food delivery services as consumers hunker down and abide by social distancing requirements.
• Moderna (MRNA) received fast-track designation from the FDA on Tuesday for its COVID-19 vaccine. The biotechnology company has completed its Phase 1 clinical trial and will now move forward by enrolling another 600 participants. Moderna's stock has gained 242% since the start of the year.
• Peloton (PTON) announced that it surpassed 1 million aggregate paid subscribers on Tuesday. The home-fitness cycling company originally projected that it would only top 930,000 paid subscribers this year, but the pandemic super-charged sales as consumers looked for ways to exercise while they were stuck at home

Links we are “still” using currently to track COVID-19:

• https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/coronavirus/
• https://www.bing.com/covid?ref=share

And as always, stay positive, kind to each other, and ready for what is next.

Jennifer & The Optima Team ????

DISCLAIMER – Due to the daily changing environment and guidelines being provided by the government, this information could be outdated. Please contact our office for the latest updates and guidelines. Optima Office is not responsible for any actions taken due to the information provided. The information provided here is for instructional purposes and does not represent legal advice being given by Optima Office.