Posts

The Friday Cocktail: Year-End Cure

Whether you’re facing year-end close madness or recovering from it, this warm, nourishing wassail will mellow you out. A marriage of mulled cider and hot buttered rum, it’s perfect for a party or relaxing by the fire. For that toasty feeling without the buzz, make the rum-free version.

Wassail recipe (4 servings):

  • 6 oz good dark rum, such as Barbancourt 8
  • 4 half-inch slabs of compound butter (recipe below)
  • 5 cups mulled apple cider (recipe below)
  • For garnish: Orange peel, whole cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks 

Make the compound butter: Mash together 2/3 cups unsalted butter and 1/3 cups brown sugar. Add ground cinnamon, allspice and star anise to taste. Mix well. Roll into a log on waxed paper. Refrigerate wrapped in the waxed paper until firm.

Make the mulled cider: To a 2-quart saucepan of apple cider, add whole cloves, a cinnamon stick, a star anise or two and the peel of an orange. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes.

To make the wassail: Add butter, cider and rum to a saucepan and whisk over medium heat until butter is melted and cider is hot. Pour into 4 cups. Garnish each cup with a clove-studded orange peel, a star anise and a cinnamon stick.

Nonalcoholic recipe (4 servings):

  • 1 qt apple cider
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 long peel of orange studded with whole cloves
  • 3 star anise
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 pinch ground ginger

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Discard orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, and anise. Serve hot in heavy stemmed wine glasses.

Need other drinks for your holiday celebrations? Check out the rest of our recipes in the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection cocktail book. Every one of these drinks has its charms, thanks to the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California, who invented them.

/by

The Friday Cocktail: 10K-O

Looking to stave off the chill of early winter? Try the 10K-O. This deeply smoky cocktail puts us in mind of a vision quest under a starry desert sky. (Drink a couple and you may have one, regardless of where you are.) Even if you don’t meet your spirit animal, at least you’ll feel ready to knock out any SEC requirement. For cooler heads, the 10K-O’s nonalcoholic mate provides a spicy ginger kick. 

Cocktail recipe:

  • 1½ oz Mezcal Vida*
  • ½ oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice
  • ½ oz honey syrup
  • shy ½ oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur*
  • Grapefruit peel

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit peel.

Nonalcoholic recipe:

  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • ¾ oz simple syrup
  • Blenheim spicy ginger ale or Reed’s ginger beer
  • Lime wheel

Add lime juice and ¾ oz simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds. Strain over fresh ice and top with ginger ale. Garnish with the lime wheel. 

Check out the rest of our recipes in the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection cocktail book. Every one of these drinks has its charms, thanks to the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California, who invented them.

*These ingredients are available at BevMo and specialty shops.

/by

The Friday Cocktail: Knock Your SOX Off

There are plenty of festive beverages in RoseRyan’s 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection, but with Thanksgiving less than a week away, Knock Your SOX Off is a top choice. It’s a creamy, nog-like drink that actually could knock your socks off, but only if you have more than one—and one is perfection. It’s light and refreshing, yet warms you to your toes. Don’t like rye whiskey? Bourbon will do. The nonalcoholic version, which gets its heat from ginger, will also stave off the pain of compliance chores.

Cocktail recipe:

  • 1½ oz rye whiskey
  • ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
  • ½ oz grade B maple syrup
  • ¾ oz egg white (1 or 2 eggs)
  • dash of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice for about 10 seconds. Add 3-4 ice cubes and shake for another 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. 

Nonalcoholic version:

  • ½ oz apple juice
  • 1 whole egg
  • ½ oz whole milk
  • 1 scant teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 scant teaspoon ginger syrup
  • 2 pinches each of nutmeg and cinnamon

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds without ice. Add 1 ice cube and shake for 10 seconds. Strain over fresh ice and top with soda water.

Check out the rest of our recipes in the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection cocktail book. Every one of these drinks has its charms, thanks to the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California, who invented them.

/by

Friday cocktail: Fiscal Cliff

Now that the federal shutdown is over, you may feel like having a drink. The Fiscal Cliff is the perfect choice—it’s a complex cocktail that will make you laugh in the face of economic doom. Just don’t drink alone—this is a beverage to be shared. Don’t want the booze? The nonalcoholic option is similarly robust.

  • 2 oz dark rum
  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 oz pineapple juice
  • 1 oz orange juice
  • ¼ oz Velvet Falernum*

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange slice. 

The nonalcoholic recipe

  • Fresh pineapple
  • 8 mint leaves
  • 3 dashes of rhubarb bitters* or orange bitters
  • ¼ oz cane syrup or simple syrup
  • Mint sprig

Combine 8 or so half-inch chunks of pineapple, mint leaves, 3 hard dashes of rhubarb bitters and the cane syrup or simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Muddle well. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds. Strain over fresh ice, top with soda and garnish with a mint sprig. 

Check out the rest of our recipes in the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection. Every one of these drinks has its charms, thanks to the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California, who invented them.

* Available at BevMo or specialty liquor stores.

/by

Building business relationships: what it takes to delight clients

Here at RoseRyan, we have 20 years of experience building business relationships in Silicon Valley. Throughout that time, attracting and retaining long-term clients has been one of our most consistent themes. How do we do it? Here are the basic building blocks of our approach.

Think long-term. We expect to have long-term relationships with our clients. If you think long-term and share your insights, clients will keep coming back because of the value that we deliver over time. Clients are often pleasantly surprised that we have their best interests in mind and don’t jump at short-term opportunities that we believe won’t benefit them in the long run. For example, many times we advise clients that hiring a full-time worker will be more effective than working with us, or that we should be brought in later.

Do the right thing. We once had a client who insisted that a particular consultant work with them or we wouldn’t get the project—one of the most high-profile IPOs of the last five years. That would have enhanced RoseRyan’s profile greatly and started a long-term relationship, but we politely declined because our consultant was already working with another client. It was a tough decision, but we did the right thing—and now, two years later, we are working with the client as a public company.

Strive for a win-win relationship. RoseRyan values all of our business relationships and strives to ensure that both we and our clients benefit from working together. Of course, we ensure that our consultants understand what is expected of them from start to finish of every assignment—and that we meet all of our clients’ expectations. We go beyond that, too. We want both companies to benefit through referrals for additional business, sharing best practices and intellectual property, and honest and open communications.

Keep adding value. Although clients are usually wowed by our ability to meet key deliverables, we consider adding value throughout a relationship to be equally important. One of the ways we keep adding value is by providing technical accounting updates on a regular basis. Our clients are busy with their day-to-day activities and have little time to keep up with all the latest accounting changes. Our technical updates (usually delivered around a pizza lunch) provide just the helping hand our busy clients need.

Deliver great quality. A large part of our business comes from current or previous clients. We consider their decision to keep working with us some of the best feedback we can get about whether we are meeting and exceeding their expectations. Many clients also tell us they appreciate that we are experienced, we listen, and we are flexible in our approach. This positive service delivery experience is the cornerstone of what we do, and provides the consistency and efficiency that clients love about RoseRyan.

/by

The Friday cocktail: Per Diem

We’d find all kinds of ways to travel on business if the Per Diem were one of the daily perks. It’s a gin-lover’s dream that will transport you to the South Seas—even if you mix it up at a Holiday Inn in Houston. Sans alcohol, the Per Diem retains its cool bite.

  • 1½ oz Beefeater gin
  • 1 oz elderflower syrup*
  • ¼ oz simple syrup
  • 1½ oz fresh-squeezed pink grapefruit juice
  • ½ oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • Grapefruit twist

*Available at BevMo or specialty shops like Sur la Table.

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

The nonalcoholic version:

  • ½ oz elderflower syrup
  • Tonic water
  • Grapefruit peel

Fill a Collins glass with ice and add a shy ½ oz of elderflower syrup. Top with tonic water.

Garnish with a grapefruit strap.

To sample all 20 of our anniversary drinks, view the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail collection recipe book. Each libation was lovingly crafted for us by the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California. 

 

/by

The Friday cocktail: Balance Sheets to the Wind

Quarter close is nigh. What better way to steel yourself than with one of RoseRyan’s 20th anniversary cocktails?

Balance Sheets to the Wind, a tequila-based, berry-colored inhibition loosener, is guaranteed to take the sting out of any financial close.

  • 2 oz reposado tequila
  • 1½ oz apple juice
  • ¾ oz lemon juice
  • ½ oz creme de cassis
  • lime peel

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime peel.

If you’d prefer to keep your balance, you can try the equally lovely nonalcoholic option, with a well-mannered shot of vanilla. It’s a bit complicated (you have to start two weeks in advance), but worth it.

  • ½ oz Meyer lemon juice
  • 1 oz blackberry shrub (recipe below)
  • Soda water

Mix juice and blackberry shrub in a tall glass. Add ice and top with soda water.

To make the blackberry shrub: First, make vanilla-infused balsamic vinegar. Add two vanilla beans to a bottle of good-quality balsamic vinegar and let it sit in a dark place for two weeks.

Mix 2 cups fresh blackberries or berries of your choice with 1½ cups granulated sugar. Stir and let macerate for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Place in cheesecloth, squeeze out juice, and pour into a jar. Add 2½ oz of the vanilla-infused balsamic vinegar and shake to combine. Store in an airtight container.

To sample all 20 of our anniversary drinks, view the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail collection recipe book. Each libation was lovingly crafted for us by the fine mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa, California.

/by

Can accountants really do that? Creating the 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection

There’ve been plenty of times we’ve wanted a drink in our 20 years as finance and accounting gurus to some of Silicon Valley’s fastest-moving companies. So what better way to celebrate our 20th anniversary than with 20 custom cocktails?

Thus the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection was born. Since releasing the recipes last week, we’ve been getting questions: “How did you do that?” “Which ones are appropriate before noon?” and “Why wasn’t I invited to the tasting?” 

Well, it was an arduous task, which we approached with an accountant’s attention to detail.

The mixing
Fortunately we had connections, and asked the mixologists at the Bull Valley Roadhouse (an up-and-coming Bay Area restaurant and bar) to create 10 original cocktails and 10 nonalcoholic counterparts (these are clearly appropriate before noon; otherwise, you’re on your own recognizance). Their mission was simple: be fun, different, sophisticated; give us some festive party drinks and some we could mix up any time.

The tasting
Jaime Rossini and Kathryn Mussell sent us 24 superlative recipes, so the RoseRyan marketing team had no choice but to spend an afternoon at the Bull Valley Roadhouse in Port Costa sampling each one to arrive at the final cut. (In re: question three—sometimes marketing has all the fun; that’s just how it is.) Jaime and Kathryn told us about the more esoteric ingredients (blackberry shrub, gomme syrup, rhubarb bitters) as they mixed and we sipped, scribbling our impressions on worksheets. We compared tasting notes and winnowed the list down to the final 20 with cool accountant-like efficiency.

The naming
Now we had to name them—a task almost as much fun as the tasting. We wanted clever finance names that didn’t veer into the land of cheesy accountant jokes, so we called in the entire brain trust. The marketing team created a starter list and then called for contributions. Almost 100 names poured in. We narrowed the list and put it to a vote.

Many great names didn’t make the final cut: Double Ledger, FASB Fling, Rev Rec Detonator, Mind the GAAP, Slush Fund, Auditor Exterminator and Fiscal Freeze, among others. Winning names from RoseRyan gurus are the 10K-O, from Miranda Chook; Knock Your SOX Off, from Moira Berman; and Lori Young’s Per Diem.

To find out the rest of the winning names—and most importantly, start mixing—download the RoseRyan 20th Anniversary Cocktail Collection recipe book.

The drinking
To whet your appetite, here’s the recipe for our signature anniversary drink, the RoseRyan Roaring Twenty. Multifaceted, well rounded, easy to love, and of course, orange, this concoction is RoseRyan in a glass:

1 oz vodka
½ oz Cointreau
½ oz sweet Italian vermouth
½ oz orange juice
¼ oz lemon juice

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled small coupe glass. Garnish with orange wheel.

/by

Booms, busts and finance upheavals: RoseRyan’s CEO looks back on 20 years

When I cofounded RoseRyan (then known as Macias & Ryan) in September 1993, the Internet was just taking off. The word “global” had a different connotation. Cell phones (if you even had one) were the size of bricks. The “cloud” was in the sky. In many ways, it was a simpler time for accounting and finance.

In the 20 years since, we have weathered two economic downturns and countless changes in accounting rules, governance and oversight. Corporate abuses gave us Sarbanes-Oxley, AS2 and AS5, the PCAOB and the Dodd-Frank Act. Business changed, and continues to change, at exponential rates of speed. We have a truly global economy, blazing technology advancements and exciting new ways of doing business.

This all means that the staid and boring world of accounting has become anything but. We have addressed changes with far-reaching implications in the areas of stock-based compensation, accounting for derivatives, business combinations, fair value measurements, codification and accounting for leases, and we’re now facing brand-new ways to look at recognizing revenue. (FASB promises it will be final any day now.…)

CFOs and their teams have had to step up their game. In addition to understanding and implementing new and complex accounting principles, they are rightfully taking on a more strategic role as leaders in the business. No longer are CFOs expected to be just the keepers of historical financial statements and budgets; they also need to understand their business and market trends, and strategically and systematically increase the value of their company. Not easy tasks, but certainly challenging and exciting in today’s dynamic market.

While the finance needs of Bay Area companies have changed, the fundamentals of RoseRyan’s business have not. As in 1993, in 2013 we are dedicated to attracting and retaining top-notch professionals, and to providing an environment where our consultants are challenged but also able to enjoy a personal life. This allows us to provide exceptional finance and accounting solutions to our clients, giving them the right people with the right skills at the right time.

No matter what the level of their assignment, every RoseRyan consultant rolls up their sleeves to get the job done—and they look beyond the cubicle to provide best practices, advice and objective opinions derived from their years of experience. We call ourselves “gurus” because we strive to be leaders and mentors for our clients and one another.

We’ve worked with more than 700 clients at RoseRyan, and they have made for an exciting 20 years. It has been a great time to work with companies in the technology and life sciences industries, participating in the myriad of changes that have taken place and watching companies go up and down—and sideways. What’s most exciting is that we are often with clients through their corporate life cycle. For example, I started with one client as CFO when they were in an incubator. We shepherded them through two-plus years of fast growth as their outsourced accounting department. We later helped them with revenue recognition issues, stock-based compensation and audit support. Finally, as they neared their exit, we helped with financial forecasting, due diligence and integration with the eventual acquirer. We were with the company for over eight years, and it was rewarding to understand their business, walk with them through the ups and downs, and celebrate their successes.

RoseRyan would not be where it is today without our amazing clients or our consultant gurus. I am very proud of all of them, and I am pleased that RoseRyan helps both clients and our employees thrive. They are a huge part of why I think the Bay Area is a great place to work, to learn, to live. I give heartfelt thanks to all who have made the past 20 years possible. We’re looking forward to the next two decades!

/by