It is easy to conflate allyship with friendship. An ally can be a friend, of course, but allyship in the workplace is about more than building camaraderie. As part of its anti-racism resources, Harvard University defines an “ally” as someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle fo [...]

Becoming a leader is something many employees strive for, but not everyone accomplishes this goal. GHJ’s Managing Partner Tom Barry and Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Mari-Anne Kehler spoke at the 2021 Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) Summit about how to earn a seat at the leadership table. Their insightful dialogue focused on the synergies among culture [...]

Originally published in Chief Executive Magazine As the boundaries between work and home continue to blur, how companies respond to social and political issues is more important than ever. Employees are taking note of their employer’s stance on key issues and subsequent actions, and creating an environment of trust, support and psychological safety can help leaders p [...]

In the past 18 to 24 months, two acts were signed into law that could have a significant impact on plan 2020 year audits — namely, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (passed in December 2019) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (passed in late March 2020). Each act contains provisions that will affect [...]

The state of California offers several programs to restaurants, those in the food supply chain and other small food and beverage companies. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) announced a grant program to support the agricultural producers and businesses in this industry with pandemic assistance funds. Qualifying food and beverage companies may ta [...]

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 brought about several significant changes to the federal tax code. One notable change relates to the state and local tax deduction for individual taxpayers. Prior to 2018, an individual who itemized deductions on his or her personal income tax return could deduct 100 percent of state property taxes as well as either state incom [...]

Originally published in Risk Management Magazine There is no way around it—in the current environment, organizations cannot prevent social and political views from being shared in the workplace. Especially after the events of 2020, from politics to police violence to the pandemic, the lines between work and social discussions have increasingly blurred. This is not n [...]

Coauthored with Alexander Anderson and Viqar Shariff, O’Melveny A Special Purchase Acquisition Company, commonly referred to as a “SPAC,” has become so popular that hardly a day goes by without hearing about it in the media. As the name implies, a SPAC is formed in order to acquire another company. This blog will provide a high-level overview of SPACs and discuss [...]

Governor Newsom signed the California State Budget 2021-2022 (the Budget) on July 12 with total funding of $262.6 billion. The key economic and tax highlights of the state Budget are as follows: SALT DEDUCTION WORKAROUND AND ENTITY-LEVEL TAX FOR PASS-THROUGHS The Budget includes the SALT workaround of the $10,000 federal cap on individuals’ deductions for state and [...]

Employee resource groups (ERGs) are voluntary, employee-led cohorts whose members have shared characteristics like gender, ethnicity or interests. According to TopMBA, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have ERGs. These groups help support employees’ personal and professional goals while fostering a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Focused on DEI, GHJ launched [...]