JEDCO, Jefferson Chamber to host business basics seminar

There are some things all business owners should know. Whether you are just starting a business or celebrating 35 years of success, you need to understand the importance of thinking ahead and protecting your assets: your employees, your building, your ideas. The path to stability and success starts with knowing your business liabilities and how to keep them secure.

As part of the Prosper Jefferson series, JEDCO and the Jefferson Chamber have teamed up to bring you a seminar on some important business basics. Our three experts will fill you in (or give you a refresher) on the importance of having a patent on your product, securing proper business insurance, and the ins-and-outs of going through a tax audit. Join Ryan Daul (Daul Insurance), Cary Deaton (Patent Attorney) and Gary Dressler (Postlethwaite & Netterville) as they walk you through the following:

• Understanding intellectual property & patents
• Understanding trademarks & copyrights
• Trade secret protection
• Best practices for keeping records for tax audit protection
• What to do if you have to go through a tax audit & what to do with your results
• Recent Louisiana tax changes that will impact the way you report your taxes
• Protecting your personal assets from your business assets
• Types of insurance your business may need
• Risk management

Join us Wednesday, January 25, 2017, at the JEDCO Conference Center (701A Churchill Parkway, Avondale, LA 70094) from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. for our upcoming Prosper Jefferson seminar. This event is free and open to the public. Please register at www.jedco.org/events

MEET OUR SPEAKERS

Cary Deaton is a Jefferson Parish attorney. He has a long history in patents and trademarks; Cary worked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office as a trademark attorney in Washington D.C. He also worked with Schuyler, Banner, Birch, McKie and Beckett, a Washington intellectual property law firm, before joining the Wall Street investment-banking house of Bache, Halsey, Stewart and Shields. After spending some time in Washington D.C. and New York City, he moved to New Orleans to work in the District Attorney’s Office for the City before opening his own private practice in Metairie.

Cary graduated from the University of New Orleans with a degree in political science. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School.

Gary Dressler is an Associate Director with Poslethwaite & Netterville (P&N) in Metairie, LA. He has more than 21 years of State and Local Tax (SALT) experience. His primary focus is on all matters pertaining to Louisiana state and local taxation, including planning, audit representation and representation at both state and local appeals hearings. Prior to joining P&N in June 2015, Gary spent 19 years in the retail industry, two years in the tax department of an oil and gas company, and over 18 years with a Big Four accounting firm where he served as the State Tax Resource Network member for Louisiana and Mississippi.

Gary has successfully mitigated sales and use tax audits in Louisiana and Mississippi for healthcare, transportation, communications and oil and gas clients. Day-to-day, Gary consults with clients and his P&N colleagues to apprise clients on planning for Louisiana and multi-state tax consequences as to their pending transactions, tax compliance, and audit defense. He has successfully assisted healthcare, transportation, distribution, energy and oil and gas clients in the pursuit of Louisiana tax incentives as well as sales and use tax refunds. He is a member of the State Board of the Louisiana Society of CPAs (LCPA) and a member/former Chair of the SALT Committee of the LCPA.

Gary has a B.S. in accounting and graduated Cum Laude from the University of New Orleans.

Ryan Daul is an insurance Producer and Vice-President for Daul Insurance Agency. Ryan’s goal as a Producer is the same as every other Daul Insurance Agency employee’s goal: to do what is best for the customer at all times. This is the primary focus of every transaction occurring within the agency.

Ryan began working for Daul Insurance Agency in 2002 after graduating from Loyola University. He became licensed as a P&C Producer in 2003. Ryan graduated from Tulane’s MBA program in 2009. He received his CPCU designation in 2015.

Ryan has served or is currently serving on the following boards: Independent Agents of Greater New Orleans – Board Member; Professional Insurance Agents – Governmental Committee Member/ Board Member 2016; Timberlane Country Club – Board Member (2009-2011); Jefferson Chamber of Commerce – Board Member; Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry (PABI) – Board Member; and GNO, Inc.’s NexGen council 2016.