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Business financials can get complicated. Overwhelmed by a sea of numbers? A team of Gilmore Jasion Mahler accountants recently walked area businesspeople through the top 5 questions to ask when reviewing your financial statements. They discussed each major section of a financial statement and provided helpful tips on what to look for or ask about. “Chamber U: Understanding Your Financial Statements” was offered in partnership with the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. Gilmore Jasion Mahler presenters included Steve Miller, CPA, Caitlin Bainter, CPA, Michael Brough, CPA.

The five key areas of focus:

1. The Report

• audit
• review
• compilation
• agreed upon procedures

2. The Balance Sheet

3. The Income Statement

4. Statement of Cash Flows

5. Footnotes

Top five takeaways:

• Make sure you know what type of service you are receiving
• Review debt agreements to see what service is required
• Review debt agreements for affirmative and negative covenants
• The statement of Cash Flows gives a clear vision of the health of your business
• Consider whether your basis of accounting is appropriate to meet the needs of your business

Steve Miller, Caitlin Bainter and Michael Brough are part of GJM’s Assurance team, working with businesses across the region to provide trusted guidance.

Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) has announced some key promotions and new staff members that strengthen the Firm and its leadership team. The promotions are effective January 1, 2019.

Judy Anderson and Matt Cavanagh are promoted to partner. Anderson, a Toledo native and graduate of The University of Toledo has been with the firm for 11 years. She has over twenty years of experience in public accounting and in the healthcare industry. A member of Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s healthcare and outsourced accounting group, she works with many of the Firm’s healthcare clients providing practice management and consulting services.  

Cavanagh, a Bowling Green native and BGSU graduate, joined Gilmore Jasion Mahler in November of 2005. Also a member of the Firm’s healthcare team, Matt’s focus is healthcare services. His expertise is in ambulatory surgery centers, outsourced accounting, practice management and modeling.

“Judy and Matt are already valued members of our leadership team,” says Gilmore Jasion Mahler Managing Partner Kevin Gilmore. ”Their hard work and dedication have strengthened our healthcare specialty and the Firm as a whole. I’m thrilled to see them both reach partner level.”

The Firm also announced some other key promotions. Partner Nikki Clement has been named managing partner of Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s Findlay office. Partner Mike Brough will lead growth efforts for the Findlay office. Nikki Clement's focus is the utilities industry. She specializes in accounting for regulated utilities.

Mike Brough works across a number of industries including manufacturing & distribution, government, and nonprofit operations.

Steve Miller is being promoted to senior manager. Both Ryan Avery and Ryan Emerson are promoted to supervisor and Nick Jackson is promoted to senior associate.

Earlier in the year, Diane Stretten and Mary Jo Pitzen were promoted to senior manager. Andrea Jennex moved up to supervisor in the GJM Findlay office. Ben Lochbihler was promoted to manager and Corey Selhorst, Lauren Grana and Clay Barron were all promoted to senior associate.

The Firm also brought on well over a dozen new employees in 2018 to further strengthen GJM’s administrative team and client service. They include Elijah Blackburn, Alyssa Essert, Alexandria Frances, Courtney Haas, Nicole Hartranft, Jennifer Henning, Dana Herr, Thomas Keyser, Jessica Knepper, Dylon Lause, Wendy Long, Tim Merkel, Madeline Mielcarek, Caleb Neeper, Joe Osentoski, Tina Rochowiak and Logan Sager.

“I couldn’t be happier with the staff we have in place headed into 2019,” says Gilmore. “When you have great people, great things happen. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish at a team.”

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, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

With an increase in M&A activity in recent months it may be wise to get a business valuation done so that if and when an opportunity arises you're ready to respond. But who should do the work for you and how in depth a report does your business need? Gilmore Jasion Mahler Partner Jeff Denning specializes in business valuation and says be aware that the IRS or a court of law will have some requirements when it comes to the valuation, and who does the work. He offers some ideas on how to go about choosing the right person for the job.

Who does a valuation for your business is one of several important questions as you begin to research the process. For more information, see GJM's video blogs How Do You Figure Out the Value of Your Business, Business Valuation: Lengthy Report or Not, and What is the Business Valuation Process. Learn more about Jeff’s expertise in business valuation and forensic accounting, and don’t forget to sign up for GJM’s free quarterly newsletter The Expert with a focus on business valuation and litigation support. Just click here for quick and easy sign up.

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, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities. 

Any business owner will tell you that quality assurance is critical to success. Mistakes or defects in the design or production processes can be costly in terms of recalls or customer dissatisfaction and can also leave your business vulnerable to liability concerns. Small mistakes can mar reputations – and the internet is an elephant that never forgets. In this business age, quality assurance is more crucial than ever.

It’s essential to have ingrained processes regarding quality assurance and measurement in order to avoid error. One of the most effective and data-driven of these measurement processes is Lean Six Sigma, a tool that can be used across industries and companies. In fact, our own firm has embraced Six Sigma as we constantly look to improve and streamline our processes at Gilmore Jasion Mahler (GJM).

In the first of a three-part series on Lean Six Sigma, we’ll explore a definition of the methodology as well as its main tenets. You’ll also come away with a good handle on what Six Sigma is all about and how it may fit in with your business.

What Is Lean Six Sigma?

At its core, Lean Six Sigma is a management practice that allows companies to leverage data to virtually eliminate defects within business processes. To be Six Sigma qualified, a company’s defect rate must be less than 3.4 per million produced.

Six Sigma has the potential for application in virtually any capacity and in any business, from honing a business strategy and creating benchmarks to goal setting and statistical measurement.

A Quick History

The Six Sigma certification was developed by Mikel Harry and Bill Smith of Motorola, a company that was among the first to receive the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award. As the concept has evolved, it has become a multi-dimensional approach that helps drive businesses to:

• Improve processes
• Decrease defects
• Reduce variability within processes
• Lower costs
• Increase customer satisfaction
• Increase profits

The Stages of Six Sigma

The phases of Six Sigma can be explained in the acronym DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This acronym is applicable to both operational and organizational issues, and businesses of all types and sizes.

• First, a business defines a problem that needs to be resolved, as well as how it has affected the organization.
• Second, a business uses various processes to measure the problem through mapping, data gathering, and the validation of the data measures.
• Next, an analysis of the data is considered the heart of the Six Sigma philosophy, as it helps determine the root cause of the problem, which will guide the steps ahead.
• After a complete analysis, a business takes steps to improve their processes, using several suggested strategies.
• Finally, control focuses on continuous quality improvement through monitoring and reporting.

The Lean Six Sigma methodology has helped businesses of all types, including GJM, to identify and eliminate errors in business processes. Next in the series, we will learn more about its benefits and applications. We’ll also share some specifics on how GJM has applied Six Sigma principles and seen results.

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 and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

Running a business isn’t for sissies. You bring in good people to manage the office, handle human resources and oversee the financials for you, but in the end, you know you’re ultimately responsible.

Did you double check that last invoice that went out to your best customer? What’s the balance on your business loan? How much cash is available right now? 

What if you could stop fretting over questions like that and know someone’s got your back around the clock? That’s the basic concept behind Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s Outsourced Accounting Services. We’ll call it the best of both worlds: a team of specialists is on the job, and you get to see the numbers anytime you want right on your cell phone.

Your team is there to answer questions, advise you on business decisions, if desired, and yes, to handle the books.

Advances in technology are changing the way many businesses handle the business manager role at the office. That includes many healthcare entities, including physician and dental practices. Many are embracing the technology, letting a specialized team handle the work, and turning their attention to growth strategy and other priorities. Outsourced accounting can also be an excellent fit for nonprofit organizations struggling to fill positions with knowledgeable, capable individuals.

Picture this: real time financial key performance indicators you can see any time of the day or night on your cell phone or other device. More importantly, a team of professionals working with you who not only look at today’s numbers, but help you plan and strategize for the future.

Some key benefits to outsourced accounting with Gilmore Jasion Mahler:

1. Stop struggling to fill that internal business manager role (seems like there’s always an opening, doesn’t it?).
2. Real time data at your fingertips around the clock whether you’re in the office or the sidelines of your daughter’s soccer game.
3. A team consisting of accounting specialists, including a GJM partner, to handle the business finances and also guide and advise on other important financial decisions as needed.
4. Dashboard view of your financials via leading edge accounting software platform Sage/Intacct.

Interested in learning more about Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s Outsourced Accounting Services? Read up on our team's capabilities. You can also contact our Accounting Specialist Team to start the conversation.

Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s Judy Anderson, CPA contributed this blog. Judy leads the GJM Outsourced Accounting Specialist Team. With over 20 years of experience in public accounting and private industry, Judy works with clients across a number of industries, including healthcare, nonprofit, and professional services.

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 comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.