Business Appraisal & Litigation Support
Insurance Loss Claims Rep
Wrongful Death Claims Rep
Business Appraisal (Valuation) for Various Purposes
Why Is Business Valuation Important?
A business valuation allows a Business Valuer, where the situation exists, to take advantage of allowed discounts for lack of marketability & minority interest. This will allow the business value to be adjusted by discounts ranging from 15%-51 % which can be quite significant for Estate & Gift Tax Values & for Divorce Mediation. As part of Divorce Value, we also do the forensic accounting.
To view the IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60 and Business Valuation - Please Click Here
Business Restructuring, Mergers, Acquisitions & Sale
Restructuring your business — reorganizing your employees, products and financials
1. Is in financial or legal distress.
2. Wants to re-focus its core business holdings.
3. Needs to adapt to rapid growth and organizational change.
Action Steps
- Evaluate your problems - Analyze your situation to determine if your problems have solutions. Are your company's ailments a symptom of its organization, or are they a sign that your business simply isn't viable? Restructuring can save a salvageable business, but it can't help a failed idea succeed.
- Develop a plan - Create a restructuring plan with which to grow your business and consolidate it. Share the plan with your managers, staff and important third parties, including your creditors and vendors.
- Realign your team - Restructuring should include reorganization of your employees. Start at the top with an evaluation of your management team and work your way down the company totem pole. Replace weak members of your team and eliminate extraneous positions.
- Restructure your debts - Use the restructuring process to put your finances in order. Take out new loans, if necessary, to fund restructuring, but work with your accountant to make sure your fiscal plans are sound.
Tips & Tactics
- Lower costs by building intimate relationships with a small number of vendors. Keep them abreast of your company's changes and work with them to maintain affordable service as you move forward with reorganization.
- Restructuring can be as simple as moving things around; be willing to shift financial and personnel resources from less profitable projects to those that make you the most money.
- As you restructure, maintain high customer service standards by answering clients' questions promptly and honestly. Instead of hiding changes from your customers, use restructuring as a means for communicating with them.
- Consider strategic restructuring, whereby you'll partner with another business - via a merger or joint venture, for instance - in order to save yours.
- A restructured company needs entirely new policies and procedures. Wipe your slate clean and meet with remaining employees often to present company goals and get input on company culture.
The economy today is not stabilized. Even big companies have to confront the ups and downs that come their way. But the only thing that keeps them going is survival. They have to survive in the market and progress swiftly or gradually. One strategy to advancement is that of mergers between companies. There are numerous mergers that take place locally but they do not have a great effect on the market especially the consumers. But the mergers that take place at the national or international level have a profound impact on the economies of the concerned countries.
There are different reasons behind a merger of two or more companies. But first of all there exist diverse types of mergers.
a) Horizontal Mergers - two competing companies conjoin to form a single large company. The companies in horizontal mergers are selling the same product in the same market and so are contenders to each other. Such a merger can have a tremendous influence on the market from creating monopoly to escalating prices of the commodity.
b) Commission - the market and the consumers keep a hawks eye on such mergers and at times detains the companies from merging in the interest of the people.
c) The Vertical Mergers - are the mergers between a supplier and the distributor company of the supplies. This is an anti competitive merger but can be highly beneficial to the company. It is because the distributor will no more have to pay for the manufacturing of the supplies, it gets the product at the base price. So there is good cost saving due to this. Vertical merger also rules out lot of competition from the market.
d) Market Extension Merger - between the companies selling same product but in different markets. This merger enhances the market for the two companies since they now act as one sole company.
e) Product Extension Merger is like the one between an eminent company making motor parts and another that makes their own cars. So, the companies involved here sell different but more or less the same product in the same market. This merger promotes the sale of both the companies significantly.
f) Conglomeration is a merger where the concerned companies have nothing in common to sell.
There are various reasons behind merger of companies.
a) Synergy factor prompts the merger of most of the companies. The synergy in business pertains to the cost saving and revenue enhancement. The companies after merger decrease the staff keeping only the skilled labor, work with a single managing director, CEO etc. So there is good outlay saving. Moreover the economy of the sale i.e. the purchasing power of the company booms after merger.
b) To increase the output and rule the market- many mergers are made with the intention to oust the competition and jointly rule the market. This presupposes healthy relations between the competing companies.
c) Mergers also take place when a company is not able to perform well due to some or the other cause like the lack of required investment in the form of capital, tremendous competition etc. In such a situation this company can merge with one its parent company or any other company that has faith in the prior goodwill of the declining company and in its potential to grow and enhance. So companies also merge in order to overcome their internal inconsistencies.
d) Many a mergers besides economically are also politically driven.
e) Acquisitions which imply taking over of one stronger company with the other weaker one are also at times veiled by the name of merger.
However, the directors who plan to merge their companies should actually contemplate over it, keeping in mind all the possible pros and cons. They must seek advice from neutral financial consultants who do are more inclined towards the welfare of the company and not their own. Their own benefit is also hidden in a merger since the wages of the employees increase with the advancement due to merger. So it is recommended to take advice from all those who are the well wishers of the company before taking any concrete step in this direction.
Litigation Support and Forensic Accounting
Litigation support - We offer highly cost effective, extremely reliable document review and assessment support for all types of litigation including tort cases, class actions, complex litigation, white collar, and other government investigations, and insurance defense.
Forensic accounting - We provide an in-depth review of property transfers and money going in and out of accounts as well as using external tracing tools to determine the extent of fraud or manipulation. This take place in many venues from business, divorce, bankruptcy, securities and other areas where cash or merchandise is uncontrolled.
Request information about Litigation Support and Forensic Accounting
Succession Planning
Transfers Of Assets To Successor(s)
If you plan to transfer ownership of your business, you will want to ensure the financial security of your retirement. as well as the continued well-being of the business which is the funding vehicle. It is important to have a succession plan for the following reasons:
- you plan to retire but have no immediate successor.
- your designated successor needs more training to operate the business effectively
- your retirement plans have changed
- your designated successor lacks the financial resources required to keep the business running
Proper planning for business succession will ensure the continuation of operations with minimal disruptions because of our tax, business valuation and business expertise. We are capable of creating an all inclusive plan for successfully passing of your business to the next owner, with minimized tax consequences.
The Planning Process
Planning for business succession usually begins with a preliminary evaluation. We gain an understanding of the business and determine whether the succession plan will meet the real objectives of the business & its owner(s). We will research the history & operations of the business. The engagement may consist of client and key personnel interviews, review of financial statements & tax returns. We will also review other relevant documents including trust agreements, wills, shareholder, buy-sell agreements, and partnership agreements.
Developing A Succession Plan
There are four basic stages involved in developing a business succession plan. We possess requisite knowledge and experience to create a plan that is both workable & economically feasible:
1. Fact Findings: We collect information through interviews & the review of Company documents to understand the goals of the owner, the owner's family members, key employees, & the business itself. Specifically the following items need to be examined.
Documents
Interviews of appropriate people and review of important materials.
Financial statements and tax returns
Industry data and trends
Company's business plan
Owner's Information
Specific ideas about succession
Opinions on family members
Strategic plans
Timetable for succession
Family Information
Background and potential successors
Family agreements
Job descriptions and compensation agreements
Key Employee Information
Feedback on current performance and future potential to business
Assessment of capabilities of potential successors
2. Succession: Herein, we considers a number of possibilities with regard to the individuals involved & the advantages & disadvantages of each alternative in terms of business growth.
Some of the most common alternatives:
Plan For Family Succession
The older generation strongly desires that the younger family members continue to control and operate the business. If training is needed, a CEO can be installed temporarily until the designated family member can properly manage the business.
Sale To Key Employee(s)
The employee(s) need to have the financial resources to acquire the business as well as the management capabilities. Any potential conflict among employees should be resolved.
The Establishment Of An Employee Stock Option Plan(ESOP).
Each year the company contributes a portion of its earnings to the ESOP to enable employees to buy a percentage of the Company's stock.
The Installation Of A New Ceo.
To retain ownership, a board of directors is created to select a CEO to run the business. This can be useful if the owner believes the value of the business will significantly increase.
Communicating Findings & Recommendations
Thru fact findings we form the basis of recommendations for action or we may help the you reach a decision.
Implementing The Succession Plan
We work with the CEO and/or key personnel to develop a detailed succession plan with milestone dates. We monitor the implementation schedule & act as a liaison between your client and other parties, including bankers, attorneys, investors & family members, in the follow-thru and the training per formulated plan.
Why Choose Our Firm?
We are CPA's, Financial Planners & our owner is a CVA, ( licensed business valuer).
Developing a succession plan requires an analysis of various data on your operations, finances & objectives & the management capabilities of family members. Based on our broad background and expertise in multiple financial and business matters, we are particularly qualified to guide you through each stage of succession planning.
Do to our simultaneous view of your succession needs, by one person, with multiple licenses and business expertise we can help you:
- Gather necessary background information on the company and conduct interviews.
- Clarify your goals and those of key employees.
- Interview and evaluate potential successors.
- Analyze alternative succession plans to determine their advantages and disadvantages.
- Develop a written succession plan and document the necessary skills to operate the business.
- Plan a succession training program in advance of the owner's retirement.
- Create a contingent plan for unexpected situations.
By blending our expertise in business valuation, financial planning, tax & business matters with your company's goals, we can facilitate an orderly transfer of ownership & mgt. of the company, as well as minimize the amount of estate taxes due. Due to our licensed business valuation skills our firm can also help you obtain a reasonable sales price to assist you in maintaining financial independence during your retirement years. Before you make any business decisions contact Mt. Kisco Tax and Monetary Services Group, Inc., and its affiliated firm Sy Schnur, CPA/PFS, and Insurance Agents Associated.
Divorce Planning & Business Appraisal (Valuation)
- In agreeing upon the amount of alimony and child support to be paid and the right to dependency exemptions, both your tax bracket and your ex-spouse's should be considered in order to minimize the overall tax burden. Alimony is deductible by the payer and taxable to the recipient. Child support is neither deductible nor taxable. If the payer is in a high tax bracket and the recipient is in a low tax bracket, consideration should be given to increasing alimony payments and decreasing child support. In addition, the child dependency deductions may be better utilized by the spouse in the higher bracket. However, see Tax Planning: Deductions for Personal Exemptions.
- Ask the IRS to relieve you of liability for amounts owed on a joint tax return where your spouse understated the taxable income, and the income was attributable to your spouse or the deductions were claimed by your spouse without your knowledge. IRC 6015
- If you are planning to sell your home, consider selling your home while you are eligible to file a joint tax return. Provided that you and your spouse meet the ownership and use tests, you will be eligible to exclude up to $500,000 of gain. If you are divorced or you are not eligible to file a joint tax return, the maximum that you will be able to exclude is $250,000. IRC 121(b)(2)
- Contribute up to $2,000 of alimony you receive to your IRA established by your ex-spouse. IRC 219(f)(1)
- Rewrite your will when your divorce is final.
- Rewrite your revocable living trust and modify provisions that relate to your ex- spouse.
- Revoke any power of attorney that involves your ex-spouse.
- Have your parents or other family members consider modifications to their estate plans that involve your ex-spouse.
- Upon your legal separation or divorce, consider changing the beneficiary designations on all your IRA's, pension plans, insurance policies, and other documents requiring a beneficiary designation.
- Change jointly owned property with rights of survivorship to tenants-in-common.
- If your divorced or separated spouse works for a company with 20 or more employees which has employer-provided health insurance, you are also entitled to the coverage for 36 months following your divorce or legal separation. However, you may have to pay the monthly premiums. If you have children and you are a custodial parent who doesn't work, your ex-spouse can generally obtain dependent coverage under his or her employer's plan.
- Notify insurance companies of the change in your marital status.
- Consider purchasing or increasing disability insurance if, as a result of the divorce, you commence employment, or the level of your employment income increases.
- Be sure your attorney invoices you separately for any income tax advice relating to the divorce as legal fees for divorce generally are not otherwise deductible.
- Terminate joint credit cards.
Estate & Trust Appraisal (Valuation)
Large estates are subject to high estate taxes and normally have in depth estate planning. However, planning also determines who receives what share of the estate, how and when the beneficiaries will receive their inheritance and income share, who will be the guardian for your children, who will manage your estate (executor, trustee, etc.) and be responsible for distribution of the assets, who will manage the funds that may pass to grandchildren, who will provide orderly continuance of sale of the family business and who will plan for plan how administrative expenses will be paid without delays.
Fraud & Misappropriation Investigation
Embezzlement is the intentional misuse or misappropriation of funds or assets (tangible or intangible) entrusted to an employee who has power, control, trust or authority over that money or asset.
We conduct theft, fraud and embezzlement investigations.
These are some of the areas where we can assist you:
· Retail employee theft
· Document manipulation through false vendors, payroll, or other bookkeeping areas.
· Missing assets or inventory.
· Missing deposits.
· Falsification of expense reports.
· Shrinkage.
· Vendor collusion.
· Internal data mining
· Interview strategy for witnesses and/or suspects.
· Obtaining written statements.
· Working with polygraph examiners.
· Case preparation for local law enforcement.
· Identifying potential civil liability areas during the investigation process.