Vintage Filings Business Blog

If you are a senior executive a company that accepts consumer payments, you understand that the easier you make the transaction process, the higher volume of sales you can incur.  With that in mind it is very exciting to hear that Visa and Nokia announced plans this past week to deliver Visa payment and payment-related services – including contactless payments, remote payments, money transfer, alerts and notifications – for Nokia’s next generation handsets beginning with the Nokia 6212 Classic, expected to be available starting October 2008.  These forms of payment have been widely accepted in Europe and Asia, and now the latest mobile evolution is causing it to enter the market domestically.

The Visa applications will first be made available for trial use by interested financial institutions and will allow consumers with the Nokia 6212 classic and a relationship with a participating Visa issuing bank to use their Visa account to pay for goods and services; initiate mobile money transfers to other individuals with Visa accounts; receive near real-time notifications of activity on their Visa account; and “opt in” to receive offers and discounts from merchants.

“Mobile payments and services are one of the most vibrant areas of innovation at Visa, as we seek to accelerate the migration from paper forms of payment to digital money,” said Tim Attinger, Head of Global Product Innovation at Visa Inc. “Visa is already better money – more convenient, reliable and secure than cash. Putting Visa payments and exciting new services into the NFC-equipped Nokia 6212 classic adds another layer of convenience and security for Visa account holders and Nokia customers around the world.”

The Nokia 6212 classic includes integrated Near-Field Communications chipsets (NFC) which lets the mobile device behave like a contactless payment card, where consumers simply wave it within a few inches of a special point of sale reader to complete a Visa transaction. Nokia and Visa first demonstrated NFC technology in December 2005 with the launch of the first large scale NFC trial in the United States at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

The plans announced today represent the next phase in an ongoing effort between Visa and Nokia to make mobile payments a reality for consumers around the globe. The long-term collaboration between Nokia and Visa has already resulted in multiple trials of Visa mobile payments enabled through NFC technology on four continents, including in the United States with Wells Fargo Bank; in Malaysia with Maybank and Maxis; in Taiwan with Chinatrust Commercial Bank and Chunghwa Telecom; and London with Barclays Bank.

“NFC-capable devices such as the Nokia 6212 Classic are set to change the way mobile phone users interact with devices and services in their surroundings,” says Jeremy Belostock, the Head of Near Field Communications, Nokia. ”With our partnership with Visa, we’re bringing the value of electronic payments and services directly into the mobile phone, making our customers’ everyday lives more convenient.”

With the credit crisis at full tilt and new car leasing programs on the endangered species list, consumers are uncertain how they will finance their next auto purchase – and a substantial number may opt out of the new car market, buy a less expensive new car or a used vehicle, or postpone their purchase entirely.  If you are a company in the auto finance or dealer industries, this is a key post for you.

These findings above are from a new nationwide survey of 1,000 consumers conducted by market researcher Synovate of Chicago for Global Debt Network Automotive – the nationwide online loan portfolio marketplace where automobile dealers, banks, credit unions, hedge funds and other financial institutions can come together to securely evaluate, price, sell and purchase asset-backed debt.

In response to the question “The auto leasing business has experienced a shake-out of late: What do you plan to do if leasing becomes less available to you?” 37 percent of respondents said the recent sharp decline in new-car leasing programs may cause them to select a used car instead (19 percent), postpone their auto purchase for the time being (11 percent), or purchase a less expensive new car (7 percent).

Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they would consider purchasing rather than leasing their car of choice, while only 2 percent reported they would pursue obtaining a new car lease from an alternative source, such as a finance company, bank or credit union. Almost 40 percent said they were uncertain how the shake-out in auto leasing might affect their auto purchase plans.

“The survey confirms what we’ve been hearing in the marketplace: that American consumers are uncertain how they will finance their next automobile and this uncertainty is causing them to consider a variety of options, including buying a less expensive new car, a used car, or postponing a purchase until conditions are more favorable,” said Michael Sheridan, founder and president of GDNAuto. “Although these results are bad news for car manufacturers and lenders who have discontinued popular leasing programs, and for the new car dealers who have relied on these programs to boost sales, there is a tremendous opportunity for used car dealers and lenders to grow their business by introducing financing options that will have broad appeal to low- and moderate-income consumers being driven in growing numbers to used car lots.”

More than 40 million used cars are sold in the U.S. each year. That number is expected to skyrocket thanks to a soft economy, higher gas prices and fewer new-car leasing programs. Until recently, leases accounted for 55 percent of total new car sales at Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, 43 percent at Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and 42 percent at General Motors Corp.’s Cadillac, according to JD Power.

Among the survey’s other key findings:

• Uncertainty? It’s Not So Much a Guy Thing. Forty-three percent of women are uncertain about their course of action in response to the auto leasing drought, compared with 36 percent of men. Of those who are more certain of a specific course of action, women are marginally less likely than men (19 percent to 24 percent) to purchase the same car they might otherwise have leased, or to purchase a used car (17 percent, vs. 24 percent of men).
• Age Matters. Almost 20 percent of those 65 and older expect to postpone an auto purchase. At the opposite end of the age scale, consumers ages 18-24 are the least likely (11 percent) to buy the same new car they otherwise would have leased, and 14 percent of that age group say they probably will purchase a less expensive new car. Survey respondents ages 25-34 are the most likely to buy a new car (25 percent) even if a lease isn’t an option, while used cars are the most attractive option for the 35-44 age group (22 percent). Even so, 45 percent of this age group reports they are uncertain how to proceed.
• Money Matters, Too. When it comes to buying vs. leasing the same car, household income is powerfully correlated with consumer expectations. Those with yearly incomes of less than $25,000 virtually ruled out the purchase option (2.2 percent), while that prospect grows as income rises: 15 percent of those in the $25,000-$50,000 bracket, 24 percent of those earning $50,000 to $75,000, and 34 percent of those earning more than $75,000 annually. Those in the $25,000-$50,000 bracket are marginally more likely to opt for a used car or to postpone the decision altogether. Those earning less than $25,000 recorded the highest level of uncertainty of any demographic in the survey (52 percent).
• Doubtful in Dixie. Fully 47 percent of respondents from the South say they are uncertain about the best course of action, which may be why only 15 percent said they would be likely to purchase rather than lease a new car. Those in the Midwest are most likely to purchase rather than lease (27 percent), while those in the South are least likely to do so (15 percent). Those in the West are least likely to go the used car route (14 percent) and most likely to forego the transaction entirely (15 percent).
• My Other Car is a Job. Consumers employed full-time are most likely to purchase rather than lease the same car (25 percent) – but the self-employed are least likely to do so (14.5 percent). Interestingly, retirees are as inclined to buy the car they originally had in mind as those employed full-time (22 percent), but are also relatively more likely to sit out the transaction (15 percent).
• Higher Education = Newer Car. The greater the level of education, the greater the likelihood that a consumer will purchase a new car when leasing isn’t an option. Of those reporting at least some post-graduate education, 37 percent say they would buy a new car even if a lease isn’t available, vs. 21 percent of those with some college or a degree, and 13 percent of those with high school or less. Some 44 percent of that last group said they were unsure about how to proceed.

With the current credit crisis triggering more than $400 billion in asset write-downs among the financial services industry, enterprise risk management (ERM) programs and components are in high-demand now more than ever to help institutions aggregate risk and treat it holistically. According to a global survey of 316 financial services executives, over 70 percent of respondents believed that the losses stemming from the credit crisis were largely due to failures to address risk management issues.

The results of a global survey conducted in July 2008 by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of SAS, the leader in business intelligence (BI) and analytics, gained insight into enterprise risk management strategies.

Executives now appear to be paying attention, with 59 percent of survey respondents saying the credit crisis has prompted them to scrutinize their risk management practices in greater detail. In anticipation of closer scrutiny from regulators, many institutions are revisiting their risk management practices. In addition, recent reports by the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and the Institute for International Finance (IIF) are now calling for closer scrutiny of the risk management process.

TowerGroup analyst Rodney Nelsestuen agrees. “Enterprise risk management has taken on new importance as stockholders, boards of directors and regulators demand better, more timely analysis of risk and a deeper understanding of how the institution is impacted by the dynamic risk environment of a global financial community.”

Survey respondents identified several challenges such as data and company culture, which have affected the implementation of comprehensive risk approaches. For many executives at financial services firms, access to relevant, timely and consistent data is a major obstacle. In addition, almost half of the respondents believed fostering a culture of risk management was the most widely encountered challenge.

Firms participating in the survey are recognizing that successful integrated risk programs go beyond quantitative benefits. In areas such as credit and market risk, an integrated approach can efficiently allocate capital and provide better loss containment; it also serves as a form of protection against a damaged reputation.

“This survey is evidence that the risk management needs of financial institutions are evolving to go beyond regulatory risk and must break down traditional risk silos to drive toward a firm-wide risk view,” said Alastair Sim, Global Director for Risk, SAS.

As your partners in the EDGAR filing industry, we feel a strong obligation to keep you informed on all of the breaking news events that occur in the market as they happen.  And with that in mind, it’s very important to note that on September 18th the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced an order mandating that hedge funds will now be required to report all short selling through EDGAR. As of September 22nd, 2008, certain institutional investment managers will be required to file a report on new Form SH with the SEC on the first business day of every week following a week which resulted short sales. The first SH form will be required to be filed on September 29th, 2008.

Let Vintage Help You
Vintage Filings is prepared to assist you in this new matter. As the fastest growing EDGAR and financial printing company in the nation, we continue to be at the forefront with respect to regulatory developments. We look forward to continuing to manage your disclosure needs for you. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

For more information, read the release or contact Shai or Seth directly.

If you work for a publicly traded company, you know the importance of establishing proper protocols that align themselves with best practices and International standards.  With that in mind I thought it was important to write about The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) “Email Data Management Best Practices,” a document with a series of far-reaching privacy and data security recommendations intended for publishers, marketers and service providers. Focusing on protecting consumer privacy while improving effectiveness in email marketing executions, the document was released at TARGUSinfo’s Online Lead Quality Summit.

Some of the document’s key recommendations are:

• Senders should send commercial email only to individuals who have provided informed consent.
• A global unsubscribe mechanism should be implemented for all companies sending emails.
• Advertisers and marketers should authenticate their emails by publicly registering the domains from which they send the email.
• A company cannot transfer a consumer’s permission to receive commercial email to another company without the transfer being referenced in the new company’s emails.

“We are confident that, if adopted, these best practices will protect consumers by ensuring that consent is informed and retractable, and will help responsible email marketers and their service providers improve the overall quality and performance of email marketing campaigns,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “We created this document with a very important goal in mind—to codify the elements of security, deliverability, permission and privacy for all companies involved in email marketing,” said Jeremy Fain, Vice President of Industry Services for the IAB and the lead of the IAB’s Email Committee.

“This is an important document that is illustrative of the lengths we go to as an industry to self-regulate even beyond what federal regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act can provide,” said Arend Henderson, Chief Analytics Officer of Q Interactive and a member of the IAB’s Email Committee. “If our industry adheres to these vital recommendations, we will have succeeded in removing some of the major friction points of email marketing, which in turn will greatly contribute to the medium’s continued growth as an effective means of one-on-one engagement with consumers.”

This Spring, consumers were excited that rebate checks would soon be landing in their mailboxes and bank accounts when a Harris Poll found that 45 percent of Americans believed these checks would help stimulate the economy. Now that summer is over and the rebate checks are cashed, attitudes have changed. More than half of Americans (52%) say spending the checks did not stimulate the economy and only 37 percent say that it did.

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,710 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 11 and 17, 2008 by Harris Interactive. Some other findings include:

• More than half of Republicans (52%) say rebate checks did stimulate the economy while three in five Democrats (61%) and over half of Independents (56%) say that it did not;
• In April, just under three-quarters (73%) of Americans predicted they would receive payment; 71 percent now say they did receive a rebate check; and,
• Seven in ten Americans with incomes of $34,999 or less and incomes of $75,000 or more (70% each) say they received a check. Greater than four in five adults with incomes of between $35,000 and $49,999 (86%) and between $50,000 and $74,999 (87%) say they received rebate checks.

How the Checks Were Spent

While the government hoped that the checks would be spent to spur the economy, the reality was a little different.

What was predicted in April:

• Americans said they would use some of the rebate to reduce their non-mortgage debt, paying off bills or credit cards (38%) or adding to their cash savings (35%).
• One in five (21%) said would spend the money on other things they wanted to buy;
• Twenty percent said they would use the rebate to take a trip for leisure purposes;
• Seventeen percent said they would spend their money on home improvements while sixteen percent said they would use the money in restaurants and for dining out;
• One in ten said they would use the money for technology devices or entertainment events.

What Happened in August:

• People primarily used their rebate checks to reduce non-mortgage debt, such as paying off bills or credit cards (36%) and to add to their cash savings (29%);
• One in five (21%) did actually spend the money on other things they wanted to buy;
• Just one in ten (11%) actually used the rebate to take a trip for leisure purposes; and,
• Americans spent their money on home improvements (14%) and in restaurants and dining out (12%);
• Only five percent said they used the money for technology devices or entertainment events.

So What?

As predicted, much of the rebate money ended up deposited in savings or being mailed to credit card issuers. Retailers did try their best to get some of the rebate money, but that did not end up occurring as much as they, and probably the White House, wanted.

The economy is still one of the most important issues facing the country – something that did not change from late spring to the end of the summer. With the economic uncertainty, Americans thought they would want to put away some cash and help reduce debt and that is exactly what they did. What seemed like a great economic fix in the earlier part of the year has not panned out and Americans are still looking for Congress and the White House to provide some relief.

With the November elections just two months away, it is unlikely that either body will be able to actually do something that will help voters before the election. How they react to that will definitely impact their voting behavior in November.

You work day in and day out to build a successful company, you are able to then take that company public, however if you do not have the proper systems in place to track and record the method in which you record revenue, all of your diligent work could go in vain!  A recent survey by RevenueRecognition.com and IDC of senior financial executives from 586 companies, found that companies rate revenue recognition accounting as having the greatest risk for errors and inaccuracies by a margin of three to one over other key finance and accounting processes. Revenue recognition accounting also ranked number one for being the most complex to manage and for errors having the highest level of materiality to financial statements.

This triple crown of threats to the integrity of revenue reporting processes corresponds to the continued, pervasive use of spreadsheets and to a lack of knowledge regarding the availability of specialized applications for revenue automation.

HIGH RISK COMPANIES

34% of responding companies indicated that the complexity in their business and the inadequacy of their information infrastructures puts them at much higher risk for revenue reporting errors. A key factor was the number and type of business models – companies with multi-element contracts, subscription/usage based billing, and royalty/licensing models were far more likely to have higher risk and complexity.

These business models require that billing and revenue recognition be managed separately, which can have a significant operational impact. “When revenue and billing are separated, a completely independent set of criteria governs how revenue flows from a contract to financial statements,” explained Gottfried Sehringer, executive editor of RevenueRecognition.com “The typical IT infrastructure based on generic financial applications is unable to process the revenue cycle which is far more complex than billing. The result is a process laden with manual intervention and spreadsheets.”

SPREADSHEETS ARE PERVASIVE

This year’s survey found that 92% of respondents from public companies are using spreadsheets for one or more key revenue accounting activities, the same percentage found in a previous RevenueRecognition.com and IDC survey (“Enterprise Systems and Revenue Recognition: The Missing Link,” 2006). This suggests not only are infrastructures insufficient, companies are not being aggressive enough in adopting solutions to effectively eliminate the risks associated with spreadsheets from the revenue reporting process.

REVENUE DATA IS FRAGMENTED ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE

Another source of risk was the fragmentation of revenue information across the enterprise. “Data fragmentation adds multiple levels of risk to the revenue reporting process and the quality of revenue information,” said Kathleen Wilhide, Research Director, GRC and BPM Solutions at IDC. “In order to lower that risk, information systems must continually improve so that the level of automation matches the level of complexity. With fully automated revenue processes, the risk of inaccurate reporting is greatly reduced, while the ability to manage the business and optimize top line performance is significantly enhanced.”

EDGAR filings are one of the more time consuming activities a publicly company has to go through on a regular basis.  The majority of the filing service on the market are inefficient and frustrating to work with.  We, at Vintage Filings, are one of the fastest growing firms in this industry and here are the Top 5 Reasons to Switch Your Edgar Filings to Vintage Filings:

1. Dedicated Account Management

A devoted and experienced manager is assigned to each individual client to assist with all of your filing needs.  As a client you will receive personal service 24/7.

2. No Weekend Fees of Overnight Fees

EDGAR is always needed on an ASAP basis.  Vintage clients will never incur any weekend rates of overnight fees.

3. Full Typesetting & Financial Printing Services

We are able to provide typeset and print delivery 24/7.

4. Transparent Billing

Our billing is so simple and straightforward, our clients can easily create their own invoices.

5. We come to You!

Full drafting sessions at locations of your choice!  Concierge services provided per your specifications and preference.  All out-of-pocket expenses are at cost.

Online social networking has steadily taken a hold of the financial community, with investing based social networks like WallStreet.net and CakeFinancial.com having firm market holds.  However with their expansive list of pre-existing user base, it appears that Scottrade could become the Facebook of investing social networks.  They’ve launched an online social networking community to empower customers to communicate directly with each other via a password-protected Web site. The site is available to all Scottrade customers.

In the Scottrade Online Community, customers can:

• Interact directly through discussion groups and blogs with other Scottrade investors and traders, providing a unique opportunity for peer-to-peer education.
• Share customized ScottradeELITE layouts and Trade-Ideas filters as well as other files, ideas, strategies, tips, articles, layouts, filters and spreadsheets, giving Scottrade customers a new resource in making more informed trading decisions.
• Provide feedback directly to Scottrade product specialists who develop and manage the trading tools, products and platforms used by Scottrade customers, allowing Scottrade customers to have a true voice in their own trading experience.
• Learn from blogs written by Scottrade platform managers and experts. A library of educational podcasts on Scottrade products and services provides another way to learn.

“Scottrade’s Online Community is a complement to our offline education efforts and further solidifies our commitment to educating our customers so they can make better-informed investment decisions,” said Kevin Dodson, Scottrade’s Director of Online Financial Services.

Scottrade’s Online Community launched quietly in April to select customers and is now open to all Scottrade customers. The Community is part of the firm’s overall strategy of providing more investment information and resources to its customers so they can be more successful investors and traders.

“Today’s investors and traders thrive on information. Scottrade’s Online Community is a whole new way for our customers to get information,” said Kristin McDougall, Customer Education Manager at Scottrade. “Best of all, the information is coming from people who are just like them. Our customers find that very meaningful.”

“Being connected with a friendly Community like Scottrade’s has been very refreshing,” said Wendy, a Scottrade customer and Online Community member who goes by “mrscashflow” online, and also uses Scottrade’s El Segundo, Calif. office. “I found Scottrade’s Community to be a very inviting place to hang out and it’s easy to get around the neighborhood. It is a friendly group of people that are serious about making money in the stock market.”

Scottrade offers customers free educational opportunities through several channels, including the online brokerage industry’s largest branch network, User Summits and articles and information on Scottrade.com and its trading platforms. User Summits are one-day seminars that bring Scottrade experts into the communities where Scottrade customers live and offer the chance for traders to network and learn about the firm’s trading tools and platforms.

As businesses get more and more mobile, it is becoming critical to have access to your financial data whether you are at the office or on the road.  And with this knowledge, Intuit announced both iPhone and BlackBerry integration with QuickBooks Online, my personal favorite for small business accounting software.

Now the more than 130,000 small businesses that subscribe to QuickBooks Online have even more freedom to manage their business anywhere, anytime – with or without a computer. These early version Web-based mobile applications are part of Intuit’s Connected Services strategy to help entrepreneurs connect to their data when and where they need it.

Available on IntuitLabs.com, an early concept release site, these iPhone and BlackBerry applications help QuickBooks Online users get an up-to-date view of their finances by:

• Checking current bank and credit card balances.
• Tracking who owes them money and who they owe.
• Finding vendor and customer contact info with addresses via Google Maps.
• Running balance sheet and profit and loss reports.

“QuickBooks Online is perfect for us as there is no ‘office,’ just volunteer member parents working from various home or work offices,” said Laura Olcott, treasurer for Twin Cities Co-op Preschool in Corte Madera, Calif. “Given the virtual nature of our interactions, iPhone support helps us be more productive. While waiting for an appointment, I was able to check QuickBooks Online using my iPhone to look up parents with open balances and send them an e-mail reminder to pay their bill.”

“A growing number of small businesses are looking to mobile technology to run their business,” said Rick Jensen, senior vice president of Intuit’s Small Business Division. “Our goal with these new mobile services is to give QuickBooks Online users the edge they need to compete and manage their busy lives by keeping tabs on their business even when they are out of the office.”