from the desk of APACC Executive Director Alysia R. Green, cBSP
November 2018
Dear APACC Sponsors, Members and Friends, 

It's difficult to believe the holiday season is upon us. Many of us have already seen snow and before we know it, the new year will be here.

What a great past month it has been at APACC! We had the privilege and honor to represent our members and attend the Walbridge Matchmaker as well as yesterday's Toyota's Opportunity Exchange. We saw many familiar faces and met some special new contacts. We thank our corporate teams and partners to allow our team to attend to help grow our collective networks; we are grateful.

Of course, I am very pleased to say our APACC Salute to Excellence Awards were as fabulous as the theme, "The Fabulous 50's" and what an incredible night we had. Great food, better company, classic GM cars, over 200 guests, and a celebration of 14 much deserving individuals from a variety of backgrounds coming together for APACC's biennial tribute.  Check out the event photos here .

So what are we doing next? We will be in Southfield with DENSO International America, Inc. on Thursday, December 6th for our 5th Annual Buyer/Supplier Nexus . If you are a minority-certified, woman-certified, or veteran-certified company, please visit our website to register for this great event and introduce yourself to our network!

APACC has also begun planning for our first two Signature events in 2019; East-West Business Connection on March 6th in Livonia, MI and our Annual Gala on May 4th in Detroit, MI. If you are from a purchasing team, please keep in mind that there is no cost for you to attend our B2B Matchmaker to meet diverse suppliers. And suppliers, there is limited space for exhibits, so please be sure to register at your earliest convenience. Tickets and sponsorship are also available for our annual black-tie fundraising gala. We hope you can come celebrate with us.

Stay warm and stay tuned for next month's edition. And on behalf of the APACC team, we wish you Happy Holidays!
Regards,

Upcoming APACC Events
Thursday, December 6, 2018
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Meriwether's
25485 Telegraph Rd.
Southfield, MI 48033

Valet Parking Available


Registration:
$20 - APACC members
$45 - Future members
For the fifth year in a row, APACC and DENSO will come together for the highly-anticipated Nexus at local favorite spot Meriwether’s, a member of the Muer Seafood Restaurants collection.

Minority-, Woman-, and Veteran-certified suppliers are invited to come network and meet with purchasing executives and fellow suppliers.

Where has APACC been?
Walbridge Matchmaker
October 20, 2018
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
ACA Detroit Annual Gala
October 26, 2018
Glen Oaks Country Club, Farmington Hills, MI
APACC Team Fall Fun
Office Manager Leonie with APACC Interns Chi-Ning and Jing!
October 21, 2018
Dexter, MI
APACC Salute to Excellence Awards
November 1, 2018
GM Heritage Center, Sterling Heights, MI
NAAAP Detroit Community Conversations: Emerging Careers
November 10, 2018
One Woodward, Detroit, MI
Toyota Opportunity Exchange
VIP Reception & OE
November 14, 2018
Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi, MI

That's My Cup of Tea!
2019 SBA Small Business Award Nominations
SBA’s Michigan District Office is now accepting nominations for its 2019 Small Business Awards. Winners will be honored at the Michigan Celebrates Small Business event in May 8, 2019 ( https://www.michigancelebrates.biz/). 
The Michigan Small Business Person of the Year and the Michigan Exporter of the Year will be in contention for national awards. 

To nominate a business, submit a preliminary one page nomination letter by December 18, 2018, following Steps A and B, and briefly address the criteria for each award. Your nomination will be reviewed for eligibility and you will be notified if the nomination merits further consideration in the form of a complete nomination package. Preliminary nomination letters that do not address A, B and C will be disqualified.  

A. Individuals who have received one type of SBA assistance such as, but not limited to an SBA loan, SCORE counseling, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) assistance, Women’s Business Center (WBC) assistance, Veteran’s Business Outreach Center (VBOC) assistance, government contracting assistance, disaster assistance, Emerging Leaders Initiative, or Boots to Business training.

B. Indicate the company’s size to ensure that it meets SBA Size Standards. 
Click here for more information on SBA size standards.

C. Include the following information in the one page nomination letter that contains the following required information no later than December 18, 2018.
  1. Number of employees in the company.
  2. Annual sales in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
  3. North American Industrial Classification (NAICS) code: Click here to find your NAICS code. 
  4. A brief paragraph that addresses some of the criteria for the award. 

The following criteria should be your guide for the one page nomination, and the subsequent nomination packages. If you have questions, please call Hodari Brown at 313.324.3629 or e-mail Michigan@sba.gov.

CAGD 26th Anniversary Celebration
Strengthening community and promoting cultural diversity!
Association of Chinese Americans, Inc.
35th High School Achievement Award Banquet 
On Sunday, November 11th, the Association of Chinese Americans held its 35th High School Scholarship Award Banquet at the Chinese Community Center. 39 local Chinese American high school senior students, who will enter college next year, were recognized. There were more than 80 people in attendance, which included the honorees, honoree’s families, scholarship sponsors, and ACA board and staff members. 

All scholarship applicants had to submit a written application and meet with the selection committee to obtain the official invitation from ACA Scholarship Program to participate in the award banquet. According to the written materials of the applicants, the official transcripts from the school and the interview results, the ACA Scholarship Selection Committee evaluated each student according to the different requirements of each scholarship category. It was a difficult selection process this year as all of the candidates were competitively outstanding in terms of academic achievements, community participation and contributions, extracurricular ability and other achievements. After a rigorous selection, 15 of the 39 candidates were awarded scholarships... Read more...

Trending Now...
IRS Issues New Field Audit Guidance for Transfer Pricing
Posted by: Alex Martin, Sept. 25, 2018

The IRS has issued new field audit guidance for transfer pricing audits that may affect both US and foreign-owned companies with cross-border transactions. This Transfer Pricing Examination Process (TPEP) replaces the IRS’ Transfer Pricing Audit Roadmap released in February 2014. Most of the document incorporates changes in IRS LB&I audit procedures since 2014.

These changes are helpful for taxpayers in that the audit strategy approach is more focused on identifying high-risk tax issues. On occasion, companies with few tax dollars at risk faced the same questions as multinationals with significant exposures. Furthermore, for companies with transfer pricing documentation, tax auditors have less discretion to dismiss a taxpayer’s transfer pricing analysis approach... Read more...
Japan Urged to Think Hong Kong
Business leaders in Tokyo hear a compelling case to
strengthen their already strong ties with the city
Historically the first-mover in Asia’s economic transformation, Japan has long been a leading business partner for Hong Kong. Business and political leaders attending the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council’s (HKTDC) Think Global, Think Hong Kong symposium in Tokyo learnt how the city’s key role in two Chinese-mainland government initiatives – the Belt and Road and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – meant they should consider further strengthening their ties with the city.

These initiatives build on and augment Hong Kong’s traditional strengths, such as its cosmopolitan character, rule of law and world-class professional services... Read more...
Census Bureau to Host a Webinar on Release of 2013-2017 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates 


The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a webinar on Nov. 27, 2018 , in advance of the Dec. 6 release of the 2013-2017 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

The webinar will show participants how to access the data and compare geographies and statistics over time. Embargo subscribers will have access to these statistics beginning Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. (EST).

The American Community Survey provides a wide range of important statistics about people and housing for every community in the nation. This survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers for communities across the nation. For example, it produces statistics for language, education, commuting, employment, mortgage status and rent, as well as income, poverty and health insurance.

The five-year estimates will be available for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every congressional district, and all counties, places, census tracts, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas and block groups.

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at 2 p.m. (EST)