Archives for February 2022

ROCHESTER, N.Y. –– Continental Service Group, Inc., d/b/a ConServe has renewed their registration with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and will continue to award sponsored Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits through its ConServe University® quarterly Seminars and Webinar Series. CPE is a requirement for most CPAs and financial leaders to maintain their professional competence and provide quality professional services.

The idea for awarding CPE credits for their training programs was brought to them by their Clients, and ConServe delivered by taking appropriate action through the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).  State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit*.

For their kickoff webinar that occurred on January 27, 2022, ConServe was thrilled to award 55 CPE credits to their valued Clients.  Michelle Hartmann, Vice President of Sales said, “In addition to providing innovative, customized recovery solutions, our Client training programs provide a fantastic forum to share knowledge and solutions in an efficient and effective manner.  We have invested in the right technology to continue to interact with our Clients and provide valuable tools, resources and complimentary effective training, including industry updates, professional development and networking with other collection experts.”

About ConServe:

ConServe is a top-performing accounts receivable management service provider specializing in customized recovery solutions for their Clients. Anchored in ethics and compliance, and steadfast in their pursuit of excellence, they are a consumer-centric organization that operates as an extension of their Clients’ valued brands.  For over 36 years, they have partnered with their Clients to provide unmatched customer service while simultaneously helping them achieve their accounts receivable management goals.  Visit us online at: www.conserve-arm.com

About NASBA – National Registry of SPE Sponsors

Since 1908, NASBA has served as a forum for the nation’s 55 State Boards of Accountancy, which administer the Uniform CPA Examination, license more than 650,000 Certified Public Accountants and regulate the practice of public accountancy in the United States.  Visit them online: https://nasba.org/

*ConServe is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.NASBARegistry.org.

On January 26, 2022, the CFPB announced it launched an initiative to reduce exploitative junk fees charged by banks and financial companies. The initiative includes a request for information which seeks input from people regarding fees associated with their bank, credit union, prepaid or credit card account, mortgage, loan, or payment transfers, including:

• Fees for things people believed were covered by the baseline price of a product or service
• Unexpected fees for a product or service
• Fees that seemed too high for the purported service
• Fees where it was unclear why they were charged

The CFPB is also interested in hearing from small business owners, non-profit organizations, legal aid attorneys, academics and researchers, state and local government officials, and financial institutions, including small banks and credit unions.

According to the CFPB, Companies across the U.S. economy are increasingly charging inflated and back-end fees to households and families. This new “fee economy” distorts our free market system by concealing the true price of products from the competitive process. For example, hotels and concert venues advertise rates, only to add “resort fees” and “service fees” after the fact. And fees purportedly charged to cover individual expenses, like paperwork processing, can often greatly exceed the actual cost of that service.

“Many financial institutions obscure the true price of their services by luring customers with enticing offers and then charging excessive junk fees,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “By promoting competition and ridding the market of illegal practices, we hope to save Americans billions.”

insideARM Perspective:  

Although this initiative is not aimed at the ARM industry, it can serve as a good indicator of the temperature of the CFPB under Mr. Chopra’s direction.  Further, this initiative is a good reminder that any pass-through costs to consumers should be adequately documented and disclosed to the consumer.

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J.– MyGovWatch.com, a government bid notification and intelligence website serving the debt collection and call center industries since 2008, has expanded its platform to more than 200 industry subcategories.  At the same time, the company has announced users will now benefit from the deployment of a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) engine to help route the exact right leads to companies large and small interested in government contracting opportunities.

Debt collection and call center companies can now choose from among more than 200 other industry subcategories in 24 top-level industry categories to identify government procurements in related outsourcing industries where the scope of work is not quite debt collection or call center, but something else. Users can set extremely granular preferences around their business interests in the B2G space in a way never before possible. Further, the AI engine learns as it goes, so that users benefit from continuous training on which procurement titles it routes to each of more than 200 industries. The addition of so many subcategories supplements premium offerings that have always been available to debt collection and call center users, where the site caters to those users by delivering:

• Open procurement tracking services to ensure users hear about every addendum and procurement change in real time.

• The ability to submit questions to buyers anonymously through the site.

• Contract award announcements as they become known.

• Access to hard-to-obtain government documents like contracts, evaluations, and winning proposals to enable users to see detailed information showing why specific companies won specific procurements and – as important – why others did not.

• Search tools to let users research competitor pricing and winning proposals by buyer type, region, and other attributes.

• Advanced notice of upcoming procurements to kick start the sales cycle.

“These enhancements firmly position MyGovWatch to better serve our core debt collection and call center users,” said Nick Bernardo, President, continuing, “I would like to thank our team for their amazing dedication to bring these enhancements to our users, and I am excited about future deployments we have in mind that will change the landscape of this space.”

MyGovWatch has revolutionized how current and aspiring government contractors hear about and interact with leads by giving users the ability to get in where they fit it, through low-cost, no-contract monthly plans and transaction pricing on completing open records requests, for example.

Whether you are a sole proprietor or large corporation, or anywhere in between, there is no better time to get started and compare us to your current provider. To get started with a 14-day trial visit www.mygovwatch.com. For more information on MyGovWatch, please email media@mygovwatch.com. 

About MyGovWatch

MyGovWatch is a government bid notification and intelligence website that offers users no-contract, industry-targeted leads from every level & type of government buyer. With low-cost, monthly plans to choose from, users receive notifications and access to government purchasing opportunities about leads in over 200 subcategories. These subcategories cover every B2G NAICS code. For opportunities users wish to pursue further, MyGovWatch offers the option to buy credits to get help tracking and monitoring government purchasing activity. Get started today with a free, no-obligation trial at www.mygovwatch.com.

Editor’s note: This article is provided through a partnership between insideARM and Squire Patton Boggs LLP, which provides a steady stream of timely, insightful and entertaining takes on TCPAWorld.com of the ever-evolving, never-a-dull-moment Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Squire Patton Boggs LLP—and all insideARM articles—are protected by copyright. All rights are reserved.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Continental Service Group, Inc., d.b.a. ConServe’s charitable giving program, ConServe Cares, allows both the employees and the organization as a whole to support a wide range of community investment efforts, thereby engaging and inspiring employees while also reinforcing ConServe’s outstanding corporate citizenship.  The January 2022 ConServe Cares program has been allocated to The American Red Cross.

James Love, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Greater Rochester Chapter, said, “As a not-for-profit organization, we depend on the community to support our many programs and services.  We are thankful for organizations like ConServe for their support of the thousands that depend on the American Red Cross each and every day”.  

“We are grateful to the employees participating in the ConServe Cares program,” said George Huyler, PHR, Vice President of Human Resources, “I am always very impressed by the commitment of our employees to our community.” 

About ConServe

ConServe is a top-performing accounts receivable management service provider specializing in customized recovery solutions for its clients. Anchored in ethics and compliance and steadfast in their pursuit of excellence, they are a consumer-centric organization that operates as an extension of their Clients’ valued brands.  For over 36 years, they have partnered with their Clients to provide unmatched customer service while simultaneously helping them achieve their accounts receivable management goals. Visit us online at: www.conserve-arm.com.  

About the American Red Cross  

Each day, thousands of American Red Cross volunteers provide compassionate care to those in need. Our network of generous donors, volunteers, and employees share a mission of preventing and relieving suffering here at home and around the world.

Since 1881, the American Red Cross has been providing life-saving programs including disaster relief services to thousands that have been affected by natural disasters and house fires, providing 40% of the nation’s blood supply, supporting military personnel and their families serving here and abroad,  teaching life-saving skills such as CPR and First Aid so our communities can be better prepared when the need arises and supporting international programs such as our mission to eliminate measles around the globe. We do this every day because the Red Cross is needed – every day. Visit them online: https://www.redcross.org/