Trends – Roth&Co

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The benefit of owning publicly-traded stock is that its owner can liquidate it without much effort. While shares of a publicly-traded company are liquid and marketable, the sale of a privately-held business can be lengthy and exhaustive. Also, the stock market largely determines that value of shares in a public company, but the value of a private company is not readily determinable. Accordingly, once a business owner has decided to sell his/her business, the business owner must adequately prepare to sell the business and determine whether the company is saleable.

Define the Seller’s Goals and Objectives

The seller should consider the reason for selling the business and the ideal exit strategy. The goals and objectives can help the seller understand which group of buyers to target, the price and timing of the deal, and how to structure the terms of any eventual sale (i.e., tax consequences and the owner’s future involvement in the company). The acquirer can be a trusted employee or another partner, a financial buyer, or a strategic buyer.

An existing partner, employee, or employee pool will generally maintain the company’s character and will involve a less rigorous due diligence process but will result in a lower purchase price for the business. A financial buyer purchases the company to generate cash flow or economies of scale and often use debt to acquire the company. Financial buyers often use debt financing for 50% to 90% of the purchase price, which may involve banks or SBA underwriters in the due diligence process. Strategic buyers are competitors or companies that want to purchase the company to take advantage of financial or operational synergies, introduce complementary goods or services, or expand their product mix or geographic territory.

Establish a Value for the Company

The value of a company will often not determine the price that it will eventually sell for, but determining a realistic and reasonable valuation range can help set expectations about the business value. A valuation can also allow the seller to realistically assess the marketability of the business and establish the minimum price to sell the company. A business can be valued using a multiple of earnings or cash flow, or a discounted cash flow model, but the value must reflect the company’s overall financial health, industry trends, and projected growth. A company can also be valued based on its intellectual property, such as patents, workforce, and licenses. Although the pool of potential buyers will determine the price, the value will increase based on the quality of the business presentation and the nature of the buyers. For example, a strategic buyer will often pay more for a company than its fair market value.

Enhance the Value of the Business

The business owner should consult with professionals and advisory firms to enhance the value of the business before marketing it for sale. The business’s performance should be perfected, and the company’s strategic plan should be reviewed and improved. In addition, the company should make necessary changes to the management team, streamline processes and cut costs, reduce customer concentration, and focus on the business’s core competencies. However, the changes should not require a massive overhaul that is risky and may take too long to implement.

The business owner should also prepare the financials and optimize the financial strategy in a way that increases the value and prepares the company for due diligence. The can seller can boost sales with increased marketing and promotions, liquidate bloated or obsolete inventory, and aggressively collect any aged receivables.

Conclusion

Studies show that 90% of businesses listed for sale don’t sell. The reason for this is that sellers are often unrealistic about the value of the business, are not willing to plan the transition of the business, or do not have adequate accounting records.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

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Among the fastest ways for a business to fail is because of mismanagement or malfeasance by ownership. On the other hand, among the slowest ways is an ineffective or dysfunctional sales department.

Companies suffering from this malady may maintain just enough sales to stay afloat for a while, but eventually they go under because they lose one big customer or a tough new competitor arrives on the scene. To ensure your sales department is contributing to business growth, not just survival, you’ve got to ask some tough questions. Here are four to consider:

1. Does our sales department communicate customers’ needs to the rest of the company? Your sales staff works on the front lines of your industry. They’re typically the first ones to hear of changes in customers’ needs and desires. Make sure your sales people are sharing this information in both meetings and written communications (sales reports, emails and the like).

It’s particularly important for them to share insights with the marketing department. But everyone in your business should be laser-focused on what customers really want.

2. Does the sales department handle customer complaints promptly and satisfactorily? This is related to our first point but critical enough to investigate on its own. Unhappy customers can destroy a business — especially these days, when everyone shares everything on social media.

Your sales staff should have a specific protocol for immediately responding to a customer complaint, gathering as much information as possible and offering a fair resolution. Track complaints carefully and in detail, looking for trends that may indicate deeper problems with your products or services.

3. Do our salespeople create difficulties for employees in other departments? If a sales department is getting the job done, many business owners look the other way when sales staff play by their own rules or don’t treat their co-workers with the utmost professionalism. Confronting a problem like this isn’t easy; you may unearth some tricky issues involving personalities and philosophies.

Nonetheless, your salespeople should interact positively and productively with other departments. For example, do they correctly and timely complete all necessary sales documents? If not, they could be causing major headaches for other departments.

4. Are we taking our sales staff for granted? Salespeople tend to spend much of their time “outside” a company — either literally out on the road making sales calls or on the phone communicating with customers. As such, they may work “out of sight and out of mind.”

Keep a close eye on your sales staff, both so you can congratulate them on jobs well done and fix any problems that may arise. Our firm can help you analyze your sales numbers to help identify ways this department can provide greater value to the company.

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The average company’s balance sheet understates its value by 80%, according to Sarah Tomolonius, co-founder of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council. Why? Intangible assets aren’t recorded on the balance sheet under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), unless they’re acquired from a third party.

Instead, GAAP generally calls for the costs associated with creating and maintaining these valuable assets to be expensed as they’re incurred — even though they provide future economic benefits.

Eye on intangibles

Many companies rely on intangible assets to generate revenue, and they often contribute significant value to the companies that own them. Examples of identifiable intangibles include:

Patents,
Brands and trademarks,
Customer lists,
Proprietary software, and
A trained and knowledgeable workforce.

In a business combination, acquired intangible assets are reported at fair value. When a company is purchased, any excess purchase price that isn’t allocated to identifiable tangible and intangible assets and liabilities is allocated to goodwill.

Acquired goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibles are tested at least annually for impairment under GAAP. But private companies may elect to amortize them over a period not to exceed 10 years. Impairment testing also may be required when a triggering event happens, such as the loss of a major customer or introduction of new technology that makes the company’s offerings obsolete.

Inquiring minds want to know

Investors are interested in the fair value of acquired goodwill because it enables them to see how a business combination fared in the long run. But what about intangibles that are developed in-house?

At a sustainability conference earlier in May, Tomolonius said that businesses are more sustainable when they’re guided by a complete understanding of their assets, both tangible and intangible. Assigning values to internally generated intangibles can be useful in various decision-making scenarios, including obtaining financing, entering into licensing and joint venture arrangements, negotiating mergers and acquisitions, and settling shareholder disputes.

Calls for change

For more than a decade, there have been calls for accounting reforms related to intangible assets, with claims that internally generated intangibles are the new drivers of economic activity and should be reflected in balance sheets. Proponents of changing the rules argue that keeping these assets off the balance sheet forces investors to rely more on nonfinancial tools to assess a company’s value and sustainability.

It’s unlikely that the accounting rules for reporting internally generated intangibles will change anytime soon, however. In a quarterly report released in August, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) member Gary Buesser pointed to challenges the issue would pose, including the difficulty of recognizing and measuring the assets, costs to companies, and limited usefulness of the resulting information to investors. Buesser explained that “the information would be highly subjective, require forward looking estimates, and would probably not be comparable across companies.”

Want to learn more about your “untouchable” intangible assets? We can help you identify them and estimate their value, using objective, market-based appraisal techniques. Contact us for more information.

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Operating a business as an S corporation may provide many advantages, including limited liability for owners and no double taxation (at least at the federal level). Self-employed people may also be able to lower their exposure to Social Security and Medicare taxes if they structure their businesses as S corps for federal tax purposes. But not all businesses are eligible — and with changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, S corps may not be as appealing as they once were.

Compare and contrast

The main reason why businesses elect S corp status is to obtain the limited liability of a corporation and the ability to pass corporate income, losses, deductions and credits through to shareholders. In other words, S corps generally avoid double taxation of corporate income — once at the corporate level and again when it’s distributed to shareholders. Instead, tax items pass through to the shareholders’ personal returns, and they pay tax at their individual income tax rates.

But double taxation may be less of a concern today due to the 21% flat income tax rate that now applies to C corporations. Meanwhile, the top individual income tax rate is 37%. S corp owners may be able to take advantage of the qualified business income (QBI) deduction, which can be equal to as much as 20% of QBI.

In order to assess S corp status, you have to run the numbers with your tax advisor, and factor in state taxes to determine which structure will be the most beneficial for you and your business.

S corp qualifications

If you decide to go the S corp route, make sure you qualify and will stay qualified. To be eligible to elect to be an S corp or to convert, your business must:

Be a domestic corporation,
Have only one class of stock,
Have no more than 100 shareholders, and
Have only “allowable” shareholders, including individuals, certain trusts and estates. Shareholders can’t include partnerships, corporations and nonresident alien shareholders.

In addition, certain businesses are ineligible, such as financial institutions and insurance companies.

Base compensation on what’s reasonable

Another important consideration when electing S status is shareholder compensation. One strategy for paying less in Social Security and Medicare employment taxes is to pay modest salaries to yourself and any other S corp shareholder-employees. Then, pay out the remaining corporate cash flow (after you’ve retained enough in the company’s accounts to sustain normal business operations) as federal-employment-tax-free cash distributions.

However, the IRS is on the lookout for S corps that pay shareholder-employees unreasonably low salaries to avoid paying employment taxes and then make distributions that aren’t subject to those taxes.

Paying yourself a modest salary will work if you can prove that your salary is reasonable based on market levels for similar jobs. Otherwise, you run the risk of the IRS auditing your business and imposing back employment taxes, interest and penalties. We can help you decide on a salary and gather proof that it’s reasonable.

Consider all angles

Contact us if you think being an S corporation might help reduce your tax bill while still providing liability protection. We can help with the mechanics of making an election or making a conversion, under applicable state law, and then handling the post-conversion tax issues.

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How well do you listen to your not-for-profit’s supporters? If you don’t engage in “social listening,” your efforts may not be good enough. This marketing communications strategy is popular with for-profit companies, but can just as easily help nonprofits attract and retain donors, volunteers and members.

Social media monitoring

Social listening starts with monitoring social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for mentions of your organization and related keywords. But to take full advantage of this strategy, you also must engage with topics that interest your supporters and interact with “influencers,” who can extend your message by sharing it with their audiences.

Influencers don’t have to be celebrities with millions of followers. Connecting with a group of influencers who each have only several hundred followers can expand your reach exponentially. For example, a conservation organization might follow and interact with a popular rock climber or other outdoor enthusiast to reach that person’s followers.

Targeting your messages

To use social listening, develop a list of key terms related to your organization and its mission, programs and campaigns. You’ll want to treat this as a “living document,” updating it as you launch new initiatives. Then “listen” for these terms on social media. Several free online tools are available to perform this monitoring, including Google Alerts, Twazzup and Social Mention.

When your supporters or influencers use the terms, you can send them a targeted message with a call to action, such as a petition, donation solicitation or event announcement. Your call to action could be as simple as asking them to share your content.

You can also use trending hashtags (a keyword or phrase that’s currently popular on social media) to keep your communications relevant and leverage current events on a real-time basis. Always be on the lookout for creative ways to join conversations while promoting your organization or campaign.

Actively seeking opportunity

Most nonprofits have a presence on social media. But if your organization isn’t actively listening to and communicating with people on social media sites, you’re only a partial participant. Fortunately, social listening is an easy and inexpensive way to engage and become engaged.

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The process of selling a business or admitting an investor can be overwhelming and burdensome. However, as with any product, if the company is primed for sale, then the seller can receive a higher value. Realtors always advise homeowners to trim the hedges, update the windows, and declutter the home to maximize its value. In fact, according to a study by the National Association of Realtors, home staging can increase the dollar value of the house by 11-20%. Accordingly, a business owner would be wise to properly plan and prepare for the sale of his/her lifetime of work or a portion thereof. The level of planning will determine the timing, price, and process of the transaction.

A business owner can decide to sell his or her business for various reasons. At times, it results from a change in lifestyle. For example, a business owner may choose to retire and use the proceeds of the sale instead of a retirement plan. Sometimes, the business owner is an innovative individual with an entrepreneurial spirit but does not have the proper management skills to grow or manage a thriving enterprise. Being a business owner is also time-consuming, and some may prefer to be an employee with limited hours rather than an employer with management and financial risks and responsibilities.

A business can also be sold due to regulatory or legal issues, a partnership buyout or estate plan (i.e., when the second generation doesn’t have the passion of the founder). It is also wise for a business owner to know a business lifecycle to sell the business or a portion of the company at its optimal stage. A business lifecycle includes the following:

Beginning Stage

At the launch or establishment of a business, its revenues are increasing slowly but often not enough to generate positive net income. This stage can include startups or companies in early development. A startup is usually less than one year old, and financing may be necessary for product development, prototype testing, and test marketing. A company is considered in early development when the business established a business plan, conducted studies of market penetration, and hired a management team.

At the seed or startup stage, the business owner can be expected to provide a rate of return of between 40% and 70% to an angel investor or venture capitalist. Although it’s better to own a slice of a watermelon than an entire core of an apple, it isn’t prudent to unnecessarily give away equity too early.

Growth Stage

During the expansion stage of a company, the company experiences rapid sales growth. Although the company may initially still be unprofitable, it eventually breaks even and generates a profit. At this time, the company may require capital for equipment and its working capital needs, which can usually be accomplished by obtaining bank financing. However, if the company cannot obtain traditional bank financing, it may be able to raise capital via asset-based or mezzanine Lenders. Conversely, an owner can be expected to provide a rate of return of between 30% and 50% to an angel investor or venture capitalist at this stage.

Maturity Stage

At maturity, a company’s revenue growth and its expenses stabilize, which reduces the risk of investment in the company. At this stage, the company reinvests some working capital but relies on debt financing over equity dilution. Nevertheless, if the company fails to innovate and introduce new services or product, then its growth will plateau and eventually decline. At this stage – often known as post-maturity – a cash infusion is necessary. This is the stage that may result in an initial public offering (IPO) or reliance on debt or additional equity investment. If the owner cannot invest more capital, then it is smart to sell the business before it declines.

Business lifecycle CFI’s FREE Corporate Finance Class

Conclusion

Ronald Wayne co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In 1976, just 12 days after he entered into the partnership, he sold his 10% stake for approximately $2,300. A 10% stake of Apple Inc. would be worth roughly $100 billion today. In fact, the partnership contract was sold in 2011 for $1.6 million – after Wayne sold it earlier for $500.

Window-dressing a home is relatively simple, but preparing a business for sale is more involved. Don’t make the mistake of selling your business or equity interest too soon, but it is equally important not to wait until the value declines.

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Many business owners reach a point where managing the financial side of the enterprise becomes overwhelming. Usually, this is a good thing — the company has grown to a point where simple bookkeeping and basic financial reporting just don’t cut it anymore.

If you can relate to the feeling, it may be time to add a CFO or controller. But you’ve got to first consider whether your payroll can take on this generally high-paying position and exactly what you’d get in return.

The broad role

A CFO or controller looks beyond day-to-day financial management to do more holistic, big-picture planning of financial and operational goals. He or she will take a seat at the executive table and serve as your go-to person for all matters related to your company’s finances and operations.

A CFO or controller goes far beyond merely compiling financial data. He or she provides an interpretation of the data to explain how financial decisions will impact all areas of your business. And this individual can plan capital acquisition strategies, so your company has access to financing, as needed, to meet working capital and operating expenses.

In addition, a CFO or controller will serve as the primary liaison between your company and its bank to ensure your financial statements meet requirements to help negotiate any loans. Analyzing possible merger, acquisition and other expansion opportunities also falls within a CFO’s or controller’s purview.

Specific responsibilities

A CFO or controller typically has a set of core responsibilities that link to the financial oversight of your operation. This includes making sure there are adequate internal controls to help safeguard the business from internal fraud and embezzlement.

The hire also should be able to implement improved cash management practices that will boost your cash flow and improve budgeting and cash forecasting. He or she should be able to perform ratio analysis and compare the financial performance of your business to benchmarks established by similar-size companies in the same geographic area. And a controller or CFO should analyze the tax and cash flow implications of different capital acquisition strategies — for example, leasing vs. buying equipment and real estate.

Major commitment

Make no mistake, hiring a full-time CFO or controller represents a major commitment in both time to the hiring process and dollars to your payroll. These financial executives typically command substantial high salaries and attractive benefits packages.

So, first make sure you have the financial resources to commit to this level of compensation. You may want to outsource the position. No matter which route you choose, we can help you assess the financial impact of the idea.

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Have staffers complained because their expense reimbursements are taxed? An accountable plan can address the issue. Here’s how accountable plans work and how they benefit employers and employees.

Be reasonable

Under an accountable plan, reimbursement payments to employees will be free from federal income and employment taxes and aren’t subject to withholding from workers’ paychecks. Additionally, your organization benefits because the reimbursements aren’t subject to the employer’s portion of federal employment taxes.

The IRS stipulates that all expenses covered in an accountable plan have a business connection and be “reasonable.” Additionally, employers can’t reimburse employees more than what they paid for any business expense. And employees must account to you for their expenses and, if an expense allowance was provided, return any excess allowance within a reasonable time period.

An expense generally qualifies as a tax-free reimbursement if it could otherwise qualify as a business deduction for the employee. For meals and entertainment, a plan may reimburse expenses at 100% that would be deductible by the employee at only 50%.

Keep good records

An accountable plan isn’t required to be in writing. But formally establishing one makes it easier for your nonprofit to prove its validity to the IRS if it is challenged.

When administering your plan, your nonprofit is responsible for identifying the reimbursement or expense payment and keeping these amounts separate from other amounts, such as wages. The accountable plan must reimburse expenses in addition to an employee’s regular compensation. No matter how informal your nonprofit, you can’t substitute tax-free reimbursements for compensation that employees otherwise would have received.

The IRS also requires employers with accountable plans to keep good records for expenses that are reimbursed. This includes documentation of the amount of the expense and the date; place of the travel, meal or transportation; business purpose of the expense; and business relationship of the people fed. You also should require employees to submit receipts for any expenses of $75 or more and for all lodging, unless your nonprofit uses a per diem plan.

Inexpensive retention tool

Accountable plans are relatively easy and inexpensive to set up and can help retain staffers who frequently submit reimbursement requests. Contact us for more information.

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The high speed of change is quickly changing how we do business. While we are beginning to glimpse the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), its immediate future is all about optimization and speed.

Predictive models utilizing AI are serving to eliminate many of the challenges that businesses face in understanding buyer behaviors. It is one of the important ways AI is transforming the way we need to think about business growth; digitizing your business is just the beginning. According to SEO experts, predictive modeling is helping business execs understand the other end of the spectrum such as buyer intent, customer engagement, conversion rates, and even cart abandonment. Limiting its use to marketing neglects how businesses can use the model to move from reactivity to proactivity and identify new revenue streams.

Businesses will always have to react to some environmental changes quickly. Faced with the recent minimum wage increases many businesses were forced to restructure in order to maintain their bottom line. The restaurant industry, with its tight margins, was particularly vulnerable to the change and Red Robin’s reported layoff of busboys recently made the news. Still, across industries, reports abound of businesses replacing lower wage workers with automation; waiters being replaced by self- order screens, delivery service robots and self-driving cars and planes have recently rolled out in cities across the nation.

These changes can best be described as process changes, they deliver on efficiency and save on cost of labor. They answer the how questions executives must answer. It is the why questions however, that will continue to spur creative product change. AI has transformed consumer expectations, and to anticipate the next step for your business, this is the leading consumer trend. Predictive models are being used in persona creation, playing a crucial role in forecasting sales, designing products and providing an ideal customer experience.

Aside from identifying and allocating data, AI has also proved its usefulness in generating other new revenue streams in the form of new product design. AI’s most common current use has resulted in improved algorithms providing customers immediacy, efficiency and improved responsiveness. The next step, why enter your own order online if Alexa can do it for you? Even better if Alexa can anticipate your needs and preempt the command. Google’s auto complete seeks to cut time spent responding to our burgeoning emails. How can your product be improved by incorporating AI’s deep learning?

If your business is already using AI in daily transactions and has built a database of customer activity, other businesses in the industry can use that information to help design, deploy, market and sell their products. Positioning your business as a data source that peers and new ventures can use to develop their marketing and sales strategies is a sound proposition for diversifying revenues while generating value for your brand and positioning yourself as a leader in the market.

In our increasingly digital, artificially intelligent world, customers want the same efficiency, responsiveness and immediacy businesses are increasingly reliant upon. Business owners must ask themselves, why are we building, selling, offering this product, and how can AI improve our customer’s experience?

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In July, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) published two guides to help clarify a new rule that requires auditors of public companies to disclose critical audit matters (CAMs) in their audit reports. The rule represents a major change to the brief pass-fail auditor reports that have been in place for decades.

One PCAOB guide is intended for investors, the other for audit committees. Both provide answers to frequently asked questions about CAMs.

What is a CAM?

CAMs are the sole responsibility of the auditor, not the audit committee or the company’s management. The PCAOB defines CAMs as issues that:

Have been communicated to the audit committee,
Are related to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements, and
Involve especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments from the auditor.

Examples might include complex valuations of indefinite-lived intangible assets, uncertain tax positions and goodwill impairment.

Does reporting a CAM indicate a misstatement or deficiency?

CAMs aren’t intended to reflect negatively on the company or indicate that the auditor found a misstatement or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. They don’t alter the auditor’s opinion on the financial statements.

Instead, CAMs provide information to stakeholders about issues that came up during the audit that required especially challenging, subjective or complex auditor judgment. Auditors also must describe how the CAMs were addressed in the audit and identify relevant financial statement accounts or disclosures that relate to the CAM.

CAMs vary depending on the nature and complexity of the audit. Auditors for companies within the same industry may report different CAMs. And auditors may encounter different CAMs for the same company from year to year.

For example, as a company is implementing a new accounting standard, the issue may be reported as a CAM, because it requires complex auditor judgment. This issue may not require the same level of auditor judgment the next year, or it might be a CAM for different reasons than in the year of implementation.

When does the rule go into effect?

Disclosure of CAMs in audit reports will be required for audits of fiscal years ending on or after June 30, 2019, for large accelerated filers, and for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2020, for all other companies to which the requirement applies.

The new rule doesn’t apply to audits of emerging growth companies (EGCs), which are companies that have less than $1 billion in revenue and meet certain other requirements. This class of companies gets a host of regulatory breaks for five years after becoming public, under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act.

Coming soon

PCAOB Chairman James Doty has promised that CAMs will “breathe life into the audit report and give investors the information they’ve been asking for from auditors.” Contact us for more information about CAMs.

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After insurance policies expire, many businesses just throw away the paper copies and delete the digital files. But you may need to produce evidence of certain kinds of insurance even after the coverage period has expired. For this reason, it’s best to take a long-term approach to certain types of policies.

Occurrence-based insurance

Generally, the policy types in question are called “occurrence-based.” They include:

General liability,
Umbrella liability,
Commercial auto, and
Commercial crime and theft.

You should retain documentation of occurrence-based policies permanently (or as long as your business is operating). A good example of why is in cases of embezzlement. Employee fraud of this kind may be covered under a commercial crime and theft policy. However, embezzlement sometimes isn’t uncovered until years after the crime has taken place.

For instance, suppose that, during an audit, you learn an employee was embezzling funds three years ago. But the policy that covered this type of theft has since expired. To receive an insurance payout, you’d need to produce the policy documents to prove that coverage was in effect when the crime occurred.

Retaining insurance documentation long-term isn’t necessary for every type of policy. Under “claims-made” insurance, such as directors and officers liability and professional liability, claims can be made against the insured business only during the policy period and during a “tail period” following the policy’s expiration. A commonly used retention period for claims-made policies is about six years after the tail period expires.

Additional protection

Along with permanently retaining proof of occurrence-based policies, it’s a good idea to at least consider employment practices liability insurance (EPLI). These policies protect businesses from employee claims of legal rights violations at the hands of their employers. Sexual harassment is one type of violation that’s covered under most EPLI policies — and such claims can arise years after the alleged crime occurred.

As is the case with occurrence-based coverage, if an employee complaint of sexual harassment arises after an EPLI policy has expired — but the alleged incident occurred while coverage was in effect — you may have to produce proof of coverage to receive a payout. So, you should retain EPLI documentation permanently as well.

Better safe than sorry

You can’t necessarily rely on your insurer to retain expired policies or readily locate them. It’s better to be safe than sorry by keeping some insurance policies in either paper or digital format for the long term. This is the best way to ensure that you’ll receive insurance payouts for events that happened while coverage was still in effect. Our firm can help you assess the proper retention periods of your insurance policies, as well as whether they’re providing optimal value for your company.

Preparing to Sell Your Business

4 tough questions to ask about your sales department

The untouchables: Getting a handle on intangibles

Should you elect S corporation status?

To make the most of social media, just “listen”

Selling a Business

Is it time to hire a CFO or controller?

Accountable plans save taxes for staffers and their nonprofit employers

Move Quickly or Move Aside

FAQs about CAMs

Taking a long-term approach to certain insurance documentation