As the COVID-19 health crisis unfolded, the CPA Firm of Rene Sarkhosh & Associates Inc. was very diligent about safety of clients and employees, and quickly started a partial quarantine as early as March 12^th. We are pleased to report that all of us are healthy and symptom free. We returned to work on May 18^th, as California started to slowly lift the restrictions for businesses to stay closed. We continue to closely monitor the guidance presented by the CDC and local authorities, to ensure the safety of everyone.

While we were under the “Stay at Home” order, the staff only had limited access to software and client data. We did not and will not change our security measures when it comes to your data. We do not send any information out of the office for any employee to work offsite. Therefore, we had been limited in the type of work we were able to do while away from the office. Instead, we dedicated a considerable amount of time going through all the new legislature that passed, to ensure we take advantage of all the opportunities for you.

When we came back to the office we had to first work on emergency and priority cases. We have started processing all other files in the order they came in. We have had to change the way we operate in the office and have added new safety measures. These new measures have slowed down our processing time.

One new procedure is that we will not have any in-person meetings, for the time being. We continue to accept packages and mail that arrive by post, overnight delivery or any other parcel delivery method. However, as of now, we wait 5 days before we actually touch and process any of those items. We will accept information sent by fax to (818) 980-8329. We will also accept any information sent by e-mail, although please be aware that this is not a secure method for sending sensitive information. We encourage you to use our SmartVault system to send files, as this will be the most secure method to send us documents.

Information and documents that we usually provide to you will continue to be uploaded to SmartVault. You should download and save these documents for your records. Unlike backup information (Receipts / Invoices / Statements) that you do not need to keep for more than 5 years, tax returns should be kept for indefinitely. We will only keep your copy in SmartVault for a limited time before purging the document.

We will continue to send you any voucher payments and/or forms that require your signature. Our hope is that this will make it easier for you to know where the voucher or signature should be mailed to by you. We urge you to also practice safe procedures before handling any packages that arrive by mail.

We are also working to implement other electronic services, software and procedures. All of this will reduce the sharing of physical files between employees and mailing of physical documents to clients. We hope that with the use of the new technologies, we will be able to work as fast and if not, faster than before.

Thank you for your patience and support in these challenging times. We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy and we wish you all the best. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

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Sincerely,
Rene Sarkhosh C.P.A.