An Update From Our Team

Dear Clients and Friends,

We wanted to provide you with this update. As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) issue continues to evolve, our policies may also evolve to lessen the potential effects of this pandemic. The health and well-being of our communities, clients, and team is our highest priority. As per Governor Pritzker’s order announced last night, March 20th, accounting firms are considered “essential” in nature. As such, our offices remain open, with continued remote work arrangements.

We began remote work arrangements on March 19th, 2020, and will continue monitoring until which time it is determined no longer necessary.

Scheffel Boyle has secure technology in place that enables our team to work safely and seamlessly from remote locations. Your emails and phone calls will be answered in a timely fashion. We have taken several steps to make sure we can continue to deliver the level of quality and excellence you are accustomed to from Scheffel Boyle.

For your safety and ours, we are currently handling tax consultations over the phone. Once returns are finalized, we are mailing the return to you. If you have any questions, please call.

For tax clients who have not yet provided their information to us, possibly send it electronically through our secure upload system, ShareFile, or mail it to our office. If you are not familiar with ShareFile, it is an online, secure upload system sent to you through an email link. The office will be available to assist you in using this secure portal. If you prefer to drop off your documents, you can do that as well.

On behalf of the entire Scheffel Boyle team, thank you for your continued support and loyal business as we all navigate these unique circumstances. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. As always, we are here and ready to help. Thank you for your continued trust in us and stay well.

 

Sincerely,

The Scheffel Boyle Team

A Message From Our Team

Dear Clients and Friends,

As our firm continues to monitor the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation, we wanted to take a few minutes to reach out to our clients, friends, and community. As you are aware, we are in the heart of the busiest time of year for our industry. Scheffel Boyle remains fully operational in our seven offices – Alton, Edwardsville, Belleville, Highland, Jerseyville, Columbia, and Carrollton, IL. We are and will continue to be dedicated to serving and advising you. We are focused on high quality service and the health and safety of our clients, team members, business partners, vendors, and their families.

We are currently reviewing and updating internal policies, particularly regarding in-person meetings and office visitors. At this time, we have taken the following measures to ensure service continuity remains strong, but also that important safety precautions are taken:

  1. Encouraging meetings over the phone with clients rather than face-to-face
  2. Promoting an easy, secure upload of client documents through our online portal, ShareFile. Please contact your Scheffel Boyle team member for details on how to use this feature.
  3. Limiting non-essential employee travel and client contact
  4. Strict return from illness policies and exposure policy with quarantine period
  5. Sanitizers distributed throughout offices
  6. Frequent disinfecting wipe-downs of common areas in all offices

Our leadership is closely monitoring Federal, State, local government, and IRS updates regarding both this issue and our usual deadlines during busy season. We are also taking actions to have as little disruption as possible to our professional work, while keeping safety top-of-mind. The CDC recommends the following routine preventative actions to help prevent the spread of virus, including everyday habits which we are stressing to all our team:

  1. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol.
  2. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  4. Stay home when you are sick or have been exposed to someone with the virus.
  5. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  6. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using disinfectant wipes.
  7. Avoid contact with anyone who has recently been outside the United States

Our policies and the measures we take internally during this crisis are fluid and will remain adaptive as the situation evolves. We will communicate with our clients if our current situation, policies, or procedures were to change.

Please reach out to our team with any questions or concerns you may have during this time. We remain dedicated to serving you and doing things for the health and safety of our team, clients, community, and friends.

 

Sincerely,

The Scheffel Boyle Team

Proudly Introducing our FOCUS Intern Class of 2020

We recently welcomed 12 Senior FOCUS Interns to our team! The 2020 FOCUS Interns include Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students Zeke Cassidy, Joe Guithues, Brittany Parker, Cydney Mitchaner, Taylor Townsend, Jason Dempsey, Julia Carroll, and Karla Posos-Beetz; McKendree University students Breanna Ziemer and Alice Ratermann; Emma Gregowicz from Lindenwood University; and Erica Bechtold from Blackburn College.

The FOCUS Program places Senior accounting students throughout all seven of our offices for a Spring Internship. Students who are accepted into the program receive extensive training and real-world experience during our busiest time – tax season. In addition, each intern is entered into a mentor program in order to walk them through training measures and best practices. The paid internship program receives hundreds of applicants each year from colleges throughout both Illinois and Missouri.

Welcome to the team!

FOCUS Interns Zeke Cassidy, Joe Guithues, Brittany Parker, Erica Bechtold, Cydney Mitchaner, Taylor Townsend, Jason Dempsey, Julia Carroll, Breanna Ziemer, Karla Posos-Beetz, Alice Ratermann, and Emma Gregowicz

Welcome Wagon!

We are proud to officially introduce our new Staff Accountants: Jessica Lake, Zach Williams, Evan Tyson, and Jett Durr. All are graduates of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Accounting Program. Jessica will be working out of our Alton office, Zach and Evan will be in Belleville, and Jett in Edwardsville.

We are excited to have you all. Welcome to the team!

Well Wishes & Congratulations

We’d like to take a moment to recognize two members of our team who recently retired. Principal Steve Pembrook and Firm Administrator Kathy Gillen dedicated a combined total of more than 60 years to our firm and both entered retirement as of December 31st, 2019.

Steve was a dynamic and thoughtful leader of our firm. Serving clients out of our Alton office, he was a senior leader on our Audit and Assurance Team, as well as the Agribusiness Team. Steve’s contributions to our firm can never be measured. Whether through training initiatives or firm growth, he has made a lasting impact on Scheffel Boyle for generations to come.

Kathy worked behind the scenes at Scheffel Boyle, ensuring our team had quality benefits and administrative support. She was the main contact for all seven of our offices and wore many hats throughout her time with us. Kathy always made herself available to both clients and staff. She was hardworking and a valuable person to have on our team for so many years.

Congratulations to both Steve and Kathy on entering this new and exciting phase of life. Thank you for dedicating your impressive careers to our firm. We wish you both all the best and you will be greatly missed!

Extended Tax Season Hours Begin January 15th

To better accommodate our clients, we extend our office hours during tax season to allow for evening and weekend appointments. Please note these hours listed below so we can better serve you. Thank you for choosing Scheffel Boyle!

Monday through Thursday

8am to 8pm


Fridays

8am to 6pm


Saturdays

8am to 3pm (through February)

8am to 5pm (thereafter through April 15)

Dennis Ulrich & Jeff Westerhold Honored by Rotary International

Managing Principal Dennis Ulrich and Scheffel Financial Services, Inc. Principal Jeff Westerhold were among five individuals recently honored by Rotary International with the Paul Harris Fellow recognition. The Paul Harris Fellow program was established in Rotary in 1957 with an overall purpose to honor and recognize individuals for their “generous, ongoing support of the Rotary Foundation.”

Dennis and Jeff have been active supporters and members of the Edwardsville and Goshen Rotary clubs for many years. Congratulations to you both on this great achievement!

Click here to learn more about the Paul Harris Fellow recognition.

Paul Harris Fellow Honorees

Matt Warren, Dennis Ulrich, Nicole Kline, Michael Wenos, Jeff Westerhold

Signed, Sealed, & Delivered!

We are excited to announce that our care packages for the troops have been mailed and delivered to our much deserving deployed soldiers. Through our Friends Trivia fundraiser held this past November, our team raised the money necessary to send some treats and basic essentials to 10 soldiers and one troop currently stationed overseas.

So why the care packages? Well, each year, our employees perform a service project for our Scheffel Boyle Shares program. For this year’s Shares project, our team set a goal to send care packages to deployed troops either from our local area or with connections in our community. We did our best to personalize the packages for each soldier, and we hope that the treats and comforts of home somehow brighten their day and make their time away a little easier.

We would like to send a sincere thank you to everyone who supported this project. Our team did a great job not only organizing the trivia fundraiser, but also assembling and mailing a whopping 34 care packages for our troops. And, of course, thank you to our servicemen and women for their sacrifice and service. We appreciate all you do.

 

Holiday Hours

Our offices will be closed on Wednesday, December 25th for Christmas Day and Wednesday, January 1st for New Years Day so our employees can spend time with those they love.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday season!

Friends Trivia for the Troops

Could we BE more excited?!

What could be better than a night of Friends Trivia? Well, we channeled our inner UNAGI and thought, Friends Trivia for the Troops of course! All proceeds and donations received from this event will go toward our Scheffel Boyle Shares project for the year of assembling care packages for troops deployed overseas. Please consider participating for a night of fun and philanthropy!

Friends Trivia for the Troops
Big Daddy’s Edwardsville
Wednesday, November 13th
Registration Opens at 6:30, Trivia Starts at 7pm

Reserved seating is SOLD OUT! Overflow seating will be available that evening first come, first serve for a limited number of tables on a heated, enclosed patio.

Be sure to follow the event on Facebook to get updates!


Want to earn some mulligans?

Bring a donation for our Troops from the wishlist below and you’ll earn mulligans! Max of 5 mulligans per team.

  • High-quality socks (black crew length)
  • Good soap, shampoo, body wash, or face wash
  • Toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss
  • Travel-size deodorant
  • Sodoku books and crossword puzzles
  • Instant coffee
  • Crystal Light drink packets
  • Instant sweet tea packs
  • Reese’s, M&Ms, and other candy
  • Fruit snacks
  • Baby wipes
  • Sunscreen
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Lens cleaning cloths
  • Magazines and books
  • Board games
  • Decks of cards
  • Puzzles
  • Batteries (AA and AAA)
  • Slim Jims
  • Protein Bars
  • Gum
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Twizzlers
  • Beef Jerky
  • Hair ties
  • Bobby pins
  • Dried fruit
  • Stamps
  • Words of encouragement/letters/LOVE

 

Download our event flyer here!