Tech News: Visual Lease launches ESG solution

Lease accounting software company Visual Lease launched its VL ESG Steward product, which is designed to track and report on the environmental impact of an organization's owned and leased asset portfolio. VL ESG Steward converts consumption data of greenhouse gas emissions using calculations based on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Protocol and EPA Energy grid emissions factors. The result is an up-to-date and ongoing greenhouse gas inventory as it relates to leased, owned and other intangible assets across an organization's portfolio. Furthermore, the software tracks a wide variety of environmental factors, including energy consumption, water usage, waste management and more. It collects data from a range of sources and automatically converts it into the standardized measurement of choice. Visual Lease plans to hold a webinar to introduce the product to a wider audience on Wednesday, April 19, from 1:00 -2:00 p.m. EST.

The Information Technology Alliance announced it is seeking a new president, as its current president, Shawn Slavin, is set to depart the organization. The board of directors is partnering with a retained search firm, EFL Associates, to assist in identifying candidates for ITA's next leader who would step into the part-time contract position this summer. Slavin, meanwhile, will remain as president over the next few months while the search continues. 

GBS Tax and Bookkeeping, a flat-rate tax service for startups, has rebranded as Cleer Tax and Bookkeeping, a change that entails not just a new name and website but new product offerings as well. Cleer.tax offers specialty tax packages for U.S companies with foreign subsidiaries (Form 5471), and foreign-owned partnerships (Forms K-2 and K-3), as well as flat-rate tax preparation for newly formed companies starting with no annual revenue to companies earning over $10 million in profits.  Cleer also offers bespoke services, such as R&D tax credit preparation, mergers and acquisitions support, and customized tax consultations. Crystal Stranger, partner and chief operating officer of Cleer.tax, said the company coined the name Cleer to reflect the tech-supported accounting process its clients said helps them take the stress out of tax filing.