Category: Business News

T.J. Hoeferlin, Director of Assurance for Purk & Associates, P.C.

T.J. Hoeferlin, CPA, Purk & Associates Director of Assurance, was selected as one of Small Business Monthly’s “2018 Top 100 St. Louisans to Know.”

Hoeferlin, who joined Purk & Associates in 2016, is responsible for all assurance related services including audits, reviews, compilations, and agreed upon procedures. He oversees and manages a wide variety of areas ranging from engagement management and client service to research and implementation of new accounting and auditing standards.

“I am honored to be selected as one of the ‘Top 100 St. Louisans to Know.’ St. Louis has a strong and growing entrepreneurial community, and I continue to be amazed by the level of talent and drive of the business owners and entrepreneurs I meet each day,” said Hoeferlin.

Hoeferlin earned a bachelor of science in accounting from Truman State University, and received a master of business administration from Washington University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. Hoeferlin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

To read Hoeferlin’s profile and the profiles of the recipients of the “2018 Top 100 St. Louisans to Know,” please click here.

Founded in 2009 with headquarters in St. Louis, Purk & Associates, P.C., is a nationally recognized and award winning, independently owned accounting and management advisory firm that delivers a full range of tax, accounting, audit and consulting services. At Purk & Associates, our focus is to help our clients achieve more financial and business success. To learn more, please visit www.purkpc.com.

Fyndus, LLC, a global e-commerce and local deals startup, recently launched its updated website and app to make the consumer experience more robust, provide tighter security, and expanded payment options.

Released earlier this month, the newly-enhanced Fyndus website and app are designed to improve the experience of users, and merchants selling their products and services. Improvements include:

• Expanded payment options — All major credit cards are now accepted along with PayPal and Stripe.
• Increased product and service offerings – Improved and varied merchandise selections at the lowest prices with options of free surface shipping or expedited shipping.  More local dining, services, and experiences are available for consumers using the mobile application.
• Better marketing for merchants – Merchants and retailers who become part of the Fyndus program will have more control, exposure, and independence with marketing their businesses through the app.
• Easier log-in with strengthened security – App users now have fewer steps to access their accounts with increased security measures that were programmed in the app and website. 

Affan Waheed, Fyndus CEO, said, “We continue to expand our offerings and services to make the Fyndus user experience engaging, convenient and fun. We want and need input from our users so we can continuously improve, and challenge ourselves to constantly innovate to make the user experience unique and simple.” 

Founded in 2016, Fyndus has experienced significant growth with thousands of subscribers throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with India and Pakistan having the largest number of users. Fyndus launched its North American mobile application last year.

“Our vision is to empower our users with an app that saves them time and money by finding the best local deals, services and dining experiences regardless of where they are in the world,” added Waheed.   

Contact:

Ann Marie Mayuga

314.485.9499

annmarie@ammcommunications.com

@stlpr or @ammayuga

About Fyndus

Fyndus, LLC, is the global leader that changes the consumer retail shopping experience with brick and mortar, and e-commerce using an app to find the best deals in merchandise, service and local dining. Fyndus is different from other e-commerce platforms because it rewards buying behavior patterns, provides savings to buyers by eliminating the middleman, and offers merchants and service providers the tools to better manage the consumer buying experience. With headquarters based in St. Louis, Missouri and offices located internationally throughout Europe and the Middle East, Fyndus is changing the way people shop globally, save money, and help local businesses thrive. Fyndus…Discover. Shop. Save! To learn more, please visit https://Fyndus.com.

February 13, 2018 (St. Louis) – Ed Mayuga, AMM Communications partner, a leading St. Louis-based firm that offers PR, digital marketing, communication skills training, and talent acquisition, is the luncheon speaker for the Feb. 20 St. Louis Society of Association Executives (SLSAE), where he is presenting, “Using Social Media Effectively for Associations.”

The program will be held at the Missouri Society of CPAs located at 540 Maryville Centre Dr., St. Louis, MO, 63141, from 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Tickets are $35.00 for SLSAE members and $50.00 for non-members. To register, please click here.

The program is about how social media has been around for nearly 15 years, and associations and company are still not using it and testing it to its fullest potential. The purpose of this discussion is to provide three ideas for social media marketing that attendees can implement after attending this session. Ideas that will be discussed include:

• LinkedIn for B2B marketing
• Facebook and Instagram for B2C marketing
• Pay-per-Click advertising through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google AdWords

Founded in 2008 by Ann Marie and Ed Mayuga, AMM Communications, a PR and digital agency, serves clients throughout the St. Louis region and nationwide. The firm has evolved from its initial offerings of public relations and social media consulting to evolving into one of the only digital public relations firms in St. Louis using the Paid Earned Social Owned (PESO) model when working with clients. The PESO model was created by Gini Dietrich, PR-thought leader and founder of the influential blog, http://spinsucks.com.

AMM Communications has also been voted one of the “Best St. Louis Public Relations Firms” by the readers of Small Business Monthly for eight consecutive years from 2010-17. Also, the firm was selected by Small Business Monthly as one of its “2017 Future 50” companies, an award recognizing privately held companies that are key economic indicators for regional business growth.

Founded in 2008, AMM Communications LLC, the St. Louis-based PR and digital agency, and talent acquisition firm, provides media relations, digital public relation, business development, crisis communications, content marketing, internal communications, communications skills training, digital marketing, reputation management, social media consulting, and executive search services for businesses nationwide. AMM Communications is WBE certified, and has been voted one of the “Best PR Firms in St. Louis” by Small Business Monthly from 2010-2017. We want to help you … Drive your sales. Communicate better. Hire well. For more information, please visit, http://ammcommunications.com or call 314.485.9499.

February 5, 2018 (St. Louis) – Purk & Associates, P.C., a nationally recognized, independently owned St. Louis-based accounting and management advisory firm, was voted by the readers of Small Business Monthly’s as one of the “2018 Best in Customer Service St. Louis Companies.”

“It is an honor to be voted by the readers of Small Business Monthly as one the best companies in St. Louis that provides outstanding customer service,” said Bill Purk, CPA, Purk & Associates President and Co-Founding Shareholder. “Our team members are focused on delivering consistent, valued-oriented results for our clients every day that exceeds their expectations.”

For nearly a decade, Purk & Associates has consistently been selected by the readers of Small Business Monthly for a variety of the publication’s “Best in Company” awards including “Best in Customer Service,” “Best in Quality,” ‘Best Accounting Firms,” “Best in Value,” “Future 50,” and several of its team members have been selected “Top Small Business Accountants” and “Top Small Business Executives.”

A link to Small Business Monthly’s “2018 Best in Customer Service St. Louis Companies” is available here.

Founded in 2009 with headquarters in St. Louis, Purk & Associates, P.C., is a nationally recognized and award winning, independently owned accounting and management advisory firm that delivers a full range of tax, accounting, audit and consulting services. At Purk & Associates, our focus is to help our clients achieve more financial and business success. To learn more, please visit www.purkpc.com.

At some point in time, every car owner is going to experience some manner of body damage to their vehicle. From everyday wear and tear around handles and keyholes, road hazards and weather, an automobile’s body is going to take a beating.

While most car owners do not think much about these little touches of character, a collision, even minor fender bumps, will require some attention from a professional. While minor dings can often be pulled or beat back into shape, the paint doesn’t always have the flexibility to bounce back as well.

The next time you are looking for an auto body shop in St. Louis, before you even get an estimate, you need to ask if they use water based collision repair.

Water-Based vs. Thinner/Oil-Based Collision Repair

Traditionally auto body shops used industry-specific paints for collision repair. Up until more recent innovations, these paints would be used with thinners and have an oil base that was used as a means to have the paint cling to the car’s surface. Water-based paints offer the same benefits of oil/thinner-based paints in terms of quality, longevity and ability to blend into the surrounding paint. However, water-based paints are extremely eco-friendly when compared to traditional paints. Water-based paints generate 75% less pollutants than oil/thinner-based paints. This fact alone has lead to the majority of manufacturers switching to water-based paints.

When you are locating an auto body shop in the St. Louis area, be sure they are using the most up to date collision repair techniques. Due to the fact it produces so much less hazardous waste than traditional methods, many states have even begun to phase out, or even outlaw the use of thinner/oil-based paints. If a shop does not offer water based collision repair then you should keep shopping for the sake of your car and the environment. One company in St. Louis that is no stranger to the superiority and flexibility of water based collision repair is Shur-Way Auto Body, which first brought the practice to the area.

Don’t be fooled by terminology or misconceptions.

Water-based paints may mistakenly conjure up the notion that the pain being used is inferior, but nothing could be further from the truth. Another name for water-based is waterborne, which is the more common term used among auto body shops. In industry reports, which documented statistics and asked for perspective from those who worked in, produced, and even taught the auto body trade, waterborne paints were found to offer several advantages over oil-based paints.

Thanks to industry wide innovations today, waterborne paints not only meet or exceed the quality and expectations of oil/solvent-based paints, they are also more resistant to being contaminated and tend to have quicker dry times. With the phasing out of older style paints and higher flexibility when it comes to blending custom colors, waterborne paints are also becoming more diverse in their offering of colors, which means that collision repair for exotic finishes is less troublesome. No matter the age or make of your vehicle, when you are looking for a quote on body work, re-touching, or collision repair, be sure the company you take it to uses waterborne paint to ensure the highest quality and most up to date materials are used.

• Huawei selects the Fyndus mobile application as a partner for eCommerce in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA).
• Fyndus App will be installed as a core application on all new Huawei phones in MENA, and pushed to existing devices in a software update.
• Both companies will share resources to jointly work with local telecom provider partners.

Jan. 23, 2018 (St. Louis) – Fyndus, LLC, a global leader in the e-commerce shopping experience with how consumers and merchants help one another, announced today an exclusive partnership with Huawei of the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), the international leader in telecommunications equipment manufacturing.

In 2017, Huawei had 4 percent of the mobile phone market in MENA (2Q, 2017). The Huawei – Fyndus strategic partnership will co-brand and co-promote the value each company brings to its customers. Both companies provide innovative technology and create a shopping experience for the user that gives access to the best prices on merchandise, services and dining on a handset.

Affan Waheed, CEO, Fyndus said: “After a successful rollout of our app in Dubai, we wanted to find ways to maximize value with smartphone users. The teams at Huawei and Fyndus identified immediately the enormous opportunities between our two companies to better serve our respective customers and to improve their experiences with each company.”

Founded in 2016, Fyndus has experienced explosive growth with thousands of current users throughout the Middle East, with parts of India and Pakistan having the largest number of users. Fyndus test-marketed the app first in India before launching in the United States late last year.

“Our vision is to empower our users with an app that saves them time and money by finding the best local deals, services and dining experiences regardless of where they are in the world,” added Waheed.

Contact:

Ann Marie Mayuga

314.485.9499

annmarie@ammcommunications.com

@stlpr

About Fyndus

Fyndus, LLC, is the global leader that changes the consumer retail shopping experience with brick and mortar, and e-commerce using an app. Fyndus is different from other e-commerce platforms because it rewards buying behavior patterns, provides savings to buyers by eliminating the middleman, and offers merchants and service providers the tools to better manage the consumer buying experience. With headquarters based in St. Louis, Missouri and offices located internationally throughout Europe and the Middle East, Fyndus is changing the way people shop globally, save money, and help local businesses thrive. Fyndus…Discover. Shop. Save! To learn more, please visithttps://Fyndus.com.

Ann Marie Mayuga is AMM Communications co-founder and principal

January 23, 2018 (St. Louis) – Ann Marie Mayuga, partner and co-founder with AMM Communications LLC, a leading St. Louis-based PR and digital agency, and talent recruitment firm, was profiled in The Native Society, an online publication that profiles business and industry leaders on how to build successful businesses and how to build personal success.

Founded in 2008 by Ann Marie and Ed Mayuga, AMM Communications, a PR and digital agency, serves clients throughout the St. Louis region and nationwide. The firm has evolved from its initial offerings of public relations and social media consulting to evolving into one of the only digital public relations firms in St. Louis using the Paid Earned Social Owned (PESO) model when working with clients. The PESO model was created by Gini Dietrich, PR-thought leader and founder of the influential blog, http://spinsucks.com.

AMM Communications has also been voted one of the “Best St. Louis Public Relations Firms” by the readers of Small Business Monthly for eight consecutive years from 2010-17. Also, the firm was selected by Small Business Monthly as one of its “2017 Future 50” companies, an award recognizing privately held companies that are key economic indicators for regional business growth.

Founded in 2008, AMM Communications LLC, the St. Louis-based PR and digital agency, and talent acquisition firm, provides media relations, digital public relation, business development, crisis communications, content marketing, internal communications, communications skills training, digital marketing, reputation management, social media consulting, and executive search services for businesses nationwide. AMM Communications is WBE certified, and has been voted one of the “Best PR Firms in St. Louis” by Small Business Monthly from 2010-2017. We want to help you … Drive your sales. Communicate better. Hire well. For more information, please visit, http://ammcommunications.comor call 314.485.9499.

January 16, 2018 (St. Louis) – Purk & Associates, the award-winning, nationally recognized accounting and management consulting firm, announced today that Nicholas Duncan joined as a new Associate.

In his new role, Duncan will ensure that auditing standards are met for client matters, and will work with individual and business clients on reviews, compilations, and audits.

“We’re excited to have Nicholas join our team. He has the work ethic, drive and determination to ensure that our clients are well served, and he has already proven himself as a strong team member by stepping up to take on additional responsibilities,” said Bill Purk, CPA, Purk & Associates President and Co-Founding Shareholder.

Prior to joining Purk & Associates, Duncan worked for a national accounting firm as an Audit Associate where he verified clients’ corporate benefit and compensation plans to meet federal and state compliance standards, and other related matters.

“I’m thrilled to be the newest team member to join Purk & Associates. What makes Purk & Associates unique is how the team members are committed, loyal and excited to come to work each day,” said Duncan.

“The Purk & Associates’ environment maintains a high standard of quality in our work and our client relationships. We are encouraged to provide the absolute best service and keep our clients informed frequently to ensure that their accounting needs are anticipated to help them reach their professional and personal goals,” added Duncan.

Duncan earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Missouri State University (MSU) located in Springfield, MO. While a student at MSU, Duncan served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Missouri State University Student Government Association where he reconciled and maintained a detailed record of Financial Reports of Expenditures of a budget of $300,000.

Founded in 2009 with headquarters in St. Louis, Purk & Associates, P.C., is a nationally recognized and award winning, independently owned accounting and management advisory firm that delivers a full range of tax, accounting, audit and consulting services. At Purk & Associates, our focus is to help our clients achieve more financial and business success. To learn more, please visit http://purkpc.com