COVID-19 Response: Our Commitment to our Clients and Employees

Barnes Wendling is constantly prioritizing our clients’ and employees’ well being. Since the COVID-19 concerns turned into a reality as the virus spread locally, we have been working to prioritize the health and safety of our clients and employees.

Because our clients’ needs are also a priority, we want to assure you that we will be available and remain attentive to your financial needs. We understand there are deadlines fast approaching with potential questions and recent financial concerns that COVID-19 has presented. Our CPAs and business advisors will be available by phone or email to answer your questions and be your trusted advisor during this time of crisis.

While doing our best to remain productive and operational during this busy time, we have implemented many precautions throughout our offices. We recently issued communication to our employees answering many pressing questions as the virus updates continue to change rapidly. We have implemented a social distancing policy and are limiting visitors in our offices. During this time, employees are also approved to work from home if they have expressed concern coming to the office.

Client Communication & Impact

When possible, we will be using phone, teleconference, or virtual meetings in lieu of face to face meetings in order to help prevent the spread of germs and potential infections. Click here to access our team bios with their emails. Visitors will be limited to essential meetings only and should be limited to only healthy visitors. We have implemented a drop box to protect all parties. In the Cleveland office the drop box will be located outside our office on the 14^th floor. In Sheffield and Sandusky, a box will be placed in the entrance way. We encourage the use of our secure electronic portal ShareFile to allow downloading and uploading of files. If you would like to utilize this outlet, please contact our IT Department at rnb@barneswendling.com.

Beyond our client communication changes, the tax payment deadline has been extended an additional 90 days to pay the government.  We’re still gathering more details as it pertains to our clients. Our team is actively monitoring this rapidly-developing situation and modifying plans if needed.  Here is the most current House update: Coronavirus Relief: House Passes Bill & Tax Payment Deadline Extended.

If you have any specific questions and are unsure who to contact, please email info@barneswendling.com and we will get back to you in a timely manner and forward to the appropriate contact.

Maintaining a Healthy Workplace

If anyone on our team becomes ill, they will be asked to stay at home. If diagnosed with COVID-19, they will need to be quarantined throughout the treatment period until fully recovered and their return to work must be approved by a medical professional.

We request all employees to inform HR immediately if they receive a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. This disclosure is required to enable us to be proactive about protecting other employees and clients and their work area will be sanitized immediately.

We are focused on maintaining a healthy workplace and are working with our buildings’ management regarding any additional steps to halt the spread of the virus in the buildings, in addition to normal cleaning procedures.

Client Visits

Before sending staff to a client, the client service executive will be requesting our client to provide us with their procedures to supply a safe and healthy environment. We will also be requesting that our team be in a safe and controlled environment while at the client location.

Thank You

We appreciate everyone’s patience during this challenging time and ask that we all work together to keep everyone safe and healthy. Thank you in advance for understanding our policy.

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