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What better month than April to feature those in the accounting business? As tax day approaches, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has just announced that the office is featuring the profession throughout the month as a part of it's Ohio Business Profile, including a feature on Gilmore Jasion Mahler. The Secretary of State's office says the Ohio Business Profile was established in 2011 and helps to showcase companies doing business in the state and offering outstanding service. We're proud to be among those businesses featured. Learn more about our capabilities.

As chief financial decision maker within a business, the role for many CFOs looks different today than it has in the past. It can often be a journey into uncharted waters. In 2018 this critical c-suite role involves not only company financials, but a broader vison, strategic thinking, trend watching and keeping up on developments with potential impact on the business, including:

• Sweeping tax reform
• The skilled labor shortage
• Safety regulations
• Changes in revenue recognition
• Blockchain & other technology
• Fraud and cyber threats

When you subscribe to accounting firm Gilmore Jasion Maher’s (GJM) industry-specific newsletters you’ll gain access to articles offering solutions and solving problems. You’ll receive insight from GJM experts and additional articles on accounting issues and topics that impact your bottom line.

• Personal and business tax strategy
• Best practices and trends
• Clarification and insight on federal tax changes
• Technology/cybersecurity content
• Information on cost control and tax credits

Here’s a look at some recent articles you missed if you weren’t subscribed:

• “Gilmore Jasion Mahler Experts Explain New Tax Law”
• “Tax Reform and Pass-through Entities”
• “Construction Accounting Update: New Revenue Recognition Rules to “Go Live” Soon”
• “The Contractor’s Corner-How Helpful are Digital Documents and E-signatures?”
• “Quality vs. Volume-How Should Physician Compensation be Determined?
• “Surviving and Thriving in a Changing Practice Landscape”
• “Beware of Procurement Fraud”
• “Economic Damages 101: Learn the ABCs of Calculating Lost Profits and Diminished Value”
• “Are Your Prices Too High, Too Low or Just Right?” 
• “Smart Factories and Blockchain: How to Stay on the Cutting Edge of Technology”
• “Understanding “Nexus” – Know the Risks and Rewards of Operating Across State Lines”

GJM’s five quarterly newsletters include:

1. Focus: A quarterly publication dedicated to covering such topics as strategic business planning, estate planning, employee issues, customer relations issues, personal tax planning, and other aspects of business management and personal finance.
2. The Expert: The quarterly newsletter offers timely notifications on valuation and litigation support developments that may have an immediate impact on you and your business.
3. Practice Management Advisor: A quarterly newsletter providing accounting, tax and practice management insights for the health care industry.
4. On-Site: A quarterly newsletter providing accounting, tax and business insights for construction and real estate focused organizations.
5. Manufacturer: Offers tax tips, news and information pertinent to the manufacturing and distribution industries. A quarterly publication, Manufacturer addresses the daily challenges facing manufacturers and distributors as well as strategic and long-term planning initiatives.

Signing up is simple. Just click here and start having timely accounting information delivered right into your inbox. You can also sign up by clicking the big blue "subscribe now" button at the top of the sidebar to the right of this blog article. To be sure you continue to receive GJM newsletter content, we recommend the following:

1. Have your IT department add GJM’s domain name to your network’s whitelist. We recommend you also add the name of the platform we use to distribute our email newsletters, which is a company called BlueHornet (recently rebranded as Mapp Digital).

Domain names to add to your whitelist:

gjmltd.com

bluehornet.com

2. Double check spam and junk folders/filters and if you find a GJM communication, be sure to mark the message as not spam, not junk or add sender to safe sender list.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting services and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory and healthcare management. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.  

By Jeffrey Denning, CPA, ABV, CFF

I get it- you are so busy running your business that it's hard to make time to look out on the horizon. Yet we have heard that failing to plan is like planning to fail. We keep postponing and saying it will be easier to do it tomorrow.

What if tomorrow comes and you meet a serious buyer flush with cash and he or she pops the question? What would it take to buy you out?

The consensus of economic and industry forecasters is that there will be higher growth this year as spending on infrastructure and other delayed needs gets real. Whether buyers are looking to expand markets or add strong managers to help meet current and expected demand, there may be significant opportunities for mergers and consolidation.

As business and tax advisors, we worked with several clients recently to estimate a range of value for their business should they be asked the big question. We also helped them understand what that estimated value may mean to them in after tax dollars invested elsewhere. Then we compared that to their current lifestyle and spending.

These clients are now more informed and prepared should they start considering options like a sale/gift to family, a management buyout, or an outright sale and a walk away value. Each of these merits consideration and preparation.

Not sure where to start? We suggest that you:

1. Start a conversation with your team and advisors
2. Ask your advisors about the appraisal process
3. Ask yourself how much money you would want or need to get out of your business if you did decide to sell

Just three simple steps that will help ensure that when and if the call comes, you’ll have the information you need to make an informed decision.

 Jeffrey Denning is a partner with Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD and leads the Firm’s forensic accounting and business valuation practice. 

Some Key Takeaways from the National Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) 2016 Conference “Building it Forward”

Gilmore Jasion Mahler CPA and Partner Bob Bobek knows the construction industry. Not only has he advised countless construction clients over the years, but he’s very active on a national and local level with the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA).  A recent speaker at CFMA’s 2016 national conference “Building it Forward” in San Antonio, Texas, Bob shares key takeaways from his presentation on treasury management. Our focus here is on valuing your construction business. It’s about more than just your earnings or your equipment. Are you attractive to a potential buyer? They’ll be looking for a healthy company and specifically these key components:

A good balance sheet: Focus on assets: working capital to equipment.

Synergies: Efficiencies gained through combining companies. For example, a general contractor that works regularly with an electrical subcontractor could consider buying that subcontractor and absorbing it into their business. By self-performing the electrical component, it can make you more attractive to potential buyers.  

Look at market perceptions of risk:  Do a self-assessment:

• How’s your safety record?  
• How big is your business? The bigger contracts you have the more appealing you are to a potential buyer.
• Types of contracts: Do you have reoccurring contracts? Are you in “hot” sectors like power, water and energy?
• Is your management team strong and secured?
• What’s your growth potential?
• What’s your succession plan? If you’re bringing in younger talent and have a plan in place, the market will perceive your company as lower risk.
• Are you union or non-union? General contractors who use union labor have a perceived higher risk in light of challenges with union pension liabilities.
• Are you a larger company with greater diversity when it comes to geography, capabilities and customers?

Looking at these key issues can help better position your company so that when the right buyer does come along, you’re ready.

Bob Bobek, CPA is a partner in the audit and accounting department of Gilmore Jasion Mahler with over thirty years of public accounting experience and leads our Construction Specialist Team. He is a member of the Ohio Contractors Association, The Associated General Contractors of America and the Construction Financial Management Association, where he has held several offices.

Smart Phones and iPads and Video Conferencing, Oh My! It’s no secret that our personal and professional lives have changed dramatically in recent years, driven by technology. The accounting industry is no exception. There’s been a significant shift in the way we serve our clients at Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD. For many of the Firm’s business and individual clients, paper tax returns are but a memory. The documents are now often sent digitally, provided via email or on a flash drive.  

Another major shift has come for some of our clients including physician offices and other healthcare entities that rely on us for their accounting and bookkeeping needs. Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s cloud-based client portal GJM Connect saves them time and headaches.

“They are able to connect with us in real time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s helping improve efficiencies on their end and is as easy as banking or shopping online,” says GJM Partner Linda Hillstrom.

It’s also secure and convenient. GJM Connect offers clients round-the-clock access from any internet connection in the world.  The online portal allows for file sharing and accounting/bookkeeping work. Encryption, secure password protection and other measures bring heightened security.

Technology has also created a shift in the way Gilmore Jasion Mahler staff members do their work. Working from home and remote locations has never been easier. Video conferencing allows for more face to face time between GJM’s Maumee and Findlay offices. Cloud-based document storage has done away with the need for large filing cabinets, allowing access to archived documents with a click of the mouse.

Online communication helps clients and the public stay informed on tax law changes and other timely information that may affect their businesses. Digital newsletters, email alerts and social media messaging from GJM bring industry-specific information to those in manufacturing & distribution, construction, real estate & utilities and healthcare. Additional digital newsletters are specific to litigation and valuation and general tax information.

It truly is a whole new Technicolor world. We’re definitely not in Kansas, anymore, and that’s a good thing for the staff and clients of Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD.

Learn more about GJM Connect and our cloud-based accounting services or sign up for one of our industry-specific newsletters.