CALENDAR

Editor 's note: submit events, meetings, workshops and conferences at least one month in advance to cibm@news-gazette.com for inclusion in Mark Your Calendar.

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May 9
EaRN Leads/Speed Networking Program 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, 303 W. Kirby Ave., Champaign The Exchange and Referral Network is the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce's version of a combination Leads/Speed Networking program. Registration opens at 3 p.m. May 2 for this session. Only one person per industry may participate per week. Registration is first-come, first-served. If your industry category is already filled when you register, your name will be kept on the waiting list. If the first registration is unable to attend the following week's session, the person next on the waiting list according to the time stamp will be contacted. If you are unable to attend the session, notify the chamber as soon as possible so that it may fill the seat. Failure to do so may prevent you from participating in future sessions.

May 15
May 15, 23 Coaching: Developing Others 8 a.m. to noon, May 15 and 23; 1 to 5 p.m. May 23
Parkland College Business Training, 1315 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign Individual contributors face regular challenges in performing their work, and a supervisor's job is to help them work through these challenges. Learn how to recognize the challenges faced in developing others; demonstrate a variety of listening and asking techniques to help others feel confident making decisions; and conduct focused development conversations that result in professional development and growth. Fee: $135. Registration deadline: May 8 for May 15 session; May 16 for May 23 sessions.

May 21
May 21, 23 Communications Skills for Managers 1 to 5 p.m.
Parkland College Business Training, 1315 N. Mattis Ave., Champaign Increase your reading, writing, speaking and listening proficiency with real-life scenarios and interactive exercises from Cindy Guthrie. Learn proven practical concepts and techniques that will help you communicate more effectively with others, deliver your messages clearly, ask questions and make successful presentations. Fee: $265. Registration deadline: May 14.

LEGAL ISSUES December 2012

Annual business filing scams

By Randall Green
CIB Contributor

We've all received some iteration of the email from a north African prince who has inherited hundreds of millions of dollars and will gladly split it with you 50/50. All you need to do is simply send him $1,000 via Western Union so he can buy a plane ticket to the United States, unlock his riches and lavishly celebrate with you. In this situation, most of us know to implore the rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Likewise, as an attorney, I receive at least two or three emails per week "from" the ex-wife of the international real estate mogul who resides in my jurisdiction and wishes to retain my services to collect the multimillion divorce judgment that she was awarded in the divorce proceeding. I've learned to spot and delete most of these emails on my phone before I even get out of bed in the morning, and I'm sure my profession isn't unique.

However, as our ability to identify these frauds improves with experience, the fraudsters' methods evolve as well.

Recently, many Illinois businesses received letters in the mail from a firm calling itself Corporate Records Service. The letters ask the recipient to fill out the enclosed Annual Minutes Records Form and submit a $125 fee to keep the corporation in good standing. Since the names and addresses of every registered agent and select company officers are available on the secretary of state's website, it is easy for fraudsters to target these businesses. If you receive one of these letters or have fallen victim to this scam, the secretary of state encourages you to call its Business Services Office at 217-782-6961.

Of course, Illinois law does require corporations (and other business entities) to follow certain basic formalities to remain in good standing and to avail themselves of the corporate protections provided by Illinois law.

There are two basic formalities required of all Illinois corporations:

First, corporations must file an annual report with the Illinois secretary of state each year. The annual report is due on the first day of the anniversary month of the company's incorporation. So if a company was incorporated on Aug. 18, the annual report would be due on Aug. 1 of each succeeding year. Among other things, the annual report lists the officers, the authorized and issued shares, and the current paid-in capital. A fee of $75 is required as well as an associated franchise tax of no less than $25. Although the secretary of state currently sends the report to the company's registered agent annually, the annual report can also be completed and filed online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

Second, the corporation is required to hold annual shareholder meetings to, at a minimum, elect the directors of the corporation. Illinois permits the shareholders to adopt a written action in lieu of a meeting, which is the preferred method for many small businesses. These meeting minutes or written actions are not required to be filed with any state agency, nor is there an associated fee. A record of the minutes should be placed in the company's corporate record book as evidence that the corporation has observed the corporate formalities required by statute.

There are independent companies that will serve as a company's registered agent in any of the 50 states for a fee; however, as part of their services to businesses, many attorneys will serve as registered agent, prepare annual resolutions and maintain the official corporate record book.

If you have questions about whether your business has been observing all of its required formalities, your attorney should be able to review your corporate record book and tell you what, if anything, you should be doing differently to make sure that your company is complying with Illinois law.

Randy Green is an attorney at Meyer Capel, a Professional Corp. He can be reached at 217-552-1800 or rgreen@meyercapel.com. This article does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.

The new year will bring some changes to Central Illinois Business magazine.

The magazine will now be printed bimonthly. You won't see an issue in January; the next issue will cover February and March.

In 2013, we'll launch an improved Central Illinois Business website, at www.centralillinoisbusiness.com, that will allow us to provide more timely updates of many of the economic indicators we publish in the magazine, as well as other current business news and event information that you won't see in the printed publication.

We are working on stories on a variety of business issues we think you'll want to read about. And if you have an idea of a story or issue you'd like to read about in Central Illinois Business -- either in the printed magazine or online -- please let me know.

The magazine will again be printed on glossy paper, as the Forty Under 40 issue was in November.

We hope you continue to enjoy the printed magazine, and that you also look at the improved website once it's launched for more news about the local business community.